I own several non-working vintage radios and keep them simply because they are very attractive to look at. I almost never listen to the ones that I have which are in working condition. Quite frankly, the problem with vintage radios is that they only pick up modern stations and, in my area, there is very little on such stations that I wish to listen to.
A while back I purchased an AM transmitter device so that I could broadcast Internet radio and music files on my computer to vintage radios throughout the house. Unfortunately it turned out that, unlike a similar FM transmitter, I would have had to construct an antenna in order to get the signal from one side of the house to the other. Since that is not my idea of a fun project and I already have a lot on my plate, my notion of broadcasting through the transmitter came to an abrupt end.
A while back I purchased an AM transmitter device so that I could broadcast Internet radio and music files on my computer to vintage radios throughout the house. Unfortunately it turned out that, unlike a similar FM transmitter, I would have had to construct an antenna in order to get the signal from one side of the house to the other. Since that is not my idea of a fun project and I already have a lot on my plate, my notion of broadcasting through the transmitter came to an abrupt end.
For those who have non-functioning vintage radio sets, my friend Christian Kohlhaas in Austin, Texas has successfully found other methods short of complete restoration of bringing them back to life musically.
Here is Christian's circa 1930 American Bosch floor model radio. The first time I ever visited his place a few years ago, I walked in and immediately saw the radio's dial lit up with vintage music coming from the speaker. Moments later, I heard my own voice announcing that it I was listening to Radio Dismuke.
The radio, however, is little more than a very attractive speaker. When Christian acquired the cabinet a good amount of its parts were either missing or broken, including the original speaker. He installed in place of the original speaker a similarly sized 1970s vintage Radio Shack speaker. He also got the dial light working and wired it to one of the radio's knobs. The speaker is connected to a long cord that can be plugged into a computer or stereo system sound jack.
Vintage recordings, to me at least, sound better through the radio than they do even very decent computer speakers. My guess is part of it might have something to do with the resonance of the wood in the cabinet.
Here is Christian's circa 1930 American Bosch floor model radio. The first time I ever visited his place a few years ago, I walked in and immediately saw the radio's dial lit up with vintage music coming from the speaker. Moments later, I heard my own voice announcing that it I was listening to Radio Dismuke.
The radio, however, is little more than a very attractive speaker. When Christian acquired the cabinet a good amount of its parts were either missing or broken, including the original speaker. He installed in place of the original speaker a similarly sized 1970s vintage Radio Shack speaker. He also got the dial light working and wired it to one of the radio's knobs. The speaker is connected to a long cord that can be plugged into a computer or stereo system sound jack.
Vintage recordings, to me at least, sound better through the radio than they do even very decent computer speakers. My guess is part of it might have something to do with the resonance of the wood in the cabinet.
Here is Christian's late 1930s General Electric table top radio. For its time this was a very compact radio. When he acquired it was just an empty wooden cabinet. It now plays music from an mp3 player and amplifier hidden away in the cabinet.
One of Christian's hobbies is participating in Eastern front World War II reenactments. He thought it would be fun to bring a vintage radio that played appropriate period music along to the reenactments. As you can see from the photo, the finish is in very rough condition in certain areas. This is actually very suitable for Christian's purpose in that a radio set that managed to make it to the front lines of a war was probably not in the best cosmetic condition.
Here is a view of what he built inside the cabinet. The speaker was taken from a broken 1980s vintage boombox. At the upper lift hand corner is an inexpensive USB stick mp3 player already loaded with vintage recordings. In the foreground is the amplifier that powers the speaker. If one does not already have an amplifier to use, one can build one from an inexpensive kit. Everything is powered by battery. Christian was able to wire one of the radio's control knobs to turn the power on and off. The other knob is wired to the mp3 player and is used to change the songs.
Finally, Christian does have a vintage radio that actually picks up regular stations. It is a 1934 RCA Model 143 tabletop radio. It was RCA's most expensive table top model and sold for $97.40 - which, adjusted for currency inflation was about $2,182 in today's money. Unfortunately, it is hard to judge its size by the photo - but it is very large for a table top model.
Home entertainment devices have certainly become far less expensive and technologically better in every way. But, like so many other areas of modern life, from a strictly aesthetic standpoint, they have a very hard time matching the beauty and quality that was commonplace in the 1920s and 1930s.
One of Christian's hobbies is participating in Eastern front World War II reenactments. He thought it would be fun to bring a vintage radio that played appropriate period music along to the reenactments. As you can see from the photo, the finish is in very rough condition in certain areas. This is actually very suitable for Christian's purpose in that a radio set that managed to make it to the front lines of a war was probably not in the best cosmetic condition.
Here is a view of what he built inside the cabinet. The speaker was taken from a broken 1980s vintage boombox. At the upper lift hand corner is an inexpensive USB stick mp3 player already loaded with vintage recordings. In the foreground is the amplifier that powers the speaker. If one does not already have an amplifier to use, one can build one from an inexpensive kit. Everything is powered by battery. Christian was able to wire one of the radio's control knobs to turn the power on and off. The other knob is wired to the mp3 player and is used to change the songs.
Finally, Christian does have a vintage radio that actually picks up regular stations. It is a 1934 RCA Model 143 tabletop radio. It was RCA's most expensive table top model and sold for $97.40 - which, adjusted for currency inflation was about $2,182 in today's money. Unfortunately, it is hard to judge its size by the photo - but it is very large for a table top model.
Home entertainment devices have certainly become far less expensive and technologically better in every way. But, like so many other areas of modern life, from a strictly aesthetic standpoint, they have a very hard time matching the beauty and quality that was commonplace in the 1920s and 1930s.
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