Show us your radios!

[Forgotten Man]

:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

Such fine work, such attention to period authenticity and detail... lovely!

 

[Radio Dazed]

Thank you again.

You know, it's alot of fun building these radios. It's like a treasure hunt while searching for parts. I search antique radio and ham radio swap meets. The internet has lots of vintage radio related sites with classified ads and there's also ebay. The trick is to find the best looking (and functioning) parts to make these radio look and play good.

John

 

[Forgotten Man]

I love the dials you choose on some of these, they look just perfect! What kind of dials are they? What make are they? Also, what material did you use for the face board? The textured black material you use on others kits seems a little more attractive but, that's just my opinion.

You know I think you have great taste in your kits, I have seen some photos from the 20s of some of these made with glass cabinets, that would be pretty unique to try out I think.

You have inspired me; I would love to make a kit once I have a workshop area and the correct parts to do it with. How fun that would be!

-=Rob=-

 

[Radio Dazed]

FM, the dials on the 'Signal Gripper' and some of the other radios were made by National Company, Malden, Mass. The company started in 1914 and went out of buisness in the early '90s. They had inovative designs in the early part of radio. They were the first to build a receiver for experimental TV in 1928. Here's a link to a breif history of the company. http://www.qsl.net/jms/bio_rem/bhnc.html

Some of the other dials are Marko and Pilot brand. Almost all of these dial are known as vernier dials. They have a built in gear reduction, usually around 6:1. The large National dial has a variable reduction from 6:1 - 20:1, makes for smooth tuning on the shortwave bands.

The front panel material is just Masonite, 1/4" pressed fiber board. I usually paint it black and it looks like bakelite but on the Signal Gripper I used oil stain for a dark brown look. On the 1924 kit radio I had to replace the original bakelite panel with black ABS that had a wrinkle finish on one side. As mentioned earlier, UPS damaged the radio breaking the panel in two places. It had an odd dimension thickness but I found a plastic shop that had the ABS in the thickness I needed.

As far as kits go, I built these radios from scratch they are not kits. I don't think anyone sells a kit to build an antique replica. I had to find a design I wanted to build (started with a simple set first), gathered parts, thus creating a kit of my own in effect. It's very nostalgic to build a radio from the early days just like many did back then. Most radios in the '20s and and early '30s were homebrewed not factory built. There were many radio magazins back then filled with construction articles, like Radio News, Shortwave Craft and QST.

John

 

[vitanola]

You asked for it!

 

[vitanola]

 

[vitanola]

 

[vitanola]

 

[vitanola]

 

[vitanola]

 

[vitanola]

 

[vitanola]

These are the sets that survived the fire, as they were in the house. In the past nine months I've acquired a hundred or so more interesting sets, but do not yet have pictures of them to post.

 

[Forgotten Man]

Cheese and Rice!!! That's a few radios!

Nice sets, I have the same late 30s Sears Silvertone you pictured... yours is better shape than mine.lol

 

[airgrabber666]

Beautiful and impressive collection, Vitanola! Some VERY nice radios in there.

 

[Radio Dazed]

Yep, vitanola thinks he's the Hunt bros of antique radios.
A million just dont go as far as it used to...

 

[vitanola]

Hardly!

I've a few hundred sets left after the fire, but my collection pales in comparison to that of many others, and it was largely assembled on a VERY tight budget.

I generally buy decent, original, non-working sets, restore them, and sell 2 for every one that I keep. This has allowed me to assemble a pretty representative collection over the years. I have a hundered other finished sets which have ywt to be photographed, and have a 24' trailer and a 27' box truck filled with sets awaiting restoration, but will not be able to get to them until the new shop is completed, sometime in the spring of '10.

As one can well imagine, the fire last March set me back quite a bit, but it has also freed me from quite as strong an attachment to my sets as I had in the past. I have perhaps four sets with which I will not part, but otherwise everything else is up for grabs.

Besides, radios are CHEAP!

Try a phonograph or music box auction sometime!

An entire fine collection of radios can be purchased for the price of one mediocre music box or Talking Machine.

 

[Forgotten Man]

Well, I know that Atwater Kent "bread board" will fetch a healthy note depending on condition and such... the one you pictured looks pretty darn good to me!

Radios are relatively cheap for the most part... most of the money is in talking machines or music boxes... however, most mid to late 30s Zenith radios with robot tuning and shutter dials can fetch over 1,000. :eusa_doh: I did find a 1938 Zenith console at an antique mall over the weekend in Redlands... needed some wood work but, had the robot tuning and shutter dial with magic eye... asking $450. or so for it... not bad for one of them even if it is a project piece.

Say, Vitanola have you had a chance to see the '29 Crosley I picked up? Quite a unique piece!

 

[vitanola]

Well, I know that Atwater Kent "bread board" will fetch a healthy note depending on condition and such... the one you pictured looks pretty darn good to me!

Radios are relatively cheap for the most part... most of the money is in talking machines or music boxes... however, most mid to late 30s Zenith radios with robot tuning and shutter dials can fetch over 1,000. :eusa_doh: I did find a 1938 Zenith console at an antique mall over the weekend in Redlands... needed some wood work but, had the robot tuning and shutter dial with magic eye... asking $450. or so for it... not bad for one of them even if it is a project piece.

Say, Vitanola have you had a chance to see the '29 Crosley I picked up? Quite a unique piece!

The AK 10 breadboard came out of a local attic, 2 bad audioo transformers and covered with soot. $175.00

The AK 6 was one of a pair, and came out of the proverbial roofless chicken coop. Some cracked bakelite, the amplifier can was rusty, the tube bayonet shields were corroded beyond use, as were the binding posts. The boards were split, chewed up, and warped. After a great deal of effort (including 4 re-wound audio transformers and 2 newly made RF transformers) I was left with 2 nearly perfect sets, the better of which I sold. Paid the mortgage for three months, thank heaven!

Your Crosley is a pretty scarce set, though not shockingly pricey. It is a decent performer, but did not sell too well, as the 1929-30 market was crowded with fine sets at this price point, many of which offered better eye appeal and fidelity. To our modern eye, though the art deco styling of the Crosley, which was perhaps too advanced for the market of its day, is just the ticket.

 

[airgrabber666]

Forgotten Man - have you gotten a chance to snap a few better pics of your Silvertone console?

 

[Forgotten Man]

The AK 10 breadboard came out of a local attic, 2 bad audioo transformers and covered with soot. $175.00

The AK 6 was one of a pair, and came out of the proverbial roofless chicken coop. Some cracked bakelite, the amplifier can was rusty, the tube bayonet shields were corroded beyond use, as were the binding posts. The boards were split, chewed up, and warped. After a great deal of effort (including 4 re-wound audio transformers and 2 newly made RF transformers) I was left with 2 nearly perfect sets, the better of which I sold. Paid the mortgage for three months, thank heaven!

Your Crosley is a pretty scarce set, though not shockingly pricey. It is a decent performer, but did not sell too well, as the 1929-30 market was crowded with fine sets at this price point, many of which offered better eye appeal and fidelity. To our modern eye, though the art deco styling of the Crosley, which was perhaps too advanced for the market of its day, is just the ticket.

Wow, you did a lot of work on those AK bread boards! The one you pictured looks beautiful!

Yes, as you mentioned Art Deco wasn't the most popular style in 1929 with most of the American' public. And the economy was ready to take a serious spill later that year. The ad I have is from June or so of '29 and by October, many people were not buying anything.

Forgotten Man - have you gotten a chance to snap a few better pics of your Silvertone console?

Nope, not yet... Time has been very thin as of late. I will try and do that this evening for you.