Mega Meissner 2961 on the Edge of Tomorrow

Meissner was mostly a radio parts supplier who also produced "kit" radios to be assembled by the user. They were part of Maguire Industries Inc.

I believe that, like many manufacturers in the radio business, they wanted to show what they could do and the result was the 2961. 

Produced around 1947, the radio is AM-FM-SW with a Webster phonograph and 29 tubes.

As rare as the radio is, there are even fewer with cabinets. While I have not weighed this monster, it has to check in at around 100 lbs. The cabinet is well built, but the weight probably added to the demise of many cabinets through rough handling.

​I generally don't care for late 1940's cabinets but the wood work on this one makes it stand apart even before you open the doors.

The radio incorporates a separate amp/power supply. The amp uses 4 6L6GA tubes in PPP (parallel push pull ) configuration wired for triode operation. This yields about 20 watts output which is a considerable reduction in output from what a 6L6 amp with a pentode configuration could produce. The sacrifice was made in an attempt to produce better audio quality than a pentode could (in theory).

Above:  I know this resembles the scene from Star Trek  The City on the Edge of Forever  just before the radio blows up, but let me assure you that there were no flames here.

https://lancemannion.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451be5969e2019b00e60fea970c-pi

As fun as that would be (flames) it would also be a tragedy since the picture above is not likely to be repeated any time soon. Just  one of these amplifiers is so rare that having a pair for stereo is likely unheard of.

​It is as unlikely as having two Zenith Stratospheres on the same bench - -

 - - Well I'll be darned, two Zenith Stratospheres.

​Anyway, I did add a preamp and had a listen using the speakers in my office.

TWO Meissner 2961 amps wired for stereo.

How did they sound? OK. Like many high-powered amps, they seemed to lack a little on the top end (treble response - NOT tribble response - she can't take much more of this)

In a way I was glad that they did not sound great since they take up a lot of shelf space and I might have never put the radio back together again.

Interesting that the FM dial is "channelized" rather than reading in frequency as most modern radios do. This format was adapted from the previous FCC channel allocation (around 42 mhz.) but it was generally dropped following the war in favor of the 88 - 108mhz display format. This leads me to believe that the design was from 1946 or earlier. It probably took some time to put such a radio into production especially in such limited numbers.

​The channel numbers on this FM dial are 200 to 300.

The control area is leather and is normally protected from wear with a clear plastic sheet, removed here to reduce glare.

The upper row of push-buttons are for bass and treble control and work considerably better than the more common "tone" control. The lower row are for AM (only) station presets. The station presets are controlled by the row of knobs at the bottom. This arrangement makes setting preset stations easy. The radio drifts very little so there is no need to fiddle with the controls after selecting a station.

While the outside of the cabinet had been refinished, and, I refinished it again, the interior, including the speaker baffle, was in good shape, so it remains original - and yellowed by age. One day the new lacquer will yellow as well, but for the moment it is kind 'a two-tone. I believe in preserving as much as possible while making the project function and presentable and, hopefully, future owners will see enough value to prevent the destruction of American Technological Artifacts like the Meissner 2961.

Russ

The phonograph is a single speed, 78RPM record changer with a ceramic cartridge. Watch the demo above.