[TVARC] Radio Restoration Projects

Thu Dec 1 22:30:28 EST 2022

Hi Mike -

I have an Atwater Kent 37 receiver & matching speaker for sale if you are
interested, thinking of taking them to the Swap in Ocala on Saturday.

Regards,

Larry K4LES
307-630-5697

On Fri, Nov 25, 2022 at 5:23 PM mike regan via TVARC <tvarc at mailman.qth.net>
wrote:

> One of my projects for 2023 is to rebuild 2 antique battery-operated AM
> radios I own and to restore them to be fully operational.
>
> My radios are an Atwater Kent model 20C and an RCA Radiola III.
>
> I have owned these radios since the mid 1970’s when Karen and I operated
> an antique shop in Northern Illinois.  We purchased several radios from a
> man who was liquidating his collection, but these two radios are the only
> ones we have left.
>
> Both of these radios date from the mid-to-late 1920’s, and they were both
> designed to be powered by a and 6-volt “A” lead-acid hour storage battery ,
> as well as  “B” and “C” dry cell batteries. Many of you are familiar with
> these types of “farm radios” which were intended to be used in homes before
> there was widespread household electrification.
>
> Fortunately, both radios were popular models, and there is a fair amount
> of information available outlining the necessary steps for restoring them
> to their original operating condition.
>
> Unfortunately, I have never restored a radio of this type, and I will have
> to be learning while I go.
>
> My reasons for writing to you all are that there are numerous aspects to
> these projects, and I am seeking advice and assistance from all of you in
> the club.
>
> Firstly, if any of you have experience in restoring radios like these, I
> would be very grateful for any assistance you can provide to me.  I would
> also be interested in learning about any resources you may know of
> regarding the restoration of radios like these.
> I need to replace all the tubes in each radio.  The Atwater Kent uses 5
> ‘01A or UX201A tubes, and the Radiola III uses 2 WD-11 tubes.  Sometimes
> the WD-11 tubes are replaced by UX199 tubes, using some sort of tube socket
> adaptors. If any of you have any new old stock (NOS) tubes of these
> types, I would be interested in purchasing them from you.  I would also
> be grateful if any of you has any information or experience in sourcing
> tubes such as these.
>
> My intention is to power the radios using a modern day “battery
> eliminator”.  There are commercially made battery eliminators available.  KD8BUV
> operates a company called Antique Radios Inc. in Jackson, MI, and he sells
> the model ARBE-III battery eliminator for $160 plus s&h.  I have never
> seen one of these, but I have heard through people in the AWA that it is a
> reliable unit.   The AWA offers a printed circuit board for making your
> own solid state battery eliminator.  I have purchased one of these, and
> Ken Kaplan KB2ART, and Rich Antolick W4RJA, have been helping me to source
> many of the components required for this project.  Again, if anyone has
> advice or experience with battery eliminators like this I would be grateful
> for you advice and assistance.
>
> I have two further challenges as I move forward with these projects:
>
> First is that I do not have the matching horn speaker for the Atwater Kent
> radio.  It was originally paired with the Atwater Kent Model H, which was
> a matching metal horn speaker.  If any of you have leads or ideas on
> sourcing an AK Model H speaker, I would love to hear from you.
>
> Second is that the RCA Radiola III was intended to be operated using
> headphones rather than a speaker, but I want to drive a speaker rather than
> headphones.  At the time, RCA marketed a “Radiola Balanced Amplifier”
> which was a separate 2-tube amplifier to be paired with Radiola III like I
> have for use driving a speaker rather than headphones.  Additionally, RCA
> offered a Radiola IIIA radio which was a 4-tube radio that integrated the
> separate Radiola III and the Radiola Balanced Amplifier into one unit.  If
> any of you have information or experience with either of these other units
> in the Radiola III Family, I would be grateful for any information or
> assistance you may be able to offer me.
>
> These are my antique radio restoration projects for 2023.  Many thanks to
> Ken KB2ART, Rich W4RJA, and George K2DM for the frequent assistance and
> advice they have already provided to me on this project and on many other
> projects that I have undertaken.  I look forward to hearing from you in
> regard to this project.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Mike Regan KM4ZTE
>
> mikeeregan at yahoo.com
>
> 816-678-5086
>
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