Anyone else like vintage radios?

[bogieboy]

I have always loved the look of "post war" tubr powered radios... never been able to afford one as a shelf queen though... until yesterday... driving to work, saw an odd mahogany looking box out by the curb, next to a garbage can... happened to be a 1962 Nordmende Boheme C tabletop hifi.... in dusty but mint condition visually speaking... got it home and plugged it in, works a charm!!! Gotta love old stuff... has AM, FM, ZF and IF shortwave... sound is amazing out of a little 4w in an approx 5x7 single paper cone speaker...

[cheesy]

That would be a big yes, bogie. Nice find.

I got the bug with a 195? Philco Transitone AM/SW that my grandma gave me back in the sixties. That one is long gone but I bought another like it a few years ago. My oldest is a 1935 Philco. There's a couple more Philcos, a Zenith H500 TransOceanic, and a couple more Zenith portables.

Right now, I'm teaching myself how to troubleshoot and repair tube radios. I always thought they sounded better.

[bogieboy]

Why does it not suprise me that monsiour fromage was first to answer, and its a yes? LOL

[bogieboy]

So, Cheesy, of your collection, how many currently work... i am finding in the "radio world" a lot of collectors dont ever use themmm... me? I want to use the crap outta mine... i am currently researching adding a Bluetooth module to the Phono in (keeping the whole radio intact) so i can have a tube amp bluetooth speaker LOL love the sound that comes from tubes...

[cheesy]

Originally Posted by bogieboy

So, Cheesy, of your collection, how many currently work... i am finding in the "radio world" a lot of collectors dont ever use themmm... me? I want to use the crap outta mine... i am currently researching adding a Bluetooth module to the Phono in (keeping the whole radio intact) so i can have a tube amp bluetooth speaker LOL love the sound that comes from tubes...

Work has such a subjective meaning.

Until recently, the Zenith H500 worked well. I could pick up WSM out of Nashville and a nice rock station out of Toronto on AM, along with the Chicago power houses. I could get Radio Havana out of Cuba on SW when the atmospherics were right. It has developed an audio rumble that could be a cap or a tube that I need to dig into.

The Philco Transitone works well. The other two Philcos from 1935 and 1936 power up and the tubes look pretty but that's about it. There are also two tube portables(), a Zenith and a Columbia, that I got from Mrs.C's mom that I've done nothing with. Plus a Hallicrafters S-19 Sky Buddy that needs some love.

Lastly, there is the Motorola 8 tube monstrosity in the DeSoto. That also has a rumble but that may be a bad ground. That didn't start until I replaced the dead generator with the alternator. As the rumble is there whether the engine is running or not, that's the first place to look.

[bogieboy]

Originally Posted by cheesy

Work has such a subjective meaning.

Until recently, the Zenith H500 worked well. I could pick up WSM out of Nashville and a nice rock station out of Toronto on AM, along with the Chicago power houses. I could get Radio Havana out of Cuba on SW when the atmospherics were right. It has developed an audio rumble that could be a cap or a tube that I need to dig into.

The Philco Transitone works well. The other two Philcos from 1935 and 1936 power up and the tubes look pretty but that's about it. There are also two tube portables(), a Zenith and a Columbia, that I got from Mrs.C's mom that I've done nothing with. Plus a Hallicrafters S-19 Sky Buddy that needs some love.

Lastly, there is the Motorola 8 tube monstrosity in the DeSoto. That also has a rumble but that may be a bad ground. That didn't start until I replaced the dead generator with the alternator. As the rumble is there whether the engine is running or not, that's the first place to look.

I hear ya on work being subjective...LOL the bit of digging that i have done on tube radios, a rumble is usually a cap going bad? Seems they tend to go bad more often than the tubes themselves, however, if they go bad in the wrong spots they can take out tubes with them...LOL

The philcos that power up and are unresponsive may well be tube issues, but could be caps or resistors in the audio output stage as well...LOL

[bogieboy]

Originally Posted by jc3

I have 3 full tower console radios

Ahemmmm......

[cheesy]

Pics



L to R...T to B.

RCA Institute Signal Generator, Columbia Portable,

1955-ish Philco Transitone, Hallicrafters S-119 Sky Buddy II,

Zenith Portable, No Name AM/FM/SW Transistor, 1936 Philco,

Sencor Transitor Tester, 1953 Zentih H500 Trans-Oceanic,

32V Power Supply, 1935 Philco.

Textronlcs 453 Oscilloscope. No, I don't know how to use it.


Homebuilt Regen Set.


Face shot of the H500.


Behind the shift lever and all that chrome is the DeSoto's Motorola.

[2LZ]

Mrs. 2LZ came with some old furniture. One piece is an old GE console radio/record player. I got it fired and going almost 30 years ago. It's just been a piece of furniture we've moved around since then. I have no idea what year it is. May be a good snow day research project, just for fun.

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by jc3

2LZ, I don't you, so I will not comment on the "decoration" to the left.

Metal chicken "Cornelius" (named after the Kellogg's corn flakes chicken). It was a gift. Just been following us around for decades. Unfortunately, that's as interesting as the story gets. Doesn't everyone need a metal chicken?

[98 SNAKE EATER]

Old radio in my car, but still has Bluetooth