Old radio articles from internet

There must be an Ekco in here!
The AC97 was an unusual model even in it's own time. The rather stark, modernist design by Jesse Collins, was straight out of "Metropolis", and must have looked at if it had landed from another planet in the largely Edwardian living rooms of the period. It was unlike any other Ekco before or since, with it's "Mystic Eye" tuning... read more >>

Standard Color Code Charts
The Radio Manufacturers Association In 1924, a group of prominent radio manufacturers formed the Associated Radio Manufacturers. This organization was designed to control the licensing of the large number of radio patents so that each member could have access to all the relevant patents necessary to build radio transmitters, antennas and receivers. In the same year, the organization changed its... read more >>

Sold in seven minutes! - McMichael 135
The firm of McMichael Radio, based in Slough, was established in the early 1920s by Leslie McMichael, in collaboration with design engineer Ben Hesketh. (Until the late 30s, sets carried the initials M-H, which stood for McMichael-Hesketh.) Their sets were very solidly engineered, and made to a high standard. They also went to a lot of trouble with promotion,... read more >>

Sickness caused by an old Pye
When I was about 10 years old, a friend at school had an old radio given to him by his grandmother, rather than throwing it away after the radio shop man had pronounced it not worth repairing. It was a big heavy thing, with a door on the back that opened to reveal the mysterious innards, and a cut... read more >>

Repairing valve radio sets
Very early sets made in the twenties and early thirties were mostly T.R.F. (Tuned Radio Frequency) design then the superhet (SUPERsonic HETerodyne) circuit was developed and, due to it’s superior performance took over as the basic design of virtually all sets from the thirties to the present day. T.R.F. Sets The earliest radio sets (1920s to mid 1930s) were known... read more >>

Pye tube radios: short review

During the late 1920's the radio manufacturer, W.G PYE & Co, of Cambridge, England were certainly not short with commercial modesty when it incorporated it's famous "rising sun" motif as the fret work speaker design for their range of wooden cased walnut veneered receivers. The sets produced in this way, examplified the very "Englishness" of contemporary Art Deco, and continued... read more >>

Plastics - beginning to end
Catalin and Plaskon opened a door that closed in 1965

In the later 30s, plastic cabinets started to appear, mostly as a cheap alternative to wood. Hardwood was still considered the mark of quality and was imitated with veneers and highly finished soft wood cabinets. But new chemistry and abundant sawdust waste made plastics an interesting new development.... read more >>

Philco - People power!
By the mid 30s, wireless was no longer a luxury for the middle classes, but a part of everyday life for many families. Manufacturers realised that there was a mass market just waiting for a cheap, reliable and efficient radio, which could be marketed as such. The concept of mass produced goods for all had originated in America,... read more >>

Old Radios: What To Collect?

Firstly, collecting radios is always dictated by personal finance, and availability of the radio of your hearts desire... So, where do you start?

Russian Radio "Ogonyok" 1953

Like most interests, the subject matter is always vast. Our interests are influenced by sets manufactured from the 1930's to the 1950's, and it is there that we will base the answers to... read more >>

Mallory Bias Cells

One of the most perplexing problems faced by the radio design engineer has been the method of obtaining bias for various tubes. Unless large by-pass condensers are used with a filter network, cathode bias, or bias derived from the voltage drop in the negative lead of the power supply system, has many disadvantages. Common impedance, and voltage fluctuations with signal... read more >>

How Does a Superheterodyne Radio Work?
A Historical Background and Theory of Operation The superheterodyne receiver circuit made it's first appearance on the market in the mid 20's, and represented a great step forward in radio technology. This new circuit offered incredible sensitivity and selectivity, far superior to the regenerative and TRF designs. The better and cheaper superheterodyne circuit soon became the standard of radio... read more >>

Ferranti Jelly Mould Radios

With any collecting hobby, there are always particular items that have their own uniquenicknames invariably drawn from more familiar everyday items. A series of uprightrectangular bakelite receivers manufactured by Ferranti are a particular case in point.

As with many classic collectables, the Ferranti "jelly moulds" have a unique styling thatproved popular through five models manufactured from 1935 to the final... read more >>

Evolution of US Radio

One thing leads to another. After the telegraph came the telephone and then came "wireless". From the electric light bulb evolved the vacuum tube. Italian Marconi is credited for invention of the first radio concept, the wireless telegraph, Marconi sets consisted mainly of huge capacitors, a huge antenna, a headset and a key for transmitting messages in Morse Code.... read more >>

Determine the age of antique radios
When you get an old radio, the first thing you want to know is its value. To determine the estimated cost of the kit, you need to find out the manufacturer and age of this set. Usually you look at the make and model number on the back cover (sometimes on the front panel) and then on the Internet or... read more >>

Crystal set
The Crystal Set The Crystal Detector Circuit The Hook-Up or Circuit Circuit With Coupler Difficulty with Selectivity Picture Diagram of Set

The Crystal Set The crystal set has always seemed the most wonderful of all radio receivers, for with this device we employ the feeble energy of the radio waves alone to vibrate the diaphragms of the phones... read more >>

Crystal radios
I intend to write a series of articles on crystal sets used on the broadcast band, I will assume the reader has a basic knowledge of resonant circuits, along with frequency and wavelength. If you don"t follow please ask or check in a suitable book. Broadcast frequencies are say 535khz to 1600khz with corresponding wavelengths of 560 metres... read more >>

Bush radio DAC90
Bush Radio were a company that really seized the design initiative during the late 1940's through to the mid 1950's with their range of attractive bakelite radios and television receivers. It would be fair to add these classic sets are today regarded as icons of their age, and never lose their popularity especially among novice beginners to radio collecting. The... read more >>

Antique radio value guide (on the example of the Swedish and Norwegian radios)

The most rare radios are the ones that only one collector has and as no one else even saw anywhere else. In consequence, so should be the most common ones that almost all collectors have and which, in addition, it can be seen in markets and auctions everyday. So far it sounds simple. If now a collector claims he has... read more >>

American Antique Radio Brands
Admiral Atwater Kent Crosley Emerson General Electric Magnavox Majestic Motorola Philco RCA Silvertone Truetone Westinghouse Zenith Admiral

Admiral radios are part of the group of radio brands manufactured by Continental Radio and Television Co. The company was founded in 1924 as a supplier for chargers of batteries. Because of their niche in radios, the company quickly grew. However,... read more >>