your entry to the fascinating world of vintage … entry to the fascinating world of vintage...

Your Entry to the Fascinating World of Vintage Communications

IN THIS ISSUE:John Rider's Monumental Manuals

Scott Custom Built RadioBook Review: Behind the Front PanelRadio Innovations in the Late 1920s

Edwin Armstrong's Seminal InventionsRadio Programs For Kids

Servicing AC Sets

Volume 4, Number 2, Summer 2014

2 / SUMMER 2014 THE AWA GATEWAY

Logotype w/ Frame

James Kreuzer, N2GHDRichard NeidichThomas Peterson, Jr.Ronald Roach, W2FUIBruce Roloson, W2BDRJohn Terrey, W5TDQMorgan WessonRoy Wildermuth, W2IT

Welcome to The AWA Gateway! 2.......From the Editor

3.......From the Deputy Director

4.......AWA Gateway Columnists

5 ......Communications History at the AWAMuseumBy Ronald N. Yeaple, Ph.D.Edwin Armstrong: The Unknown Hero of Radio

6 ......Book ReviewBy Eric P. WenaasBehind the Front Panel

8 ......Play it AgainBy Ken OwensPart 14: Radio Servicing Overview

9 ......Company ChroniclesBy Alan DouglasScott Custom Built Radio

11 ....Enjoying Antique RadioBy Andy OomsMore Radio Memories Of My Youth

13 ....Collecting Radio PeripheralsBy Marc F. Ellis, N9EWJPart 1: Service Literature

15 ....Radio ReflectionsBy Jim Cook, W0OXXRadio Developments During the Late 1920s

17 ....Members’ Corner

18 ....Clubs That Will Welcome You

20 ....About the Antique Wireless Association

The AWA Gateway is an electronic publication of The Antique Wireless

Association, downloadable without charge from the AWA websitewww.antiquewireless.org, to stimulate interest in vintage com-munications history, equipment restoration and collecting.

OFFICERSDirector ..............Tom Peterson, Jr. Deputy Director.....Robert HobdayCurator ...............Bruce RolosonSecretary.............Dr. William HopkinsTreasurer.............Stan Avery

TRUSTEESStanley Avery, WM3DDavid Bart, KB9YPDLynn Bisha, W2BSNGeoffrey BourneMarc Ellis, N9EWJDr. Thomas Ely, W2ODWRobert Hobday, N2EVGProf. William Hopkins, AA2YVDavid KaiserFelicia Kreuzer, KA2GXL

MEMBERSHIP SERVICES COMMITTEEChairman........................Richard NeidichAWA Journal Editor...........Marc Ellis, N9EWJMembership Data ...........Ed Gable, K2MP*AWA Review Editor ...........Robert Murray*Conference Chairman ........Roy Wildermuth, W3RLW*Ex Officio Members

WEBSITESWebsite: www.antiquewireless.orgSpecial Convention website: www.awaconference.comSpecial Development website: www.antiquewirelessmuseum.com

Antique Wireless Association is an IRS 501(c)3 Charitable Organization

THE AWA GATEWAY STAFF EditorMarc F. Ellis [email protected]

Design and ProductionClaudia Gray Sweet

ABOUT OUR COVERThe scene that is partially revealedbehind the gateway is the Marconitransmitter complex at Poldhu,southwest Cornwall, England, that sent the first transatlanticradio signal. The three dots, representing the Morse letter "s,"were received by Marconi at St. John’s, Newfoundland on De-cember 12, 1901. Shown are two of the four sturdy towers thatreplaced the two antenna masts used in the original test.

The AWA Gateway cover was created by Will Thomson of Armadillo Arts, Iowa City, Iowa.

The AWA Gateway is published approximately four times a year by TheAntique Wireless Association. AWA is a non-profit historical societyfounded in 1952 and incorporated in the State of New York. AntiqueWireless Association is a trademark of the Antique Wireless Association.

AWA is not liable in any way for any buying or selling transaction enteredinto as a result of the content of this publication. Contents © 2014 Antique Wireless Association; © 2014 Antique Radio Club of America ex-cept where otherwise indicated.

Marconi at his St. Johns receiving station. CourtesyDavid Read.

From The Editor

Welcome to the Summer issue of The AWA Gate-way. In this issue, we begin a series covering all

the additional things you may need, or become inter-ested in, as you pursue a hobby of collecting andrestoring radios. These may include parts, tubes, serv-ice literature and test equipment. To kick things off,we begin an article on John Rider’s monumental col-lection of radio schematics and data, otherwise knownas “The Perpetual Troubleshooter’s Manual.” Otherhighlights of the issue include coverage of the AWAMuseum’s Edwin Armstrong artifacts; a retrospectiveon kids’ radio programs of the 1930s and 1940s; alook at radio innovations of the late 1920s; the con-clusion of our “Play it Again” series and a review of the

THE AWA GATEWAY SUMMER 2014 / 3

From The Deputy Director

Hi everyone, I have some fantastic news for you. It'sabout the Voice of America Delano Station Rescue!

After almost six decades of service, and shut downsince 2007, the Jack R. Poppele Memorial VOA Stationin Delano, California, is scheduled to be sold for scrap.Just like the fate of the dinosaurs, extinction is imminent.However, last February saw

the formation of "The CollinsRadio Heritage Group," an al-liance between the AWA andthe Collins Collectors Associa-tion to preserve and share thehistory of Collins Radio andRockwell Collins. As a tribute tothe legacy of the VOA, theworld’s “voice of freedom,” aswell as to Collins Radio tech-nologies, and the Collins peoplewho built the Collins 821A-1250,000 watt transmitters at theDelano VOA Station, the groupundertook to rescue the VOADelano Station control roomand one of the transmitters.We are proud to announce

that the recovery is now com-plete. A team of volunteers hasdismantled and shipped thetransmitter and control room tothe Antique Wireless Museum inBloomfield, NY for preservationand display next year as part ofPhase 2 of the Museum's con-struction plan. AWA MuseumStaff is very busy designing thenew VOA Exhibit and the otherdisplays in Phase 2. What is the Voice of America?

That is a question that cannotbe answered in a few wordsgiven the gigantic scope of VOAoperations. In essence, the VOAis you speaking your thoughts,words, and suggestions of free-dom to the peoples of theworld. President Dwight Eisen-hower said the purpose of theVOA “is to submit evidence to

recently reprinted “Behind the Front Panel.” As this isbeing written, the Antique Wireless Association WorldConvention is a little more than a week away. Need

the peoples of other nations…that the objectivesand policies of the United States are in harmonywith and will advance their legitimate aspirationsfor freedom, progress, and peace.”The Antique Wireless Museum now has an ab-

solutely amazing artifact of communication historyto display, and with it an awesome responsibilityto tell the powerful story of the VOA'a history andcontinuing positive impact on freedom through-

A view of the left side of the Control Room at the Delano VOA Station controlconsole.

The Collins 821A-1 250,000 watt transmitter.

some encouragement? See Members’ Corner inthis issue for more information. Hope to see youthere! —Marc Ellis, N9EWJ


out our world. Imagine standing right in the actualVOA station control room, listening to VOA pro-gramming and seeing the actual Collins transmitterused by VOA as one of the “voices of freedom”.If you ask a young person under 35 years old (by

the way, that is young to me), they probably havenot heard of the Voice of America and what a majorlong-term impact it has had in the struggle for free-dom since 1942. They do not know that peoplerisked their very lives to listen to VOA. It is not theirfault! In the U.S., we assume freedom of news andpublic information. But that has not been, nor doesit continue to be, the case in many countries aroundthe world.Our challenge at the Museum, therefore, will be

to tell the amazing story of the VOA, the CollinsRadio people, and the technology that built thetransmitters. The VOA display at the Museum willprovide an outstanding stage in which to tell thisfantastic and historically significant story! The future vision includes coordinated VOA dis-

plays in both Bloomfield, New York and Cedar Rapids,Iowa (the home of Rockwell Collins), as well asstreaming video and audio linked to these displaysand to the CRHG website. The presentation of thisbeautiful piece of engineering will serve as a tributeto the VOA, the Collins Radio technologies and thepeople who made it happen.Would you like to be part of the completion of the

Phase 2 of the Museum and the VOA Project? Dona-tions in support may be sent to the Antique WirelessAssociation, c/o Robert Hobday, P.O. Box 421,Bloomfield, New York 14469.If you have any ques-tions about the project, please e-mail me [email protected].

—Bob Hobday N2EVG, Deputy Director, AWA Mu-seum

AWA Gateway Columnists

JIM COOK, W0OXXRadio ReflectionsThe son of a radio technician, Jim became a li-

censed amateur radio operator at age 15 and ob-tained commercial radiotelephone licenses beforehe was 20. He worked as a transmitter operator fortwo radio stations while studying Electrical Engi-neering at the University of Kansas. After graduationhe became an electronic circuit designer for TexasInstruments. Later he redirected his career into elec-trical power engineering and recently retired after34 years in the facilities engineering group for Hall-mark Cards.

ANDY OOMSEnjoying Antique Radio Andy is a retired labor relations and human re-

sources executive who has had a lifelong interest inradio — including AM DX-ing, short wave listen-ing, old-time radio programs and antique radios. Inhis varied business career, he has worked on thespace shuttle project, at one of the last RCA radioproduction facilities in the U.S., and for the AlyeskaPipeline Service Company. Since retirement, he hasdone some writing, camp-hosted at various stateand Federal forests and parks, and taught English,American Literature and employment Strategy inViet Nam and the Philippines.

ERIC P. WENAAS, PH.D.Book ReviewsDr. Wenaas has had a lifelong passion for antique

radios. He received BS and MS degrees in ElectricalEngineering at Purdue and a Ph.D. in InterdisciplinaryStudies in The School of Engineering at SUNY Buffalo.He spent most of his career at Jaycor, a defense com-pany in Southern California — eventually becomingPresident and Chief Executive Officer. Since his retire-ment in 2002, he has written numerous articles forAWA and other publications. In 2007 he published acritically acclaimed book Radiola: The Golden Age ofRCA—1919-1929. For this work, he received AWA’sHouck award for documentation in 2007.

RONALD N. YEAPLE, PH.D.Communications History at the AWA MuseumDr. Yeaple is retired from the faculty of the Simon

Business School at the University of Rochester. Priorto joining the faculty, he was Executive Vice Presi-dent of the Ritter Company, a $30 million biomed-ical products company. Previously, he held engineer-ing and product planning positions at Xerox Corpo-ration and General Dynamics Corporation. He holds7 patents in acoustics, biomedical instrumentation,and electronic publishing, and has authored fourbooks and numerous journal articles and book chap-ters. Dr. Yeaple earned a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineer-ing and an M.B.A. from the University of Rochesterand Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Electrical En-gineering from Cornell University.


When we think of college-age entrepreneurswho had the vision to see the potential formajor new businesses, we think of people

like Bill Gates, Michael Dell and Mark Zuckerberg. Butin 1914, Edwin Armstrong, an undergraduate at Co-lumbia University, invented and patented a circuitusing the new deForest Audion amplifying vacuumtube that revolutionized the design of radio receivers.By feeding part of the output back to the input, heachieved much greater amplification, creating a muchmore sensitive radio. This was just the first of three major inventions by

Armstrong that transformed the radio industry. Fouryears later, in 1918,he patented the su-perheterodyne cir-cuit, which makestuning a radio muchsimpler and morestable, and is still thebasic circuit used inmost AM radiostoday. Prior to the intro-

duction of the super-heterodyne, a typicalbroadcast receivermight require the ad-justment of half adozen or more knobsand switches to tunea station. A super-heterodyne radio canbe tuned from sta-tion to station withjust a single knob.With the introduc-tion of this circuit, radio rapidly became a mass con-sumer product, with over six million radios in use bythe mid-1920s. Armstrong’s third major invention was FM radio. Un-

happy with the static and tinny sound of AM radio, heset out in the 1920s to develop an entirely new systemfor radio that would provide the full fidelity of music

without static, even during lightning storms. In 1920, Armstrong met David Sarnoff, the president

of RCA, who initially was impressed with the potentialfor FM broadcasting. From May 1934 until October1935, Armstrong conducted the first field tests of FMbroadcasting from an RCA laboratory on the 85th floorof the Empire State Building, using a spire on the topof the building as an antenna. The FM signals were suc-cessfully received some 80 miles away.Following this successful demonstration, Sarnoff

began to see FM as a threat to AM broadcasting, whichRCA dominated. He refused to license Armstrong’spatents on FM and initiated lawsuits claiming that RCA

had invented FM. In1945 he successfullylobbied the FCC forchanges in the assign-ment of broadcast fre-quencies for FM thathe hoped would pre-vent FM from becom-ing dominant. Thischange in broadcastfrequencies made ob-solete all the FM ra-dios that had beensold up to that timeand was devastatingto the early FM radiostations.A patent fight be-

tween RCA and Arm-strong was won byRCA, and Armstrongwas no longer able toclaim royalties on FMreceivers or television

receivers (television sound uses FM). These costly legalbattles eventually brought financial ruin to Armstrong,and on January 31, 1954, he took his own life. After hisdeath, many of these lawsuits were settled in his favor,making millions for his widow and restoring his reputa-tion as the true inventor of FM broadcasting. But it wastoo late for Armstrong himself to enjoy the fruits of his

Communications History at the AWA Museum: From Telegrams to Texting

By Ronald N. Yeaple [email protected]

EDWIN ARMSTRONG: THE UNKNOWN HERO OF RADIO

A display of Edwin Armstrong’s actual laboratory equipment at theAntique Wireless Museum. It includes the 1914 patent model ofhis regenerative receiver (small case) as well as his superheterodynecircuit and Empire State Building FM transmitter (large case).


magnificent invention.Despite these setbacks, FM broadcasting eventually

became hugely successful. In 1961, General Electric in-troduced stereo FM broadcasting, which brought evenmore enjoyment to the experience of listening to FMradio. Today FM has become the preferred way to listento music, while AM has settled into a niche for talkradio.Why isn’t Edwin Armstrong better known? He was

truly the unsung hero of radio. He was not a self-pro-moter. He perhaps was naïve about expecting the ex-cellence of his technologies to overcome the raw powerof companies like RCA who were threatened by them.But in the decades after his death, as the superhetero-dyne circuit and FM broadcasting became recognizedas the standards for the highest quality of radio tech-nology, Armstrong received the most prestigious hon-ors and recognition that the profession of electrical en-gineering can bestow.

REFERENCESEdwin H. Armstrong, IEEE Global History Network,http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Edwin_H._

Armstrong

E. H. Armstrong website, http://users.erols.com/oldradio/eha1.htm

Tsividis, Yannis; Edwin Armstrong: Pioneer of the Air-waves, http://www.columbia.edu/cu/alumni/Magazine/Spring2002/Armstrong.html

Edwin Howard Armstrong, Wikipediahttp://www.biography.com/people/edwin-armstrong-

9188800Notations and documents associated with Armstrong

artifacts at the Antique Wireless Museum

THE ANTIQUE WIRELESS MUSEUMLOCATION: 6925 Routes 5&20, East Bloomfield,NY, 14469 (for Google Maps, search for 6925State Route 5, East Bloomfield NY)

HOURS: Tuesday 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Satur-day and Sunday 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Exceptclosed on holidays.

ADMISSION: $7.00 for adults, kids and teens arefree, and AWA Members are free.

WEB: www.antiquewireless.org

BEHIND THE FRONT PANEL: THE DESIGN & DEVEL-OPMENT OF 1920S RADIOS by David Rutland. Pub-lished 1994 by Wren Publishers. Remastered and re-published December, 2013 by California HistoricalRadio Society, Richard Watts Editor. 192 pages; 5½" x8½"; 40 illustrations; 25 photographs; 75 references;Paperback; $19.95

Author David Rutland wrote this classic book to de-scribe circuit designs employed in radios of the

1920s, the parts that made them work, and the histor-ical reasons that so many different types of circuits weredeveloped. The focus of the book is on battery-oper-ated sets, but the last chapter describes how AC re-placed batteries in the late 1920s and the impact ofthis change on circuit designs. The book, originallypublished in 1994 by Wren Publishers in Oregon, has

been out of print for many years. Fortunately, it hasbeen remastered from the original by Richard Wattsand published in December of 2013 by the CaliforniaHistorical Radio Society (CHRS).Rutland, an electronics engineer with over 25 years

of experience in the design of vacuum tube circuits,explores the whys and wherefores of the componentsand circuits of the early broadcast radios. By using sim-plified descriptions and illustrations, supplemented by25 photographs of actual radio component parts, heprovides a very readable explanation of what goes oninside the old battery radios.His story begins with the invention of the radio tube at

the turn of the 20th century and concentrates on the en-gineering design and development through the 1920s.Design examples are taken from over 45 actual radios

Book ReviewsVolumes of Special Interest to New Radio Collectors and Restorers

By Eric P. Wenaas, Ph.D. [email protected]


manufactured in the decade that saw broadcast radiostart as a national pastime and end as a national necessity. The book is written with three distinctly different

themes, all of which are seamlessly integrated in a sin-gle compelling story. The dominant theme is the de-scription of many different types of antique radio cir-cuits used in the 1920s, which the author convenientlydivides into the following major categories (althoughnot in this exact order): detectors, radio frequency am-plifiers, tuned radio frequency amplifiers (TRFs), audiofrequency amplifiers, reflex circuits (combined audioand RF amplifiers), and superheterodynes. In addition,he addresses selected circuits that do not convenientlyfit into these categories: one-knob tuning control cir-cuits, a concept that was popular in the mid-1920s;screen-grid vacuum tube circuits, introduced to themarket circa October 1927, that obviated the need forneutralization techniques in TRF receivers; and powersupply circuits that replaced batteries, operating fromAC lighting lines. Rutland devotes one or two chapters to each of the

above categories, with every chapter addressing anumber of different variations of each category. For ex-ample, he first explains the basic operation of the crys-tal detector using an untuned circuit as an example,and then explains how a tuned circuit detector reducesinterference. He then compares one- and two-circuittuners and explains the pros and cons of each. He thenmoves on to vacuum tube detector circuits in the nextchapter and explains three different variations—bat-tery-biased, grid-leak biased and regenerative. Rutland uses a simplified schematic diagram for each

circuit type showing only those components pertinentto the basic principles involved. He describes the func-tionality in easy-to-understand language without re-sorting to equations or highly technical language. Rut-land also uses simplified diagrams of actual radios man-ufactured in the 1920s to illustrate certain points.Examples include the ubiquitous Radiola III regener-

ative receiver first manufactured by RCA in 1924, theGrebe CR-13 receiver manufactured in 1923 employ-ing both regeneration and tuned radio frequency am-plification — which according to Rutland became astandard for later sets, and the Trirydn manufacturedby Crosley in 1924 and 1925. This model used both re-generation and the reflex principle in which three tubesperform the function of five by passing both audio andradio frequency signals through two of the tubes,thereby producing two stages of RF amplification aswell as two stages of audio amplification. A second theme is the explanation of why each new

circuit was developed. As Rutland introduces each new

circuit, he explains the advantages of the new circuit andthe shortcomings of the circuit or circuits it replaced.Rutland begins with crystal set circuits that he says werepoplar at the beginning of the broadcast era becausethey did not require batteries and were easy to assemble— making them the least expensive alternative.Rutland then moves on to vacuum tube detectors

and in particular the regenerative detector, which wasvastly more sensitive than the crystal detector. Accord-ing to Rutland, the regenerative detector was the firstreally practical circuit for broadcast receivers. However,the circuit was so successful that as sets with regenera-tive detectors proliferated, so did the chirps and whis-tles it generated, which often interfered with the neigh-bor’s radio reception. According to the author, thatcaused engineers to develop radio frequency ampli-fiers, which isolated the regenerative detector from theantenna and also increased the sensitivity of the radio. Yet another theme is the explanation of the many

components engineers developed to implement newcircuit designs. An example of such component is thevariometer, which Rutland explains was designed toprovide continuous control of inductance by splitting acoil in two parts and rotating one within the other. Hegoes on to introduce the variocoupler and explains thedifferences between these two very similar devices.Photographs of these two, and many other, compo-

nents and actual sets are grouped in a series of 25 pho-tographs on thirteen unnumbered pages located in thecenter of the book. They include coils, radio and audiofrequency transformers, tuning capacitors both individ-ual and ganged, and more. Also included are photo-graphs of the front and rear panels of classic receiversby selected manufacturers. The reader will also learn all about esoteric circuits

with unfamiliar names that are part of the antique radiolore — Neutrodyne, Superdyne, Technidyne, Isofarad,Counterphase, Syncrophase — not to mention “losser”circuits, a term dubbed by the editors of QST that ap-pears in the Merriam-Webster unabridged dictionaryto this day: “an element inserted into an electric circuit(as of an amplifier) for providing impedance so as toprevent resonant electric oscillation.” The reader willalso learn who invented these circuits and components— men like Armstrong, de Forest, Hazeltine, Tuska —and the companies who manufactured complete re-ceivers incorporating these circuits.

Behind the Front Panel is a classic in antique radio his-tory and is a must for any serious radio historian or col-lector. It can be purchased from Antique Radio Classi-fied, Amazon.com and other book dealers. Most deal-ers offer a discount from the suggested retail price.

This will be the last installment in our “Play itAgain” series, and I’d like to use it to expand onthe power supply troubleshooting procedures

we originally covered in Part 8 of this series: “ServicingAC Power Supplies” (Gateway Volume 2 No.4). We’llbegin by plugging the radio to be checked into thelamp test rig you put together in Part 7: “Power For ACSets” (Gateway Volume 2 No.3). You’ll recall that it wassimply a 100-watt bulb wired in series with an AC plugand an AC socket.First test the power transformer. Put a good pilot

lamp in the set, but remove all tubes. The test lampshould not glow at all and the pilot lamp should light.One exception is a very large transformer with heavygauge primary wire. The primary resistance is so lowthat the test lamp may glow faintly. A bright glow indi-cates a transformer short. A dim glow suggests shortedturns.Measure the AC voltage from each side of the high

voltage winding to the center tap. There should be nomore than about a 3V difference. A difference of 10Vor more indicates shorted turns. Such a transformer willstill function, but will get very hot after an hour or soand eventually fail.If the pilot lamp doesn’t light, the primary may be

open or the switch or line cord may be bad. Checkwith your ohmmeter. Next check the speaker field coil,filter chokes (if any) and all audio transformer windingsfor continuity with your ohmmeter. If any of thesemajor parts are bad, stop here and put the set aside.Why keep working on a set that will never play againunless you can find replacement parts? If the speaker isbolted together, you can remove an open field coil andhave a motor repair shop rewind it.Now measure all resistors and replace any bad ones.

Open bleeders must be repaired before powering up.Otherwise, excessively high voltages can develop anddamage other parts. Old carbon resistors have oftengreatly increased in value. The original tolerance was�20%. Replace any which are outside those limits.If all is well at this point and the set uses electrolytic

filter capacitors, I replace them now even if they testgood. I won’t risk major parts by trying to use old elec-trolytics which can short at any time. Cut the old unitsout of the circuit. Don’t wire replacement capacitorsacross the old ones no matter how tempting it may be

to use them for tie points.If you use “rebuilt” electrolytics (modern replace-

ments installed in old cans), watch out for cases wherean original filter capacitor can was insulated from thechassis with fiber washers or a paper sleeve. Be sure toreplace this insulation. Note: when the set is operating,there will be about 100V between the can and thechassis. You will get shocked if you touch both at thesame time.I also replace the bias filter capacitor, the coupling

capacitor between the AF amplifier plate and poweroutput tube grid in R-C coupled stages, and any tonecontrol capacitors connected between plate andground. Leakage in these capacitors cannot be toler-ated. If the filter capacitors are paper instead of elec-trolytic, I evaluate them and the bypass capacitors laterduring power up.You will encounter filter capacitors in values no

longer made. Today’s standard values for 450V unitsuseful in antique radios are 1, 2.2, 4.7, 10, and 22�F. Iuse the nearest value for replacement, i.e., 10�F to re-place 8 or 12�F units or 22�F to replace 16, 20 or 24�Funits.Now we can power up the set. Leave it connected to

the lamp test rig, install the rectifier tube only and turnon the set. Be sure to connect the speaker field coil. Ifthe lamp glows brightly, the paper filter capacitors,which we have left until now, are probably shorted.You will have replace them with electrolytics becauseyou can’t get high-value paper capacitors today.If the paper filters are good, I leave them in place. In

my experience, if they have not failed in 65 years, theyare not going to. Measure voltages at all B+ points inthe set including the tube socket lugs. There should bevoltage at all plate and screen connections. Voltageswill be higher than the diagram values because thereare no tubes in the set drawing current.At this point, you have located and corrected (I

hope!) all major defects. Install all tubes, remove thelamp test rig and plug the set into the AC line. Be readyto pull the plug in case you overlooked something.Measure the B+ voltages again at all points in thepower supply and at each tube socket. In the case offixed bias, measure voltage from the output tube gridsto the filament or cathode — not to ground.

Note: If you have the manufacturer’s data sheet for the

Play It AgainA No-Nonsense Guide to Vintage Radio Restoration

By Ken Owens1932-2009© 1995

The Radio Collector

PART 14: RADIO SERVICING OVERVIEW


model you are working on, it will give you the voltage tobe expected at each test point. —ed If any voltages are missing or deviate markedly from

specified values, go over that part of the circuit againto find the cause. Look for shorted bypass capacitorsand open IF and RF coils. Compare tube voltages withmaximum values in the tube manual. If the voltagesare all within limits, record the readings for future ref-erence in case of trouble. I recommend putting a 1-2Afuse in series with the transformer primary to protectyour radio. Use an in-line holder to simplify installation.Never assume that past repairs have been done cor-

rectly or that the circuit has not been changed. Checkany non-original wiring or replaced parts carefullyagainst the diagram.

This is a good place to end a series on basic restora-tion. I have enjoyed writing it, and I hope it has beenof benefit to you. I leave you with this recommenda-tion: you need one other book (besides a tube manual)if you are serious about electronic restoration. It is “Fix-ing Up Nice Old Radios” by Ed Romney. This is the bestbook I have seen on electronic restoration. Ed is an“Old Timer” whose father was a wireless operator. Thebook is easy and fun to read yet contains just about allyou will need for electronic restoration of old sets. Geta copy!

Note: this book is now (August 2014) out of print andsome dealers are charging up to $200.00 (!) but a Googlesearch for the title turned up at least two dealers who hadpriced it at about $35.00. —ed

Company ChroniclesSee copyright statement at end of article.

E.H. Scott was born in New Zealand and spent hisearly years in Australia. He was orphaned at agefourteen when his mother died suddenly, his father

having died in a railroad accident several years before.During World War I Scott served in the Australian-NewZealand Army Corps. While in the army, he invented andpatented a device (the “Telecator”) for diagnosing trou-bles in auto engines. Rights were purchased by theUnited States Government for a total of $46,000. Onbeing discharged at the end of the war, Scott decided tomove to the U.S. and make his home in Chicago.During his early years in America, Scott wrote a col-

umn on automobile care that was syndicated in fiftynewspapers in the U.S. and Canada. Becoming in-tensely interested in radio, he also began writing arti-cles on the construction of radio receivers. In 1922, heoriginated the pictorial-style wiring diagram, whichmade it possible for non-technical radio fans to buildtheir first sets. Eventually Scott, working out of a well-equipped laboratory for testing radio circuits, was sup-plying radio articles to 112 different newspapers. Scott’s entry into radio manufacturing began four

years after his move to the United States. Deciding topay a visit to his native New Zealand, he wanted to takewith him a radio capable of receiving U.S. broadcasts.Building a superheterodyne circuit using Remler com-ponents, he arranged for two Chicago stations to sendhim special broadcasts at pre-determined times. Thedistance involved was over 8,000 miles and the Chicagostations were low-powered (1,000 and 500 watts).Few radios of the era would have been up to this

challenge, but Scott was able to receive the broadcastsfrom both stations, picking them up for over an hour.In fact, during his thirteen weeks in New Zealand, hewas able to log 117 programs from 19 different sta-tions, all at least 6,000 miles distant. This establishedfour world’s records for consistent night-after-night re-ception of stations in this distance range.Ever the showman, Scott set out to prove that his

radio was not a freak, but could be reproduced by anyskilled builder. Sending to Chicago for a set of duplicateparts he built another receiver that performed as wellas the first. He called this radio the “World’s Record 9.”Back in the United States, he began promoting the set,


selling mail-order plans for its construction.Eventually, he began manufacturing his own brand

of high-quality IF transformers for the circuit — chang-ing the name of his operation from Scott Radio Labs toScott Transformer Company. Scott developed a num-ber of “World’s Record” designs, publicizing them inthe radio press of the era. All of the designs specifiedScott’s “Selectone” transformers. Complete kits of partswere available for certain models.Later, as his reputation grew, he relied less and less

on selling through designs published in newspapersand magazines and more and more on marketing hisown kit models. These models used an ever increasingpercentage of “Selectone” components. Because hedid not have an RCA license, Scott could not legallymanufacture completed superheterodyne sets. So asthe public began to lose interest in home radio con-struction, he had to come up with an alternative mar-keting plan.The plan was to sell his sets through custom set

builders, who would put together the ready-to-play fin-ished product using Scott components. This quotefrom a 1929 advertisement shows Scott’s approach:…there are thousands of people who want the best

there is in radio and who know that the best cannot beproduced by mass production methods but only thruthe custom method of hand building. This season,

Scott products will not be sold direct to consumers northru jobbers, but exclusively thru professional customset builders. We have adopted this policy because webelieve in you and recognize the fact that your abilityto deliver a far better receiver than any mass produc-tion factory can make, and our protection of your mar-ket, will result in the growth of your business and, inturn, the growth of ours…However, by 1930 the Scott ads and mailing pieces

were taking a different tack. A March, 1930 ad picturedthe laboratory ‘’…in which all Scott receivers are hand-made to laboratory standards.” A year later, a brochureoffered the 1931 Allwave model to custom set buildersat substantial discounts for resale, stating that the setsare “built only in comparatively small numbers by ex-perienced laboratory workers…all must pass Mr. Scott’spersonal inspection before they leave the laboratory.”Eventually (1932) RCA did file suit for patent infringe-

ment and, though the suit was dismissed, Scott did ac-cept an RCA license. The Scott Transformer Companypeaked during the late 1930s and war years. Later,Scott was forced out and sales declined. The companymerged with John Meck Industries in 1951, the yearScott died, and was in receivership by 1956. It shouldbe noted that H.H. Scott, the well-known manufacturerof high fidelity equipment, was not related to E.H.Scott, nor were the two firms connected in any way.

This company biography, used with permission, was abridged from Alan Douglas’s three-volume encyclopediaRadio Manufacturers of the 1920s, published by Sonoran Publishing, 6505 West Frye Rd., Suite 15, Chandler,Arizona 85226, sonoranpublishing.com, and copyrighted 1988, 1989 and 1991 by Alan Douglas.


READER INTERNET SITESIn the April issue of The AWA Journal, we mentioned an idea proposed by reader Steven Johannessen. He felt thatGateway readers might find it interesting and stimulating to look at collections our readers might have posted online. We agreed and solicited URLs. We received and included three of them last time. Here they are again along withsome additions received since then. Four readers have responded so far. Additions to the list are always welcome!

Allie Lingo ([email protected]) sent two:

Radios: http://www.radioatticarchives.com/contributor.htm?code=499

Test Equipment: http://www.oldtestequip-mentarchives.com/contributor.htm?code=26

Mike Adams ([email protected]) has recently redesigned his Lee de Forest website. Look it over at:

www.leedeforest.org.

The Tube Collector’s Association Tube Photo Gallery

http://radioheaven.homestead.com/TCA.html

Don Ignatius Collectionwww.radionutzantiqueradios.com

Ron Lawrence sent several URLs featuring his collections and interests:

Radio Heaven pagehttp://radioheaven.homestead.com/menu.htm

Clough-Brengle test equipment pagehttp://cloughbrengle.homestead.com/

Civilian Conservation Corp. pagehttp://radioheaven.homestead.com/CCCradio.html

Ron’s YouTube channel—with video tours of his collectionshttp://www.youtube.com/user/w4ron

In the Winter 2014 issue of The AWA Gateway I wroteabout a number of publications related to my radiointerests, mentioning that the highly regarded Mon-

itoring Times had ceased publication due to the retire-ment of the founding publishers. Although I had notwritten very much about Internet resources for thoseinterested in radio (the amount of information availablebeing so great I didn’t know where to start or stop),Gateway reader and long wave radio expert KevinCarey helpfully suggested that the online successor toMonitoring Times be brought to your attention.So check out The Spectrum Monitor, at www.thespec-

trummonitor.com. This monthly resource is written bymany of the same authors that the print publicationhad, so it covers much of the current state of the radiohobbies and businesses as well as antique radio subjectsby author Marc Ellis, our Gateway editor. I can recom-mend it highly, and thank you, Kevin. Now on to my personal

radio memoir: at the age offive or six I heard the introto a broadcast of Terry andthe Pirates, a juvenile ad-venture series. The radioversion of Terry and hisband of adventurersevolved from a newspapercomic strip. The group wasconstantly engaged withexotic events and charac-ters (the Dragon Lady isone) at various distant and romantic sites, frequentlysomewhere in Asia. The events occurring in Asia duringWorld War II enhanced the appeal to American readersand audiences during that period. I knew none of that when I first heard that program

opening in 1943, an enchanting mix of bells, orientalmusical instruments, and some probably fake Asian lan-guage sounds, evoking a very active harbor area mar-ket in Hong Kong or Singapore. I was hooked, struckwith a sense of wonder that there was such interestingstuff on the radio.

Reportedly, before my time one or more of myolder sisters became entirely too engaged with the Lit-tle Orphan Annie program. When one of them carriedon too emotionally about missing out when someevent prevented her from hearing an episode, ourmother banned our family from listening to kid serials.But becoming aware somehow of Terry, my curiosity

led me on a sporadic quest to find out more aboutwhat became known as after school programming. Iwas able to learn more when visiting friends or rela-tives, sneaking a listen when my parent was away, andfrom classmates.

My listening years began in the early 1940s, butfrom at least the mid-1930s through the next 20 yearskid programming was some part of the life of everyAmerican child of listening age below age 14. Listeningto such programming was often random. from April tillOctober there was enough daylight to keep us outsideall day in the summer months, and from the end of theschool day until after the juvenile programming hoursduring school months. Portable radios were still un-common, so not much listening was done outside.However winter afternoons were perfect for listeningto adventure, with darkness outside, and sometimeswind, rain, or snow hitting the windows.

Program scheduling con-tributed to some listeningrandomness. The youth timeslot was from about 4 or 5p.m. (after the soap operas ordaytime serials enjoyed bymany women were over forthe day) and until 6 p.m.(when news reports andcommentators took overuntil prime time adult pro-gramming). During that 4 to6 period, one had to be alert

because most of the programs, 15 or 30 minutes each,moved around a lot between various days and startingtimes. Some programs ran on Monday, Wednesday, Fri-day one week, and Tuesday, Thursday the next week,alternating with another similarly scheduled program.The programs sometimes changed networks as well,

and some stations carried a few of these programs evenif not on the network they were affiliated with. Occa-sionally stations changed their network affiliation, andsome smaller city stations were affiliated with morethan one network.I don’t believe that anyone could keep up with all of

the after school adventure programs. Program life cy-cles were sometimes short, and unfortunately we couldonly listen to one station at a time. Programs that Ispecifically remember include Terry and the Pirates, JackArmstrong All American Boy, Sky King, Straight Arrow,Wild Bill Hickok, Clyde Beatty of the Circus, and The Chal-

Enjoying Antique RadioMore Radio Memories Of My Youth

By Andy Ooms [email protected]


lenge of the Yukon. Sponsors includedQuaker Puffed Wheat, QuakerPuffed Rice, Wheaties, Cheerios(Cheerioats until the late 40s),Kellogg’s Sugar Corn Pops,Kellogg’s Pep, and NabiscoShredded Wheat. A cereal se-rial pattern is obvious.An Internet forum for old

time radio a few years ago hada comment thread relating tothe use of advertised productsby the personalities who some-times endorsed them. One of theera’s actors on multiple series onseveral networks was Howard Culver,the star of Straight Arrow. That show wassponsored by Nabisco Shredded Wheat. Thewidowed Mrs. Culver wrote on the forum that her hus-band had enjoyed the product. Then she wrote: “Mrs.Straight Arrow, however, hated the stuff.” One non-cereal sponsor was Peter Pan peanut butter.

I mention this only because the announcer reading thepeanut butter commercials on Sky King was a youngChicago personality named Myron Wallace. This wasof no interest to Sky King’s fans, of course, but Mr. Wal-lace did well in the broadcast field eventually becomingfamous as Mike Wallace of60 Minutes.A partial list of similar ju-

venile programs that youmay have heard of (al-though not part of my lis-tening past) includes Super-man, Captain Midnight, DickTracy, Little Orphan Annie,Roy Rogers, Tom Mix, MarkTrail, Flash Gordon, Shanduthe Magician, HopalongCassidy, Red Ryder, and TheH-Bar-O Rangers (later theB-Bar-B Rangers) withBobby Benson.The shows tied in with daily and Sunday newspaper

comics, movies, books, pulp fiction magazines, anddime novels. One could enjoy the same character indifferent adventures simultaneously by reading a book,seeing a movie, listening to the radio, and reading the“funnies” in the paper. Even the daily comic strip of acharacter was not necessarily coordinated with thelonger Sunday strip. Amazingly a kid could track severalstory lines involving the same character at the sametime, not bad preparation for the reality of adult life. The majority of juvenile programs involved cowboys,

other Western types, or aviation heroes. Famous cow-boy actor Gene Autry, also well known for his record-

ings of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeerand Frosty the Snowman and his own-ership of the Los Angeles AngelsAmerican League baseball team,had a more adult orientedprime time drama and musicWestern show, Melody Ranch.The rest of the juvenile pro-grams were detective, adven-ture, or sci-fi stories. Militaryscripts were quite popularduring World War II, but notduring the Korean War (which

however was pretty well coveredin comic books).Many other programs were en-

joyed by adults as well as children, themore famous of these being The Shadow, The

Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet. The latter two andThe Challenge of the Yukonwere all produced by GeorgeTrendle at WXYZ, Detroit. This was unique because al-most all other network radio originated in Chicago,New York, and Los Angeles. As an interesting tie-in be-tween shows, The Green Hornet (character name DanReid) was the (fictional) nephew of The Lone Ranger(character name John Reid). Of course both were in-vested in righting wrongs and fighting evil.

Trendle’s programs ex-panded to a regional networkof seven Michigan stations,and then to the beginning ofthe Mutual Broadcasting System — which started withWXYZ, WOR New York, WLW Cincinnati, and WGNChicago. I found out only re-cently that George Trendlenever scripted a minority in anegative role. He was aheadof his time; all bad guys, atleast one per program, wereCaucasian.

Although we can question the maturity of muchcurrent radio programming, there is very little aimed atyoungsters. Larger cities have Radio Disney affiliates,but those are basically pop music outlets, little or nodrama.Network radio began in the mid-twenties and by the

thirties was represented by four well-established na-tional systems. National and local programming to-gether made for a fascinating variety of listeningchoices, day and night. Let’s look at the fantastic influ-ences of network radio in our next Gateway article.Other aspects of old time radio coming up will coverlate night broadcasting, the value of radio broadcastingon farms and rural communities, and more.


WWhat first attracted you to our fascinatinghobby? Perhaps your interest stemmed froma vintage radio that happened to cross your

path. Maybe it was an old set from the family attic orone that you saw at a friend or relative’s house. Maybeyou spotted it at antique store or flea market and justhad to take it home. That first acquisition whetted yourappetite for others, and you soon began acquiring thebeginnings of a collection. Now you’ve got the bug in earnest, and have begun

to haunt garage sales, swap meets and flea markets formore sets. But at this point you’ve probably started torealize that a serious collector has to be on the lookoutfor more than just receivers.For example, In order to repair your relics, you need

a stock of parts, tubes, service literature and test equip-ment. And before you can even think of playing mostpre-1930s radios, you have to get your hands on ac-cessory speakers and/or headsets. Old catalogues andadvertisements in vintage magazines help date yourfinds and relate them to the era in which they weremanufactured.At first, you may be drawn to these radio “peripher-

als” for their practical value in repairing, dating or play-ing the sets in your collections. But it’s likely that you’llsoon begin treating at least some of these accessoryitems as collectibles in their own right. The parts, tubes,test equipment, literature or advertising begin to adddepth to your collection and color to your displays.Eventually, like some specialized collectors, you may

become more interested in certain accessory itemsthan in the radios themselves. That’s why, now that ourseries on the evolution of the broadcast receiver hasbeen completed, I thought it might be a good idea tospend some time on the “non receiver” kinds of col-lectibles. If you are new to the hobby, this will help in-troduce you to the many such items that are waiting topique your interest and add excitement to your radiohunting expeditions.�

YOUR OWN SCHEMATIC LIBRARY?

After several years of experience as an antique radiocolumnist, I can state with authority that most peoplebecome preoccupied with radio schematics and servic-ing literature soon after acquiring their first set. Cer-tainly the majority of the letters and queries I’ve re-ceived are from readers looking for schematics andtechnical information for their latest finds. Accordingly,

I’ve decided to kick off this series with a discussion ofsuch literature. Let me hasten to say that owning yourown schematic library is not a necessity. There aremany individuals and organizations who will supplyyou with information on specific radios for a reasonablefee. However, if you have the space and the inclination,it can be very satisfying to build up your own resourcesin this area.When this series on radio peripherals was originally

published in 1994 the internet, with its marvelous po-tential for disseminating and sharing information, wasstill in its infancy. Acquiring schematics and other tech-nical data for a radio restoration project was nowherenear as easy as it is now. About the most complete andreasonably accessible sources for this information wasthe remarkable multi-volume library published by JohnRider.Most serious collectors attempted to acquire as many

of the volumes as possible, and lucky indeed was theperson who had managed to acquire a complete setand who had enough shelf space to keep all the vol-umes accessible. Today many individual schematicsmay be downloaded free of charge from sites likewwwnostalgiaair.org and the Rider manuals themselvesare available as scans on DVD at reasonable prices. Asyou might expect, prices of individual volumes havefallen well below those quoted in this article.However, I still enjoy having and using my complete

Collecting Radio PeripheralsPart 1: Service Literature

Rider manuals are easily identifiable by their massive pro-portions and quaint “antenna and towers” motif. At leftis my “RCA Red” edition that includes volumes onethrough three, unabridged.


By Marc F. Ellis, N9EWJ © 1994 & 2014 M. Ellis

set, which was put together piece by piece over a pe-riod of several years. It’s reassuring to know that the re-production of the schematics and data in it are as goodas it would be possible to get. And even though the ac-tual volumes are now no longer in high demand, thesemanuals are such an important part of our radio her-itage that all collectors should have a little bit of back-ground information about them. Accordingly, I’m in-cluding the rest of this article, beginning with the fol-lowing section, just as it was printed in 1994.

RIDER’S MONUMENTAL MANUALS

A very good way to set about building your own ref-erence library is to keep your eyes open for volumes ofJohn Rider’s Perpetual Trouble Shooter’s manual. Riderbegan publishing this series some time in the late 20sor early 30s, adding a new volume practically everyyear with some gaps during World War II. The completeset contains 23 tomes ranging in size from very largeto massive, and requiring several feet of shelf space.The series covers virtually every radio released from the

start of publication to the early 1950s, when the lastvolume was published. The individual volumes still turn up regularly at radio

meets. Their hefty binders are easy to identify. Most aredark blue with a quaint cover illustration, in silver, of anantenna strung between two towers. However, the vol-umes were sometimes produced in special editions(and colors) for promotional deals cooked up by tubemanufacturers. From a practical point of view, volumesone through thirteen should be highest on your wantlist. These cover radios manufactured through about1942, and thus include all of the “golden age” prewarsets.Pick up as many volumes as you can, however. In re-

cent years, there has been growing interest in earlypostwar radios and, in any case, you’ll add to the valueof your Rider’s set by making it more complete.

COST AND AVAILABILITY�

The earliest (one through four or so) and latest (afterabout volume 16, and particularly 20-23) tend to be

somewhat rare and expensive. Askingprices for the more common books in themiddle of the run fluctuate around fifteendollars, depending on condition and themood of the owner. As for the rest, it’swhatever the traffic will bear. I had to payforty bucks for the last volume (21) that Ineeded to complete my set. Keep youreyes open for alternate forms of the earlybooks. There is an abridged version of vol-umes one through five that is cheaper andeasier to find than the individual tomes. Oryou may be lucky enough, as I was, to lo-cate the combined (and unabridged) vol-umes one through three offered as a pro-motion by RCA. It’s similar in size and de-sign to the normal Rider books. But thecover is red instead of blue, and is deco-rated with a vacuum tube instead of theusual antenna-and-towers motif.Detail from a typical Rider manual page.

By David W. Kraeuter • [email protected]


The last half of the 1920s was a time of significantimprovements in radio technology. For the firsttime, radio beacon stations were installed for air-

craft navigation. Phonograph records were created andplayed using vacuum tube amplifiers, improving thesound quality far beyond what was possible with me-chanical recording. More powerful audio systems weredeveloped for installation in auditoriums and motionpicture theaters to show the new “talking pictures.”These developments also benefited radio broadcastingand home receiver design.Most of the radios being sold still used TRF (“Tuned

Radio Frequency”) technology but the receivers wereeasier to use and provided more enjoyment for the lis-teners. An increasing number of radios used AC power,avoiding the expense and nuisance of batteries. Thiswas initially made possible by the development, in1925, of the Raytheon Gaseous Rectifier, which pro-vided an economical and reliable way of rectifying al-ternating current to provide the direct current neededfor radio power. Radios that had been designed to use batteries could

be converted to AC power using “battery eliminator”power supplies incorporating the Raytheon rectifier. Bythe end of this decade, RCA had introduced the popu-lar type 80 full-wave rectifier tube that was widely usedin AC-powered radios until octal based tubes were in-troduced in 1935.Single-knob tuning was replacing the less convenient

“three dialer” tuning. Thiswas accomplished by me-chanically linking thethree variable capacitors,either by mounting themon a common shaft or byusing metal belts to en-sure that they all turnedtogether. In preparing these arti-

cles, I often rely on my col-lection of radio magazinespublished during thedecades I am researching.While browsing throughissues from the 1920s, Idiscovered an ad for the“Brandola” receiver in theOctober 1924 issue ofRadio Broadcast maga-

zine. This is one of the earliest I have found for a TRFradio receiver with single knob tuning.Another improvement made during the era was the

replacement of headphones with loudspeakers, origi-nally in the form of horn speakers. These were betterthan headphones, but they had poor audio quality. Bythe end of the decade, electrodynamic cone speakersprovided better sound with better frequency response.For more expensive radios, it became common prac-

tice to mount the power supply on a separate chassiswith the electrodynamic speaker. The speaker’s elec-tromagnet coil received its DC supply voltage as itacted as a filter choke for the power supply. While type 71-A and 45 power triodes were the most

commonly used audio output tubes, type 50 tubeswere introduced to take audio output power to higherlevels. Sometimes these tubes were arranged in a push-pull parallel configuration for even higher outputpower. Tetrads such as type 24-A, which had a screen grid

between the control grid and the plate, were used asRF amplifiers in newer radio designs to improve per-formance. They not only avoided problems with un-wanted oscillation but also provided higher gain. By the mid-1920s, radio interference was common

and frequency assignments became controversial. Atthat time, Herbert Hoover was U.S. Secretary of Com-merce, overseeing radio regulation. Hoover took an ac-tive role in developing legislation to avoid the conflicts

Radio ReflectionsRadio Developments During the Late 1920s

By Jim [email protected]

Detail from a Brandola Radio ad that appeared in the October, 1924 issue of RadioBroadcast. Single dial tuning was a major selling point.


among the various usersof radio.At the same time, radio

amateurs and engineersbegan to explore the“short wave” bands. Theterm “short wave” doesnot have a precise defini-tion, but generally refersto frequencies above thestandard broadcast band,ranging from approxi-mately 1.5 MHz to 30MHz. References to fre-quency and wavelengthcan be confusing in arti-cles about early radio.Wavelength was the preferred designation during theearly years of radio development, but the relationshipbetween frequency and wavelength can be easilyshown by the following formula:

f (frequency in kHz) = 300,000/l(wavelength in meters)

The frequency unit used at that time was cycles orcycles per second. “Hertz” replaced cycles as the in-ternational unit of frequency in 1960 to honor HeinrichHertz, one of the first scientists to explain and demon-strate radio waves. From that time, radio frequencieswere expressed in kiloherts (kHz) or megahertz (MHz).When amateur radio operators were required to limit

their transmissions to wavelengths below 200 metersafter World War I, they were surprised to discover thatthese shorter wavelengths had some significant advan-tages for long-distance communications. Commercial

broadcasting stations also realized that using shorterwavelengths could expand their broadcasting reach toa world-wide audience. Radio listeners at home learned about short wave

broadcasting and wanted an inexpensive way to listento these new international stations. Articles appearedin radio magazines describing short wave convertersthat could be inserted between the antenna and theirexisting broadcast band receivers to give them accessto these higher frequencies. Radio manufacturersbegan to offer short wave converters to meet this de-mand and, later, to include short wave bands as an op-tion in broadcast receivers..I have a nice example of an early short wave con-

verter in my antique radio collection. It was manufac-tured by the Stewart-Warner Corporation, a companythat also manufactured automotive products such asspeedometers and dashboard instruments. This con-

Early electrodynamic speakers were sold as radio accessories as shown in this item froma 1929 Allied Radio catalogue offering units by Silver Marshall.

Short wave converter by Stewart-Warner from author’s collection.


verter is packaged in an attractive wooden case thatprobably complemented the appearance of a Stewart-Warner radio that was in production at that time.The circuitry was simple, consisting of only two vac-

uum tubes: a type 24-A RF amplifier and mixer, and atype 27 local oscillator. By “mixing” the short wave sig-nal from the antenna with a signal produced by the localoscillator, the converter produced a lower-frequency sig-nal that could be tuned by a standard broadcast radio.Many radio magazines printed lists, wavelengths andschedules of foreign short-wave broadcasting stations. A major technical improvement was just being of-

fered as the 1920s came to an end: it was the super-heterodyne radio receiver, which has been the subjectof other articles in recent issues of the AWA Gateway.Edwin Howard Armstrong, the same man who in-vented the regenerative detector receiver, developedthis important circuit during World War I, but it re-quired more tubes than other receivers in use at thattime and needed more refinement before it was suit-able for home use

Nevertheless, this new circuit fascinated radio enthu-siasts in the 1920s. Although most home radio manu-facturers didn’t adopt the circuit until the early 1930s,an article titled “How to Build a Super-Heterodyne Re-ceiver” appeared in the November 1923 issue of RadioBroadcast magazine. That design used seven vacuumtubes, which made the superheterodyne more expen-sive to build and operate than other receivers that wereavailable at that time. It used an intermediate frequencyof 50 KHz, a low IF frequency compared with later de-signs but common in the 1920s. Radio Age magazinepublished a similar article in their December 1924 issue. Meanwhile, the stock market crash of October, 1929

started the Great Depression making life difficult fornearly everyone, including radio designers and manu-facturers. Sales declined and a number of companiesthat produced radios and vacuum tubes either mergedor went out of business. Nevertheless, innovative com-panies survived by producing new radios with less ex-pensive circuitry that could still provide low-cost enter-tainment for their customers.

FROM THE MEMBERSHIP SERVICES COMMITTEECHAIRMAN

The 2014 AWA Convention

As you read this, you may be fortunate enough to beattending the 2014 AWA Convention, or perhaps youmay be back home after having attended it. If you at-tended, you probably spent time visiting the AWA Mu-seum, shopping the flea market, visiting with friends,enjoying the banquets and attending the auction, theold equipment contest and the many topical presenta-tions. If you were not able to make it this year, the AWAwebsite contains sets of photos from the week-longevent, put up after the conclusion of the conventionon August 16.

Why Not Join the Club?

If you are not an AWA member, consider joining! Inaddition to the quarterly mailings of the AWA Journalwith Association news and articles on every phase ofradio collecting, history and restoration you will, thisyear, also receive a free copy of the AWA Review, a book-length collection of longer, scholarly articles largely fo-cused on various aspects of radio communications his-tory and published annually. Another important mem-bership benefit will be your free admission to The AWAMuseum.

Membership dues in AWA are only $35.00 per yearin the U.S.; $40.00 elsewhere. If you have a few extradollars, consider a Sustaining Membership, in whichyou make a tax deductible donation of $75.00 in addi-tion to your membership dues. This helps sustain theoperation of the AWA Museum. You can join or renewon line at http://www.antiquewireless.org/joinrenew,which is a lot more convenient than sending a checkby U.S. Mail. —Richard Neidich

MUSEUM MILITARY DISPLAY GETS FACELIFT

The gift of a working B-17 Radio Compass from Royand Sue Wildermuth has been installed and the radio“command sets” contributed earlier are also being setup for operational use. The goal is to include as manyworking examples of World War II technology as possi-ble.In keeping with the 2014 Convention theme of “Hal-

licrafters,” a Hallicrafters BC-610 transmitter is beingput on display along with several other Iconic WWIIpieces. According to Military Curator Roy Wildermuth,“The display should be dynamic and undergo annualupgrades in order to continue to attract visitors.”The AWA Museum is open Tuesdays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

and Saturdays and Sundays 2 to 5 p.m. It is closed hol-iday weekends and on Tuesdays, if that day is a holiday.

Members’ CornerNews of Particular Interest to the AWA Membership


Clubs That Will Welcome You

• The Antique Radio Club of Illinois (ARCI) — Meetsbi-monthly. Meets generally held at the American Le-gion Hall, Carol Stream IL but meets in June in con-junction with the 6-Meter Club of Illinois at the DuPage County Fairgrounds and once per year for Ra-diofest at the Willowbrook Illinois Holiday Inn. Checkwebsite for schedules, details and maps.) Contacts:President, Olin Schuler [email protected]; Club Public Contact, Art Bilski, 630-739-1060, [email protected]. Website www.antique-ra-dios.org.• Antique Radio Collectors of Ohio — meets first

Tuesday of each month at 2929 Hazelwood Ave., Day-ton, OH (4 blocks east of Shroyer Rd. off Dorothy Lane)at 7 p.m. Also annual swap meet and show. Member-ship: $10.00 per year. For more info, contact KarlKoogle: mail to above address; phone (937) 294-8960;e-mail KARLKRAD@ GEMAIR.COM. • California Historical Radio Society—For info on cur-

rent meetings, call the CHRS hotline: (415) 821-9800.• CARS, the Cincinnati Antique Radio Society —

Meets on the third Wednesday of each month at Gray’sHistory of Wireless Museum, which is part of The Na-tional Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting, Inc.,located in a building that is now on the National His-toric Register at 8070 Tylersville Road, Westchester,Ohio. 45069. For more information contact Bob Sandsat (513) 858-1755. • Carolinas Chapter of the AWA — Hosts four “mini-

swap-meets” each year (in January, May, July and Oc-tober) plus an annual conference, “Antique Radio Char-lotte,” on the 4th weekend in March. Executive com-mittee meets approximately quarterly. For more info,visit the website at CC-AWA.ORG or contact RonLawrence, W4RON, Chapter President, P.O. Box 3015,Matthews, NC 28106-3015; phone (704) 289-1166;e-mail [email protected].• Central Ohio Antique Radio Assn. — Meets on the

third Wednesday of March, June and September at7:30 p.m. Swap meets: “Cabin Fever” in January andoutdoor tailgate in July. December Christmas party. Formore info contact Barry Gould at 614-442-1518 orDave Poland at 614-890-5422 or http://coara.org/.• Delaware Valley Historic Radio Club —Meeting and

auction begins 7:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday ofeach month. Location: Telford Community Center onHamlin Ave. in Telford, PA. Annual dues: $15.00, whichincludes a subscription to the club’s monthly newsletterThe Oscillator. For more info contact Delaware ValleyHistoric Radio Club, P.O. Box 5053, New Britain, PA18901. Phone (215) 345-4248.• Houston Vintage Radio Association (HVRA) meets

the fourth Saturday (January thru October) at BaylandPark 6400 Bissonnet, 9 a.m. in SW Houston. Each meet-ing includes an auction and program. Annual two-dayconvention held in February includes three auctions,old equipment contest, technical talks, swap meet, andawards banquet. One day MEGA auctions held in thespring and fall. A newsletter, The Grid Leak, is publishedbi-monthly. Event postings, announcements, photosand other features are available on HVRA website:www.hvra.org. Membership is $20/yr. Address: HVRA,P.O. Box 31276, Houston TX 77231-1276 or call BillWerzner, 713-721-2242; email: [email protected].• Hudson Valley Antique Radio and Phono Society

[HARPS] meets the 3rd Friday of the month 7:30PM atthe Episcopal Church of Suffern Annex, 65 WashingtonAve., Suffern N.Y. 10901 for info contact Rev. DaleCranston at (845) 357-1615 or [email protected].• Indiana Historical Radio Society — Active since

1971. Meets in Feb. (Lawrence), May (2-days, Kokomo)and Oct. (Greenfield). Flea market, old equipment con-test, and auction at all events. Meet details and clubinfo at website www.indianahistoricalradio.org. $15.00annual dues includes the IHRS Bulletin published quar-terly. Contact Herman Gross, W9ITT, 1705 Gordon Dr.,Kokomo, IN 46902, 765-459-8308, email [email protected].• London Vintage Radio Club — This Ontario,

Canada club meets in London on the first Saturday ofJanuary, March, May, and November. Annual flea mar-ket held in Guelph, Ontario in June. Contact:�DaveNoon, VA3DN, 19 Honeysuckle Cr., London, ON N5Y4P3, Canada. Email: [email protected]. Website:http://lvrc. homestead.com/index.html.• Mid-Atlantic Antique Radio Club (MAARC) —

Meets monthly, usually on the third Sunday of themonth at the Davidsonville Family Recreation Center inDavidsonville, MD. (But meets once or twice a year inNorthern Virginia—check website for schedules, detailsand maps.) Contacts: President, Steve Hansman, 855Arundel Drive, Arnold, MD 21012, (410) 974-0561,email: shans01a@ comcast.net; Membership Chair,Geoff Shearer, (703) 818-2686, email: [email protected]. Website www.maarc.org.• The New Jersey Antique Radio Club — Meets the

2nd Friday of the month 7:30 p.m. at either Info Age2201 Marconi Rd. Wall Township N.J. 07719 or BowenHall, Princeton University. We hold three annual swapmeets and four seasonal repair clinics. Visit the club’swebsite for details www.njarc.org or contact NJARCPresident Richard Lee (914) 589-3751 [email protected].


• Northland Antique Radio Club (Minneapolis/St.Paul) — hosts four events with swap meets each year(in February, May, September and November) includ-ing an annual conference, “Radio Daze,” for two daysin mid-May. Annual dues are $12.00, which includes asubscription to the club’s quarterly newsletter. Formore info, visit our website at www.northlandantique -radioclub. com. • Northwest Vintage Radio Society — Meets the sec-

ond Saturday of each month at Abernethy Grange Hall,15745 S. Harley Ave. Oregon City, OR. Meeting startsat 10:00 a.m. Membership $25.00 per year. Guestswelcome at all meetings and functions except boardmeetings. Spring show, the second Saturday in May.For more information, contact Mike McCrow 503-730-4639; e-mail: [email protected].• Oklahoma Vintage Radio Collectors —Meets sec-

ond Saturday of each month, (except for April, Octo-ber, and December), at Hometown Buffet, 3900 NW63rd St., Oklahoma City, OK. Visitors welcome. Dinner/Socializing, 6 p.m., meeting, 7 p.m. Swapmeets on second Saturday in April and October at 8a.m., Midwest City Community Center, 100 N. Mid-west Blvd., Midwest City, OK. Membership $15/yearincluding monthly Broadcast News. Info: contact JimCollings at (405) 755-4139 or jrcradio@ cox.net. Web-site: www.okvrc.org. • Ottawa Vintage Radio Club — Usually meets the

second Wednesday of every month (except July andAugust) in the Conference Room, Ottawa Citizen, 1101Baxter Rd., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Auctions in Oc-

tober and May. Call Paul�Guibord (613-523-1315), orcheck www.ovrc.org for details.�• The Pittsburgh Antique Radio Society welcomes vis-

itors to our Saturday flea markets, contests and clinicsheld at least four times yearly. A fall auction is includedin September and our annual luncheon program is onthe first Saturday in December. An annual Tri-StateRadio Fest is held in April. Our journal, The PittsburghOscillator, is mailed quarterly. For more information visitus at http://www.pittantiqueradios. org, email Presi-dent Chris Wells at [email protected], or phone Treasurer Tom Dixon at 412-343-5326.• Society for Preservation of Antique Radio Knowl-

edge (SPARK) — Meets monthly at Donato’s Pizzeria,7912 Paragon Rd., Centerville, OH. Annual swap meet.Membership, $18/year. Write SPARK Inc., P.O. Box292111, Kettering, OH 45429; e-mail [email protected] or call John Pansing at (937) 299-9570.• Texas Antique Radio Club — Meets alternate

months in Kyle and Shertz, TX. Contact: Doug Wright,625 Rolling Hills Dr., Canyon Lake, TX 78133. Email:[email protected]; website www.gvtc.com/~edengel/TARC.htm.• Vintage Radio and Phonograph Society (VRPS)

meets monthly on the third Saturday. Located in theDallas, Fort Worth Metroplex, our current activities areannual convention, auctions, swap meets, repair train-ing sessions and monthly programs. For details visit ourwebsite www.vrps.org, or by contacting VRPS PresidentJim Sargent at (817) 573-3546 or [email protected].


The Antique Wireless Association is an organ-ization of about 2000 international memberslinked by a common interest in the history

of electrical and electronic communications. AWAmembers come from all walks of life and our ranksinclude teenagers, octogenarians, and beyond inboth directions. At one of our meets, you mightfind yourself shaking hands with a retired broad-cast executive or military electronics specialist, anengineer in a high-tech electronics firm, or aneager young person looking for advice on restor-ing his or her first radio.The organization was started in 1952 by Bruce

Kelley, George Batterson, and Linc Cundall—ama-teur radio operators and radio collectors from up-state New York. Their initial goal was to establish amuseum where they could collect and preserveearly wireless and radio equipment and historicalinformation before it was lost to future genera-tions. Decades later, their legacy continues to mo-tivate our members. Some of us are most interested in the technical

background behind the epoch-making discoveriesthat now make it as easy to communicate acrossthe globe as around the corner. Others enjoy theromance surrounding the men and institutionsthat put these discoveries to work: the maritimeradio operators who averted disasters with theiralert ears and quick thinking; the short-wave sta-tions that radiated glimpses of exotic cultures andmindsets; the giant radio networks that deliveredunparalleled entertainment and timely news to ourhomes while hawking toothpaste, cigarettes andsoap flakes.Though AWA members share this common in-

terest, which many can trace back to early child-hood, they express it in different ways. Some of uscollect radio-related literature and manuals. Otherscollect and restore hardware: Morse keys andsounders, battery radios of the 1920s, telephones,advertising signs, cathedral and console radios—you name it! Collections can become very special-ized, restricted to such things as radio componentscrafted of shiny Bakelite and gleaming brass or per-haps the fragile and intricate vacuum tubes thatmade the communications miracles possible.Among our members are meticulous craftsmen

who enjoy replicating vintage receivers and/ortransmitters. Those who are licensed amateurs fre-quently operate such equipment in special com-munications events sponsored by the AWA.

In addition to the commitment to the preserva-tion of historical artifacts and background materialsat our Museum, AWA also publishes The AWA Journaland The AWA Review. The Journal is a quarterly pub-lication that gives our multi-talented members anoutlet to share their historical research, equipmentrestorations, troubleshooting and servicing tips andother information of common interest. The AWA Re-view, which also publishes member contributions,contains more extensive and scholarly papers. It ispublished once a year.

The AWA Gateway is the latest addition to theAWA family of publications. It’s delivered electron-ically and free of charge—downloadable from ourweb site www.antiquewireless.org. Our content is targeted at those who may not

be familiar with the AWA and who perhaps are justbecoming interested in the history, collecting orrestoration of vintage communications gear. Forthat reason, our technical articles are more basicthan those in our other publications and our arti-cles about AWA generally do not assume knowl-edge that that only those familiar with our organ-ization might have.The AWA also sponsors a four day annual conven-

tion in August featuring technical presentations andforums, a large auction, an awards banquet, anequipment and artifact competition, a book sale,and an active flea market. The convention affordsattendees plenty of time to renew and make friend-ships, time to engage in long conversations on col-lection, preservation and all other aspects of thehobby.The AWA Museum campus is located in Bloom-

field, New York. Membership in the AWA includesfree admission to the world famous facility. It iscrammed with too many treasures to describehere, but you can see some of the exhibits on ourweb site www.awawireless.org.The AWA is chartered as a non-profit organiza-

tion in New York State, an IRS 501(c)(3) tax-ex-empt corporation, and is a member of the Ameri-can Association of Museums. To learn more aboutAWA or to join our organization, visit the AWAwebsite.

DONATING ARTIFACTS TO THE AWA

You may have artifacts that you are interested indonating to the AWA. We would be pleased to dis-cuss any possible donation. Please call us at (585)257-5119.

ABOUT THE ANTIQUE WIRELESS ASSOCIATION


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