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  #1  
Old 03-19-2014, 03:09 PM
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Truetone wind-up phonograph/battery operated radio

I need another project like I need a hole in the head; but, I couldn't pass up this Truetone battery operated AM radio/wind-up 78 rpm record player. I've seen a few such portables; but, have never seen a table model battery operated/wind-up unit. I'm guessing it's from the late '30's-early '40's (NA says pre-1945). I don't know who made this; but, I'm going to guess that the radio portion was made by Detrola. I have no idea who made the phonograph motor.



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Old 03-19-2014, 03:16 PM
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The radio was definitely made by Detrola. The phonograph motor was most likely made by Waters-Conley, the company that made Phonola phonographs.
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Old 03-19-2014, 04:23 PM
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Now That is cool!
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Old 03-19-2014, 08:31 PM
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Is that TWO 3Q5 output tubes in there? Very nice condition, especially the grill cloth.
Those mid-40s battery radios often have two IF stages using 1N5s.
Maybe a string of 9 volt batteries could be the B supply. A group of D cells in parallel for the A.
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Old 03-20-2014, 12:04 AM
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i suspect this would have been aimed at the farm market, still a lot of farms without electricity in the '40s. My grandparents didnt get 120v electricity until the mid 40's. thier farm had a 32 volt delco generator and a windmill
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Old 03-20-2014, 12:09 AM
Olorin67 Olorin67 is offline
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I have a couple farm radios..one of them is real crazy, a battery farm set that was later electrified by putting in 12 volt tubes, a rectifier, and a resistance cord to drop extra volts..the set as it is now bears little resemblance to the original schematic.
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Old 03-20-2014, 12:37 AM
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Yes, it has two 3Q5's in parallel (not PP). Around my area, there were some rural locations that didn't get electricity until the early '50's.
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Old 03-21-2014, 06:13 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by truetone36
The radio was definitely made by Detrola. The phonograph motor was most likely made by Waters-Conley, the company that made Phonola phonographs.
First time I saw a radio tuner go from 160-55 (Instead of 55-160)

She looks very nice!!
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Old 03-21-2014, 07:12 PM
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First time I saw a radio tuner go from 160-55 (Instead of 55-160)

She looks very nice!!
Detrola did that a lot. The 571 was one that had it.
Most of the German sets had it that way, as well. Their domestic sets were calibrated in wavelength, instead of frequency.
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Old 05-08-2014, 08:19 PM
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In the UK Wavelength is most common expression for frequency. Even station ID jingles there are in Meters.
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Old 05-08-2014, 08:34 PM
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You manage to get in a LOT of the "Really Neat Stuff"...
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Old 05-09-2014, 06:29 AM
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My parents didn't get electricity until after WWII. They lived in a fairly rural section of East TN, and electric service simply wasn't available at that time.

I have a cousin who died at the age of 65 in 1995, who never had electricity. The local electric system brought lines through the section where she lived in the mid 1950's, and even ran a distribution line across her property. Her father refused to have the house wired and hooked up, and after he died she wouldn't either.

The only piece of technology she owned was a battery powered radio. I still have a tube-type plastic Silvertone farm radio from the late 40's that they used until they bought a transistor radio in the early 60's. When she gave it to me, I remember her telling me the only reason they switched to a little transistor radio was because the cost of "A" and "B" batteries got to be expensive.

My cousin was the only person I ever knew who never had electricity or a telephone.
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Old 05-09-2014, 08:27 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by davet753 View Post
My parents didn't get electricity until after WWII. They lived in a fairly rural section of East TN, and electric service simply wasn't available at that time.

I have a cousin who died at the age of 65 in 1995, who never had electricity. The local electric system brought lines through the section where she lived in the mid 1950's, and even ran a distribution line across her property. Her father refused to have the house wired and hooked up, and after he died she wouldn't either.

The only piece of technology she owned was a battery powered radio. I still have a tube-type plastic Silvertone farm radio from the late 40's that they used until they bought a transistor radio in the early 60's. When she gave it to me, I remember her telling me the only reason they switched to a little transistor radio was because the cost of "A" and "B" batteries got to be expensive.

My cousin was the only person I ever knew who never had electricity or a telephone.
Yeah, we didn't have "lights" countywide, til like 1952.
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Old 05-09-2014, 12:56 PM
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Originally Posted by Olorin67 View Post
I have a couple farm radios..one of them is real crazy, a battery farm set that was later electrified by putting in 12 volt tubes, a rectifier, and a resistance cord to drop extra volts..the set as it is now bears little resemblance to the original schematic.
I saw a real novel AC conversion on a 6 volt battery operated Zenith model 4V31 tombstone farm radio.
The conversion consisted of removing the synchronous vibrator and rewiring the power transformer, as a heater transformer. The B+ was furnished by a selenium and R/C filtering. The B+ voltage needed was rather low, like 125 volts.
The conversion was rather "hack" using a hot chassis. That model uses a 38 output tube and a magnetic speaker.
I converted the same radio, using a different transformer and never thought of using the vibrator transformer as a heater transformer.
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Old 05-10-2014, 01:22 AM
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I wonder when those "A-B" packs were last available? I had a collector friend who got his first radio around '72, a Firestone farm set that used the typical big 1.5V/90V pack. He said that the local hardware store was able to get him one; but, it was an act of congress and was costly, even during the early '70's. Frankly, I'm surprised they were made that late. Several years ago, the local parts house still carried the 67.5 volt and 90 volt batteries like what was used in tube portables; but, they were high as a cat's back.
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