New Passion for an Old Man

Sep 29, 2010 16:02

I don’t know how new this passion is really. I started collecting old radios a long time ago when I traded an old blue sofa for an old wooden Woolerock AM/SW receiver back in the late 70’s. I think I have already told the story of how I cleaned it up, plugged it in and the first thing I heard was the Andrew Sisters belting out an old swing number. I thought for a moment that I was in a Twilight Zone episode!

Not including the many pieces of ham gear that came and went over the years, I have managed to hang on to a few pieces since moving to Canada. I brought with me the Woolerock and my favourite tabletop receiver, the Zenith 10-S-442, along with a Nordmende receiver that was also a favourite. I sold the Nordmende recently to a friend, partially to satisfy his need for a big, old radio to play with, and partially to prove to Robbie that I am not a “hoarder” of technology.

That having been said, I have continued to collect radios since arriving in Canada. I have added a little Northern Electric “Baby Champ” - something I listen to every day! --, a beautiful miniature console radio from Stewart-Warner (I’ve been unable to find out much more about this radio than that is was manufactured around 1940 - and this is a guess based on another radio with a similar radio dial), and another Nordmende, the 1957 Kadett plastic radio that we use in the kitchen.

I also bought a Viking E1 radio for the upstairs hallway when Robbie complained that the big, old Nordmende was too bid for the hall table. The Viking was a perfect fit, plans nicely and actually matches our furniture perfectly! And somewhere along the road I picked up a very beautiful Rogers Majestic AM/SW receiver that has graced my bedside for a couple years. I love listening to it before going to sleep at night.

So, enough ancient history; the latest chapter in my story of radio collecting begins when I found two tube portables for sale at an antique mall up in Stratford. Both were in good shape, and the idea of having a tube-based portable radio struck me as brilliant. If we ever do get hit by an EMP and all the transistor based electronics in the world are destroyed, I would still have a workable portable radio with which to stay on top of the situation as we slowly die from whatever else hits us at that time. I am being perfectly logical here!

I rushed home to do my Internet homework and began reading up on the two sets being offered in Stratford. I was immediately impressed by the vast amount of information about the Zenith Transoceanic series of portable multi-band radios. The B600 being offered for sale was the last of the tube-based Transoceanic series, and seemed very desirable to me. The other set was made by Hallicrafters, the TW-2000, and was one of many “Transoceanic clones” built in the 1950’s. Both were in great shape, and even though the Hallicrafters was credited by some to be the better receiver, I decided to go with the original. I haven’t looked back. Here is the B600 in action!

Since then, I bought the Hallicrafters as well (I had to see if it really was a better receiver. I say, yes, but only marginally). I then picked up an H500, predecessor of the B600, at a vintage radio swap meet for only $75. It appears to be the most sensitive of all my radios at the moment, and I like it because it used the older semi-circular dial, which while more difficult to use, is to me more aesthetically pleasing. See it here.

I attended a hamfest near Burford a couple of months ago and saw my first D7000, transistor Transoceanic. I lusted for it immediately, but at $200 and not budging, I couldn’t bring myself to pay for it. Instead I picked up a beat-up G500 tube model, the predecessor of the H500. This radio really sounds good! But it had some kind of morphaditic antenna stuck in it, and both the dial plate and cover were badly damaged. Likewise, the entire front plastic piece looks like it was exposed to high heat or fire. The clear dial cover was actually slightly melted/distorted and was the cause of the dial plate being scratched up. I had read, however, that it is a very desirable collectors item because of the low number of units manufactured in the mid 1950’s
At $75, I decided to go for it and see if I could repair it, which I managed to do. I replaced the dial and dial cover and installed a new/used antenna in place of the “frankentenna” that came with it. Now, in spite of the slight cosmetic discolouration of the front plastic, this radio looks and plays great. Check it out here!

I missed the big swap meet in Kutztown, PA this year, but hope to make it next year. It is supposed to be the biggest event of its kind - there is a heavy focus on antique radios. There is also a store in town that I plan to visit on my next trip to visit my sisters!

I did make it to the hamfest in London last weekend, and wouldn’t you know, right inside the door at the first table I encountered was a transistor Transoceanic from the 1970's, the D7000Y in excellent condition, complete with batteries. I offered $175 and got it without too much argument, and ran back to my car with it to try it out. I tuned in some 40-meter ham sideband stations with no difficulty at all, and it sounded wonderful. I felt a little bad about spending more scare resources on yet another radio, but with the addition of this set to my collection, I am feeling very complete as far as my need for any more radios.

Of course, I had to go back in to the hamfest and see what else was to be seen. I found myself getting very excited at being at such an event again. I remember as a ham what exciting times I had at the many hamfests I attended in the 70’s and 80’s. Who knows; I may end up getting back into the hobby again someday.

At any rate, I found one more radio that I had to buy. It was another Zenith, a Royal 760 Navigator. This is a transistor radio from about 1958, clad in leather, heavy, but with a beautiful sound quality that you just don’t hear in small transistor radios today. It was missing two knobs that switch to a Long Wave band and does some kind of direction finding. I’m really not sure what all that is about. But it doesn’t matter; the two knobs that count are in place and working beautifully - especially the vernier tuning knob, which is a pleasure to work. I got this beauty for $5, and after cleaning up the mess in the battery compartment, feeding it a new set of six C-cells, it fired up in fine fettle. You can see it in action here.

So, all in all, I have been having a blast buying, cleaning, repairing and playing with my new/old radios. Another time I will explain how I use them all!

b600, vintage radio, h500, zenith, nordmende, stewart-warner, g500, hallicrafters hamfest, northern electric

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