Do you still use your old radios? Since I don't have money for an new good F.M. radio I still use my '50's "Grunding" Stereo 5107 U (no stereo decoder on) :wave: :D The bad thing about it is that is stereo 3D (it haves one big speaker in the front for the bass, one small round tweeter (in the front, too) and 2 medium speakers (one in the left, the other in the rigt)). No A.F.C. avalaible
I use the other one which haves A.F.C. and is normal stereo only as amplafaier, because it haves F.M. only on 66-73 MHz (I must get my hands on an F.M. C.C.I.R.-F.M. O.I.R.T. convertor)
Of course, bogts are tube radios.

I don't use mine much they are more or less for display.

I use a couple of them. Not a 'radio' guy, per se, so I forget the models - but I've got a good size all wood Tube RCA in the kitchen that sees a lot of use.

I've got a small GE Tube (plastic) AM only job in the bedroom I get my weather / traffic / news off every morning.

Cheers,
Russ

The ones I use most often are older but solid state: an Arvin stereo from about 1969 & a Nordemende Transita portable from the late 60s. The Nordemende, in particular, really impresses me. I really don't use any of the other 300 radios piled up around here on any regular basis. Most of the good stuff is upstairs & I just haven't been spending much time up there lately. Not enough good stuff on AM, anyway. I plan on eventually fixing up a small console to put in my office. Recently I have had an RCA am/fm set in here that I fixed for a friend & it got lots of positive comments & performed great. I was leaving it on almost all day, on the oldies station, to drown out the awful top 40 junk they play in the shop!

I'm listening to the '80s station on my newly-repaired mid '50s Zenith right now, whilst working on building a battery eliminator so I can try out my Atwater Kent 30.

Do I use my Boatanchors? Oh, absolutely!! Rick Mish, the R-390A guru, recommends that R-390As be run as much as possible. They tend to get out of alignment if you DON'T run them. i've got a Grundig 2066 from the late '50s that gets run about every day. Running them is basically the point of having them, to me at least.-Sandy G

It is my Philco 48-482, which is a large table model radio, am-fm, from'48. It has a 6v6 amp, and mostly loctal tubes(except the 6v6 and 5y3). I use it to listen to electronic music mainly, when I am at the computer, it probably sees an average of an hour or so a day.

However, even though this philco is BIG, and has a 6v6,(but only a 5x7" FC speaker), my little '68 model Sylvania SS radio, with 14 transistors, push-pull TO-3 outputs, and an accoustic suspension 4" speaker, can blow it out of the water, in sound(especially bass), and power.

I use some of mine at least once a week. I use both AM and FM tube type radios on a regular basis.

In fact, the only radio that I use more is in my truck(of course, it is solid state).

Most of my tube radios are used on a regular basis. Unfortunately, AM stations don't have that much of a variety to offer in my area in regards to music. AM here is mainly news, talk radio, spiritual programming... everything but music. Occasionally, I will find a distant station at night that will have "classic country" music on... that's about it. On Sunday mornings, one of the local AM stations plays Cajun music from 6 to 11 in the morning. If I get up early enough, I will listen to that.

I also play my tube consoles on FM on a regular basis. I have a CD player plugged in to one and use it all the time.

Actually, I don't have too much solid state equipment other than my stereo system in the main room. However, by today's standards, it all vintage gear as well. :)

I use the other one which haves A.F.C. and is normal stereo only as amplafaier, because it haves F.M. only on 66-73 MHz (I must get my hands on an F.M. C.C.I.R.-F.M. O.I.R.T. convertor)


I have a very old pre WW2 AM-FM radio. Emerson 460. The FM is on 41 to 50 MHz. This was the original American FM broadcast band, but this was changed to the modern 88 to 108MHz FM band in 1945. Something about making room for TV channels, but in reality RCA wanted FM to die to avoid competition for its new product: television. More details at my web page http://www.geocities.com/wa2ise/radios/fm45.html

Next weekend, as FM will have its 75th annerversary, there will be a special broadcast on 42.8MHz in the New York City area to celebrate. Using Major Armstrong's tower in Alpine NJ. Edwin Armstrong invented/developed FM.

Wow, for once I wish I was close enough to NYC to hear that! I have a couple prewar FM sets, though neither is working. (well, they might be, I never try the old ones like that without recapping)

My five Zenith radios don't see a lot of use, as there isn't that much to listen to on AM or FM radio in my area. Plenty of stations (the AM is full of stations at night; I like listening to an all-news station in Philadelphia [KYW 1060] for national news), but the FMs are mostly rock, country and one talk station (the last is one I don't get where I live now, though I did hear it very well at my former home); I listened quite a bit to NPR when the war in Iraq first started and was beginning to heat up, but lately I don't have much to do with anything below 92 MHz. I mostly listen to my own cassettes and CDs, in addition to two Internet radio stations (Radio365 and RealOldies 1690, the latter being the Internet webcast of an oldies station in suburban Chicago) and several digital cable music channels. I'd use my Zenith TransOceanic Royal 1000-1 more than I do if it were not for the facts that 1) I only have two places in my apartment I can plug the wall-wart adapter into (an outlet in my kitchen and one behind the desk with my amateur radio gear). The former isn't really the best place in the world to be using anything powered by electricity even though the outlets are protected by GFCIs; the latter is in my bedroom, and since I can't have my radios on very loud here it is very difficult to hear it anyplace else in the apartment when on, 2) I haven't gotten around to getting new batteries for it yet. When I do use that radio or my smaller Zenith R-70, or even my Zenith K-731 or my 1951 H-511Y, I listen to a big-band/standards station from Toronto. I also have a Zenith H-480W AM/FM stereo clock radio which I bought new in 1980; it works on AM but is very weak on FM ever since I cleaned the slide controls (volume, tone, balance) with contact cleaner (RadioShack brand, not Deoxit--I don't really know where to find the latter; I live in a small town with nothing in the way of electronics stores except a Radio Shack in the next town, five miles from here--there are no large cities, only small towns for the most part, in my area). Some of the spray must have gotten into the FM RF amp or some early signal stage and shorted a transistor or worse, as the FM is extremely weak (can barely hear it with the volume full on, though the stations are there).

I have a very old pre WW2 AM-FM radio. Emerson 460. The FM is on 41 to 50 MHz. This was the original American FM broadcast band, but this was changed to the modern 88 to 108MHz FM band in 1945. Something about making room for TV channels, but in reality RCA wanted FM to die to avoid competition for its new product: television. More details at my web page http://www.geocities.com/wa2ise/radios/fm45.html

Next weekend, as FM will have its 75th annerversary, there will be a special broadcast on 42.8MHz in the New York City area to celebrate. Using Major Armstrong's tower in Alpine NJ. Edwin Armstrong invented/developed FM.

You can still hear things like baby monitors and the like on the 41-50 MHz range of your Emerson 460, and all other prewar FM radios which had this band. The tuning range of most of these radios goes a little above and below what the tuning dial would have you believe (the actual tuning range is maybe 39-51 MHz or something like that), so you could probably even hear ham radio activity at the low end of the six-meter band if there is any in your area. If you can fudge the high end of the dial on your set so that it will tune to 52-54 MHz you might be able to hear 6m FM repeaters, again if there are such near you (6 meter FM was pretty much overshadowed by similar repeaters on 2m in the late '60s and beyond; now, 6m FM is likely all but dead).

I certainly hope you were kidding when you said that RCA was trying to kill off FM radio, or at least wished it were dead. I do know that the 44-50 MHz range, once assigned to television as channel 1 (many early postwar sets had this channel on a 13-position tuner), was eventually reassigned and is now the hams' 6-meter band (after a bit of realignment of frequency bands after the war). But I never dreamed that RCA was actually hoping the idea of FM radio broadcasting would be a passing fancy and would fade away eventually. If so, they were in for one heck of a surprise (and disappointment, no doubt) when FM on the then-new 88-108 MHz band became the huge success it is today. Stereo FM (no one ever calls it multiplex anymore, although that is the technical term for the standard), SCA, and now a new thing called high-definition digital FM (there is exactly one[!] such station in Cleveland)--the medium is nothing like it was when Armstrong pioneered the system in 1947. Now, if FM broadcasters would start carrying something other than noise on their stations (which is what a lot of modern rock music is these days), the medium could again be a vehicle for good-music broadcasting, which is probably what Armstrong envisioned FM radio to be in the first place. It is too bad, IMO, that FM stations use easy listening only as a way to get the station on the air initially; this automated format lasts maybe a few weeks or months, then another broadcasting company buys the station and boom--out goes the automated beautiful music and in come loudmouth DJs and so-called "music" by rock groups no one under the age of 18 has ever heard of. Cleveland lost three of its best FM easy-listening stations this way in the last twenty-five years or so (with the last one going rock just 15 years ago), so now almost every station in the city is rock or some variation of it. Hardly what Mr. Armstrong had in mind.

According to a PBS show that I watched, RCA was not trying to kill off FM, just Armstrong's FM business.

They even designed the ratio detector to get around Armstrong patents. However, this did not work forever as the US Supreme court ruled that they and most other companys violated his patents and had to pay his widow (he had committed suicide-partly because of his fight with RCA) quite a sum of money.

The only major manufacturer that I am aware of that did not violate his patents was Zenith. I have great respect for the leaders of that corporation at that time. I have only disgust for the leaders of the other electronic companies, especially RCA. Sarnoff was truly what FDR had in mind when he said that most business leaders were "Atilla the Huns in suits".

Do I use my Boatanchors? Oh, absolutely!! Rick Mish, the R-390A guru, recommends that R-390As be run as much as possible. They tend to get out of alignment if you DON'T run them. i've got a Grundig 2066 from the late '50s that gets run about every day. Running them is basically the point of having them, to me at least.-Sandy G

Gee whiz, I learn something new every time I visit these AK forums. I didn't realize that the R-390A receivers will actually go out of alignment if they are not used on a regular basis. What causes that? I was always under the impression that, once a radio was properly aligned, the adjustments would hold indefinitely, whether or not the set was used. :dunno:

42-50 Mhz is Low Band VHF, several states still use it for their Highway Patrol communication. I'm a Field Engineer for Missouri and my transmitters are on 42.380, 42.920 and 42.940. It is possible to hear these on radios with the old FM band however the volume will be low because we are using narrow band modulation.

And I use my old radios alot, especially the ones with FM, I keep a Zenith 845 beside my recliner and play it often for extended periods of time. The Zenith has all the original caps including the filters and it still has the selenium rectifier inplace. I use my Magnavox Stereo Concert Grand for hours on end, in the winter the 16 6V6's and 4 5U4's keep my Den warm. I've got my Directv receiver hooked up to it and my wife sometimes plays it all day long while I'm at work and we just keep it on when I get home, I just turn it up louder than she does..... :yes:

I use my Magnavox Stereo Concert Grand for hours on end, in the winter the 16 6V6's and 4 5U4's keep my Den warm.

I'd sure like to see pictures of this unit, especially inside. :) Do you have any?

John

I've not taken any photos of it since I got it home, here's some of it before I bought it. I'll try to take a few of it with the back off asap....

Man... that Maggie looks like it's pumping the tunes out thru some big-ass speakers! If that thing is using 16 6V6's, it must really rock!

Too cool! :thmbsp: Does it sound as good as it looks?

John

Some folks are into old radios for the look, others to re-live/honor the past. A few are into it for the sound. As one acquires and listens to tube radios and understands some of the science behind the tube vs. transistor sound disparity, one knows how to find radios that sound better than new radios.

Yes, some some things were made better in the past. More money was spent in their construction. Homes, cars, furniture...and old radios are often included in this list. Technology progresses but often the quality of workmanship is left out in the pursuit of higher profits and built-in obsolescence.

Some awesome table tube sets and wood consoles were made in the late fifties/early sixties. For example, a good '59 Panasonic K-782 with the wood case has a very rich sound and reproduces vocal audio frequencies better than many a BOSE speakered high end tuner sold today. This can be attributed to the way waves are treated by tubes versus transistors and the sweet design of a 12AJ7 triode-heptode tube. The best speakers in the world are not worth much if the signal that goes into them isn't as rich and diverse as it should be.

Almost any am/fm tube radio table set in working order will outperform any of the cheapy cd players/cassette/tuner systems sold mass-market these days.

And, as all folks with wood consoles or boat anchors know, they get awesome bass response from a tube console. Combined with rich vocals you have the best tool for reproducing music.

Nothing is sweeter on the ears than an excellent stereophonic tube console from the 59-63 era. Refresh the speakers, any necessary tubes, etcetera and get it back in beautiful shape and let the magic begin! That fine wood can be refinished & lacquered to look like a million bucks is just an added bonus!

I see old radios as quality furniture, rather than decoration, and furniture is meant to be used and enjoyed.

Not that there's anything wrong with staring at an old radio on a shelf or collecting them the way one might collect stamps, but I prefer finding the nice ones and <I>listening</I> to them. :lmao:

I restore my sets with the intent to provide "Everyday Reliability". I use my sets regularly and they seldom need repair if I do the job right the first time. I have a few that spend more time on the shelf simply because there are only so many places in the house to put them in daily service. Even the shelf dwellers are fully dependable and get occasional use. I love the sound, the glow of the tubes, the RF performance, lighted dials, and the beautiful sculptured Bakelite cabinets. These sets are things of sheer beauty whether on or off. Being able to use them everyday is an added bonus. My regular daily users are as follows:

GE Model 202 6 tube AM (great sound, very sensitive)
Sparton 5W?? 5 tube (great looking, good performance)
Silvertone Metal Midget 4 tube (bedside table radio)
Hallicrafters S-53A 8 tube shortwave (very sensitive, built like a tank, way cool)

I have a Philco big Bakelite AM/SW table model Model 48-464 I think that is going into the livingroom once it is finished.

Finally got a pix of the Concert Grand from the back....42 tubes in total. Each amp is Bi Amped using 6 6V6's to drive the Bass Woofers and 2 6V6's to drive the Horns. This is an example of what happens when the bean counters don't pay attention to what the engineers are doing.... :D

Your electric bill must double when this is turned on! That is a lot of tubes for one set.

Mid to late 1960s color TVs only had 27 or so.

Bet it sounds great though.

Some awesome table tube sets and wood consoles were made in the late fifties/early sixties.

Almost any am/fm tube radio table set in working order will outperform any of the cheapy cd players/cassette/tuner systems sold mass-market these days.

Zenith made some great table radios from the '59-'63 era. I have one, a Zenith K-731. It's in a walnut wood cabinet and has a two-way speaker system--a 5x7 oval speaker for lows/midrange and a 3" electrostatic tweeter, the latter driven directly from the plate of the 35C5 output tube, for the highs. Needless to say, it sounds great. The bass response is incredible for a table model; in fact, I'm a little afraid to set the tone control to full bass for fear of damaging the main speaker. I usually set it to midrange and leave it there; that's where my ears tell me it sounds the best.

I have also read reports here on AK that Zenith's C-845 table model also has incredible sound quality for a table set. Several people here have these little sets and seem to like them a lot; I can understand why. These sets were made for high fidelity (that "high fidelity" script logotype on the front panel isn't just an advertising slogan--Zenith obviously meant it, in spades).

I often wonder, though, why Zenith did not include a phonograph input on the K-731, but did put one on the C845. The '731 is a great-sounding radio and, IMHO, would work well as a phono amplifier. I've never heard a C-845 playing, but I'd think it sounds every bit as good as the '731. Are the audio stages in the C-845 that much better than those in the '731? I would think, since the C-845 has two ordinary cone-type speakers and the K-731 has an oval 5x7 and an electrostatic tweeter, that the latter would work every bit as well as a phono amp as would the '845. :dunno:


I would love to have a nice wood console stereo, such as an older Zenith (I like anything in walnut or other dark wood), but, unfortunately, my apartment is far too small. Oh well. That's why I got my Zenith 731 on ebay a couple years ago; I liked the looks of the cabinet and, since I always wanted a console, this radio is about the closest I'll come to having one. When the set arrived here, I plugged it in, turned it on, and it worked right out of the shipping box. The sound was and still is excellent. I am still amazed I did not have to do anything to it (new caps, etc.) after I got it--as I said, it played as soon as I powered it up, and the cabinet had almost no damage at all (save for a couple tiny wear spots on the front, above the speakers; one can hardly see them unless he/she looks for them). This set is the pride of my entire Zenith collection; you can be sure I'll hold on to it a long time. The one thing I know I should do but haven't, yet, is replace the selenium B+ rectifier. That's a project for some time in the future; I'm in no hurry, since the radio sounds great at this point ("if it ain't broke, don't fix it").

Your electric bill must double when this is turned on! That is a lot of tubes for one set.

Mid to late 1960s color TVs only had 27 or so.

Bet it sounds great though.

Boy, I'll say that system must run your electric bill sky-high! I never saw that many tubes in a console stereo in my life, although I have seen color TV sets with 20-30 tubes (I had one in the early '70s, a 1964 Silvertone 19" roundie table model; it had perhaps 20 tubes in it).

Your set must sound excellent, and with power to spare. I wouldn't turn it up full-blast if I were you, though, unless you want to blow the roof off your house or worse. :yikes: With each channel bi-amplified, that entire system must be a floor-shaker, even at mid-volume. Seems to me it could shake your floors even with the volume controls barely set above minimum.

The set must weigh a ton as well. How did you get it home after you bought it? For that matter, where did you put it after you got it home? That stereo looks like the kind of set that requires about five feet of floor space, minimum.

Sure; I'm using my 1961 KLH Model Eight every day.

The set pulls 645 watts off the AC line and it is a little over 5 ft long. I'd wanted a Concert Grand ever since I went on a service call to fix one in the early 70's. I don't remember what was wrong with the set but I do remember how taken aback I was when I took the back off and saw all those tubes. The customer wasn't home and after I fixed it I put on a Bill Black Combo album (WOW). I got word of this one being available through a post on Antiqueradios.com forum, well one thing led to another and pretty soon I was Southbound in my minivan minus seats to Texas. After 1000 miles over a weekend I had my Concert Grand. So far all I've done to it was replace a couple of 5U4's and drop in a later model Micro-Matic turntable with the lighter tone arm. The filters are original and it is absolutly hum free. As far as room I had to move my 1966 Magnavox Imperial to my Wifes photo studio to have room for it but it's worth it. The cabinet of the Concert Grand is mainly a sealed speaker enclosure, the amplifiers are mounted to the backs of the enclosure and the area just above amps that has all the screws around it is where the horns are, there's also a tunnel just below the tuner that connects the two sides together. I'm still looking for a remote control hand unit for it, it's an RF remote and since these sets are pretty rare the remote is even rarer.....

I had heard these existed, but I have never seen one. I never knew it was called a concert grand, or what it looked like. Maybe I'll find one someday. :)

Thanks for posting the pics, Randy.

John

Randy,

For a console, that's damn impressive looking!!! If for any reason I'm in your neck of the woods, I'm stopping by your house just so I can see and hear that thing!

Randy, I've been wondering for quite a while about the record changer in your Maggie Concert Grand system. You said you put in a newer Magnavox Micromatic changer for lower tracking force. What type of changer or turntable was in the Concert Grand orginally?

Jeff, It came with about the same changer as the later ones, the mounting holes lined up so I didn't have to do any cutting of the motorboard. The original changer used an Electro-Voice 26 ceramic cartridge which tracks at about 8-10 grams, it sounds good but it's murder on the vinyl. I dropped in a double idler Micro-Matic that uses the Astatic 195d and it tracks at 2 grams. Magnavox stuck with ceramic cartridges until almost the end of the era. I've got a '76 Magnavox Concert Grand that I bought new when I was working for a Magnavox Dealer and it uses the later Micro-matic with a single idler and the changer is driven from the center of the turntable instead of it's own idler direct to the motor, it also has a magnetic cartridge. I've seen a couple of the tubed sets on ebay in the last few years and I've also seen someone selling all the components out of one (shame). The fellow I bought the tubed set from gave me the original sales receipt dated 1961....$1500, that was a chunk-o-change 44 years ago....

<snip>

I have also read reports here on AK that Zenith's C-845 table model also has incredible sound quality for a table set. Several people here have these little sets and seem to like them a lot; I can understand why. These sets were made for high fidelity (that "high fidelity" script logotype on the front panel isn't just an advertising slogan--Zenith obviously meant it, in spades).

<snip>



I have one on my desk at work and use it regularly in the afternoon (usually from 4pm on, when enough people have left for the day that it won't disturb them). It does sound great, and has been reliable for almost three years of regular service. I have a Zenith AM/FM alarm clock/radio at home that also gets used regularly (the clock part still keeps perfect time).

I'm not sure what, if anything, can be done to extend the life of the clock mechanism. As far as I can tell, there was no provision for lubrication as there would be for wind-up mechanical clocks. I guess that as long as it runs, I'll continue to enjoy it and wake up to genuine tube radio sound.




Joe

I always say that I will play these old radios I collect, but I seldom do. Every now and again I have a time warp experience with one - I listened to a baseball game on a Detrola recently.

I am hoping to drag a very nice sounding Zenith table model from 1959 to work and maybe listen in my office sometimes. It sounds sweet - has a little electrostatic tweeter - but it distorts quite a bit at anything over low volume (probably not due to malfunction but due to design). I wonder what the youngsters will make of that. To them streaming audio off the internet is hi-fi!

Finally got a pix of the Concert Grand from the back....42 tubes in total. Each amp is Bi Amped using 6 6V6's to drive the Bass Woofers and 2 6V6's to drive the Horns. This is an example of what happens when the bean counters don't pay attention to what the engineers are doing.... :D


Yeah the tubes are nice - but how many audiophiles recognize that sweet YORX 8track/Cassette receiver circa 1980 with the faux woodgrain sitting on top of it?

That baby was a Spiegel mail order item and has that spring loaded on/off switch on that stainless steel and chrome front. I haven't seen one in 25 years.

Who needs the Magnavox for fine listening when one has that? :guitar:

I am hoping to drag a very nice sounding Zenith table model from 1959 to work and maybe listen in my office sometimes. It sounds sweet - has a little electrostatic tweeter - but it distorts quite a bit at anything over low volume (probably not due to malfunction but due to design). I wonder what the youngsters will make of that. To them streaming audio off the internet is hi-fi!

Which model Zenith is that? I have a K-731 with an electrostatic tweeter which sounds fairly good at the volume levels at which I use it (can't play it too loud because I live in an apartment building). Somehow I can't quite believe any of the older Zeniths distort as much as you say yours does, unless there is a problem somewhere, such as an electrolytic filter cap beginning to go sour. I certainly do not think Zenith actually designed any of its older radios to go into distortion at anything less than extremely loud volume (these sets were designed with quality in mind from the '20s through about the '80s, the latter being the last decade in which Zenith produced radios), but then again any radio of any make or vintage will distort badly if it is operated at such high volume. Keep in mind as well that an amplifier driven into distortion will oftentimes produce more power than that for which it was designed, which could damage the speaker(s).

I wouldn't sell Internet streaming audio short if I were you; some of it sounds fairly good. I run the output of my computer's sound card through my Aiwa 200-total-watt bookshelf stereo and get good sound from Radio365 and RealOldies1690.com, the latter being the Internet webcast of an oldies radio station near Chicago, the former being a streaming Internet radio station with several different music formats available. In fact, I don't use the speakers that came with my computer at all anymore. I think the reason streaming Internet audio sounds so poor is that most of the time people listen to it through their computer's own tiny speakers, which were never designed for high fidelity. Kids today may think this is "hi-fi" because they may never have heard a real high-fidelity music system in operation; keep in mind as well that, by their mid-teens of even younger (!), many youngsters have ruined their hearing forever and for good by listening to loud rock bands at concerts or at high volume through headphones or speakers over their own stereo systems. Listening at very high volume through headphones is particularly damaging to human hearing, since the transducers are right next to the listener's eardrums. The small stereo headphones furnished with personal stereo units often come with warnings against listening at high volume levels for any length of time, for just those reasons. I have a small FM scanning radio with headphones that can probably blow your head off (it distorts like heck long before the volume control gets anywhere near maximum, though) if the volume is turned up all the way; my late-'80s GE boom box is like that as well. Both sets are capable of more than enough volume to damage one's hearing forever; fortunately, I don't care for really loud music anyway (anymore; I am almost 49 years old), so have never run either radio (and certainly not my stereo system or any other radio I own) that loud. Thinking about loud music and teenagers reminds me of a song by the '60s West Coast surf rock group The Beach Boys; the song is titled "Dance, Dance, Dance" and begins, " After six hours of school I've had enough for the day/I hit the radio dial and trurn it up all the way" I bet that kid's hearing was ruined long before he reached the age of 18.

BTW, I notice you are near Cleveland, Ohio. Are you right in the city or in a suburb? I ask because I grew up in the Cleveland suburb of Wickliffe and recently (as in just over five years ago) moved to Fairport Harbor, in east-central Lake County. I don't want to go into details, but the basic reason I moved to where I live now was to get away from the suburbs (Fairport Harbor is located just about ten miles east of the last true suburb of Cleveland).

Yeah the tubes are nice - but how many audiophiles recognize that sweet YORX 8track/Cassette receiver circa 1980 with the faux woodgrain sitting on top of it?

That baby was a Spiegel mail order item and has that spring loaded on/off switch on that stainless steel and chrome front. I haven't seen one in 25 years.

Who needs the Magnavox for fine listening when one has that? :guitar:


I wondered myself what make that 8-track system was atop the Concert Grand unit. I thought at first it was an external cassette deck (didn't notice it was an eight-track player).

@Randy Bassham: how many tubes gots your beauty. I encouterted 17! How I wish me to have souch big beauty.

I have to include this litle gem. It is a Sylvania 1968 model, solid state, W/a PAIR of push-pull TO-3 outputs, to drive a 4" long-throw speaker. (I have a picture of it on the "ever hear of sylvania speakers" thread)The speaker is sealed in the enclosure, with foam behind the speaker, and heavy wood all around. It probably produces 5 or more watts, (it draws 25 watts from the line, is transformer powered, with 2-watt emitter resistors in the output ckt.)and has better bass than ANY table radio I have seen. It appears to have been made to compete with the KLH radios of the day.

The model # is rm-90-k there is one with a slightly different cabinet on the 'bay, right now.

@Randy Bassham: how many tubes gots your beauty. I encouterted 17! How I wish me to have souch big beauty.

The total tube count is 42, each amplifier chassis has 12 tubes (8-6V6's, 2-5U4's, and 2 12AX7's). The rest of the tubes are on the AM-FM tuner and remote control receiver. I'am about to up the tube count to 45 when I put in the optional FM multiplex adapter that I got on ebay....

Yeah the tubes are nice - but how many audiophiles recognize that sweet YORX 8track/Cassette receiver circa 1980 with the faux woodgrain sitting on top of it?

That baby was a Spiegel mail order item and has that spring loaded on/off switch on that stainless steel and chrome front. I haven't seen one in 25 years.

Who needs the Magnavox for fine listening when one has that? :guitar:

It was quite a thrill to actually have that unit in my own hands when I lifted it off the Magnavox at the owners home. I may never own one but I can always remember the time I came so close to true quality...... :nutz: :nutz: :nutz: :nutz:

The rest of the tubes are on the AM-FM tuner and remote control receiver.

THat Magnavox has a remote?????

THat Magnavox has a remote?????
Yep....It's an RF remote that will turn it on and off, run the volume up and down , start the search tuning, and reject the records. The remote receiver is that vertical chassis between the two amps. I'm still looking for a hand unit for it, something tells me it may be a long wait...

Every antique tube radio I own has been restored, but the majority are located throughout the house for display use only since there are no nearby outlets to plug them in. I have 3 that are constantly used, so from time to time I'll rotate the unused radios from the 3 usable locations I have. Wish I had a humungous in-wall shelving system to display them all and select any one to listen to...I need a bigger house!

As I mentioned my personal reply, Jeffhs, I'll have to check that model on the Zenith. I'll have it with me at work soon! I hope it receives something in this big building (I have a lot of windows so maybe I'll be OK).

Every antique tube radio I own has been restored, but the majority are located throughout the house for display use only since there are no nearby outlets to plug them in. I have 3 that are constantly used, so from time to time I'll rotate the unused radios from the 3 usable locations I have. Wish I had a humungous in-wall shelving system to display them all and select any one to listen to...I need a bigger house!

I know what you mean. I live in a one-bedroom apartment, with most of the AC outlets in places where I can't put my radios and use them at the same time. My Zenith K731 is atop the refrigerator in the apartment itself; the nearest outlet the cord will reach is about three feet away, near the kitchen sink, but I don't want to leave it plugged in there because of the potential shock hazard (though I do plug the radio into that outlet to test it every few days or so). There is an outlet behind the fridge, but I can't reach it, so that's out as well. One open outlet in the apartment I could use is behind my desk, but, wouldn't you know it, there is no room for any of my radios (except my AC/battery R-70 portable) on the desk. I also have two open outlets behind my end tables, one of which is near my TV set, the other behind the other table near my front door, but the tables themselves are too small to accomodate any of my radios other than the R-70. I grew up in a house with more AC outlets (and more room for radios) than you could shake a stick at, but unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, I had to leave there in 1998 and move to an apartment (the one I live in today). Therefore, many of my vintage radios are either packed in boxes, stashed away under my bed (that's where my 1980 Zenith H480W AM/FM stereo clock radio and my Sony MR-9700W AM/FM stereo portable are) or in drawers in my dresser (where my Aiwa AR-115 AM/FM portable and Sony TFM-7720W portable are stashed). The only ones that get any amount of use right now are the Royal 1000-1 and the R-70. I do try to run the H-511 every now and again to keep the 3-section power supply filter cap formed, but most of the time it sits in my bedroom unused.

Oh well. Such are the drawbacks of being a vintage radio collector living in an apartment, but I'm not complaining. If the truth be known, I would not want to own a home, but that's a story for another thread, more properly located in AK's Off Topic forum.

The radio I was referring to earlier is a Zenith K731. It has a very nice tone. My observations about distortion were at not very high levels, but with a poor signal. I'm on vacation this next week but when I return to the office on the 27th I'll take it with me because today I got a new piece of furniture in my office where it will go. I hope it works well in that setting.

Like so many other collectors, I run out of places to put stuff. I already outfitted a small conference room near my office at work with speakers and an amp (this in a 900 person office) and I've not only continually upgraded my office speakers, if you are my friend, you get upgrades too. I just can't leave that nice stuff sitting in yard sales and such.

But the radios ... only things like Transoceanics are very marketable (I sold one for quite a bit a while back).

So far, I've managed to replace most of my transistor radios with vintage tube sets, save for the radio in my truck and my alarm clock. I recently purchased a new GE Superadio III for my office (I own my own business) but gave it to my office manager after replacing it with a Zenith T2542. In the shop area, I've long used an old, plastic C725E that plays at nearly full volume all day, and has for about 13 years. Never replaced a tube or had any problems with it! In fact, when I found the old Zenith I didn't know what it was and didn't care. It was cheap and worked. Now, I look at it sometimes and wonder how long it'll go. Don't mess with success?

Our favored G730R plays in the bedroom. Out of all my radios, Zenith or otherwise, it is my favorite. There is something about its sound, its look... even its smell, that just makes me feel good. In the living room sits my Zenith console -again- purchased long before Zenith became my favorite. Beside my home computer rests a K731 that sits on a custom made table, crafted to fit and support it perfectly. On the bottom shelf is a (burgundy) K725 that is in perfect condition, except for a weak output tube, I think. No time to pull it apart again. I should admit I have a Kloss Model One that I cannot make myself part with...it may be modern, but it has the soul of a 'real' radio. It sounds amazing and has amazing recption, but I usually listen to the K731 or both at the same time. A really solid mix! The rest of my collection mostly sits unused, mixing very pretty, dark wood cabinets with a few polished bakelite models. 90% are Zenith. We are blessed with many excellent AM and FM stations here in south/central Arizona; oldies to jazz and easy listening.

So, with 15 or so vintage sets scattered about, I collect AND use. When we have company, most ask about them with sincere interest. Today, the air conditioning and heating guys are installing a new unit, and when I went home for lunch they had the K731 cranking on KOOl-FM (94.5). "I hope turning this on was OK?" one asked me. I told him that's what it was there for! Looking is great, but I want to hear them play. That's the best part.

I put that Zenith K731 into regular use like I said I would and I am very happy. The sound is sweet. I don't listen at very high levels so I can't speak for that, but it does not insult my hi-fi sensibilities like most junk (computerstuff, sub woofers, crap!). I pick up two good college stations (along with all the commercial stuff) very nicely. Just what I was after. It doesn't fit the office decor all that well but I'll just have to work on that.

That comment about the SMELL. That's so true! I love that smell - is it tubes burning dust??

Unfortunately where I live, most AM music stations are gone. There's no variety anymore for AM radio anymore, only talk shows and news progams with ONLY one music station left. Recentlty decided to stop collecting old radios since there's no need for 20 radios for such a limited medium. :worried: :worried:

Unfortunately where I live, most AM music stations are gone. There's no variety anymore for AM radio anymore, only talk shows and news progams with ONLY one music station left. Recentlty decided to stop collecting old radios since there's no need for 20 radios for such a limited medium. :worried: :worried:

:scratch2:
So why not focus on AM/FM radios or SW?

When it's past midnight, the kids are asleep, the wind is howling the trees are rustling and your better half lies peacefully asleep like an angel...it's time one turns on the clock radio....(a sweet end of an era PHILCO with AM & FM will do nicely*)

Let the tubes warm up. Turn it to AM first twist the tuning dial and hear the scrawk of static and hum of various pitches warm up your ears and get you in the mood for radio. As you pass the various talk radio shows, religious channels and Spanish music stations you turn the switch gingerly over past FM and to AFC. Ahhh...the whole array of music opens up to you. The sweet trumpet of a jazz solo, the sixties elevator music, blues rhythyms, contemporary music, 70s-90s music, soft rock and hard rock played so crisply you can actually understand the lyrics for the first time!

As the tubes get hot, you can start to smell the plastic/bakelite case heat up. You're not worried becasue those cases were blended with asbestos and are unlikely to do more than get pretty hot. You recall how you taped a thin sheet of metal insulation to the top of other radios to evenly disperse the tube heat and will do the same to this one when you have the time. You turn the dial to a soft station and turn off the main radio power, but turn on the sleep timer. 5 minutes? No, the wind will keep you awake at least another 10. Two clicks of the lever to the right and you have ten more minutes to enjoy sweet tube sound. You savor it. For a moment you can feel it - a oneness with all the radio listeners since the earliest hand built sets to the fewer but just as devoted tube afficionados from today. You have cds, who doesn't? But your ears and spirit cries for the rich tube sound and your heart, even though devoted eternally to the angelic creature lying beside you, has saved a little space just for tube radios and tube listening.

:)

That's a nice description of things TryHiFi. Although I'm still working on my restoration and repair skills, the bottom line is enjoyment factor. I too am worried about station availability and quality, but the local FM band seems to be holding its own here.

I was collecting at a high rate there for awhile, but now have one or two sets on my radar (including that Royal 1/3/7000 TO set Jeffhs!). I'd love to find a vintage console but like vintagecollect mentioned, how much entertainment value will it provide? That's a concern, as the one decent music station fades away at sundown; exactly when I do the majority of my listening. AM/FM/SW table radios certainly offer the best value!

Interesting thread. There was discussion here about the early FM band. Actually the 42-50MHz band was the last pre-war band used. Armstrong's early tests in the mid 1930's were at 35MHz. The first band used for commercial sale in 1938-1939 was 39-45Mhz. I actually listen to this set occasionally as I can pick up the sub-harmonics of some of today's FM stations.

Darryl

Unfortunately where I live, most AM music stations are gone. There's no variety anymore for AM radio anymore, only talk shows and news progams with ONLY one music station left. Recentlty decided to stop collecting old radios since there's no need for 20 radios for such a limited medium. :worried: :worried:
I admit I'm a conservative talkshow junky myself but there are times I'd like to get away from all the news and stuff in the world and just put on some tunes on the AM radio. I used to listen to AM music a lot (I listen to the sound of 13Q!) when I was a kid in the 1970's. Pittsburgh used to have a good number of them. We still do have one in the Pittsburgh area that plays music that I like, 770 kc on the dial that I like to listen to until the sun goes down and WABC out of NYC "walks over" it. My grandfather's 1953 Philco 53-656 has an excellent tone and sound quality and even my 1965 Magnavox 8 transistor does well for it's size. I got the later at a garage sale for 3 bucks, can't beat that. Hearing music on AM brings back memories and a warm feeling in my heart.

"The first band used for commercial sale in 1938-1939 was 39-45Mhz. I actually listen to this set occasionally as I can pick up the sub-harmonics of some of today's FM stations."

Looks like the CT-100 of FM-only radio! Can you post the tubes used?

TryHiFi...that was awesome! Perfect description. Im new to radio restoring, but i have an RCA RFD11V that i got from my father (it was his clock radio when he was younger). I re-capped that about 5 years ago and recently replaced the filter caps (about 6 months ago) . Ive been using it as my regular alarm clock since then. Im working on a Zenith AM/FM that ill be using in my shop to listen to my favorite sports talk station (AM) or classic rock (FM).

Hi Pete,
The set is an HM80 and has the following tube lineup:

1) 6K8 Converter
2) 6SK7 IF's
1) 6SJ7 Limiter
1) 6H6 Detector
1) 6SF5 AF Amp
1) 6Y6 Output
1) 5Y3 Rectifier

The cabinet and chassis are from the H73 AM/SW radio of the same year. There was an earlier console model called the GM125, although I have never heard if any of these actaully exist. That would be a nice one to see an actual picture of.

Darryl

I listen to my 42-390 philco all the time. Unfortunately, there are NO AM music stations period around here. At least, none that I can pick up.

So, the only way to listen to this thing, is I use a home made AM transmitter that doesnt perform within 5 feet very well, but it produces a harmonic in the 40mhz range that I can hear very well all the way outside! (mostly because the carrier is distorted to a triangle like pattern. "was a sine wave, but the RF amp stage distorted it to a triangle."). So the harmonic is alot stronger and gets way more distance than the center frequency. But its more distorted, considering the audio is AM. being picked up on the FM band clearly. oh well. it works.

I think thats good I guess? :banana:

Whenever I listen to the radio at home, it is almost always on a tube set unless I'm using a portable. I listen mostly to AM and shortwave so I don't have many FM tube sets. In fact, I think I now only have one, a mid-fifties Zenith.

Now when I look for a radio for serious use, it has to have AM, Shortwave, and of course, tubes, preferably at least six. I just scored a 1939 RCA T-64 tombstone with AM, Shortwave, a tuning eye, six pushbuttons and that unmistakable tube radio sound. It is my oldest tube set and my first with tuning eye and tombstone cabinet. I have to correct some hack repairs and recap it but it is definitely a quality radio.

I use a 1959 Zenith AM-FM tube radio going thru one of those little 2-way Radio Shack metal cabinet speakers [ ADS ? made ] in my "mini barn". Wonderful full sound, excellent reception.

I have found that Zeniths perform much better on FM than RCA - just my personal experience.

I seem to be drawn to my old radios especially during the time frame from thanksgiving to christmas. The closer to christmas the more likely you will find music, especially christmas music. Listened to my 1931 Crosley for several hours last nite on WTAD 930 AM,, one of the oldest radio stations in the USA. Just like my great grandparents did so many years ago. Tonite (christmas eve) we had the console Motorola 75F21 playing the christmas songs, sounded splendid. But I do listen to them all year when I take the time.

I'm about to put a Philco 37-610 tombstone radio into dailey service. I finally finished it and I am impressed at how good a 69 year old radio performs. It is going in the living room so it will get plenty of use and look great too.

:music: I use my Truetone D-724 from 1937 daily.it's also a great radio to listen to short-wave broadcasts at night on. My 1962 Delmonico (JVC) hi-fi consolette sees a lot of use as well, since most of my really good music is on vinyl.

With every tube radio or TV whose electronics have been restored, it's a good idea to slide it off the shelf and play it for a while every month or two. Warm everything up to operating temperature, keep the controls lubed up and movable, etc.

These things were designed to be used, not shelved.

I'm not as systematic about this as I should be, but everything that I listen to daily, in the office, family room, and bedroom, is hollow-state.

AM Music stations are a thing in the past for here in Northern CA despite big company sponsors that used to support programming. Just political blog stations now.

:blah:



Only use my 1930 Zenith to listen to news station. AM is a dead and obsolete entertainment medium out here. Sold many a good radio, just can't keep them all to listen to news for 1/2 an hour, sometimes during day. Someone must have their ears glued to listen for this crap, big corporations taking over programming.

:thumbsdn: :tears:

Yeah-I've heard tales of R-390As being on 24/7 for years, until a tube went kerflooey. Turning 'em on & off was harder on 'em than just leaving 'em on-R-390s also used a peculiar kind of multi-position microswitch that would arc & "weld" itself "on" after years of wear-I had one do that. Thankfully, I have Terry DeWick 75 miles down the road...<grin>-Sandy G.

AM Music stations are a thing in the past for here in Northern CA despite big company sponsors that used to support programming. Just political blog stations now.

:blah:



Only use my 1930 Zenith to listen to news station. AM is a dead and obsolete entertainment medium out here. Sold many a good radio, just can't keep them all to listen to news for 1/2 an hour, sometimes during day. Someone must have their ears glued to listen for this crap, big corporations taking over programming.

:thumbsdn: :tears:

I know exactly what you mean. I live some 35 miles east of Cleveland; most of the city's AM stations are talk or news-talk these days. However, I did find one Canadian music station, AM 740 CHWO in Toronto, so music is not entirely a forgotten format on AM--you just have to know where to look. I am not familiar with what is on radio anywhere in California (never been there or anywhere west of Ohio in my life), so don't know what your AM situation is like except from what you tell us in your post. I would think, however, that there might be one or more music stations in small towns in your part of the state, even if most stations in San Francisco, et al. have switched to talk or news-talk. Don't know what you are using for an antenna on your 1930 Zenith, but if you have a reasonably good outdoor antenna hooked up you should be able to hear smaller stations in northern California or even Oregon. It wouldn't surprise me if Portland has one or more music stations; if you look around your AM dial at night, you might even hear the more powerful stations in Seattle or even north of the border in Vancouver, British Columbia. There are still many good music stations in Canada--CHWO 740 in Toronto, the one I listen to a lot, is one, but I doubt if it will reach the West Coast, as its signal pattern is configured to cover greater Toronto and much of the northeastern United States.

My point is that AM music radio is not dead yet, nor will it be any time soon. If worse comes to worst and you actually cannot find any music stations on your AM dial, look around on the Internet. There is a service called Live365 that plays 24-hour music, any kind of music you like, with no commercials if you subscribe to the paid version ($5.95 per month); there is a free ad-supported version of the same service. Log on to www.live365.com to get more information and the free player you need to listen to their music. Also, if you have digital cable or satellite television service, you almost certainly will have access to several digital music channels. I have both Comcast digital cable and Live365 service, and like them both so well that I have all but abandoned standard radio (which isn't all that great here either, even on FM). The commercial-free nature of digital cable music and Live365 are well worth the monthly subscription fees. The Live365 player is free, and as I said, the basic service is free as well, so you really have nothing to lose.

Oh, yes, I almost forgot. Public radio stations often have very good music; the San Francisco area (and most major metropolitan areas) have at least one NPR affiliate. If your area's local NPR station is on AM or simulcasts AM and FM, you can tune in the AM station on your Zenith and it will very likely sound as good as FM--those old Zeniths have great sound (I have five such radios, one of which has a very good audio system for a table model, so I can vouch for the sound quality of the earlier Zeniths). If you want to hear the local NPR station on FM through your old Zenith AM radio, all you need is an FM-to-AM converter such as was used with car radios in the '60s and '70s. Set your Zenith to the output frequency of the adapter (usually 800-900 kHz or 1400-1500 kHz) and tune in your NPR station on the adapter. Just a thought.

I've noticed that many small towns have good AM stations to listen to, but they are usually very low power. There's one near my cabin broadcasting from Woodville, TX (population 2000) that I enjoy. My cabin is roughly 15 miles south of Woodville, so I can just barely pick it up. They play a good mix of older country songs.

I've encountered many AM stations during my travels on board ship. My favorite is from New Jersey... WMTR 1250. They play the best oldies from the 50's and 60's. It's like stepping back in time.

I use my tube radios every day. I'm partial to Zenith though. I have a nice original AM/FM High Fidelity(c845)that I use in the kitchen, wonderful sound.
http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:jBZEp1fA9hpqaM:www.radioattic.com/images/sold_radios_2005/Maurer_Zenith_H845.jpg

I also have a 600 series Transoceanic shortwave that is just amazing, she pulls in stations from all over the planet (a few satilites too).....
http://www.transoceanic.nostalgiaair.org/pics/Y600TO.jpg

I've noticed that many small towns have good AM stations to listen to, but they are usually very low power. There's one near my cabin broadcasting from Woodville, TX (population 2000) that I enjoy. My cabin is roughly 15 miles south of Woodville, so I can just barely pick it up. They play a good mix of older country songs.

I've encountered many AM stations during my travels on board ship. My favorite is from New Jersey... WMTR 1250. They play the best oldies from the 50's and 60's. It's like stepping back in time.

The small stations in small towns are good, IMO, as long as they are playing music, but all too often these stations are sold and switched to talk or other formats after so many years, especially in this day and age of takeovers by conglomerates. I can give you two examples. One is the local station located some three miles from my hometown. This one is a 500-watt station that used to play all oldies, using a format modeled after CKLW in Detroit in the '60s-'70s. Two years ago, the local station near my hometown dropped that format like a hot potato and replaced it with syndicated talk. The local station five miles or so from where I live now used to be top-40, but about three or four years ago or so it dropped that format and began retransmitting the programming from a classical music station some 50 miles west of here, when the classical station was sold and switched to a frequency right next to a powerful country station in the next town, 35 miles east of here. So, Charlie, I'd enjoy that oldies station in Jersey while it's playing oldies, as the next time your ship passes through the town where the station is located the format may be entirely different. A former program director at the local station near my hometown told me about 25 years ago that the radio business is anything but stable; in fact, he said that a person working in radio today will be lucky if he or she is at the same station six months from now. This was the situation 25 years ago. Given that many small AM stations are switching from live DJs to talk or satellite music programming almost at the drop of a hat these days (a small station some 35 miles from here went to satellite from live programming last year), however, I don't doubt what that program director told me one bit. Also, some small-town stations are going off the air altogether when they find themselves unable to compete with stations in larger cities. A 1kW station about 20 miles south of me went silent about three years ago for just that reason, after having had three formats (the last one being satellite sports talk from the Sporting News Radio Network) since it first signed on in 1969; it was located in Geauga County, Ohio, a rural area some 30-40 miles from Cleveland, and found itself completely unable to compete with the larger stations in the city, especially since the station that went silent was in the impossible situation of being unable to get authorization for either full-time operation at lower night power or to switch frequencies to another (it tried to get authorization to move to 870 kHz from its original 1560) that would allow for full-time operation at either lower night power or full daytime power. The FCC said no, perhaps because of 870's proximity to a local 50kW Cleveland station on 850. The Geauga County station finally threw in the towel the day after Memorial Day three years ago and has not been heard from since.

So, Charlie, I'd enjoy that oldies station in Jersey while it's playing oldies, as the next time your ship passes through the town where the station is located the format may be entirely different.

It's been nearly two years since I've actually been there on the ship, but since finding that station, I still continue to listen on the internet. They play live streaming except when ball games are going on. I really do wish there were more stations like this. Have a listen if you like...

http://www.wmtram.com/

Their streaming audio plays great. I'm listening right now, and I'm using my cel phone to connect to the internet.

I found this station when we were in Bayonne and I had to go ashore to the doctor's office to have a body of foreign matter removed from my eye (yeah that was a real treat). As I was sitting waiting to see the doc, they had and old 70's looking radio playing this station. I was hooked at that point. After that, I'd always listen while we were in port.

While I'm at home, I'll play my old tube sets on a variety of stations from other areas. In the evenings, the "trucker" stations play older country tunes. In the mornings, KROF 960 in Abbeville, LA plays cajun tunes till noon. I also find some country tunes on KWKH 1130 in Shreveport, LA in the evenings.

Our AM stations here in the Beaumont / Port Arthur area are all news, talk, and Christian stations. Years ago, KOLE used to play Big Band, but now it's news and talk. That was the last of our good music to hear on AM.

Austin, where I live has gone all talk, sports, etc. I have to listen to a San Antonio station to get any AM music that I like. In fact, in the last year, the FM radio band selection seems to be getting more limited. They(The FM stations) keep trying to complete with IPODs and satallite radio, forgetting that their local content is what makes them unique.

@Midnight Blues: your "Zenith" radio is an World-wide reciver?

@Midnight Blues: your "Zenith" radio is an World-wide reciver?

Yes, it has:
2-4mc
4-9mc
16m,19m,25m,31m and am
It has a 5' whip antena and another antena called a wave magnet.
Transoceanic (http://www.transoceanic.nostalgiaair.org/Transoceanic)

Yeah, those old Zenith Transoceanics are among some of the most-coveted old sets today. One in good shape is still a decent performer, if you don't mind no FM. They were sorta "luxury" items when new, yet they are not too difficult to find today. I have 2, & enjoy both of 'em.-Sandy G.

My daily driver at home is a Zenith 845, my Stereo is a Magnavox Concert Grand that has 42 tubes, 8 6V6's per channel for outputs, I play these sets quite abit. The stereo was built in 1961 and is all original except for a few tubes and an updated turntable. I play my Directv/XM radio channels through it for hours on end. I gave the head secretary at work a Zenith AM-FM table set for her office about 15 years ago, she's been playing it now for 9 hours a day 5 days a week since then with no repairs at all, it has all the original tubes, caps and selenium rectifier. When conditions are right I fire up the 1938 Zenith 15U269 and listen to WSM Grand Ole Opry for as long as I can stay up. Listen to my old radios??, Yup...That's what they were built for.....

I use my tube radios every day. I'm partial to Zenith though. I have a nice original AM/FM High Fidelity(c845)that I use in the kitchen, wonderful sound.
http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:jBZEp1fA9hpqaM:www.radioattic.com/images/sold_radios_2005/Maurer_Zenith_H845.jpg

I also have a 600 series Transoceanic shortwave that is just amazing, she pulls in stations from all over the planet (a few satilites too).....
http://www.transoceanic.nostalgiaair.org/pics/Y600TO.jpg

I am also a Zenith fan, having six vintage radios built by the former Zenith Radio Corporation. The oldest of these radios is a Zenith H511(1951); the newest, a Zenith R70 AM/FM transistor portable and a Zenith H480 AM/FM/FM-stereo clock radio (both from 1980). The sets in between are between 1960 and 1963 vintage. My Zenith K-731 is from '63, I also have a Zenith TransOceanic solid-state portable from I would guess 1962, and my newest acquisition is a Zenith C845 from about (again I'm guessing) 1960 or thereabouts. However, every one of these radios work, in some cases not as well as they probably did when they were new, but they still power up and receive stations. I am particularly impressed by the sound of the C845. Fantastic! It even sounds better, IMHO, than my K-731, which I always thought was hi-fi with its electrostatic tweeter and 5x7 main speaker.

Zenith really had a winner times at least ten in the C845. This radio sounds so good it could be the center of a small sound system, as it has stereo speaker inputs and a phono jack. The audio is so powerful I can hear most of the local stations without even turning the volume control up at all--I simply turn it on and most stations are already at normal volume. I hate to think how loud this thing can go; probably could be heard quite a distance away at full volume.

The sensitivity of the C845 is great as well. I live near the south shore of Lake Erie and can hear many Canadian stations as well as if they were locals on this set, and every other AM radio I own. (My personal favorite AM station is a standards station in Toronto, CHWO-AM 740; it comes in like gangbusters here.) I bet my C845 will get stations on FM like crazy from Detroit and southwestern Ontario, Canada (which all my other radios, including the so-so digital tuner in my stereo system, get as well) when the band opens up this summer, as sensitive as I understand it is with that 6BJ6 RF stage. This radio was clearly built for distance reception on AM and FM; they didn't refer to it and other radios they made, from the '20s through about the '60s, as "Long Distance" for nothing. The designation was dropped, however, some time in the '70s, IIRC; my two 1980-vintage Zeniths do not have the slogan anywhere on their cabinets, so I would guess it was dropped by the seventies if not earlier. Was this an early peek at things yet to come at Zenith? It wouldn't surprise me one bit if it was.

Jeff I'm with you, that C845 is a fantastic radio. There are times when I just can't belive how good it sounds. I really do use mine every day and I'm never disapointed.
I had the Transoceanic fired up on Sunday and the 19m band was lit up like a Christmas tree. It seemed as though I pulled in 50 stations.

In my humble opiniion Zenith sure could build a radio.....

Jeff I'm with you, that C845 is a fantastic radio. There are times when I just can't belive how good it sounds. I really do use mine every day and I'm never disapointed.
I had the Transoceanic fired up on Sunday and the 19m band was lit up like a Christmas tree. It seemed as though I pulled in 50 stations.

In my humble opiniion Zenith sure could build a radio.....


I have a C845 that I've been listening to at the office for the past three years. I'm looking for a copy of a SAMS on the C845 since I'd like to get the last of the old paper caps out of it (I think I've pushed my and the Zenith's luck far enough, even though it still plays fine). I tried the one online site that I saw referenced in one of the threads on this forum, but the Deja Vue viewer they use doesn't produce a very readable printout when I tried to get a hardcopy. It would also be nice to get the SAMS so I can see a complete list of all the caps it takes without having to trace through the schematic to find them.

If anyone has one and doesn't mind photocopying theirs for me, I'd be happy to reimburse you for the cost of the copy and mail.



Thanks,
Joe

on my hallicrafters S-80 on a nightly basis. Usually Rollye James, not the political hate shows.

listen to my hallicrafters s-80 to talk radio and pirate activity on weekends

which I am hoping to restore to be able to listen to f.m. Will lack of stereo decoder make this sound awful? Can't sound too awful with a 14 inch dynamic speaker I guess

actually it would sound alot cleaner. stereo is noisey. most likely because of switching noise of the 19khz and 38khz signals.

I have my grandad's Silvertone Model 5 and it proudly sits on the buffet/credenza in the dining room. I listen it a couple times a week as it works great after a revamp by AKer, Merrylander.

I have: Philco 40-180, 46-420, Hallicrafters S-38, S-38B, S-53A. I don't use any of them anymore, after reading about capacitors in AK. I WILL be going through each and every one of them in the near future!
Thanks AK!:thmbsp:

I use my grandfather's 1953 Philco (53-656) "All American 5" to listen to Music Radio 77 WABC on Saturday nights. Has good sound too.

I have been an AK member for about six months and I completely missed this forum. I have some catching up to do! I have a bunch of old tube and SS radios. Some work, others are waiting for me to find the time to restore them. I have been a radio nut since I was a very young kid.

I volunteer occasionally at a local thrift type store, time permitting, helping with electronic items that they get as donations. I stopped by today and they showed me three old portable radios that they just received but didn't know what to do with. That's where I sometimes can help them out. I told them that I would check them out for them. I have a couple of Variacs so I can power them up slowly to test them. I have them in a box and will look at them next week, I hope. I will post pictures of them when I do get to them. Maybe someone here can provide information about them for me when I do. At least one of them is a battery/AC tube radio. The others are unknown at the moment. They all seem to be in pretty physical decent condition. They appear to be from the 40s or 50s.

I use my tube radios every day. I'm partial to Zenith though. I have a nice original AM/FM High Fidelity(c845)that I use in the kitchen, wonderful sound.
http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:jBZEp1fA9hpqaM:www.radioattic.com/images/sold_radios_2005/Maurer_Zenith_H845.jpg

I also have a 600 series Transoceanic shortwave that is just amazing, she pulls in stations from all over the planet (a few satilites too).....
http://www.transoceanic.nostalgiaair.org/pics/Y600TO.jpg
Wow! I have that exact same radio. It sure doesn't look as good as yours does though. It was my dads radio. It has been sitting around for a very long time. The last time that I turned it on it became immediately apparent that it needs new filter caps. It needs some work but after seeing your picture I know that I am going to dig it out and see what I can do with it.

This is great! How could I have missed this forum??

This old Motorola has served me faithfully on and off since I bought it at an auction for $1 with my allowance back in October 1977 at the age of 6. My mom had a local radio repairman/neighbor change out the caps and some tubes for me in exchange for a chocolate cake :)

I play it every morning while I'm getting ready for work.

Also, there's my old Bendix 636C, awaiting repair, which sits on my (messy) desk. Saved up for that one, it was $7.50....same auction, November 1977.

Tim, I think I'm in LOVE w/that Motorola...That set is GORGEOUS...

AM radio stations online:

www.KDAV.com This station is out of Lubbock, Texas. It was a free stream online till they got their A** sued off. Shame some folks would want to spoil a good thing. The radio station is on Buddy Holly drive in Lubbock. This is the place to hear Bob Wills and Buddy Holly. They really do not play the top 40 hits. It is refreshing to hear some music other than the top 40 HITS. It is one of the places that you can hear some classic country music. The station has a West Texas twang!

www.KONO1011.com They were a 50's and 60's radio station. Now it is a 60's and 70's station. I would always tune them in while driving my 1963 Dodge Polara 500 in San Antonio.


Radio: I play about 25 different radios. I have about 50 of my 100 radios restored.

polaraman

Kono is the only AM radio with music other than country/western or hispanic in the San Antonio/Austin area. There were others, but they all changed to talk/sports, etc. Most of my radios (here in Buda, TX just south of Austin) will pick it up fine. Other wise, I would be stuck.

Even the selection of FM is becoming less varied. We used to have a good 1950s oldie station, but it turned to Bob FM where every third song is crap.

One of our two FM classic rock stations turned to religious music, leaving less selection there as well(unless you wanted the religious music).

I have several tube radios that I listen to on weekends when not at work. I also have several tube type TVs (both B&W and color) that I watch-one every evening.

I often put the Sirius radio through the tape input and get grest '50's, '60's, '70's, etc music. It has a "Level" switch I have to keep on low for the nieghbors. Beautiful Mediteranean dark big wood console.

I often put the Sirius radio through the tape input and get grest '50's, '60's, '70's, etc music. It has a "Level" switch I have to keep on low for the nieghbors. Beautiful Mediteranean dark big wood console.
I am going to use my big '64 RCA stereo when I get it fixed. It has all tubes.

I have a 1937 Philco 37-610 tombstone that is in the livingroom. I listen mostly to AM and Shortwave so the Philco is just perfect. I'm not a big fan of FM and the tuner in our home theater receiver is not that great. I've always been happiest with tube radios.

Kono is the only AM radio with music other than country/western or hispanic in the San Antonio/Austin area. There were others, but they all changed to talk/sports, etc. Most of my radios (here in Buda, TX just south of Austin) will pick it up fine. Other wise, I would be stuck.

Even the selection of FM is becoming less varied. We used to have a good 1950s oldie station, but it turned to Bob FM where every third song is crap.

One of our two FM classic rock stations turned to religious music, leaving less selection there as well(unless you wanted the religious music).

I have several tube radios that I listen to on weekends when not at work. I also have several tube type TVs (both B&W and color) that I watch-one every evening.


I looked for station KONO on TV-RadioWorld but could not find it. Maybe I was looking under the wrong city (I just checked the listings for Austin, not San Antonio).

AM radio in Cleveland, as in most major U.S. cities, is mostly talk, sports and religion, except perhaps for Radio Disney. I get music stations from towns 70-some miles away, especially on my Zenith C-845, which are a breath of fresh air, IMHO. I live near the southern shore of Lake Erie, so can also get several music stations from Toronto and other southwestern Ontario cities. CHWO AM 740 in Toronto is one of the best Canadian AMs I have heard in a long time. The station plays strictly music from about the '30s through the '70s, with a completely automated overnight show they call the AM 740 Jukebox. The station has great coverage across southwestern Ontario and also the northeastern U. S., as several AK members in the latter region have found (stereofisher and also Kamakiri come to mind as I write this). I live in northeastern Ohio, 35 miles east of Cleveland, but still hear 740 quite well all the time (because I live so close to the lake).

FM radio in Cleveland, also as in all major U.S. cities, is limited to about four major formats today. Most stations in the area play rock (not surprising, as Cleveland is the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), but there are two country-western stations, a classical station (which is buried by one of the C&Ws 0.2 MHz down the dial, making it unlistenable in this area), three religious stations, an oldies station, a classic rock station, and the usual assortment of NPR and low-power college stations between 88 and 92 MHz. It's much more varied now than it was when I was a kid growing up in the late '60s and '70s, when most FMs here or anywhere in the country either were classical, played automated elevator music or simulcast their companion AMs which often had the same calls as the FMs as well--there was at least one pair of stations in Cleveland which were like that; both were operated by NBC and had the calls WKYC-AM and FM respectively--the FM played automated elevator music, show tunes, and, at the top of every hour, it would simulcast NBC radio news with WKYC-AM which was a top-40 rocker at the time. On weekends, both WKYC-AM and WKYC-FM (the latter broadcasting in stereo on 105.7 MHz) would simulcast the (now defunct) NBC Radio Network variety program "Monitor Beacon." (Not to be outdone, CBS Radio also had a network show it called, aptly enough, "The CBS Radio Mystery Theater", which left the air about 25 years ago).

The early '70s saw huge changes in Cleveland radio, especially where NBC's operated stations were concerned. WKYC-AM and FM were sold from NBC to a local media group, one of several such companies to own these stations over the next 35 years. WKYC-AM went from middle-of-the-road (MOR) music to talk in the '70s and has remained a talk/sports station since about 1977 or so. WKYC-FM went from automated elevator music to album rock during this period as well, changing to all oldies in the early 1980s, also changing calls to WMJI-FM (the call sign the station still has to this day) in 1981. Cleveland's progressive rock station is WMMS 100.7, which used to be WHK-FM until 1968. WDOK and WQAL, 102.1 and 104.1 respectively, were easy listening stations from the late '60s until perhaps 1990. WXTM, in suburban Cleveland, which began, IIRC, as WCUY-FM, has had several calls and formats since it went on the air in the city of Cleveland Heights in the late 1950s. It is now alternative rock WXRK, 92.3 MHz, and broadcasts from the top of Cleveland's Terminal Tower downtown. WCUY, et al. used to have its studios and transmitter on Lee Road, the main drag in Cleveland Heights; I lived one street over from them in the early '70s (I could see the tower lights from my third-floor bedroom window after dark and walked right past the tower on my way to school in the morning); the station put in a tremendous signal at that location, which came in fine on channel 6 of my TV set, between local Cleveland stations on my stereo, etc.

All I can say is, thank goodness for XM/Sirius satellite radio. The formats and loudmouth DJs on Cleveland's FM stations left a bad taste in my mouth the last few years; now with satellite, there are no commercials, and the music is much more varied than local FM radio ever was. Where you have FM stations playing the same 200-song play list over and over again in every major city in the country, XM/Sirius' music is much less boring and much more enjoyable, especially without the commercials. Makes me wonder why I waited so long to discover AOL Radio with XM through Winamp.

BTW, one of Cleveland's FM stations is probably running "Bob" FM or some variation of that format, as I've seen their logo on their website which has the words "No Rules" in a red circle, with a red slash through it. I don't listen to the station, so don't know much about it, but that format certainly smacks of "Bob" or any one of several other automated, named formats. One trademark of "Bob" FM is their slogan, "We Play What We Want", which doesn't seem to me to be in the public interest--oh, well. Time was when AM radio stations would take requests and actually listen to their listeners, without whom, of course, they wouldn't exist. FMs played decent easy-listening music until about the '90s as well. But today's AM and FM radio stations are poles different from what they were years ago. I shudder to think what AM and FM will be like even five years from now. :dunno:

I know here in Pittsburgh, we have "Bob FM" on 96.9 Mc, there is a "Sam FM," in Greensburg to the east, there is a "Jack FM" in New York City and from wht my co-worker told me, there is a "Ted FM" in Columbus, Ohio. Makes me wonder how these thinks get started, I mean, are there a bunch of suits around the table where one says, "hey, I got a great idea, how about naming a station after guy's names and take it from there?" :p

KONO is in San Antonio.

KONO is in San Antonio.

I found KONO, finally, on TVRadioWorld.com just now after reading your reply. Was looking under the wrong city after all. AM 860 (5kW day/0.9kW night), FM 101.1. They are 1960s-'70s oldies stations much like our "Majic 105.7" in Cleveland, "B107.9" in Columbus, "Big 106" in Youngstown (near Pittsburgh), et al.

After reading these last few posts, I'm more convinced than ever just how lucky we are here in the Phoenix area. Not only do we have 94.5 KOOL-FM (one of the oldest...'oldies' stations in the USA) and the 'Doo Wop Express' every Saturday night, but several other nice jazz and adult contemporary spots on the dial too. This doesn't include the awesome KCDX 103.1 (kcdx.com, give it a listen online) a true advert free, DJ free, 'underground' radio station that can be picked up in most of the Valley. While doing business in Germany last July, I'd log onto KCDX before going to sleep, just like I do at home. Yeah, the sound from my Dell laptop is a far cry from an H845...but it’s better than all night polka!

After reading these last few posts, I'm more convinced than ever just how lucky we are here in the Phoenix area. Not only do we have 94.5 KOOL-FM (one of the oldest...'oldies' stations in the USA) and the 'Doo Wop Express' every Saturday night, but several other nice jazz and adult contemporary spots on the dial too. This doesn't include the awesome KCDX 103.1 (kcdx.com, give it a listen online) a true advert free, DJ free, 'underground' radio station that can be picked up in most of the Valley. While doing business in Germany last July, I'd log onto KCDX before going to sleep, just like I do at home. Yeah, the sound from my Dell laptop is a far cry from an H845...but it’s better than all night polka!


I used to think FM radio in Cleveland wasn't too diversified, until I got to thinking about the formats of the stations in the metropolitan area. The stations have just about every category of music covered, except easy listening (we lost the last easy-listening station, which was in a town some 50 miles east of Cleveland and 35 miles east of where I live today, in 1990 or thereabouts, when that station was changed to rock; it is now running a format it calls soft favorites, much the same as does a similar station in Cleveland, but it's not nearly the same as it was, and never will be again, I'm afraid).

I will have to log on to kcdx.com one of these days. One nice thing about the Internet is that stations which stream over the Web have a potentially worldwide audience (there is in effect no such thing as out-of-town FM anymore, or reception problems for that matter, if you have Internet access), so you need never be out of earshot of your favorite station (even if you live hundreds or thousands of miles away) if that station is online as well as on-air. The oldies station in Cleveland makes a big deal of streaming over the web; its identification announcement at or near the top of every hour even puts its Internet URL ahead of the station's own on-air call sign and location.

The only drawback to web streaming is that not all stations do it; the reason for that, of course, is that it costs any radio station a great deal of money to put its programming on line as well as on the air at the same time. The big stations operated by Clear Channel, Infinity, et al. can afford to do it, but many smaller FMs in small towns or smaller metropolitan areas cannot. There are some TV stations as well, mostly in very small markets out West (for example, at least one NBC affiliate in Wyoming isn't online yet, as I found out after looking it up on NBC's website, NBC.com), which do not yet have Internet web sites for the same reasons.