VOLUME 18            SEPTEMBER 2001                NUMBER  9

RADIO MISCELLANEA -- SEPTEMBER 2001

From Antique Radio Classified for September 2001
(Copyright 1996-2001 by John V. Terrey - For personal use only.)

"Antique Radio Classified" invites its readers to contribute letters and information for inclusion in "Radio Miscellanea" and elsewhere in the magazine. "In The Marketplace" is based on information submitted by the businesses themselves. All topics should be of general interest and sent to A.R.C., P.O. Box 2, Carlisle, MA 01741. All material submitted should be verified for accuracy and may be edited for publication, which is not guaranteed. See the masthead for more details.

Vintage Tube ID
Dear Editor:

Thank you for the article "Vintage Ham Photo Treasure" in the July issue of A.R.C. The tube C.R. Spicer holds in his left hand in the photo on page 13 is a Radiotron UV-204A, a triode with a thoriated tungsten cathode, which is rated at 230 watts. I have one. I can't help to identify the other tubes.

--Claude J. Dellevar, Sylmar, CA

More on Tower House Radio
Dear Editor:

The Tower House radio in the June 2001 issue of A.R.C., p. 17, is apparently the same radio with a different clock, shown in the December 1998 Photo Review, and listed as an "Ingraham Clock Radio, Model Unknown." Its tube complement is the following: 224, (3); 47 output, (1); and an 80 rectifier.

The wording of the metal tag on the Tower House set seems to indicate that the set is a house brand, sold by the H.M. Tower Corp. "Distributor American Bosch Radio" could indicate that the set was manufactured by Bosch for the Tower Co. The knobs/dial placement, the general shape of the cabinet and grille, and the overall look of the set are reminiscent of the Bosch table sets of the period, although without the clock. 1931 would seem to be a good guess as to manufacturing date. A cruise through the first three or four volumes of John F. Rider might produce a schematic to match the set.

--Dale Davenport, Fort Smith, AR

Tennessee Radio B & B
From a news release:

The Historic Main Street Inn B & B in Wartrace, Tennessee, features antique and reproduction radios in each guestroom, the dining room, and on the porches. Innkeepers Janet and Jerry Fox "broadcast" music from the early 1920s to the mid-1950s, network shows from the 1930s to the early 1950s, and vintage commercials, and newscasts via a closed circuit "pantry radio station." With old radios, antique furnishings, and books and magazines, they have "created the atmosphere of your Grandma's house of 50 to 70 years ago."

The Inn is located about an hour south of Nashville and ten minutes off I-24. Check out the guestrooms on its Web site at www.historicmainstreetinn.com or call (931) 389-0389 for a brochure.

--Jerry Fox, Wartrace, TN

A.R.C. - Vital Link
Dear Editor:

I appreciate A.R.C.'s persistence in keeping the latest info, references, and suppliers coming each month. You are still a vital link in the radio collecting community.

--Eric A. Miller, Linn, MO

It is not a Tuska
Dear Editor:

I've just been rereading the July 2001 issue of A.R.C., and the pictures at the top of page 24 stopped me cold. I don't know if anyone else picked up on this, but the radio in the two pictures is no Tuska! The case, front panel, and possibly one knob are Tuska, but that's it! I owned a Tuska 301 for a while, and I know. The 301 is a 3-tube reflex set. A look at the Model 301 in Alan Douglas' Radio Manufacturers of the 1920's will confirm this. From the look of the coils in the picture, someone stuck a clone of a Freshman Masterpiece in there. It is true that the buyer should beware, but this is really out of line!

--John G. Bayusik, Wallingford, CT

I currently own a Tuska 301 and compared the photo (the original one supplied with the article) to my set and I agree. The panel, the center knob, and the cabinet are Tuska, but the rest is not. The VRPS crew, being 1,500 miles from where the Tuska set was built, Connecticut, can be excused from the error, but your editor, in the next state, and with 10 Tuska sets in his collection cannot. However, this is why it is important to preview an auction and to be expert in what you choose to collect. (Editor)

Speaker ID Error
Dear Editor:

There appears to be an error in the identification of the loudspeakers on page 23 of the July 2001 issue. The speaker on the left, while it looks very much like an Atwater Kent E3, is probably a Crosley Type F Dynacone.

The dead giveaway is the pattern in the ornate grille. The speaker shown has the six small diamonds like my Crosley Dynacone, while my Atwater Kent speaker has six much larger, petal-shaped cutouts.

Both speakers are "magnetic" and use rigid "voice" coils to cause a magnetized bar to move and vibrate the cone. Most vintage magnetic speakers use a horseshoe, permanent magnet as did the Atwater Kent speakers and the RCA 100 and 100A. However, the Crosley Dynacone used an electromagnet excited by the radio receiver, such as the Crosley Showbox.

An implication would be that the Crosley Dynacone speaker had to be used with a receiver that could supply 22 Vdc at 40 mA for the field, while the Atwater Kent speaker could be used with any radio wired for a magnetic speaker.

--Bill Thomas, Warner Robins, GA

Thanks for the correction. The caption should read: A Crosley Dynacone speaker (left); a Magnavox R3B horn, which, though scruffy, sold for $150 (center); and a Baldwin speaker (right). It was our error; we misinterpreted the furnished caption. (Editor)