This is only a preview of the June 1994 issue of Silicon Chip. You can view 35 of the 96 pages in the full issue, including the advertisments. For full access, purchase the issue for $10.00 or subscribe for access to the latest issues. Articles in this series:
Items relevant to "A Coolant Level Alarm For Your Car":
Items relevant to "An 80-Metre AM/CW Transmitter For Amateurs":
Items relevant to "Convert Your Phono Inputs To Line Inputs":
Items relevant to "A PC-Based Nicad Battery Monitor":
Articles in this series:
Articles in this series:
Articles in this series:
|
VINTAGE RADIO
By JOHN HILL
Timber cabinets, antique dealers
& vintage radio prices
How much should you pay for an old radio,
particularly one that no longer works? We
take a look at this question this month & offer
some advice on restoring old timber cabinets.
“Purists” (those collectors who
insist that their collec
tions remain
original at all costs) would shudder at
the thought of scraping down a timber
radio cabinet and “doing it up” – particularly if modern materials such as
“Estopol” and “Aquadhere” are used
in the process.
While keeping things completely
original sounds OK in theo
ry, very
few timber cabinets are good enough
to leave as they are. In 10 years of
radio collecting, I have found only
three timber cabinets that were good
enough to leave in their original state.
Even then, they all required quite a bit
of work before they looked reasonably
presentable.
In most cases, timber cabinets
deteriorate to such a dreadful state
of disrepair that no-one would want
them as they are and they would be
Above: this magnificent looking “wood grain” finish is only a
painted on veneer which produces a remarkably good effect.
This technique produced “wood grains” that no real tree could
possibly match.
Right: this Philco receiver is another with a false veneer front. In
this example, the effect is produced with a brush and stencil. The
fine white vertical lines in the speaker fretwork are not inlaid
timber as they appear to be but the plywood of the cabinet.
80 Silicon Chip
most unwelcome in any lounge room.
Any 50-60 year old console or other
timber cabinet radio that has spent a
few years in an outside shed is usually a fairly uninteresting piece of
equipment, or furniture, depending
on your point of view. Some become
quite loose in the joints and will have
lost more of their original lacquer than
they retain.
When this is the case, who wants
them in original condition? I certainly
don’t!
Invariably, it is standard procedure, at least as far as I’m concerned,
to refurbish timber cabinets. The
process is long and time-consuming
and involves completely stripping
the old finish, sanding the cabinet
smooth and re-gluing rickety joints
and loose veneer. And that’s only the
preparatory work!
At this stage one has the choice of
using wood stains but in most instances I refrain from this treatment and
allow the natural colour of the timber
to show through. Wiping down with a
damp cloth will show up the true tonings of the wood veneer. Staining will
often dull it and smother the timber’s
warm appeal.
Plywood cabinets
Now a word of warning. Not all
timber cabinets can be successfully
refurbished! Stripping some cabinets
will result in nothing to work with
other than plain, unfigured plywood.
Back in the early 1930s (the great
depression years), radio manufacture
was very competitive and many manufacturers went out of business during
that period. Any process that could
trim costs would give an advantage
over a competitor and so cabinet costs
were trimmed considerably. They were
made of much lighter materials and,
in some cases, the expensive walnut
veneers that were in common use at
that time to enhance the cabinet’s
appearance were not used. Instead,
the “veneer” was painted onto plain
plywood and often gave a surprisingly
good effect. All sorts of knotty timber
patterns were developed – the sort of
patterns that no real tree could possibly produce naturally.
The Univox cabinet shown in some
of the accompanying photographs is
one of these paint-on jobs and, after
about 60 years, it has reached a stage
where the painted-on wood grain
has started to shrink, with splits appearing in the paint work. Each split
reveals the whitish coloured plywood
underneath and to strip such a cabinet
would result in a bland pine coloured
surface with no wood grain finish
whatsoever.
Making repairs
If a cabinet of this type is to be refurbished, the original “wood grain”
must be left intact. That means that
splits in the shrunken finish have to
be filled in with a matching stain or
colour and the whole lot covered with
a clear, satin finish lacquer – not an
easy task by any means!
Just how permanent a restoration of
this nature would be is another matter.
The old paint work may continue to
crack and deteriorate and the lacquer
After 60 years, the painted “veneer” starts to shrink and crack, thus making
restoration a difficult task. The panel to the right of the cracked section shows
how featureless the plywood underneath really is. That is what the cabinet
would look like if the original finish is removed.
This old Radiola was bought for $40 from a secondhand dealer. Although this
receiver “worked”, it was later discovered that mice had chewed away three
quarters of the loudspeaker cone. No wonder the sound was soft & distorted!
would be the only thing holding it in
place. Such a repair would probably
be, at best, a temporary measure.
The Philco receiver (see photograph) also has a similar “el cheapo”
front panel. In this instance, a stencil
has been used to produce thin vertical
lines to create an impression of inlaid
timber. It is all a fake! The “inlaid”
strips are the original plywood and the
darker “wood grain” has been applied
with a brush.
Once again, any attempt to strip the
front panel would result in nothing
other than a plain piece of uninspiring
plywood. However, while some collectors may be critical of such cheap and
nasty production methods, who would
have thought way back in the 1930s
that someone would want to restore
the cabinet (and the radio) some 50
or 60 years later?
Anyway, you have been warned!
Always inspect a radio cabinet very
closely before deciding to strip it down
to bare wood. In some instances, the
June 1994 81
The price of this little Peter Pan radio came tumbling down when the on/off
switch decided not to work. If a dealer has trouble demonstrating a radio, it is
in the best interests of the buyer not to interfere. No matter what, the dealer will
still make a reasonable profit.
due to myself and fellow vintage radio
writer, Peter Lankshear. Collectively,
we have encouraged many people to
collect and restore old radios, thus creating a demand and a corresponding
increase in prices.
However, while I know that I have
been instrumental in getting some
collectors started in this interesting
hobby, it was bound to happen anyway. As soon as something becomes
rare or is no longer made, that’s when
people start collecting it. Valve radios
had already reached that stage when I
first became interested in them about
10 years ago and the movement has
gathered considerable momentum
since then.
Secondhand and antique dealers
are more likely to be the ones who
initiated the price increases in old
radios. Their prices are always based
on what the market will pay, not the
price they pay for their merchandise.
While they do spend a lot of time chasing auctions and the like, they seem to
operate on much higher margins than
most retailers.
Recent acquisitions
The octal valves in this Scharnberg Strauss 4-valve receiver date it at around
the late 1940s. It’s a fairly uncommon receiver & was obtained for $70 but that
included a set of headphones.
bare wood may be a good deal barer
than you think!
So much for timber radio cabinets.
Let’s now move onto something else.
Vintage radio prices
Have you noticed lately that, despite
the recent economic down turn, vintage radio prices did not come down
very much. My observation is that
82 Silicon Chip
prices are still fairly inflated and, as a
result, collectors are not buying. I have
also heard of cases where collectors
have sold their radios without getting
their money back. Surely that is an
indication that they may have paid
more for their radios than they were
really worth.
The inflated prices of valve radios
(so I have been told) have been largely
Although secondhand dealers have
to eat just as you and I, some of their
prices are unrealistic to say the least.
But these high prices appear to be coming down. While on a recent holiday,
I managed to pick up a few receivers
at fairly reasonable prices considering
they were bought from dealers. I just
happened to be in the right shops at
the right times.
The first one was a mid 1950s
5-valve AWA Radiola, a fairly large
mantel model which I was able to
purchase for $40. It was in going order
but only just. The cabinet was maroon
and cream and although these colours
are difficult to identify through the
coating of grime, I am sure that it will
clean up OK. As there were no cracks
in the cabinet or dial and it still had
its original knobs (very important for
that particular model), it was a good
buy for the price.
Next was a cream Peter Pan, an
identical model to the one pictured
on the front of the 1993 Vintage Radio
Calendar. The price on the Peter Pan
was $95. Obviously the dealer didn’t
know about the Vintage Radio calendar, otherwise it would have been
$195. It looked clean and tidy and was
supposed to be in good working order.
Once again, the set still had its original
knobs which is important because, like
the previously mentioned Radi
ola,
they are special knobs.
In the same shop was an empty
cutlery box that my wife wanted, so I
bartered for a better price on the radio
if we bought both. The radio came
down to $75.
I then asked for a demonstration
on the radio and it would appear as
though the on/off switch decided at
that very moment to play up a bit.
The little Peter Pan would not switch
on –it was completely dead! Another
power point was tried with the same
result.
After a short discussion about burntout power transformers and other
equally frightening topics, I offered
$40 and the Peter Pan was mine. Later,
when I plugged it in and switched on,
it lit up first go. However, as the dealer
was about 130km away at that stage,
it was just too far to go back and offer
him the extra money. He most likely
made a reasonable profit anyway!
Many years ago, I learned never to
interfere with dealers when they are
demonstrating a radio. If they turn
it off instead of on, or if the selector
These Browns Type
“X” high impedance
headphones came
with the Scharnberg
Strauss radio. They are
in near-new condition
but definitely need a
new plug. The attached
240V electric light
fitting is an indication
of the strange (& often
dangerous) things
one encounters when
collecting old radios &
associated equipment.
switch is on a shortwave band or the
gramophone setting, then that’s their
problem! They should be more familiar with the articles they are selling. It
pays to act dumb (and can I act dumb)
and let them twiddle with the knobs. If
the set comes to life and starts working,
then it’s going to cost heaps more than
if it remains mute.
I have a pet phrase that I use when
a radio fails to work and that is, “you
can’t ask much for it when it doesn’t
go!”
Scharnberg Strauss
The “Musician” is a dual-wave
5-valve superhet built by Eclipse
Radio & is typical of budget-priced
console receivers from the mid-1930s.
It uses a 12-inch Saxon loudspeaker
& should perform quite well when
restored, although the cabinet
certainly lacks style.
The third receiver was of a brand
name that one doesn’t see very often
and that is “Scharnberg Strauss”.
Apart from the name, there was nothing really exciting about it as it was
just a straightforward 4-valve mantel
in a rather plain looking green plastic
cabinet. It was in fair working order
and I bought it for $70. The asking
price was $95.
Normally, $70 would be more than
I believe such a set is worth. However,
in this case, a pair of headphones went
with the deal – not just any old set of
headphones but a high-impedance
set of Browns Type X in almost new
condition.
In the same shop, there was a 1936
5-valve, dual-wave console bearing the
name “Musician” on the dial. It was,
in fact, one of those numerous Eclipse
Radio products that were so common
during the 1930s.
Any dual-wave 1930s console that
is complete with its original knobs
and 12-inch (30cm) electrodynamic
speaker, and has a cabinet in reasonable condition, has to be good buying
from a dealer at $120. I didn’t haggle
over the price with this one as it
seemed fairly reasonable to me.
Readers in capital cities such
as Melbourne and Sydney may be
amazed that valve radios can be
bought from dealers for these prices. My advice is to get out into the
countryside where such items are
more reasonably priced. However,
buying privately is always a better
proposition than buying from dealers,
although it can involve a lot of chasing
around. That’s one thing you pay for
SC
when buying from a dealer.
RESURRECTION
RADIO
Valve Equipment Specialists
Repairs – Restoration – Sales
VALVES – 1200 types in stock
EL34/BCA7 matched $30 ea.
6L6GC
matched $28 ea.
Parts are available for the enthusiast, including over 900 valve types, high voltage
capa citors, transformers, dial glasses,
knobs, grille cloth etc.
Circuit diagrams for most Australian makes
and models.
Send SAE for our catalog.
WANTED: Valves, Radios, etc.
Purchased for CASH
Call in to our NEW showroom at:
242 Chapel Street (PO Box 2029),
Prahran, Vic 3181.
Phone: (03) 510 4486; Fax (03) 529 5639
June 1994 83
|