Ah, yes. In the days before satellites, there was "skip". As the radio signals bounced back and forth between the earth and sky as they circled the globe heading for your radio, a denser cloud cover would be more reflective. Cold overcast days would have a better "bounce" for the signals. In the days before satellites it was "skip" and bounce. It worked very well. I am always fascinated with how the "early" inventors would keep coming up with such far fetched ideas as using glowing-hot wires, carefully spaced metal plates, long wires wrapped around bits of wood, all to make a faraway box "talk", while the neighbors and "expert" scientists thought them to be utterly mad. Training tiny electrons to jump through the right hoops, and dance at just the right moments. I mean, can you imagine asking yourself to build a particle accelerator from sticks and rocks, and rope, and somehow making it happen? Part of the appeal of old steam trains and other older devices is people actually being able to watch them do their job. There is a certain charm in things that have to actively do something when they work. Put in your dime, hear the coin roll, drop, click, drop again, something buzzes, you pull the bottle over to here-, then pull it out the gate, fresh and cold from the ice-filled water. Enjoy the cold soda. Today- barely-cool can drops at your knee. ok, you got it, now git.. ********************** I have no idea who put this together, but, it is a little bit interesting. It may be a little off-topic, but then again it isn't...... a little before my time, but I get the idea. In The Land That Made Me Me. Long ago and far away, in a land that time forgot, Before the days of Dylan, or the dawn of Camelot. There lived a race of innocents, and they were you and me, For Ike was in the White House in that land where we were born, Where navels were for oranges, and Peyton Place was porn. We learned to gut a muffler, we washed our hair at dawn, We spread our crinolines to dry in circles on the lawn. We longed for love and romance, and girls waited for their Prince, And Eddie Fisher married Liz, and no one's seen him since. We danced to 'Little Darlin,' and sang to 'Stagger Lee' And cried for Buddy Holly in the Land That Made Me, Me. Only girls wore earrings then, and 3 was one too many, And only boys wore flat-top cuts, except for Jean McKinney. And only in our wildest dreams did we expect to see A boy named George with Lipstick, in the Land That Made Me,Me. We fell for Frankie Avalon, Annette was oh, so nice, And when they made a movie, they never made it twice. We didn't have a Star Trek Five, or Psycho Two and Three, Or Rocky-Rambo Twenty in the Land That Made Me, Me. Miss Kitty had a heart of gold, and Chester had a limp, And Reagan was a Democrat whose co-star was a chimp. We had a Mr. Wizard, but not a Mr. T, And Oprah couldn't talk yet, in the Land That Made Me, Me. We had our share of heroes, we never thought they'd go, At least not Bobby Darin, or Marilyn Monroe. For youth was still eternal, and life was yet to be, And Elvis was forever in the Land That Made Me, Me. We'd never seen the rock band that was Grateful to be Dead, And Airplanes weren't named Jefferson , and Zeppelins were not Led. And Beatles lived in gardens then, and Monkees lived in trees, The Madonna was a virgin in the Land That Made Me, Me. We'd never heard of microwaves, or telephones in cars, And babies might be bottle-fed, but they weren't grown in jars. And pumping iron got wrinkles out, and 'gay' meant fancy-free, And dorms were never coed in the Land That Made Me, Me. We hadn't seen enough of jets to talk about the lag, And microchips were what was left at the bottom of the bag. And Hardware was a box of nails, and bytes came from a flea, And rocket ships were fiction in the Land That Made Me, Me. Buicks came with portholes, and side shows came with freaks, And bathing suits came big enough to cover both your cheeks. And Coke came just in bottles, and skirts below the knee, And Castro came to power near the Land That Made Me, Me. We had no Crest with Fluoride, we had no Hill Street Blues, We had no patterned pantyhose or Lipton herbal tea Or prime-time ads for condoms in the Land That Made Me, Me. There were no golden arches, no Perrier to chill, And fish were not called Wanda, and cats were not called Bill. And middle-aged was 35 and old was forty-three, And ancient were our parents in the Land That Made Me, Me. But all things have a season, or so we've heard them say, And now instead of Maybelline we swear by Retin-A. They send us invitations to join AARP, We've come a long way, baby, from the Land That Made Me,Me. So now we face a brave new world in slightly larger jeans, And wonder why they're using smaller print in magazines. And we tell our children's children of the way it used to be, Long ago and far away in the Land That Made Me, Me.
Guys this is Jeff's site: http://www.vintagetunesradios.com/antique-radios-for-sale.html He is really good! Makes a gizmo that lets you play your CD Player, iPod, whatever thru your old radio! Here we have no AM broadcast. And as you can see from the photos I a few radios about 200+
I just finished cleaning and trouble shooting a large westinghouse cabinet radio I dug out of my Dad's basement. He said he got it around '63 or 4. Anyhow, looks like it's got a bum tube in the FM circuit. Where do you guys get your tubes? Thom
There is still a big market for the more common power tubes still used in guitar amps. Also, sovtec and the like are still making stuff. Check your guitar store, then go online and search for the tube type... 6v6.. etc. Really easy to find parts.
Thanks for the name "sovtec" Brought me to tube depot.com They have one, I needed a 6au6a. Should be rocking by next week!
O.T., but fun, I have been in the vintage clothing and furniture and accessories for 25 years and have had some great radios. I had a few specialized dealers that bought most of them from me and kept very few. Always enjoy seeing pix of any of them, those old wood cabinets resonated so beautifully. I remember crowding around the radio as a kid to hear"The Shadow" on Sunday nights. Cool!! ~Sololobo~
This is one of those things that probably only matters to me, but I still use the old Philco in the middle of this picture that has been in my family since new in my junk room. Edit: Well, I screwed up the attachment. Here's the whole picture^^.
You're our of touch with the technology... lemme pass along a little insight. On South Buckner Blvd in East Dallas (yah it's in The Grove LOL), a place rodders drive by for the last sixty-five years, stands a big 'ol red brick building. Name on the sign says "Continental Electronics". Walk in the lobby and on display are some of the vacuum tubes built there. Six-foot tall clear glass with integral water jackets for cooling. Awesome and they still do it. Continental Electronics made tubes for million-watt "Border Blaster" AM radio stations like XERF in Del Rio. You heard Wolfman Jack on those tubes. Also a 2.5mw transmitter for MIT Lincoln Lab that bounced the first signal off an an interplanetary object (Venus) in 1958. More recently for Extra-Low Frequency (ELF) transmitters that talk to our submarines while submerged. The technical sophistication still exists. Bood
THIS sorta stuff, along with AWB and super/junior stockers is why I look at this forum! This is some great stuff. Now I know why I cant find any good toys/radios/signs/posters for sale - Hamb-ers have em all!!!
I have 5 or 6 smaller vintage radios in wood, Bakelite..etc..that I have gutted the tubes and chassis out of. I stick my Altec Lansing Ipod player in them which is pretty thin, and put it out next to my 31A at shows, playing traditional blues, rockabilly...etc... I get comments every time...
I am quiet aware of your insights. I have recently bought a pair of 300B handmade audiophile tubes, currently made in the Czech republic. They are very good, but don't compare to the original 1930s Western Electric brand. I never seen or heard anything built today anywhere that is made in the same way as the hundreds of thousands of audio tubes that were STANDARD before and around WWII. Today's engineers make different products, which is a very good thing.
Bringing up an old thread here.... While not as visually stimulating as some of the radios on here, I was happy to pick up this 1941 Zenith radio for next to nothing today. Works beautifully and sounds great. I'm happy with my first vintage radio purchase and I blame all of you for my new obsession...
Add me to the list. I have a 12 tube 1941 Zenith. The sound quality with the natural wood is fantastic! Doesn't look bad either! Tom
Several. A 1942 Sears Silvertone console, a 1942 Zenith 10-S-669 console that is all original except for the power cord and one non-Zenith tube, a Zenith Trans-Oceanic H-500 from 1953, and a 1957 RCA New Orthophonic Hi-Fi. The Silvertone has been refinished, the RCA needs it, but I need to replicate the blonde wood finish, that's going to be hard to do. AM around here is all talk or ethnic so I use a SSTran low-power AM transmitter, broadcasting XM radio signal or use Pandora from the internet fed to it. I'm on a half acre, it can be picked up outside in the yard.
I've got a few. The console is in my office and I listen to it all the time, my parents bought it in the late '50s and it had been sitting in an old shed till I rescued it a few of years ago. The last one (Montgomery Ward "Airline")was purchased by my Dad in 1942 just before he went into the Navy so my Grandmother could listen to the war news. It still has the little stickers on the buttons to show what stations are on, all old local ones. (KMJ, KTKC, KFRE, KNGS)
You also have a thing for shag carpet....apparently That is a pretty righteous pad you have there...very cool stuff. Whats in the "Welcome Back Kotter" box?....that is one of my all time favorite shows
I have this one you can buy. It was complete and working before it was moved to the basement. Grill cloth needs to be replaced after the cat was needing a new scratch post.
Here is one I picked up awhile back.A Zenith model H503.Designed to be used either as a house radio or as a portable.The battery was not in it when I got it so I'm not sure exactly what it looks like but it does fit in the bottom of the back.I have since repaired the dial needle and it works pretty well except that after it has been on for about a half hour,it starts getting all static and difficult to hear.Not a problem as I only paid a quarter for it!
Awesome posts, guys! Love this thread. Here's my old radio I just got. It's a 1951 General Electric Model 610. Havent tried to use it yet, will let ya know if it works! It's missing it's front knob.
I seen this thread and just had to post. I have a old 40's rca that Iwant to restore and fix to play. I need to know if any of you fellas know of anyone that can fix just the radio part or does anyone have a good idea to convert it with new guts. You can even send me a pm. Thanks.
I grab what I can find at thrift stores, here's an old Zenith (works) I scored a few years ago for $2. I've been into tube technology and old stereo gear for years. Still got an old tube caddy full of old tubes.
The Jalopy Journal
