RUSS' OLD RADIOS
  • HOME
  • FOR SALE
    • CURRENTLY AVAILABLE
    • DO IT YOURSELF SPECIALS
    • EXCEPTIONAL DEALS
    • WITH MP3 PORTS
  • RESTORATION
  • BLOG
  • BEFORE/AFTER
  • CONTACT US
  • UNIQUE RADIOS
  • 1920'S Superheterodyne

Philco 71 - As Found

3/1/2014

0 Comments

 
Well at least the cabinet finish is original. We've been very lucky lately. Most of our treasures come home in a bag, or several of them, usually missing parts.


"Yah, Uncle Bob just could not bring himself to throw out that old radio he had paid so much for in 1930! So, he stored it in a closet, then moved it out to the barn. One day it ended up in the well-house and finally  he just let the dog live in it." I've heard that story, well, all except the dog part. Usually it is smaller critters living in there. But not this time. A radio collector had taken care of this radio and the last two mentioned below.


So, there is no before picture, well it was a little dusty.
Picture
Nice,  But the chassis, though relatively clean and rust free, needed restoration so it could sing again. As is so often the case, the wet electrolytics had failed early on and been replaced - with more wet electrolytics. Still they needed to be replaced with rebuilt originals. Now most of these radios had been coming with the copper cased caps made by Mershon. This radio had similar filter caps, also copper, but plated so they appeared silver. They were also made by a different vendor. Well, I had a set and after restuffing all of the caps, replacing 3 resistors with dogbone replicas and replacing all of the rubber cushions, she was ready for alignment. The IF is at 260 khz., al little lower than later radios, but still very sensitive.


Again, "after" -  looks the same as before.
Picture
Picture
Russ
0 Comments

1923 Federal 59

3/1/2014

2 Comments

 
Well it's tax time again. SO it;s nice to think about something "Federal" that isn't connected to your 1040.


This is a 1923 Federal 59. A 4 tube TRF receiver with a LOT of knobs.and they all actually do something. It uses 4 early brass-based tubes, three 201 As and a 200. I have never gotten a 200 detector to make much difference in my other battery radios, but it works great in this one. Pulling 1 amp, the 200 glows like a light bulb and can be seen through  the sight hole in the front panel. You can very the RF gain of the input to the detector and adjust the filament voltage to each stage independently. There are also coupling adjustments. This is also the first radio that I can say sounds better with the early tubes. 


The 4 stages are switchable in and out to the output, either phones or a high impedance speaker. I did not even try head phones. The radio produces an audible level through the speaker using just the detector adding additional gain as you switch on the next two stages. The first stage (RF) is coupled to the detector through an RF transformer. Then each of the next two stages are coupled by interstage transformers. Fortunately all of these were intact.


The cabinet finish is original with some touch up being done to the lid. There should be a set of operating instructions on the underside of the lid, but they are missing. I would appreciate anyone that could send a scan of this document.
Picture
Picture
FEEL THE GLOW!! Or at least take a look at that detector!
Picture
Russ
2 Comments

Old Radios: This happens to be a true story-once in awhile I'll write one.

3/1/2014

1 Comment

 
Picture1921 Westinghouse RC


This radio--one of the first commercially produced models--Russ and I had the good luck to find on a treasure hunt in Idaho. No doubt an astounding find, but the serendipity that occurred proved nearly as interesting

Picture
Just prior to leaving on our trip, a friend had posted a photo on Facebook of a family gathered around an old radio listening to it.
I thought, gee that's a neat portrait of the togetherness that the early electronics created.
Grandma, Mom and the grandkids gathered about the new-fangled device, enjoying it together.
 Note: Russ pointed out if they had a speaker, the boy wouldn't need to be wearing headphones.
Picture
Glimpse at the simplicity of the early radio.
In an interesting twist, I happened to be looking for Russ a birthday present; March 5th is his birthday. I saw the old photo, thought I'd order a print, and surprise him with it on his birthday. I forgot about it; we went on the trip. We found on our expedition, among other things, the radio (shown above).

Several days after returning home, the print arrived. As I looked at it, I noticed the radio looked familiar. It was a 1921 Westinghouse RC--the same radio we found on the trip! How about that?

Have you had any interesting experiences such as this? Please send them along on the Comments Form. I'd love to share them.

Regards,

Till next time,

Sue
phlog's blog
1 Comment
Forward>>

    Author

                         Russ Webb

    Picture
    Russ Webb & Fuzzy

    Best Buddy, Radio fixer







    Categories

    All
    All
    Antiques
    Electronics
    Radios
    Repair
    Restoration
    Travels
    Vintage

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    January 2022
    December 2021
    September 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    September 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013

CUSTOM DESIGN BY SUE WEBB  06/2013       Redesigned by Russ Webb     Approved by Fuzzy   Updated:  Pretty much all the time, but I forget to change this date
Proudly powered by Weebly
Photos used under Creative Commons from valart2008, rafeejewell