Welcome To My Radio Pictures

My name is Cliff

I collect and restore old radios and also some that are not so old. These pictures are from my collection. Also included is a brief overview of eight decades of domestic radio development.

1920'S

Radios from the early 1920's operated on batteries. Around 1928, electric radios became available as a result of the development of the "indirect heated cathode" vacuum tube by RCA. This did not help the people who lived in the country where electricity was not available. This led to a new group of battery radios referred to as "FARM" radios, which continued into the late 1940's. Cabinets used during the 1920's were generally made of wood; however, some were metal and a few used an early manmade material called BAKELITE. The floor model radios were called HIGHBOYS, when the legs were longer than the cabinet, and LOBOYS, when the legs were shorter than the cabinet. Table radios were generally referred to as COMPACTS, regardless of how big they were. In later years they took on many informal names, generally associated with their shape.
1930'S
This decade was called the GOLDEN AGE OF RADIOS. The 1930's saw the development of most of the CIRCUIT technology used today. Some of the more significant of these innovations were:
o SUPERHETRODINE circuity to simplify tuning and improve reception
o Birth of Frequency Modulation (FM)
o Built-in electromagnetic and electrostatic speakers
o Many types of tuning devices such as pushbuttons, shadow garaph tuning and tuning eye devices
o Many shapes, sizes, materials and styles of cabinets, incluiding the very popular Cathedral style cabinet. Some cabinets, made to disguise the radio, were called novelty radios
o Integrating record players with radios
o Beginning of built-in antennas in the late 1930's
o Wide use of Shortwave Bands - accentuated by the War-in-Europe
o Portable radios
o Small, cheap personal radios

1940'S-1960'S
The 1940's were a ho-hum time for radios. TV was on the horizon, being introduced at the world's fair in New York in 1939. WW-II shut down all domestic electronics production until 1946. After the war, plastic, as we know it today, led to the inexpensive table-top radios. One of the more well known radio products of this time (1950-1970's) was the plastic alarm-clock radio which set on a table in almost every room of the house. The mass production of these cheap radios resulted in very inexpensive vacuum tubes. Most of these AM radios used what became known as the ALL AMERICAN FIVE set of miniature vacuum tubes.
The invention of the transister by Bell Labs in the later 1940's, and subsequent miniaturization, (integrated circuit development by Texas Instruments in the early 1960's), revolutionized the electronics industry. This made possible the small, pocket transister radio - the ultimate portable. And the flood gates opened on the imported Japanese radios.
The better quality floor model combinations (AM/FM radio, phonograph, television) took the place of the large radio consoles of the 1930's. Various types of tape recording devices were also being added. This was the beginning of what is today called the HOME ENTERTAINMENT CENTER.

1970'S-2000'S
The miniaturization of electronics resulted in a new generation of radios - the NOVELTY RADIO. These were small, inexpensive radios that are generally of three types:
o Made to look like a product or event and given away as part of some promotion
o A reproduction of a very popular earlier vacuum tube radio
o A child's toy

Starting on page 2 are some pictures of radios from my collection .They will be grouped by age, style and other characteristics. These pictures will be changed frequently, so please visit my website often. If you have an interest in a particular radio, and want more information, please call me at 972-416-7713 or send me an e-mail at the below link.

I am a twice retired electrical engineer and worked in radio communications for 40+ years. All of my radios have been restored, both cabinets and electronics. I do SELL RADIOS; however, I am foremost a collector. I can not ship the floor model radios - they would have to be picked up or the buyer arrange for shipping. I DO NOT work on other people's radios as I just do not have the time.

LINKS

Jeff Ritter Education
Pictures of 1920's Radios
Pictures of 1930's Radios
Send the radio man some e-mail