Old radio articles from internetThere 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 >> 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 >> 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" 1953Like 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 >> 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 >> 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 >> 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 >> 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 >> 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 >> 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 >> |
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