VINTAGE RADIO
By JOHN HILL
Two vintage radio museums
This month, we're going to digress slightly and
take a look at two very interesting vintage radio
museums.., Both museums are situated in Victoria
and include impressive collections of pre-war
vintage radios, plus many other relics from the
pre-war era.
When I first started collecting valve
radios back in 1984 , I found it an
interesting and compelling hobby.
Although I had engaged in many other
hobbies over the years, none were
quite as exciting as vintage radio.
At the time, I had this wonderful
idea to combine my new interest with
my approaching retirement. I could
have my own radio museum where
my entire collection would be on permanent display. In my mind's eye, I
could see myself counting the admis-
sion dollars as hundreds queued at
the door waiting to get in. Who needs
Tattslotto?
Unfortunately my retirement fantasy will never become a reality. To
set up such an enterprise requires a
considerable amount of cash and unless a museum is situated in a high
density tourist area, it is not likely to
be worth the effort or the expense.
Where I live (in quiet central Victoria), such a venture would be a financial disaster.
The Orpheus Radio Museum caters for a wide range of interests. This
photograph shows part of the museum's 1920s collection. Included in the
collection are a 1923 2-valve Marconiphone, a 1923 2-valve Crossley, several 4,
5 and 6-valve TRF models, and an early Radiola superhet from about 1925.
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SILICON CHIP
I keep telling my wife that we are
shifting to the Gold Coast to set up
shop, but she keeps coming up with
all sorts ofreasons why we shouldn't
go. The most convincing reason is:
"where is the money coming from?"
But despite my inability to achieve
my retirement dreams, other collectors are setting up private museums
all over the country. There are doll
museums , car museums, clock museums, aircraft muse.urns, and museums displaying anything from farm
implements to old bottles. If someone
collects it, there will be a display
somewhere for all to see.
The Catswhisker
One of the more recent radio museums to open is at Chiltern, Victoria.
"The Catswhisker" radio museum is
run by Bob and Marg Adkins and is a
cut above the average collection of
dusty relics. The name, in particular,
is most appropriate for such an establishment and there is a special exhibit
explaining the importance of the
catswhisker in those bygone days of
early radio. Such an explanation is
necessary today because so few know
about the old style crystal detector
and its catswhisker.
Bob's museum is in his back yard
and is housed in a large well built
shed. The building is lined and insulated and is a comfortable place to be
regardless of the weather. Items on
display mainly include radios from
the v~lve era plus quite a few early
phonographs. Most of these exhibits
are in working order and have been
lovingly restored. Those that are not
working at least look the part and,
collectively, it is a very good display
of radios and early sound equipment.
The Catswhisker has an excellent
collection of radios from the 1920s
era. They range from simple crystal
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These vintage radios are just a few of the many radios in Bob Adkin's collection.
They are, from left: an Airzone, an Astor Mickey Grand and a Tasma.
Bob Adkins, owner of the Catswhisker
museum in Chiltern, Victoria. The
Catswhisker houses an excellent
collection of old gramophones, radios
and movie posters.
sets to some very stylish 5 and 6-valve
TRF sets that were typical of that period. Many of these old receivers are
accompanied by the usual horn
speaker and the 1920s collection really looks the part.
Perhaps the best aspect of this section of the museum is that these valuable items are on display in a huge
glass-fronted cabinet. The cabinet is
illuminated from the inside and its
contents are neatly displayed with a
few old household ornaments which
provide added appeal.
The radios in the 1920s cabinet are
arranged in three tiers and together
make up one of the most impressive
displays I have seen. It often grieves
met to see a valuable collection gathering dust and slowly deteriorating
due to neglect and improper storage.
Bob's big glass cabinet solves many
problems and its contents are not only
well preserved but very well dis played.
The Catswhisker's valve collection
is also under glass. Once again , these
items are not only well displayed but
The 1920s cabinet at the Catswhisker vintage radio museum includes this old
Harness reflex receiver (left) and an elaborate home-made crystal set.
are well protected from souvenir hunters and the like. Although it is great to
have working displays for all to touch
and use, some museum relics need to
be out of reach - particularly anything that is easily broken.
But Bob Adkins_doesn't have everything behind glass. Most of his radios,
apart from the 1920s collection, are
out on open display and in working
order - and Bob has some very interesting old sets in his collection.
Two of the more noteworthy receivers are a stylish old "Majestic" and a
"Sonora" from the late 1920s. These
very large sets are typical examples of
some of the up-market receivers of
those times. Another rare piece is an
"Astor Mickey Grand" which is of
1935 vintage. Many of the more everyday mantel and table model radios
are displayed in the museum on shelving around the walls.
Also on show is a range of old
gramophones, including an early "Columbia" and an "Edison" cylindrical.
These machines are fully operational
and visitors to the museum can compare between the recorded sounds of
yesteryear and those of today.
Bob Adkins 's museum also boasts
an incredible collection of old movie
posters and these add considerable
interest to the museum. They are very
colourful too , and give the place quite
a lift.
The Catswhisker is not a stuffy room ·
filled with dusty junk. It houses a
collection of interesting items which
are nicely arranged in pleasant surroundings . The museum is open on
Sundays and public holidays , or by
OCT0BER1991
73
An extensive valve collection is also on display at the Catswhisker museum.
These date right back to the early days of radio and include many odd and
interesting types, some of which are now virtually unobtainable.
special arrangement, and is situated
at 1 Gaunt Street, Chiltern - phone
(057) 261233. It is well worth a visit if
you are passing that way on your next
holiday.
Orpheus Radio Museum
The Orpheus Radio Museum at
Ballarat, Victoria is also well worth a
visit. This particular museum has been
open since July 1987 and many thousands of visitors have been through it
in that time.
Like the Catswhisker, the Orpheus
museum has similar displays of early
gramophones and radios, with the
added attraction of 3BA Ballarat's
original transmitter. Also included is
a sizeable collection of old cameras
and early sound recording equipment.
Amongst the latter is a wax cylinder
"Dictaphone", a wire recorder and a
reel to reel tape recorder with a clockwork motor.
The museum has been dedicated to
Warne Wilson, the founder of 3BA, by
his grandson, Richard Wilson. Richard
runs the museum in conjunction with
a modern electronics factory where a
range of products is produced under
the "Atron" tradename.
Orpheus is a very significant name
for the Ballarat Radio Museum, as
Warne Wilson manufactured radio
receivers in the 1920s under the
"Orpheus" brand name. Orpheus
(from Greek mythology) was given a
lyre by his father Apollo. Upon mas-
There's nothing like an old crystal set to bring back
memories. This particular receiver in the Orpheus
collection has a built in lightning arrester.
74
SILICON CHIP
tering the lyre, his voice and music
were truly perfect and this apparently
also applied to Orpheus radios.
There are several working exhibits
at the Orpheus museum, the most fascinating of which seem to be the old
crystal sets. As 3BA's transmitter is
about 1km away, crystal sets work
well with a small aerial. Many museum visitors obtain hands on experience adjusting the crystal detector to
find that elusive "good spot". These
working relics from the past attract a
good deal of attention.
Other working exhibits include the
gramophones and the "Sounds of the
Twenties", where a tape of 1920s radio program extracts and music is
played through an old Amplion horn
speaker. Such a working display gives
visitors to the museum some idea of
the toneless reproduction of early
loudspeakers and how much they
improved with further development
over the years.
3BA's original transmitter is interesting in that its output rating was
only 50 watts. Today, where 2kW is
minimal for commercial stations and
most ABC stations run 50kW, 50 watts
sure sounds a bit feeble. No wonder
everyone had a big aerial mast in their
backyard back in the old days.
There are many other pieces of
equipment from 3BA's past, including the "Liberty Chimes". Remember
the days when all radio announcements were preceded by chimes?
These melodious sounds put a smile
on many a face because it instantly
brings back memories of long forgotten broadcasting techniques.
The Orpheus display of early ra-
This 1910 Columbia gramophone is part of the Orpheus
display. Others include an Edison Cylindrical and a
Diamond Disk.
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Our skilled technicians offer QUALITY repairs
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We also have a large stock of Bakelite and
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Also on display at the Orpheus Radio Museum is this assortment of disc, wire
and tape recorders from 3BA's past. The tape recorder at centre front is
interesting in that it has a clockwork motor to drive the reels.
dios is particularly good and many
well preserved receivers and speakers from the 1920s era are on show.
The Orpheus Museum has no movie
posters on its walls but it does have
many old photographs from the past.
These include early amateur radio stations, old radio advertisements and
portraits of famous radio pioneers
such as Hertz, Marconi, Armstrong
and de Forest.
When one thinks of radio museums, one usually thinks of receivers
and equipment from the 1920s and
1930s. The Orpheus museum has a
good selection of these items.
In conjunction with the museum,
Richard Wilson also operates a mail
order vintage radio spare parts service. This service offers a good supply
of radio and TV valves, high voltage
electrolytic and polyester capacitors,
and numerous other vintage radio bits
and pieces. Kits for 1 and 2-valve
battery receivers and crystal sets are
available, as well as numerous publications.
The Orpheus Radio Museum is
open seven days a week and is situated at the corner of Ring Road and
the Western Highway, Ballarat- phone
(053) 34 2513. The postal address is:
RSD B98, Ballarat, 3352.
Both of the museums mentioned in
this article confirm the growing interest in vintage radio. Like vintage motor cars, vintage radio has a considerable band of followers and new devotees are joining the throng daily.
Parts are available for the enthusiasts
including over 900 valve types, high voltage
capacitors, transformers, dial glasses,
knobs, grille cloth etc.
Circuit diagrams for most Australian makes
and .models.
Send SAE for our catalogue.
WANTED - Valves, Radios, etc.
purchased for CASH
Call in to our Showroom at:
51 Chapel Street, Windsor,Vic 3181
PO Box 1116
Telephone: (03) 529 5639
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3BA's original transmitter is now an
important display item at the Orpheus
Radio Museum. The 50-watt
transmitter was commissioned in
1930 and was in service for six years
before being replaced with more
modern equipment.
But unlike vintage cars, radio collecting is a relatively cheap hobby
that most people can afford to indulge
in. What's more, there are still lots of
old sets around to collect, provided
you're prepared to look for them. SC
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(03) 497 3422
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Fax (03) 499 2381
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OCT0BER1991
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