https://qctimes.com/lifestyles/each-radio-tells-its-own-story-davenport-man-restores-antique/article_adf8c81c-0531-5ea7-b8df-1061911821b3.html
On 2020/03/27 7:49 a.m., Frank wrote:
https://qctimes.com/lifestyles/each-radio-tells-its-own-story-davenport-man-restores-antique/article_adf8c81c-0531-5ea7-b8df-1061911821b3.html
Let us hope this doesn't become a 'thing'!
I thought restoration meant to make more like the original, otherwise
just buy a Crosley clone...
John :-#(#
On Fri, 27 Mar 2020 09:28:35 -0700, John Robertson wrote:
On 2020/03/27 7:49 a.m., Frank wrote:
https://qctimes.com/lifestyles/each-radio-tells-its-own-story-davenport-man-restores-antique/article_adf8c81c-0531-5ea7-b8df-1061911821b3.html
Let us hope this doesn't become a 'thing'!
I thought restoration meant to make more like the original, otherwise
just buy a Crosley clone...
John :-#(#
Which Crosley clone has the lovely veneer of his True Tone restoration?
https://www.craftedqc.com/product/truetone/2968?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=121
And how many hours of our precious lives have we wasted looking for correct knobs?
https://www.craftedqc.com/product/stromberg-carlson/2964?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=121
And here's some more!!
https://www.craftedqc.com/product/stromberg-carlson/2964?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=121
https://qctimes.com/lifestyles/each-radio-tells-its-own-story-davenport-man-restores-antique/article_adf8c81c-0531-5ea7-b8df-1061911821b3.html
On Friday, March 27, 2020 at 9:50:00 AM UTC-5, Frank wrote:
https://qctimes.com/lifestyles/each-radio-tells-its-own-story-davenport-man-restores-antique/article_adf8c81c-0531-5ea7-b8df-1061911821b3.html
Crapified? Did you even read the article? Those radios are RESTORED!
On 2020/03/27 7:49 a.m., Frank wrote:
https://qctimes.com/lifestyles/each-radio-tells-its-own-story-davenport-man-restores-antique/article_adf8c81c-0531-5ea7-b8df-1061911821b3.html
Let us hope this doesn't become a 'thing'!
I thought restoration meant to make more like the original, otherwise
just buy a Crosley clone...
John :-#(#
On Friday, March 27, 2020 at 9:50:00 AM UTC-5, Frank wrote:
https://qctimes.com/lifestyles/each-radio-tells-its-own-story-davenport-man-restores-antique/article_adf8c81c-0531-5ea7-b8df-1061911821b3.html
Crapified? Did you even read the article? Those radios are RESTORED!
On 2020/03/27 7:49 a.m., Frank wrote:
https://qctimes.com/lifestyles/each-radio-tells-its-own-story-davenport-man-restores-antique/article_adf8c81c-0531-5ea7-b8df-1061911821b3.html
Let us hope this doesn't become a 'thing'!
I thought restoration meant to make more like the original, otherwise
just buy a Crosley clone...
John :-#(#
I have watched this conversation over the last several day, and here is my opinion:
a) A radio is an appliance. And as with any appliance, each one will have greater or lesser levels of 'design' included in it.
b) For the most part, consumer radios were mass-produced. So materials, means and methods were chosen to enhance the speed of manufacture, as well as keep costs as low as possible.
c) Very few radio manufacturers were vertically integrated (such as Philco).. Most purchased all or most of their parts and materials from outside suppliers, and, of course, each one was the lowest qualified bidder, the manufacturer limiting their work to final assembly (such as Zenith).
d) We, as collectors and/or restorers are not limited to these materials, means or methods. Just as one restoring a vehicle does not have to use 30-weight non-detergent oil and poor-quality paper oil filters, we do not have to limit ourselves to 'historical' capacitors. And just as with that vehicle being limited to 'fish-oil' paint and baked-on lacquers for hot parts, we do not have to limit our choices of finishes either.
Guys and gals - it is the 21st Century - and shortly, some of our vintage radios will become actual antiques (100 years old). They are not Louis XIV chairs, where the vintage fabric, however tattered, and the original finish, however worn makes its value, but also makes it useless - these are, again, appliances meant to be used and enjoyed.
Any means, methods or choices that takes such a device off the shelf, out of the barn, or away from landfill and into use is entirely legitimate. Including metallic tangerine automotive paint. And, if that same radio in tangerine catches the eye of the next generation of collectors and/or restorers, that can only be a good thing.
Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA
On 2020/03/27 7:49 a.m., Frank wrote:
https://qctimes.com/lifestyles/each-radio-tells-its-own-story-davenport-man-restores-antique/article_adf8c81c-0531-5ea7-b8df-1061911821b3.html
Let us hope this doesn't become a 'thing'!
I thought restoration meant to make more like the original, otherwise
just buy a Crosley clone...
John :-#(#
I have watched this conversation over the last several day, and here is my opinion:The trouble with insensitive restorations is they destroy what the radio is about, and what the experience of using it is. Everyone's currently free to do what they want with their radios but you won't find me installing short-lived digital crappery in a classic set. Like a lot of people I want them as original in nearly every case. (Yes there are occasional exceptions.)
a) A radio is an appliance. And as with any appliance, each one will have greater or lesser levels of 'design' included in it.
b) For the most part, consumer radios were mass-produced. So materials, means and methods were chosen to enhance the speed of manufacture, as well as keep costs as low as possible.
c) Very few radio manufacturers were vertically integrated (such as Philco). Most purchased all or most of their parts and materials from outside suppliers, and, of course, each one was the lowest qualified bidder, the manufacturer limiting their work to final assembly (such as Zenith).
d) We, as collectors and/or restorers are not limited to these materials, means or methods. Just as one restoring a vehicle does not have to use 30-weight non-detergent oil and poor-quality paper oil filters, we do not have to limit ourselves to 'historical' capacitors. And just as with that vehicle being limited to 'fish-oil' paint and baked-on lacquers for hot parts, we do not have to limit our choices of finishes either.
Guys and gals - it is the 21st Century - and shortly, some of our vintage radios will become actual antiques (100 years old). They are not Louis XIV chairs, where the vintage fabric, however tattered, and the original finish, however worn makes its value, but also makes it useless - these are, again, appliances meant to be used and enjoyed.
Any means, methods or choices that takes such a device off the shelf, out of the barn, or away from landfill and into use is entirely legitimate. Including metallic tangerine automotive paint. And, if that same radio in tangerine catches the eye of the next generation of collectors and/or restorers, that can only be a good thing.
Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA
Speaking of ghouls, we fans of "Night of the Living Dead" will see a familiar face here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1939-7-S-363-Vintage-Zenith-Radio-Sonos-Sonance-Electronics-Inside/164013326853?hash=item262ff4c205:g:jskAAOSwCmBeC77k
"Back in the day", a radio manufacturer did not yet know how to cut corners and make crap,This is not too realistic. One could buy low end cost cutter sets with few valves, crude speakers, minimum cost cabinets, poor rf performance, muntzed circuits, undersized paper caps etc. And one could buy sets with better circuits, more & better quality parts, fancy cabinets etc.
as most everything was being done for the first time. Think about it. regular wall-switches were porcelain ceramic with wiper-type contacts. Why? Because these switches were designed to take both AC and DC. And, DC arcs. Today, not so much.also because that was normal practice for fire risk reduction, whereas today we achieve that by using better switching designs. Many Rolls era light switches could be left arcing, it's hard to do that with current ones.
Old radios worked with vacuum tubes - which required some basic voltage-handling.?
Digital manufacturing did not exist, so the cost of miniaturization was high.The reason for the cost of miniaturisation was difficulty hand assembling the parts plus the small market. Automation solved that, it didn't need to be digital.
Note that early transistor sets were much more costly than their contemporary AA5 sets. Nearly $50, vs. about $10 for a cheap 4-tube plastic tabletop.Early tech normally is high priced. The same is true whether large or miniature.
And, over 300,000,000 consumer-grade radios were manufactured in the USA alone between 1921 and 1963. Yep, just like the Apollo Program - each part was made by the cheapest qualified bidder to perform the function needed at the lowest possible price. We are not discussing Boat Anchors, military or specialty radios - just those purchased by ordinary people for every day use.I've restored enough to know that is just not the case. It might apply to german people's receivers and a minority of other sets, but most used more complex circuits than they needed to, nicer cabinets than minimum cost etc. Same as products on the market today, only a minority are minimum cost & minimum part quality. Most mfrs had a reputation to establish & maintain that enabled a fatter profit margin.
Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA
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