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This is only a preview of the September 1996 issue of Silicon Chip. You can view 23 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. Items relevant to "Build A VGA Digital Oscilloscope; Pt.3":
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VINTAGE RADIO
By JOHN HILL
Vintage radio collectors
and collecting
Collecting vintage radio receivers can be a
very rewarding hobby but to get the most
satisfaction and value it is a good idea to
have every receiver in your collection in
working order. That way, if you want to sell
it, it will bring a good price.
Way back in 1987 I tried to sell the
idea of having vintage radio stories in a
modern electronics magazine but with
only limited success. I reckoned that
the subject of valve radio restoration
could have been covered reasonably
well with a series of about 10 articles
but the powers that be allowed me
only two.
However, those two stories produced a surprising
reader response and suddenly, valve radios and their
restoration took on a new
meaning.
The stories sparked off
quite a lot of interest, for no
other reason than that they
The photographs this month
are mainly of the more
unusual items that some
collectors prize. Shown
are 3L0 window posters
advertising the week’s
program highlights. The
posters were displayed
in radio shop windows
during the early days of
broadcasting. (1933?)
84 Silicon Chip
appeared at the right time. Radio
collecting was just starting to kick off
in the mid 1980s and the collecting
and restoring of old receivers has
grown in the past decade to a stage
where many businesses have been
successfully established to cater for
the needs of an ever increasing number of collectors.
Now, both here and abroad, vintage
radio columns are a regular item in
some electronics magazines and are
read by many thousands of radio collectors and other interested readers.
I have had a number of people write
to me just to say that they enjoy my
column, even though they are not
collectors themselves.
So it would appear that the continuing interest in valve technology
extends well beyond those who are
directly involved in maintaining it.
However, many Vintage Radio
readers are interested to some degree
in collecting old radios and collectors are the subject of this month’s
column.
I have met many collectors over the
past few years and they are a strange
lot if you stand back and take a close
look - with some being stranger than
others! Thank goodness I have been
able to retain my sanity and not let
my collecting enthusiasm take control.
Who am I kidding?!
Radio collectors fit into many categories. Some are totally obsessed by
their hobby, as though some kind of
narcotic drug has taken over, while
others can either take it or leave it
as the mood finds them. I guess I fit
somewhere in between.
I first became interested in radio
when I was a kid in short pants. Although I was very interested at the
time, lack of money curbed my enthusiasm and I never progressed past
the crystal set and simple regenerative
receiver stage.
My latent radio interests were
reawakened with the advent of the
“Technicraft” series of kit radios that
appeared in the mid 1980s.
These sets were the “Unidyne”,
“Reinartz Two”, “Super Crystal Set”
etc. Putting together a few vintage
style kits really grabbed my
attention at a stage when I
was looking for a new hobby.
So vintage radio came along
at the right time.
From the Technicraft
kits I graduated to the real
thing when I was given a
1939 5-valve console model
Radiola.
After restoring that receiver I was hooked and just
had to find another and go
through the whole process
again.
Before I realised it, I had
become a collector of old
radio receivers.
Collecting valve radios
is one thing, getting them
working again is another
matter. While some collectors do not care if their
radios work or not, most
like to restore them or have
them restored, to work
ing order, which can be
a difficult
task
at
times.
Regarding the previously mentioned
Radiola, about all that
was required to fix it
was the replacement
of a faulty capacitor
and the refurbishing
of the timber cabinet.
The set was in really
good condition and
needed very little
doing to it. Even the
dial lights lit up.
Alas I was soon to
find out that other
receivers had entirely
different problems
and more of them.
Some of these faults
were incredibly hard
to locate, believe
me. It took several
years before I came
to grips with most of
the common valve
This old transmitter
once powered 3SH
Swan Hill. Once
again, it is an item
that takes up a lot of
space.
Collectors of large equipment such
as this 5kW AWA transmitter are
faced with storage problems normal
collectors never experience. To give
some idea of size, the windows in
the doors are about eye height. This
transmitter was once used by 3TR Sale
and was donated to the Maryborough
Creative Arts and Science museum
by the Bendigo TAFE College.
Transporting it was no easy job.
radio faults.
Then, as now, I considered the fun
part of collecting old radios to be the
repair aspect. There is nothing quite
like the satisfaction one experiences
when some old wreck of a receiver
bursts into life after being dead for
many decades.
Once a restoration has been completed and the receiver goes on the
shelf, it means very little to me from
that point on, apart from the memory of getting it going. I guess that is
where I may differ from most other
collectors. Everyone sees vintage radio
differently.
Naturally the repairing of a receiver
is not everything. I enjoy the scrounging, bartering, trading, etc and I also
like to listen to some of my receivers
from time to time. But the really rewarding part of it all is getting them
September 1996 85
An attractive display of EverReady batteries from the Dick Howarth collection.
working again and that is why I like
to collect valve receivers.
In my opinion, a lot of collectors
are not really collectors; they are
hoarders. This type of person often
goes to a great deal of trouble and
expense to obtain something but does
nothing constructive with it once he
brings it home.
I have been to see a number of collections only to find that you stand
in an obstructed doorway and have
various items pointed out at the far end
of the room. Whether a rare piece or
common, they all share the same fate
and gradually deteriorate because of
inadequate care and improper storage.
Mice, cockroaches, dust and dampness
all take their toll over the years and
a good collectable item eventually
becomes a wreck.
I visited a place in Melbourne some
time ago where every room in the
house was stacked to the ceiling with
“collectables” of many types. There
were narrow, maze-like passages
through the rubble and although the
windows were unlocked no intruder
would ever be able to get in.
This guy had even filled his bedroom and bathroom with junk to such
an extent he was forced to sleep on
the floor in the passage with his dog
and took a shovel out the back when
he wanted to go to the toilet. Believe
me - it’s true!
And where did all this hoarding
get him? He died an unhappy and
friendless man.
As he could not take his treasures
with him, his sister sold me a car full
of unrestored radios for about $200.
The radios were like the cameras, TV
sets, clocks, watches, car parts and
dusty books. They were all in poor
condition through sheer neglect.
A true collector will try to restore
and preserve the things he collects
while the hoarder’s collection slowly
deteriorates because he can’t be bothered to even throw a dust cover over
something old in order to protect it.
Unfortunately, there are a few
Also from the Dick Howarth collection is this display of miscellaneous bits and pieces from yesteryear. Some of the more
interesting items at the back are a Willard wet rectifier, an Edison battery and a Leclanche cell.
86 Silicon Chip
hoarders in the vintage radio movement.
Having the best part of my collection restored and on public display
pleases me greatly. There is little
satisfaction to be gained from cluttering up one’s home with collectable
items, regardless of what they might
be. When collecting takes over your
life, it’s time to seek help!
The following description would
cover most radio collectors. They pick
up a few sets at affordable prices, keep
the good ones and turn the others over
for a small profit which helps finance
their hobby.
There is nothing wrong with such
an attitude, for buying, selling and
trading is a good way to operate. It
also involves other collectors and
gives them the opportunity to buy or
trade what others may not want. At
least this approach keeps things in circulation and most of those involved
get something out of it.
A collector I met just recently has
built up his entire collection from his
local tip. Over a period of years he
has been able to gather together quite
a few reasonable receivers (mainly
40s and 50s mantel types) plus a
considerable collection of valves and
other very usable radio components
which have been stripped from chassis that were also deposited at the tip
face. Someone’s rubbish is another’s
treasure!
On the other hand there are other
collectors who only want the very
best and nothing else will do. No 50s
plastics, no 40s Bakelites, no battery
sets or portables, only those gems
of receivers from the late 20s, early
30s era. This type of collector thinks
nothing of spending $1,000 or more
on a particular receiver.
Needless to say such a collection
requires a lot of money to put together.
Whether that cost will be returned
when the time comes to sell remains
to be seen, because there are very few
up-market buyers.
There is a radio collector of my acquaintance who some may not regard
as a collector at all simply because he
has only a few commercially made
receivers. This guy prefers to build
his own: they can be simple battery
regenerative sets, perhaps a 4 or
5-valve superhet or maybe a mono
or stereo amplifier with a push-pull
output. He likes to build a variety of
valve equipment.
The author is pleased that the majority of his collection is restored and on
public display. This is part of that collection.
When building one of his creations,
the first step is to draw up a circuit,
which usually combines the good features of many circuits.
Once the circuit is finalised, the next
step is a plan of what parts go where.
This usually takes the form of a full
scale detailed component wiring diagram. He then knocks up a chassis of
suitable size and builds his own special
creation. What’s more, they look good
and work really well too.
In my opinion it is this type of collector/experimenter that gets the most
out of vintage radio. They obtain really
good value for their money and that
that’s how a hobby should be.
Other collectors prefer to tinker with
more unusual items such as military
equipment and communications receivers, while some collect transmitters and even radar installations. To
find the necessary storage space is, no
doubt, a problem of some magnitude
for any collector with a passion for
the big stuff.
Although a keen collector myself,
I try to maintain a balance in my collection and do not concentrate on any
particular make, model or era. I collect
only those radios that appeal to me and
come my way at what I consider to be
reasonable prices.
I have receivers from the 1920s, 30s,
This professional video equipment became redundant and unwanted with the
advent of aggregation. Again, difficult equipment to store because of its size.
September 1996 87
Most
collectors
will settle for
more realistic
items such
as this STC
mantel radio
with its timber
cabinet.
Somehow it is
a little more
appealing
than several
tonnes of
transmitter.
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Fully restored radios for sale
ALL TYPES AND BRANDS OF
AUDIO VALVES IN STOCK
40s and 50s. There are consoles, table
models, mantel models, portables and
even some early transistor radios.
There are a few novelty items too,
such as home-made receivers and
crystal sets, plus a few interesting old
valves, although nothing in the way
of a comprehensive valve collection.
Perhaps one of the driving forces
behind my radio collecting is this
Vintage Radio column.
Originally I saw it as a series of
about ten articles, so unless I pursue
my hobby fairly intensely, I will find
it difficult to maintain a variety of
subject matter to write about. Believe
me, it is not easy coming up with a
suitable story plus photographs each
month. It takes a considerable amount
of time and effort!
The writing aspect of my vintage
radio activities is actually a secondary
hobby in itself, which also includes
another of my interests; photography.
So radio collecting for me is a threefold
affair - radio, writing and photography,
all rolled into one big hobby.
How people can spend
their time watching TV
every evening is beyond my
understanding, especially
when there are so many more
interesting things to be done.
Doing something yourself is
much better than watching
others doing things on the
magic screen.
So if your radio collecting
is in the doldrums and focused on a narrow spectrum,
then it may be time to diversify a little, broaden your
horizons and try something
different.
The various aspects of
vintage radio are many. SC
Send SSAE for Catalogue
Visit Our Showroom At:
242 Chapel Street (PO Box 2029),
PRAHRAN, VIC 3181.
Tel (03) 9510 4486 Fax (03) 9529 5639
88 Silicon Chip
Many collectors favour
receivers from the 1930s
era. This one was made by
Eclipse Radio back in the
days when big was beautiful.
It is a 7-valve superhet.
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