Old Radio Collecting

Think of radio, think of antiques, the next thing that comes in your mind is antique tube radios. These path breakers of their time are still in the favorites list of a lot of antique collection enthusiasts. More than the transistor types, it's the antique tube radios that was always and still remains high on demand.

Antique tube radios built in the pre-war era were not very sophisticated from the technology point of view, but sure were a sophisticated furniture piece and more than that. The early radios were mostly made of wood which looked much like a small cupboard. The use of radios for entertainment actually started in the early 1920s. In those times home made radio sets far exceeded the commercial ones. These radio sets were made using a variety of techniques, like the crystal sets, the tuned radio frequency sets, and also the super heterodynes. The crystals were basic sets with not much clarity, and could be obtained for cheap. The collectable nature of radios started with the introduction of the TRF that used one or more vacuum tubes for sound amplification. The TRF sets became so famous that in spite the high people went to buy it.

That's probably the reason that we can find so many antique tube radios these days. The superhets were a better type of radio and had a much crisper quality. Of these antique tube radio sets, the one with moving coil speakers are more abundant than the moving iron ones owing to their better sound output.

Antique tube radios found today are mainly wooden consoles, which were huge and were also called floor models stretching from the ground to about 45 inches up. In the golden years of the radio era, these sets made the center piece of every household and were a serious status factor. Apart from wooden consoles, one would also find table top wood radios in Cathedral style, tombstone style or simple rectangular styles.

The earlier table tops had anywhere 3 to 10 tubes, whereas the bigger consoles could pack about 12 to 25 of them. These sets would require a warm up time before they can actually start playing. As time progressed, so did technology, and radio sets were made of much lighter and flexible bakelite. The only backdrop with them was they would break on facing any physical shock. The invention of the transistor has revolutionized the way radios are made but antique tube radios are still the favorites of many collectors all across the world that are ready to pay even up to $15000 for one of these gems.

Antique Tube Radio Kits

Radios have been present since the early 1900, after being invented somewhere around the year 1894, and has grown in popularity over the period of time. When we talk about antique radios we generally refer back to the time when the radios were not portable, and had to be kept on the floor due to their massive size. These radios are credited back to the pre-World War II era, when antique tube radio kits were used instead of transistors. They were the most primitive versions of radios and made the use of vacuum tubes, as it was the recent technology of that time.

Most of these radios using the antique tube radio kits were the centre of attraction in different houses, where they were considered to be a luxury. On various occasions it has been seen that people, who are really interested in radios, wish to have a collectible that has antique tube radio kits. They can do so with the help of the various antique radio clubs organizing auctions, which pertain mostly to the radios of the pre-World War II period. The radio lovers love to cherish the heritage that is passed down from the early antique tube radio kits to the current day transformation of radios consisting of transistors.

Various models like that of the Victor Electrola, come along with antique tube radio kits and can be bought at auctions or, at the various antique marketing stores across the globe. These mark down the period of revolution brought about by the radio, when there was no other mode of transmission media. These radios helped the individuals to listen to music and news over the various stations that were available on the band frequency. The radios were capable of picking up shortwave and AM frequencies, allowing the owner to listen to stations, from as far as Rome, London, and various other parts of the world.

Vintage models, especially the ones that involve antique tube radio kits, are often considered priceless assets that could not be parted with. However, various people give them up because of the trouble to maintain it or, the amount of space that it occupies in the house. They generally give them over to the antique radio clubs or, antique radio markets, where they could be well maintained and get a good price for it; needless to mention that these organizations would get a much higher price for it, if they consider auctioning it. Thus, if you are also interested in antique tube radio kits simply contact the people, who have the "knowhow" of the early 1930s to 50s model of radios.

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