Detailed photos: TOP BACK BACK FRONT LABEL TUBES
Click on any of the images to see the photo full size. Radios are in chronological order.
This radio runs on a big string of batteries. The one pictured below was constructed
from two basket case sets. The tubes are rebased 1G4GT tubes. This set looks
good and plays well..
Detailed photos: TOP BACK BACK FRONT LABEL TUBES
This radio may have been a kit. It has tuning dials, all of which must be tuned to the same frequency to hear a station. The volume and clarity are adjustments of the tube filaments. This unit uses five type 01 vacuum tubes. Power on/off is controlled by a push-pull switch on the lower left part of the front panel.
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This is a traditional cabinet with elegant doors. The top of the cabinet was
refinished and the electronics are fully restored. It is a "transition
set"; the power supply is separate from the main chassis. Just the 5" speaker
inside weighs more than most of my table radios!
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Sitting behind this cabinet with sliding wooden doors is an Atwater Kent model 46 metal "breadbox" radio. The radio uses a single 71A in the output, which does not drive the speaker very hard. The radio in this unit has been rebuilt, but the wooden cabinet is in rough shape.
The AK 55 is a very good performing radio. It uses a pair of 45's in the output. Here is an AK 55 with its matching speaker. The radio arrived in poor condition, with rust on the case and chassis. It now repainted with flat black (rather than the original wrinkle finish). The lid has been painted it original two-tone look, black and "British racing green". The speaker apparently did not come with a wrinkle finish. Its plaid wicker mesh in front of the grill cloth is a green that matches the top of the radio's case.
This is a very good example of Philco's first superheterodyne receiver. It has 11 tubes, including a pair of push-pull 45's in the output. Philco produced a radio that was sensitive, selective, clear, loud and elegant. This radio sold for about $150 in 1931 and can still get that price today. The radio pictured does not have the original grill cloth. The original was unique to this model radio. The right-hand photo is a close up of the tuning dial. This was sold in the summer of 1999.
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With a design somewhere between a cathedral and a tombstone, this radio has an appealing look. It's TRF circuit does a good job of pulling in stations. The speaker and cabinet work together and give a wonderful full sound. The tuning dial is unique. When the radio is on, a shadow projection on the dial gives a circle and two arrows that follow the pointer as it moved through its semicircular arc. The sides and top of this cabinet have been refinished. The front looks ok-ish, but really needs refinishing. The electronics have been completely restored.
This neat little radio needed a lot of TLC. It looks and plays great now. The circuit is a simple TRF design.
Arguably the nicest radio in my collection. This plastic set has very deco lines and dial face lettering done with wonderful calligraphy. In 1999 I gave this away as a wedding gift.
This deco wood set has an AM and a short wave band. It arrived as a complete wreck. I needed to fabricate new wood sides and rebuild the chassis. It came out well. There is a "big brother" to this set, which is about 30% larger, but otherwise looks the same.
This radio covers the original "Armstrong" FM radio band (42-50 Mc.). It is a beautiful wood table radio, with especially nice dial detail. This model is the same as the 425, except the 505 has an RF amplifier in the front end. What can you hear on the 42-50 Mc. band these days? Well, you can listen to narrowband FM signals from baby monitors and older cordless telephones, or you can build a converter to listen to the current FM broadcast band. See my FM-only web page for details.
This cute little set was a basket case when it arrived. The restoration is far from complete. The grill is cut from local hardware store stock screening. The top has a big crack that only an auto body shop can repair. The loop antenna on the back is a hand-wound makeshift coil glued to a piece of cardboard. Still, this is a really cute radio!
Until digital clocks, clock radios hardly changed at all. Both the clock and the radio run perfectly.
The HRO 7 was a great communications receiver. This one still works like a champ and it is my preferred radio for listening to foreign broadcast stations. In its no-compromise design, it uses separate plug in coil banks for each radio band. The leftmost photo shows the whole system. The radio is below the speaker. Next to the speaker are three plug-in coils. Coil A is in the radio. Coils B, C, and D are on the shelf. On a table next to the radio is another plug-in coil and behind the coil is the "dog house" power supply for the HRO 7. The other two photographs are close up of the radio, speaker, and coils.
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Here is a TO-1000 and a TO-1000D. The D version has one extra radio band.
These were Zenith's first transistorized all-band shortwave radio. Click on
the image to see seven different views of a TO-1000
Soon to come is a photo of my recently fixed TO-A600. It was the tube version of the TO-1000. One of the last tube ones made.
This is an AM/FM radio with "dual speakers". Somehow two speakers must have seemed almost as good as stereo. With its brown case and wicker speaker grill, this radio screams of early 1960's styling. I was so impressed, I got two!
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email: arm@gnode.org
Last updated 5 July 2002
