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General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: JJ on December 26, 2018, 04:39:04 PM

Title: For all the vintage / antique radio fans
Post by: JJ on December 26, 2018, 04:39:04 PM
I personally know very little about old, vintage radios except I find them interesting when I see them at antique malls!

I am sure some one here collects these or is knowledgeable about them! :thumb: :smiley: :cool: :wink:


(https://i.ibb.co/mT7W0PK/IMG-7650.jpg) (https://ibb.co/mT7W0PK)

(https://i.ibb.co/Rpmz9g2/IMG-7649.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Rpmz9g2)

(https://i.ibb.co/VL8HbYy/IMG-7648.jpg) (https://ibb.co/VL8HbYy)

(https://i.ibb.co/jJ6DwnP/IMG-7647.jpg) (https://ibb.co/jJ6DwnP)


Title: Re: For all the vintage / antique radio fans
Post by: Guzzistajohn on December 26, 2018, 04:49:32 PM
Old radios are cool, too bad you can't get stations like we used to.
Title: Re: For all the vintage / antique radio fans
Post by: Aaron D. on December 27, 2018, 06:15:21 AM
As a child my parents presented me/us with a floor model radio, likely something they saw in their youth. Radio stations with call letters were printed on the dial, and most still worked in the mid '60s.
Title: Re: For all the vintage / antique radio fans
Post by: JACoH on December 27, 2018, 11:24:24 AM
I found a vintage radio guy locally at radioattic.com, he rides Harleys and Vespas!
Title: Re: For all the vintage / antique radio fans
Post by: PeteS on December 27, 2018, 12:07:16 PM
Nice examples there. I now have the Zenith console (floor model, radio and record player) that my folks had when I was kid. I still have to restore it though.
The radio in the first picture is a Hallicrafters which is what our first TV was. Hallicrafters made lot of equipment for the military in WWII. I hope it was more reliable than our TV was. It seemed the TV repair guy was at our house about once a month. :sad:

Pete
Title: Re: For all the vintage / antique radio fans
Post by: twowings on December 27, 2018, 04:14:12 PM
(https://tse3.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.7lkf23YCN9uTBag79FoJjwHaJ4&pid=Api)

Stromberg-Carlson FTW!
Title: Re: For all the vintage / antique radio fans
Post by: twowings on December 27, 2018, 04:19:40 PM
OR...for you high-performance fans:

(https://www.radioblvd.com/info/SX28-119051B.jpg)

The Mighty Hallicrafters SX-28
Title: Re: For all the vintage / antique radio fans
Post by: keener on December 27, 2018, 07:12:15 PM
https://antiqueradio.org/welcome.htm       


AM band 

LOTS of info here    :thumb:
Title: Re: For all the vintage / antique radio fans
Post by: Phil/TX on December 27, 2018, 07:55:16 PM
Lo tech
(https://i.ibb.co/3Yp7bp5/5-BDA10-E5-83-C2-4112-9178-DCCA1-DACAECC.jpg) (https://ibb.co/3Yp7bp5)

(https://i.ibb.co/p0ht87M/3188-EE38-99-A3-48-B8-9-E7-A-EB0-B29-E3669-D.jpg) (https://ibb.co/p0ht87M)

top girl names 2004 (https://babynamesetc.com/unisex-baby-name-trends)
 hi tech
Title: Re: For all the vintage / antique radio fans
Post by: n3303j on December 27, 2018, 08:44:51 PM

(https://i.ibb.co/2d8NsMS/AK20per.jpg) (https://ibb.co/2d8NsMS)

Thought you meant OLD radios?
Title: Re: For all the vintage / antique radio fans
Post by: jkguzzi on December 28, 2018, 12:27:27 PM
Thanks for the reminder. I have an old Grundig that I have been meaning to fix up.
Title: Re: For all the vintage / antique radio fans
Post by: Steve Scott on December 28, 2018, 02:47:37 PM
Lo tech
(https://i.ibb.co/3Yp7bp5/5-BDA10-E5-83-C2-4112-9178-DCCA1-DACAECC.jpg) (https://ibb.co/3Yp7bp5)

(https://i.ibb.co/p0ht87M/3188-EE38-99-A3-48-B8-9-E7-A-EB0-B29-E3669-D.jpg) (https://ibb.co/p0ht87M)

top girl names 2004 (https://babynamesetc.com/unisex-baby-name-trends)
 hi tech

...Well now, what does your antenna farm look like? I let my ticket lapse, but if I get back in it will definitely be QRP.
Title: Re: For all the vintage / antique radio fans
Post by: SLDMRossi on December 30, 2018, 04:08:10 PM
I have about 20 of them, and they're used all weekend long. Here are a few tips:

* Like a lot of other industrial products, the later they were made, the better. I look for radios that were built between 1952 and 1964, because...they had FM! So I've got NPR on all the time. Like now.
* Spend a little more money and buy the best radio you can.
* The German radios and Zenith (the Royalty of Radios) have the best sound quality, in my opinion. Look for radios with big and/or multiple speakers.
* They're great at night when the dial is illuminated, the "Magic Eye" tuning device is dialed in and there's a glow coming off from out back, through the perforated rear cover.
* Speaking of rear covers, if it's missing...that's a bad sign, because the radio's obviously been monkeyed with.
* E-Bay is a tempting source, but I've had too many destroyed in shipping. Try local CraigsList, under the Electronics or Antiques tab. So you can listen to it before you buy it. Antique store examples are usually overpriced, too.
* Stay away from anything that "hasn't been tested" or isn't fully functional. It's not uncommon to spend $350 repairing a $35 radio.
* Always look for a good power cord, unless you plan on burning your house down.
* There's no need to accept a damaged case or torn/stained grille cloth.
* Dirty volume control switches (Crackling and inconsistent volume control) is a common problem.
* An antenna is a simple as a piece of wire.
*ANTIQUE RADIO CLASSIFIEDS is the publication of choice. They list where the Club meets are, two.
* As with any other collectible, sometimes asking prices can be insane...so just bide your time, and something will pop up.
* Since certain ones seem to receive certain stations better than others, that's why it pays to have multiple examples...to have a go-to source for what you want to listen to/the mood you're in. Sound familiar?
* And again, look for the latest tube radio you can find...because it will have FM. I'd have no use for an earlier AM example.

Steven Rossi
East Haddam, CT

P.S. -- early transistor radios from the 1960s/1970s are starting to gain interest, too. And there are some pretty cool ones out there.
Title: Re: For all the vintage / antique radio fans
Post by: rider33 on December 30, 2018, 04:42:46 PM
when I was a kid I found this in my great-grandmother's attic, and Atwater-Kent from the early 30's.  It had been a wedding gift and hadn't worked in years so I took it apart,  put it back together and got it running.  She was so happy she gave it to me (much to the chagrin of some of my aunts).  As a kid I rigged up an external antenna to it and would listen to a Radio Moscow, the BBC, stations all over the world if the conditions were just right (AM, Police band,and short wave).  I still have it, perhaps my most valuable possession (to me).  There is a grace to old radios,
and before the internet made talking to someone on the other side of the world common place a sense of wonder in listening to a live broadcast from a continent or two away.  If you are lucky enough to have a station in your area that plays old radio shows there is no better way to listen to them too.
 [img width= height= alt=yVN3PG.gif]https://vgy.me/yVN3PG.gif[/img]
Title: Re: For all the vintage / antique radio fans
Post by: Aaron D. on December 31, 2018, 06:20:40 AM
In the '60s my parents got a portable radio with shortwave as well as FM (first ever!) and we spent long nights listening to mysterious programs.

When we went "home" to PEI we often passed the CBC world shortwave transmitter-"Canada Talks to the World From Here".

I still can here the "placeholder" music from some stations in my head.
Title: Re: For all the vintage / antique radio fans
Post by: twowings on December 31, 2018, 03:40:44 PM
I had a neighbor who had QSL cards from all over world...spent many happy hours listening to the world over his shoulder... :grin: