Anybody heard of this brand before ??

Someone asked on ARF in 2006: http://www.antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=60035

Got any pictures, type of radio, country of origin, approximate vintage, or anything else to go on?

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Looks like a mostly standard AA5 set, with the exception of an unknown 3 position control in the center (tone?)

Cabinet is solid wood, no veneer ( home made?)

NO tags or other identifying marks for model, chassis, etc. that I could find.

http://www.videokarma.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=182021&stc=1&d=1394569758

http://www.videokarma.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=182022&stc=1&d=1394569758

The middle knob is indeed a 3 position tone control. These are common on 40's radios. The first position is bass, then balanced tone and then treble.

Pretty l'il feller, in any case...

Pretty l'il feller, in any case...

I bought it because I thought the dial had a cool design, and because of the unusual name. (meaning I'd never heard of it before)

'Tis a mystery. Can't find anything about it on the web. My first guess would be just postwar, but it seems to have the standard octal tube lineup, and would a minor manufacturer have access to that line of tubes? I'm guessing 12SK7, 12SA7, 12SQ7, 50L6, 35Z5. Lots of just-postwar sets had odd lineups as they used what they had or could get; could sell just about anything due to the pent-up demand for radios since none were made during the war. Also it has apparently a PM speaker, which was just coming in before wartime production stopped, so that might point to postwar. Chassis is very generous in size for what it is, lots of real estate. Speaker appears to be about 5", has a dial light, so not the cheapest radio to build. Metal tubes: a good spec, if that's what was there originally, = good shielding. The cabinet if it's original could point to postwar with folks cranking them out fast. Should be able to tell from the interior if it looks to have been factory made. All just my random musings.

"Senak"- That almost sounds like a "Made-Up" name, like "South East Nebraska Agricultural Kompany" or somesuch..

"Senak"- That almost sounds like a "Made-Up" name, like "South East Nebraska Agricultural Kompany" or somesuch..

When I first read this thread I thought it was a 'Sneak' radio instead of a 'Senak'.

When I first read this thread I thought it was a 'Sneak' radio instead of a 'Senak'.

Indeed. Furthermore, if you try entering Senak into an ebay search, it autocorrects to 'sneak'.

I LOVE drivin' my Autocorrect Nutz !

I bought it because I thought the dial had a cool design, and because of the unusual name. (meaning I'd never heard of it before)

There seemed to be a lot of small radio firms, spring up in the post-war years. Only a few, stood the test of time.
Tele-tone was one that survived. They were unheard of pre-war. Another was John Meck Industries.
If you look at the Sams or Riders indexes, you'll see a lot of models that were made, that were covered in the early folders and manuals, that no longer existed in the early 50's. :sigh:

There seemed to be a lot of small radio firms, spring up in the post-war years. Only a few, stood the test of time.
Tele-tone was one that survived. They were unheard of pre-war. Another was John Meck Industries.
If you look at the Sams or Riders indexes, you'll see a lot of models that were made, that were covered in the early folders and manuals, that no longer existed in the early 50's. :sigh:

Yep. Buncha Car companies sprung up after the war, all wanting to be the next Henry Ford. Preston Tucker was one of the better known ones, but there were a host of others, Kaiser-Frazier-THEY actually had a decent chance of succeeding, Bobbi-Kar, Playboy, Gaylord. The guys behind Kaiser-Frazier were both experienced manufacturing production men, their company lasted til '54. ANYTHING would sell in the early post-war years, no new cars since late '41, people were SICK of their pre-war jalopies. The ones who actually did the best were a couple of guys named Orcutt & Dry, They made a DIY car that you assembled yrself, the King Midget, they sold enuff to buy a Florida vacation each year for themselves, finally closing in '69.

'Tis a mystery. Can't find anything about it on the web. ........ The cabinet if it's original could point to postwar with folks cranking them out fast. Should be able to tell from the interior if it looks to have been factory made. All just my random musings.

Cabinet is a bit odd. As mentioned, solid wood, no veneer. Supporting the 'factory built' argument would be the slots milled in the wood for the speaker opening, and the joints for joining the wood together. OTOH, the sides were slabs of wood (but not ONE slab) which are now separating from each other. Looks like something a total amateur would have done.

There seemed to be a lot of small radio firms, spring up in the post-war years. Only a few, stood the test of time.
Tele-tone was one that survived. They were unheard of pre-war. Another was John Meck Industries.
If you look at the Sams or Riders indexes, you'll see a lot of models that were made, that were covered in the early folders and manuals, that no longer existed in the early 50's. :sigh:

First thing I did was look for Senak in my SAMS index. Zilch, Zero, Nada....
I don't have the Riders manuals so can't speak for those. The fact that I could only find one link on the internet is somewhat telling.....

Cabinet is a bit odd. As mentioned, solid wood, no veneer. Supporting the 'factory built' argument would be the slots milled in the wood for the speaker opening, and the joints for joining the wood together. OTOH, the sides were slabs of wood (but not ONE slab) which are now separating from each other. Looks like something a total amateur would have done.



First thing I did was look for Senak in my SAMS index. Zilch, Zero, Nada....
I don't have the Riders manuals so can't speak for those. The fact that I could only find one link on the internet is somewhat telling.....

Nostalgia Air has a Rider's index in the resources listings. Many of them are referred to as miscellaneous listings, which were in the back of the book.
Maybe it was built to be a "Salesmans Sample", like the RCA TV. NOT!!!:D