RCA Radio

[wds]

I haven't had a chance to take it apart yet.  I don't think it has been restored by anyone, but I'll take a look before I play it much. 

[AE_Collector]

I only own two Hoovers... 
(though I do have 15.5 vacuum cleaners in total... )

15 in the collection and point 5 to clean up around the house with !

Is "Hoover" still used in GB as somewhat of a generic term for any vacuum cleaner....IE: "Hoovering up the place" ?

Terry

[twocvbloke]

15 in the collection and point 5 to clean up around the house with !

Is "Hoover" still used in GB as somewhat of a generic term for any vacuum cleaner....IE: "Hoovering up the place" ?

Terry

Nah, 15 & 1/2, one's missing most of it's parts... 

And yep, the brainwashed sorts still call vacuuming "hoovering", I do wonder how they can clean their carpets with a twintub though, and dust the stairs with a hairdryer, or pick up pet hair off the sofa with a kettle.....

[jsowers]

Here's one of my favorites, a 1946-48 Zenith AM-FM Bakelite table model. It has both FM bands because it wasn't certain at that time if the pre-war FM band was going to be obsolete. It did later turn out to be obsolete, so only the earliest AM-FM radios had that band.

[AE_Collector]

And yep, the brainwashed sorts still call vacuuming "hoovering", I do wonder how they can clean their carpets with a twintub though, and dust the stairs with a hairdryer, or pick up pet hair off the sofa with a kettle.....

I've been working at solving this one while out cutting the grass. One problem is that things get marketed with different names in different countries. There are even differences between products in Canada / USA let alone between Great Britain and North America.

So I am not certain whether you are saying that over there you have Hoover Washer/Dryers, Hair Dryers and Kettles OR are you saying that there are now vacuum cleaners made by other companies more commonly known for other products (such as hair dryers) that people use YET they still refer to it as Hoovering?

If it is the later, I'll guess Conair as the Hairdryer manufacturer but am still working at the kettle and twin tub. Is a twin tub an "all in one" (possibly portable) washer/dryer? We did have Hoover portable washer/dryer units here in Canada years ago. While compact washer/dryer combo's aren't that common in North America, we do have stacking set ups to save space as well as one piece combo units that are one on top of the other to fit into a small area. My In-laws did have a portable Hoover washer/dryer unit at their cabin until they added onto the cabin and use it more than they used to. Now they have room for a full size washer and dryer.

Terry

<edit> Thinking more about it, the portable Hoover washer/dryer unit my inlaws have or had probably ISN'T a dryer but rather the second tub is a somewhat high speed spinner to get most of the water out before the clothes get hung up to dry.

[twocvbloke]

So I am not certain whether you are saying that over there you have Hoover Washer/Dryers, Hair Dryers and Kettles OR are you saying that there are now vacuum cleaners made by other companies more commonly known for other products (such as hair dryers) that people use YET they still refer to it as Hoovering?

[SNIP]

<edit> Thinking more about it, the portable Hoover washer/dryer unit my inlaws have or had probably ISN'T a dryer but rather the second tub is a somewhat high speed spinner to get most of the water out before the clothes get hung up to dry.

Back in the day, before they were bought up by china & italy (the US Hoover brand is owned by TTI of China, the European Hoover is owned by the Candy group of Italy), Hoover made all kinds of different appliances, like washers, dryers, twintubs, hairdryers, kettles, fridges, freezers, and all that, aswell as vacuum cleaners, hence my joking about people using different appliances when referring to "Hoovering", which I always do when people ask about me and my "hoovers" and what I use to do the "hoovering"...

And from the sound of it, that was a twintub, the "Hoovermatic" ones were nicknamed "Splashmatics" (on account of getting more water on the outside than in the wash tub) and "Tanglematics" (guess why!!) due to their unique "boil wash" action with the agitator plate on the back or side of the wash tub (other twintubs used an agitator that was set in the base, like the Hotpoint Supermatic range), and the other tub is indeed a spin-dryer, in which you did your spinning (obviously) and pumped the wash water back into the wash tub, aswell as rinse the washing while it's spinning...

I used to have a small portable twintub, but being made of cheap plastic it only lasted me about 5 years, and it suffered fractures in the wash tub which made using it somewhat of a shocking experience...

[AE_Collector]

okay, that clears that up! All of our dishwashers seem to have migrated to being 100% plastic inside over the last few years. I can't help but wonder about super hot water, detergent and hot dry cycles combined with the plastic insides. My phones that are in storage reside pretty much below our dishwasher in a "crawl space" which is a "half basement" for storage as well as wiring, furnace, plumbing AND PHONES.

Terry

[twocvbloke]

Yeah, I don't like today's excess use of plastics, doesn't last as long as metal does in the same situations...

Makes good casings, but makes poor structures...

[AE_Collector]

Yeah, I don't like today's excess use of plastics, doesn't last as long as metal does in the same situations...

Well they pretty much have that under control as well. They have reversed engineered most things that ARE made of metal so they will fail early as well.

Terry

[twocvbloke]

Yep, there's a good reason I prefer to buy old & fix it up than to buy new and have it break beyond repair just by using it...

[Doug Rose]

Janet and i found a very similar RCA Victor radio today. I took a few pics. I have not touched it yet. Bakelite looks perfect...Doug

[wds]

Very similar.  Probably only a year or two difference in manuf. date.  How will you polish the bakelite?

[Doug Rose]

Noxon, fine steel wool and Avon skin so soft. I have an old power cord I saved (somewhere!!) and then I'll try powering her up. I don't dare with the current cord.....Doug

[Doug Rose]

I finished cleaning the Radio. I am not 100% sure if its bakelite (but my guess is yes), so I went with Plan 2. I used Noxon to get the crude off. Two applications. Apply remove, apply remove...many cans of elbow gease. Once I got everything off I noticed a lot of paint specks. Sh*t!!  More cans of elbow grease. Noxon finally got them off. Finished it off Howards restorafinsh wood wax. I am more than happy the way it turned out.

I found an old cord I have been saving, BUT I had to splice to the old cord once I cut it back. I think I got it. Still not brave enough to plug it in. I'll wait until after I am finished my refurb day. ...Doug

[wds]

You gotta love these old radios.  Will this one be displayed in your phone room, or will you start another room just for radios?