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.
