Antique Radios

Antique radios are highly valued by collectors for their uniqueness, age and cultural context. The earliest radios were based upon the technology developed by Guglielmo Marconi, winner of the Nobel Prize in physics in 1909, and relied upon Morris code for transmitting information. It was not until the 1920s that radios that carried audio information became available and made broadcasting possible.

In the United States much of the early activity in radio broadcasting began in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and its vicinity. One of the very first commercial broadcasting stations in the US was KDKA, a Westinghouse station that continues broadcasting today in a news, talk and sports format. Also broadcasting from about the same time was WSAJ, a non-commercial station (now FM) located at Grove City College, Grove City, PA.

As more radio stations began broadcasting, the number and variety of available radio receivers grew exponentially. And, as the number of commercial radio stations and the number of people who could listen to them grew, radio became very important as a means of quickly transmitting information of significance to mass audiences. Many of the early radio receiving sets were home made and had to be listened to with headphones because either speakers were not available or there was insufficient power to drive them.

Today’s collectors tend to split into several camps; those who are interested in the technology of early radios, those who enjoy the beauty, design and construction of radios of the 1930s and 1940s and those who are fascinated by early phase transistor radios. Each has a different perspective, focus and interest but that is what makes collecting antique radios interesting.

From a design standpoint, radios of the era when their cases were made from elegant materials and were lavishly decorated represent the epitome of case design excellence. Some of the most exciting and beautiful radios of the era depicted well-known architectural landmarks such as Rockefeller Center in New York City.

Those who collect antique radios based upon the technology find them quite fascinating and historically significant. Crystal, tuned radio frequency, and superheterodyne sets and their variations, from early to modern times in the technology are representative of the technologies employed.

As the name implies, crystal sets use specialized crystals as the detector to receive and translate the radio signals into electrical current that can be converted to sound by employing headphones. They can receive only relatively strong relatively local signals from a transmitter and have poor tuning capabilities. Their significant advantage at the time was that they could be inexpensively built at home thus making radio available to almost anyone.

Tuned radio frequency (TRF) sets used vacuum tubes to provide better detection and additional amplification – initially to operate headsets and later to drive speakers so more than one person could listen. The stability of TRF sets was less than optimal and they required constant adjustment to maintain reception. None-the-less this technology was a substantial improvement over previously existing technology and represented significant progress.

Superheterodyne sets, in their various forms came into wide use in the post WWII era. They required the use of numerous vacuum tubes and their supporting circuits so they were, initially, somewhat expensive. In time, they became substantially cheaper as designs and manufacturing techniques improved. This technology offers many advantages including excellent stability, very good sensitivity and excellent sound quality.

Our video for today is focused upon a 1924 Atwater Kent breadboard radio. It provides an excellent overview of a top quality TRF (tuned radio frequency) set of its day.

Please click on the video below to enjoy its content.

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