I have been buying alot of radios lately, so I thought that I would post some pictures here in case anyone is interested.
1. Emerson model 652 Series B c. 1950
2. Automatic Radio Mfg. Co. model 614X c.1946
3. Delco model R-1154 (made by Belmont) c.1938
4, 5. Crosley model 11-114U "Serenader" c.1951 and model 10-140 "Coloradio" c.1950
6. Crosley model 58-TK c.1948
7. Delco model R-1231A c.1946
More to come...
Larry
1. Zenith model 7H822Z ("Triumph") c.1948
2. RCA model RCA29K2 console c.1941
3. Sonora model WEU-262 c.1948
4. Continental Radio Television Corp. model 516-5C (?) c.1938
5. Truetone model D-727 (made by Detrola) c.1938
6. Admiral model 7T10E-N c.1947
One more for now.
Setchell Carlson model 416A c.1946
Larry, you have an excellent radio collection. I really like the RCA console. RCA had some very unusual radio designs in 1941. I have a wholesale catalog with a page of those radios pictured and the consoles look very different from the norm.
The Zenith AM/FM is exactly like the one my great uncle Gray owned. I got it when I helped divide his estate in the 1980s. I also managed to find the box it came in, which was red and very unusual. I think yours may be missing a gold Zenith crest in the speaker grille, but I don't have mine handy to compare.
I've been collecting radios since I was a kid in junior high. They take quite a bit of skill to restore and parts can sometimes be very hard or impossible to find. I haven't restored many of them. Do you find that most of the problems when you open them up are just leaky capacitors or are there worse things going on?
The Zenith 7H822Z is missing the gold eagle badge from the front as are many. They are just about impossible to replace. The style of that radio was used for numerous Zenith models between about 1948 and 54. Our esteemed forum master has two of them. In fact, he sort of made me buy that radio. A couple of days after he sent me pictures of the Zenith radio which he had bought at a flea market, I saw this very similar model in an antiques shop. I asked the lady who owns the shop about it, and she told me that it didn't work and that she would take $20 for it, so I couldn't refuse. After replacing the capacitors and cleaning the tube pins, the radio came back to life. The paper and electrolytic capacitors in old radios always need to be replaced, even if the radio is working. I think that most of my radios worked after replacing the capacitors and cleaning contacts, but some needed tubes, and a few have worse problems (some of which I have not been able to fix). New capacitors are easy to buy, and most tubes can be bought for cheap, but special parts like dials, knobs, and badges can be very difficult to find. There are some reproduction parts available for some things.
Larry
Nice collection!
Very nice collection, especially the RCA console.
Beautiful collection of radios, Larry! I have seen Larry's radios in person. They look every bit as nice, or nicer to the naked eye. Nice job of refurbishing them! Larry has been offering help to me as I slowly learn to change capacitors and do other things. It is not difficult but things can go wrong easily. I'm currently working on a Crosley D-25CE from 1953. It's a lot of fun. I blame Larry for what could be my next compulsion/addiction.
Larry....those are wonderful radios. I keep looking at the pics over and over again. Really nice....Doug
Very very nice! Larry, are you aware of the Antique Radio Forum? Excellent forum.
http://antiqueradios.com/forums/index.php
Below is pictures of an 1938 Airline I just got off of eBay. I really like that "machine age" look.
Quote from: Fabius on January 15, 2015, 09:15:15 PM
Very very nice! Larry, are you aware of the Antique Radio Forum? Excellent forum.
http://antiqueradios.com/forums/index.php
Below is pictures of an 1938 Airline I just got off of eBay. I really like that "machine age" look.
That is a beautiful radio. I expect that it was made by Belmont. I have bout four Belmont made radios in the past few weeks including this: ebay link (http://www.ebay.com/itm/271727065708) one which arrived today and this: ebay link (http://www.ebay.com/itm/171630801782) which arrived last week. I really like that style.
I am a member of the antiqueradios.com forum and have posted some questions there about electronic problems.
Larry
I just finished reassembling an Arvin 422 c.1941. I stripped and repainted the metal cabinet. This is my smallest tube radio (about 6 1/2" x 5" x 4 1/2").
Larry
Love the old radios. But I'm a pre-WWII buff with one exception, Zenith Trans-Oceanic sets. Both tube (hollow state) and solid state sets. I have a fairly good size restored collection of those. Some of the vid quality isn't the greatest. I need to re-do some of these with my current camera. Larry, that is a very nice collection!
Zenith G500 TO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kXKhBDvpWo
Zenith Royal 1000 TO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxoIAdwZPC4
Philco 650B fully restored
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbcQUkTRZgY
One of my alignment vids with the Philco 116B
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3jPTl7VvVc
Quote from: BDM on January 21, 2015, 08:59:51 PM
Love the old radios.
Very nice radios. I like those T/O also. I only have a H500. On my want list is a B500 and the last T/O the 7000.
Do you know about the solid state tubes for the T/O? I bought the solid state 1L6 and it improved the sensitivity and reception.
http://www.solidstatetubes.com/
Hi Tom. Yep, I have one of those fancy little SS replacement tubes. darn if I know where I put it?? I haven't used it in some years but I seem to recall sensitivity about the same. Though a better performer in the higher frequencies. I have many 1L6 new replacement tubes so I haven't really had the need, yet. My thinking is I'm going to use them. I mean I see people say they're saving them.. Saving them for what? So their descendants can stare at them, and then throw them out not knowing or caring what they're used for? Hey, smoke'em if ya got'em :)
But, if you are in need, I say by all means buy one and basically never worry about it again ;)
Here is a badly exposed picture of my Airline 14BR-525A which I just reassembled. This radio should be from 1941. I discovered that the first two digits of Airline radio models represent the mode year backwards (eg. "14" means 1941), and the two characters following the number apparently represent the manufacturer. The "BR" would be for Belmont Radio Corp.. There were also many models with "WG" in the model number, and those were probably made by Wells-Gardner. The Airline name was the Montgomery Ward brand. Montgomery Ward, Belmont, and Wells-Gardner were all Chicago companies.
Larry
Quote from: LarryInMichigan on January 26, 2015, 02:45:33 PM
Here is a badly exposed picture of my Airline 14BR-525A
Nice! There's none on eBay right now but there is a repro back for the model listed.
The Airline does still have its original back cover, and like the other Belmonts I have, the antenna is on the inside of the cover. Here is another picture of the radio.
Larry
Your Airline radio looks very nice, Larry. I'll bet it sounds as good as it looks.
1. Philco 48-460 "Hippopotamus" 1948
2. Belmont 6D111 c.1946 (one of the most classic radio designs of all time)
3. Philco 48-250 1948
Larry
Philco 48-460 "Hippopotamus" 1948
It wasn't all that long ago that you couldn't give a Hippo away. Now they're popular. I found one in an antique shop in Michigan. It worked but was missing the back. Sold it for a nice profit at a telephone show.
Quote from: Fabius on January 29, 2015, 11:13:14 AM
Philco 48-460 "Hippopotamus" 1948
It wasn't all that long ago that you couldn't give a Hippo away. Now they're popular. I found one in an antique shop in Michigan. It worked but was missing the back. Sold it for a nice profit at a telephone show.
Mine also came from an antique shop in Michigan, and it is also missing its back. I was told that people removed the back to improve ventilation. At any rate, the back cover has nothing important on it on these Philcos. On many other brands, the antenna is on the back cover.
Larry
There are repro backs for this model.
Quote from: Fabius on January 29, 2015, 12:15:42 PM
There are repro backs for this model.
I know, but it isn't worth it to me. The radio is not is perfect condition, and the back is not visible to anyone while the radio is on the shelf. The radio does play very well though.
Larry
Here's an RCA Victor 66X11 (c.1947) that I bought yesterday and just finished restoring. It will probably end up going to friends.
Larry
Larry, you just bought it yesterday and it's already restored? What took you so long?!
Another nice one.
QuoteWhat took you so long?!
A combination of old age and laziness.
This radio really sounds great. I wonder how much the designers of these cabinets took acoustics into account in the design.
I am in the process of buying two more radios from a long distance craigslist seller. Hopefully, they will make their way to this thread soon.
Larry
Here's an Emerson BA-199 c.1938 that I received yesterday from a craigslist seller in PA.
Larry
Nice looking radio, Larry. I really like the dial face.
Quote from: Dennis Markham on February 10, 2015, 12:18:57 PM
Nice looking radio, Larry. I really like the dial face.
Thank you, Dennis. Unfortunately, the dial is painted foil on paper, so there is just about nothing that can be done to clean it without ruining it. The radio works, but not as well as I would like. It is a TRF radio, so performance will not be as good as a superhet.
Larry
Here is my Silvertone 4500 (c1937) that I just reassembled yesterday.
Crosley E-15CE "Dashboard" 1952
Quote from: Fabius on January 21, 2015, 10:50:37 PM
Do you know about the solid state tubes for the T/O? I bought the solid state 1L6 and it improved the sensitivity and reception.
For what it's worth, I recently found a 1953 ZTO H500 and doing web research for it, I read somewhere that the SS replacements work well but the voltages have to be right on. If not, the SS tubes may resemble a flash bulb, but only once. Forgot where I read that but I do remember the caution to make sure DC voltages were in spec.
Silvertone 2003 (c.1953-6), missing the "Silvertone" lettering from the front (but it was cheap, and it works well).
Picked this up for a steal ($50) at the Retro Tech show in Irving Texas from the same people I bought the 51AL from. This is a Zenith 5S127 with the big black dial. It works and the finish is excellent.
They had another big black dial Zenith tombstonethat the starting asking price ($95) was about the same. I should of, I could of and I would of if I wasn't an idiot, I didn't buy it.
I've been kicking myself in the butt since but I am thankful for what I did steal, err got.
The first picture is my Zenith. The next two are to show the wood work detail.
Larry, I neglected to comment on your latest projects. The chartreuse Crosley looks very nice. I have that model in Tan (as you probably remember) but I haven't refurbished it yet.
Tom, the Zenith is beautiful! What a great radio at an even better price. Congratulations on that purchase!
~Dennis
Dennis, We would love to see pictures of your Crosley E-15TN. I know that I am partially to blame for that one as well (though it really was a great price).
Tom, That Zenith is beautiful. I really want to get one of those very stylish mid to late 1930s "tombstone" radios, but the prices are always above my head.
This radio thing is rather addictive.
Larry
Quote from: LarryInMichigan on March 29, 2015, 01:26:29 PM
Silvertone 2003 (c.1953-6), missing the "Silvertone" lettering from the front (but it was cheap, and it works well).
Cheap or not, this radio is nice to looking and it's cleaned.
Tom, your Zenith tombstone is in wonderful shape and that was quite a bargain. Some people may not know those are wooden knobs on those radios. I think this is a 1937 model and among the first of the big black dial Zeniths.
Those big Zenith tombstones remind me a lot of the one used on The Waltons, if rather incorrectly. Somehow they listened to Roosevelt's 1933 inaugural address on a 1938 radio. But the effect was nice.
I could look at old radios all day long. Keep on posting them!
The Walton Zenith is a mega buck radio. It had the shutter big black Zenith dial. Many radio models seen on TV shows bring more then they should, An example is the Gilligan's Island radio.
Zenith H615ZP (c.1952)
Quote from: LarryInMichigan on April 08, 2015, 12:15:43 PM
Zenith H615ZP (c.1952)
Thanks a nice one with the brass accent.
Love those deep red dials.
Zenith Royal "500" all transistor (c.1956)
The "owl" transistor radio! Like it a lot!!
BTW, from what i have been able to find online about these, this is probably the very first model that Zenith introduced. I paid $10 for it in a shop (near Dennis Markham's house) last week in non-working condition, replaced a few capacitors, and it now works.
Speaking of "owl" radios, I am currently working on a Zenith K412-W, which I bought a few hours prior to the Royal "500".
Larry
Larry...you shouldn't be traveling in those neighborhoods!! ::)...Doug
Here is another "owl". Zenith K412-W (c. 1953)
Zenith 7H822WZ (c.1949). It is the same model as the 7H822Z (thread link (http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=13472.msg140897#msg140897)) but in an ivory plaskon cabinet instead of brown bakelite.
I just cannot stop myself! Admiral 5R11-N (c.1949)
You must be living in an area where these are more common. All I ever see are wood and Made in China Crosley repros. Can't remember the last time I saw a Bakelite or variant of Bakelite radio. But, that's one way to solve a budding radioitis problem, I guess.
BTW, nice radios, very nice radios indeed!
Zenith G-510Y (c.1950)
Very nice. Is that a cloth or metallic grill cloth?
The front grill is metal. It was apparently originally painted gold but was rather discolored, so I gave it a couple of quick coats with gold spray paint. Behind the metal is some sort of cloth or felt.
Larry
Beautiful radios, Larry!
Quote from: LarryInMichigan on May 04, 2015, 03:53:36 PM
The front grill is metal. It was apparently originally painted gold but was rather discolored, so I gave it a couple of quick coats with gold spray paint. Behind the metal is some sort of cloth or felt.
Larry
Very attractive, nice job.
It's nice to see that Zenith Ivory AM-FM. My uncle had one just like it. Sometimes I would stay over with my cousin and we would listen for school snow closings on it. It burned in a house fire in 1981. You don't see the Ivory ones very often.
Quote from: 19and41 on May 05, 2015, 03:37:16 PM
It's nice to see that Zenith Ivory AM-FM. My uncle had one just like it. Sometimes I would stay over with my cousin and we would listen for school snow closings on it. It burned in a house fire in 1981. You don't see the Ivory ones very often.
I am sorry about your uncle's radio. If I hear that your school is closed on mine, I will let you know :).
This model and other very similar looking ones are quite common in brown bakelite (just ask Dennis), but they seem to be quite rare in plaskon. These radios perform quite well, and they usually get good prices on ebay. I think that my two were very good deals.
Larry
The old school is a combination old folks apartment house and town museum. The kids can't believe I went to a place that old. :D
Delco (United Motor Service) R-1152 (1939). This radio was a wreck and missing many parts when I got it, so in comparison, it doesn't look so bad now (and now it works well).
(http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss74/LarryinMichigan/Radios/IMG_1865_zps41a4f7db.jpg)
Mantola (B.F. Goodrich) model 649-XJ6 (made by Continental Radio Corp) c1940 in ivory plaskon
Westinghouse WR150 (c.1938) in ivory plaskon. This one has a "hum" problem which I haven't figured out.
Quote from: LarryInMichigan on June 29, 2015, 11:29:03 AM
Westinghouse WR150 (c.1938) in ivory plaskon. This one has a "hum" problem which I haven't figured out.
Have you checked/replaced its electrolytic capacitors? This is the number one cause of hum in these. Bypass capacitors, also can cause hum.
Dave
Should you need any help, here is a helpful resource
http://www.tuberadioforum.com/
Quote from: DavePEI on June 29, 2015, 01:38:01 PM
Quote from: LarryInMichigan on June 29, 2015, 11:29:03 AM
Westinghouse WR150 (c.1938) in ivory plaskon. This one has a "hum" problem which I haven't figured out.
Have you checked/replaced its electrolytic capacitors? This is the number one cause of hum in these. Bypass capacitors, also can cause hum.
Dave
Yes, I replaced all of the electrolytic and paper capacitors. I do not have a tube tester, and I have no other radios with 6J7 tubes, so I have not been able to verify that the tubes are entirely good.
Larry
In the early days, when hum was encountered, a standard check was to reverse the power plug in the wall socket.
As I'm sure you have discovered, most of the radios of this era had a plug with equal-width blades. I always replaced it with a polarized plug, but that usually resulted in a hot-chassis set since the power switch is on the ground (chassis) lead. The fix for that was to redo the rest of the power wiring to put the switch in the hot lead. Unless those mods were made, a common result was hum. If someone has replaced the cord, but didn't mod the internal wiring, that might be the issue.
I assume you replaced the 0.1 mF cap across the power line.
Good luck.
Bill
Many of these radios have "hot" chassis. The Silvertone 4500s have the chassis directly connected to one side of the power cord even when off. I have used polarized plugs on those radios. I have not rewired any radios to move the switch.
I have replaced, and in some cases removed, the line capacitors. Some of my radios came to me with exploded/incinerated line caps.
Many of my radios have issues. Some have poor reception and others work very well for a while and then lose volume. Making a radio work well can be much more difficult than a phone.
Larry
Quote from: LarryInMichigan
Some ... work very well for a while and then lose volume.
This is often due to a slightly leaky coupling cap into the grid of the audio output tube from the plate of the previous tube. The leakage gradually changes the bias on the audio output tube.
But I bet you knew that.
Agreed that they are tougher than phones.
Bill
Motorola (Galvin Mfg Corp) 55X12-A (c.1946). The cabinet is ivory painted bakeliite. I repainted it with Ace Hardware ivory spray paint, which is a very close color match.
Larry, it looks like new! Nice job on the painting. How's it sound?
~Dennis
Quote from: Dennis Markham on September 22, 2015, 06:11:20 PM
Larry, it looks like new! Nice job on the painting. How's it sound?
~Dennis
Thank you. It sounds pretty good for a five tube radio.
I had my doubts about it when I saw it at the flea market, but I rather like it now.
Larry
Motorola 53H (c.1953). This is one of those models that screams early 1950s.
Motorola made some very unusual radios and TVs over the years. This one reminds me of the back end of a 1961-63 Thunderbird. See the picture I found online. I guess you could call it aircraft-inspired styling.
I think that this Motorola radio design was supposed to resemble a car dashboard. The Crosley was.
With radios, the more unusual the cabinet design, the more collectors will pay. This radio was a bit of a bargain at $45 including shipping.
Larry
Nice looking radio. Another nice stage for the theater of the mind.
The Motorola 53H is one I'm looking for.
Arvin 542T c.1950
Majestic 651 (c.1937). I replaced the grill cloth with an improvised piece.
Larry
It has a beautiful case. Is it mottled Bakelite or is it some kind of early plastic? It's held up well. Almost a textbook example of Art Moderne or Art Deco from the 1930s. Some of the most beautiful radio designs came from the late 1930s.
The radiomuseum site calls this one a "triple fin." I guess the knob in the middle is the tone control since the museum site says this set is AM-only. It's a little deceptive with the two-pointer round dial.
The cabinet is mottled brown bakelite made by the Chicago Molded Products Corp. The cabinet design certainly fits the 1930s style, which is why I really like it, though I think that I still like the style of my Delco/Belmont R-1152 (forum link (http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=13472.msg149701#msg149701)) or the Belmont 6D-111 (forum link (http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=13472.msg141984#msg141984)) a bit better.
The knob in the middle is the tuning knob. The one on the right is power/volume, and the left one is a two-position tone control.
When I see modern replicas of art deco designs like these, I get a bit of possibly perverse pleasure knowing that I have the real things here.
Larry
Handsome radio! I like that figure in the bakelite.
I haven't posted any pictures for a while, but here are a couple more Crosleys, a white 10-135 (1950) and a green 11-102U (1951).
Larry
Nice looking units. It seems like those "dashboard" style radios are going up in value compared to other radios of the period. I grew up near where Crosley made their small auto line.
I haven't posted a radio for quite a while, but I just got and restored a TravLer T201, and it's so MCM, that I couldn't resist sharing. This radio was listed on FB for cheap by a woman in the very trendy Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago months ago, and my friend in the city picked it up for me. These were made in the late 1950s in several color combinations including pink on ivory and turquoise on ivory, most likely intended to go with the very popular pink and turquoise kitchens of the time. The pink paint on the grille was badly worn, so I found some spray paint which looked like a good match and repainted it. Here are 'before' and 'after' pictures.
Larry
Nice looking unit. I have seen those as Travler radios, as well as CBS-Columbia badged, after they acquired Travler.
Cool looking radio. How did you remove the yellowing from the case? Sanding, bleach, peroxide?
Quote from: HarrySmith on January 11, 2021, 02:48:32 PM
Cool looking radio. How did you remove the yellowing from the case? Sanding, bleach, peroxide?
There wasn't really any discoloration on the polystyrene cabinet. There was some dirt and smudges, but those came off with a sponge and polish. The 'before' picture was taken by my friend in Chicago when he returned home with the radio, and the color balance is off. The second picture I took here today, and the colors are more accurate. For what it's worth, I used Rustoleum "Sweet Pea" color spray paint which seemed to be a pretty close match to the small amount of remaining original paint behind the volume control knob. These radios in good condition seem to sell for $200-$300.
I did do some sanding on the cabinet to reduce the scratchyness. It looked like someone had cleaned it with steel wool. Polystyrene is fairly easy to sand.
Larry
Great radios Larry.