50's and 60's Microwave's- Are they out there?

[Dude111]

Originally Posted by rca2000

I have the episode saved on real player....

Wow wouldnt mind seeing the episode! (I have real player (8+) I can view it with)

[rca2000]

Originally Posted by Dude111

Wow wouldnt mind seeing the episode! (I have real player (8+) I can view it with)

Not sure of the exact episode...( pretty sure it was a 1960 episode)..and the microwave oven was not given away in the first round...but somewhat later the half-hour episode. The episode WAS still on-line a few months ago... It WAS on youtube though and people were commenting on it...

[rca2000]

FOUND it !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrO7SjFwa9o



Kinda interesting in the way they give a DETAILED demonstration of the prizes..unlike TODAY...when even the BRAND of a prize is often omitted !!

THINK about it for a minutes...about the equivalent of 10 THOUSAND DOLLARS..for a MICROWAVE OVEN today !! That much money will buy one a VERY decent used CAR now !!

[rca2000]

Of course...microwave ovens are NOT NEARLY...as "magical" as this video and a lot of other stories of old portrayed..they DEFINITELY have their limitations.

Nonetheless. two ENTIRE GENERATIONS of children...have likely had most of their meals at least partially prepared and most ALL of then ..re..heated in them !!

[Winky Dink]

The Raytheon board of directors agreed to develop the "high frequency dielectric heating apparatus," and it was patented in 1953. The "inventor" was Percy L. Spencer, a Raytheon employee who had worked on radar during the war. Unfortunately, Spencer was not born in Idaho.

[jr_tech]

Originally Posted by Olorin67

Amana was purchased by Raytheon in the 60's and came out with the first amana radarage in 1967- first counter-top model, most Amama microwaves up until the early 80s were evolution of this first design. the 70s models are not hard to find. If you plan to actually use it, id recommend nothing earlier than the RR-4d model, it was the first with a defrost setting, early models are full power only. the RR4d looks very close to the earlier models.

Indeed! Our 1974 RR-4d was indeed a workhorse and lasted almost until 2000. Good solid machine, tho near the end the door mechanism was wearing out. IIRC, the transformer failed, ending it's life.
Even as late as 1974, this microwave (perhaps one of the first under $500) was still a "pretty big deal", as the store sent a person to our home that spent an hour or so showing us how to maintain the door seals, and gave other safety & cooking tips.

jr

[dishdude]

Here's a pretty cool site -

http://www.radar58.com/radarange/radar.html

[TUD1]

I was given this Radarange in April. Somebody on Lighting Gallery said I could have it for free, but I had to go go Atlanta to pick it up.

[dishdude]

More chrome than a 50's Chevy!

[Findm-Keepm]

Originally Posted by zenith2134

There is a late sixties Litton tabletop microwave oven in my garage. It came from an estate sale's trashpile. It is in fantastic cosmetic condition, and works well (I tested it to boil a glass of water and it did; even the lightbulb still worked). I would never use it in any kitchen, but it is too good to just discard...It has more metal and weight to it than any TV of its day IMO.
Made in USA.
Other than that, i still have my grandparents 1970s Sanyo microwave. Sentimental item, complete with 'Microwave Cooking' handbook.. kind of morose how it lists Whole Turkey as a microwavable item(!!)
I don't have a microwave oven in my own kitchen.

Does it have the torx tamper-proof screws? I fixed one for an ex-GF in the early 90s, and had to go to an industrial supply house to buy a driver bit to remove the cover. The HV rectifier stack was fried and I got one from Sears to fix it.

[Olorin67]

microwaves might be even more hazardous to work on than CRT TVS. lot of them have interlocks and tamper proof screws. I used a Amana RR-4D all though college, and until I moved in 2003.. I was kinda glad at the time that my landlady said I could leave it. Its about 80 lbs! at my new place, my landlady gave me a late 80s Amana Touchmatic model, similar except the controls. used it until last year, I think one of the door switches went out. I may try fixing it. I replaced it with a 1984 vintage Kmart brand microwave made in Korea I got in a Thrift store for $5. its all metal, even the door, mechanical timer and mechanical bell that rings when done. it has a metal turntable to rotate the food. I miss the Amana though, it was more powerful.

[Olorin67]

a Co-worker of mine swears by microwaved whole turkey- takes a BIG microwave. He had relatives coming over for thanksgiving, when he found out his oven was on the blink. he brought the Turkey to work, which had a commercial microwave with a ten minute timer. He hired a neighbor kid to wind it up every 10 minutes. Turned out so good he bought a large microwave to do it that way every year.

[Jon A.]

With any luck my Kenmore will never die. It's huge and doubles as a convection oven.

[AUdubon5425]

I have a copy of a magazine from 1947 titled Radio Appliance Journal (or something like that) that had a snippet about Raytheon (I believe) announcing a microwave oven. One day when I finish renovating the new house and get moved in I'll scan the article and post it here.

[Olorin67]

To get enough power, some of the early wall mount units had dual magnetrons. Many early magnetrons also had field coils for the magnets. some were even water cooled. The first Amana radaranges also had electromagnets if I recall right.