Blog Archives

TO ALL OF OUR FRIENDS

5/23/2014

Russ' Old Radio Repair LLC is re-aligned to Russ' Old Radios (& Old Radio Museum)

Apparently I am getting too old to spend all of my time hunched over an old radio. The cabinet restoration is taxing my arthritis as well. While I am still going to restore radios for the museum and offer duplicates and models outside of our focus for sale, we will no longer be accepting outside work. I would not want to have offered anything less than excellent, timely service to our customers.

Thanks All. And do stop by.

Russ

3 Comments

Old Radios: It's a Small World After All...and a Big (Zenith) Stratosphere

5/15/2014

2 Comments

STRATOSPHERE. (Link) Zenith 1000Z

The owner has sold this radio.

It's one word that would grab most radio aficionados attention- it did mine.

Zenith 1000Z Stratosphere (This photo doesn't do it justice.)

Scanning down the page, I noticed, "...near Medford, Oregon. Local Pick-up Only." That's where we live! I revived myself, then sought out Russell to share the news.

"Russ, you're never going to believe this. There is a Stratosphere for sale in this area! Local pick-up only." As predicted, it caught Russ' attention. We contacted the owner, and made arrangements to see it; soon we were on our way.

The Zenith 1000Z chassis.

Although I couldn't afford to put the Strat in my STI; I couldn't resist "picturing" my STI on the Strat.

As it turned out, the Stratosphere dwell within a hour's drive of our home. During the ride there--on a beautiful blue-skied, warm, sunny day--many questions rumbled in my mind. Who might owe this top-of-the-radio Zenith radio? Where did he live? How did he get it? Why was he selling it? I would soon find out the answers to all these questions...and more.

Five acres of masterful landscaping, a on-going project accomplished by many years of imagination and effort.

When given permission to write this blog, I promised not to divulge the exact location- but I can tell you, I felt honored to be granted access. A long, windy road delivered us to a forested area, fronting a rolling hillside. The sun pranced on one of the slopes, then leapt into a pond; it glistened on the water. A gaggle of geese and goslings floated peacefully underneath an arched walkway that lead to an island featuring a cedar gazebo.

Peaceful perfection; a perfect place for reflection.

Wildlife flourished in the naturally landscaped area.

Further back, atop a small knoll, a contemporary-style cedar home with expansive windows, sat.

Arf, arf! A well-groomed Sheltie Collie came bounding up, following on his heels, the owner. The sheltie then took off to explore, returning later.

This little "lassie" greeted us.

"Hello. My name is Jeff Rense. Nice to meet you." After exchanging the obligatory greetings, we were given the grand tour. Jeff told us a bit more about himself. He had relocated from Montecito, (Santa Barbara County), California- a number of years ago. A single dad, he came here with his daughter, to escape an every increasing influx of Hollywood celebrities-which included Dennis Miller and Oprah.

Peeking through the railway tunnel.

Jeff explaining how much the trees have grown since he planted them.

Jeff's is currently in the process of putting together his small scale railway.

When Jeff purchased the raw property; he had a vision, one he succeeded in bringing to fruition. He built the striking cedar house, numerous ponds, trails and is even adding a small-scale railway on the five-acre property. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co5aum87h9w (Video of railway in action.)

The results would indicate he must have been blessed with 20/20. vision. With the eye of an artist, he painted his vision onto the acreage, will the skill of a great master putting his brush to the easel.

Jeff preparing for another radio program.

And his interest in radios? It became apparent as he shared his livelihood with me. Jeff is the mastermind and founder of Rense.com. He manages, owes and operates several radio networks. He has a weekly radio program at 7:00 pm, Monday- Friday. It's an interesting site; I'd recommend talking a look and/or listen. After an extended, pleasant chat, I had one final question. I wondered why he liked old radios. His interest exceeded early electronics, "Makes me feel good, seeing them." A smile crept across his face.

Lilly pads on the pond behind the home.

We'd like to thank Jeff for his kind hospitality and sharing his Stratosphere and interesting life with us.

Till next time,

Regards,

Sue
phlog's blog

Strat with cat.

ps.. Some people feel it is necessary to place a cat on the center bottom of the Stratosphere. If you happen to be lucky enough to owe a 1000Z, and would like to, I would recommend the Cleo-CAT-tra. Think she's one cool cat, who I believe, could pull it off. ;) Jeff mentioned, that he heard from a friend, just last week, that someone had found a white cat with Zenith stamped on the bottom. Did Zenith actually produce a cat to keep the Strat company? No one seems to know for sure. Truth or legend? The question lingers on.

2 Comments

AND NOW for SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

5/4/2014

0 Comments

Jackson Bell 62 Versions 1 and 2

In 1930 Jackson Bell was having Gilfillan (see further below) manufacture radios for them in Los Angeles . The 1930 tags give RCA licencing information and list Gilfillan as the manufacture. This appeared on a decal applied to the back of the chassis. In 1931 the 2nd version of the model 62 was manufactured with the information on a metal tag..

The most significant changes were in the power supply for the radio. The 2nd version had gained 2 new Mershon wet electrolytic capacitors, but had lost the filter choke and one of the 3 paper caps that were the filters in the previous model. The the difference is readily apparent viewed from the rear of the radio.

Notice also the change to the rear brace of the cabinet. Both had a schematic, though very small glued to the back of the chassis.

Front View of the version 1.

I think I am going to sell this one - you know, you can't keep them all, although I have tried. This one now has a set of ST style tubes and works better than the version 2 with the globes. I think the major difference being the 224 or the 24A tubes of which this radio has 4. The version 1 is more sensitive, but, is also a lot less likely to get into oscillation at higher volume levels. It is also lacking the "Velvet Tone" tag on the later version, which I am not to crazy about. Come-on, "velvet" is not what comes to mind when listening to late 20's early 30's radios, but I guess Crunchy, Screechy or Mono Tone would not have sold very many radios. The earlier version also has a spotless chassis. The version 2 isn't a rust bucket but it is not as clean.

So why would I get rid of the better radio? You know that too. It's the 2 cool copper caps in the back. Even in models that used these caps, most of them are missing especially the versions that screw in like a light bulb. It was just too easy for a tech to cut 1 wire unscrew the cap and install a replacement under the chassis.

So I'll be posting the one above on the FOR SALE page soon. It is Sold.

0 Comments

One of A Kind?

5/1/2014

2 Comments

This is a Gilfillan radio from the mid 1930s. Gilfillans were manufactured in LA. CA. so we find them around here on occasion. It is very similar in both chassis and cabinet construction to the 6T, also a rare radio, pictured below. Both have a veneered front panel and solid wood sides and top, though this one is far more elaborate.

I have had it for about 6 months, the cabinet was missing the bottom trim on the right side. So, I finally got around to making a replacement. I have never seen a similar cabinet with inlayed bird's eye maple in the base trim.

They had to go to a lot of extra work to flair the base, making it about a half inch wider than the top. Another interesting note is that the veneer on the front panel was cut for the width WITH OUT the flair. So they had to add small strips of veneer on the right and left. I don't believe a large production run would have continued with this unnecessary step.

The cabinet seems to have been manufactured with a 3 knob (controls) chassis in mind having 3 holes drilled inside, but not cut clear through the veneer, The lower trim piece may have been added when the design changed to the 5 control chassis. The speaker mount also was modified to move the speaker towards the rear, possibly to avoid conflict with the dial.

Below is the Gilfillan Allwave Super 6T from 1934 for comparison. Both models share the little round plate that is a band switch indicator on the center knob.

So, my question is: Have you seen this cabinet used before? For that matter, do you have a 5 knob Gilfillan from 1934 - 1936?

2 Comments

TO ALL OF OUR FRIENDS

Russ' Old Radio Repair LLC is re-aligned to Russ' Old Radios (& Old Radio Museum)

Old Radios: It's a Small World After All...and a Big (Zenith) Stratosphere

STRATOSPHERE. (Link) Zenith 1000Z

AND NOW for SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

One of A Kind?

Author

Categories

Archives