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THIS OLD RADIO
ABOUT ME
Hi,My name is Eddie Brimer. Welcome to This Old Radio! My hobby is collecting, repairing and restoring old radios. My facination with old radios started about 15 years ago when my Father gave me his General Electric console radio/phono combo. I restored it, enjoyed it and have been doing it every since. Over the years, My collection has grown to over 100 sets. my interests run mainly in 30s and 40s (pre-war) sets. I particulary like the cathedral and tombstone styles.
To begin with, what really drew me to the hobby was repairing and restoring the old cabinets. I have been refinishing, restoring antiques and doing woodworking in general since I was 15 years old and worked at a local lumber yard and millwright shop. I had the priviledge of working with some master craftsmen there and learned many techniques that i still use today. I am a Multi-line Insurance Agent today, but my love of woodworking has never left me. A few years ago I started trying to repair the radios electroncally. Not being of an electronics background, this was a tough but very rewarding challenge. I read everything I could get my hands on, visited every website I could find on the subject and got a lot of help from people on the rec.antique.radio/phono newsgroup. The people there are very knowledgable and don't mind helping a newbie.
MEET MY MASCOT
MY MASCOT MY LITTLE DOG NIPPER
PURPOSE OF THIS SITE
On the web, there are literally hundreds of sites showing off a collection of old radios, I hope to do this one a little different. While I will post some pictures of some old radios, I would like to use this site to promote the hobby and to be a source for information about it. It is going to be a place where you can find a little information about how to do a first restoration, or how to restore a finish on an old radio. How to make your own dial-covers. etc. Collecting, restoring and repairing these old sets is a great hobby. For less than $200.00, you can buy a few nice, collectible old sets and all the materials to restore them. With a little time and patience, you can have it looking and playing like new.WHY OLD RADIOS?
I get that question a lot. Mostly from people my age. (I'm 41) I've been told that i was born 50 years too late. Maybe so. I guess it's because they (radios) are such an important part of our nations history. In this age of computers, big screen TVs, digital this and digital that, it makes one forget that just a few short years ago, Radio was the cutting edge of technology. Radio was a strange mysterious new technology. People loved their radios! Having a radio in your living room or parlor was as common as a TV set is today. For many families the purchase of a radio was a major expenditure. How proud Dad must have been to show off his new Crosley ten tube console. They weren't just another appliance, they were the main source of news, sports, comedy, even a religous sermon. Just think.... on these old sets people heard of the Stock Market crash of '29, the attack on Pearl Harbor, even who their next President was.They listened to their favorite team on the radio and conjured up images in their minds eye of the events unfolding on their radio. I guess I also like them because of their innocence... for lack of a better word. They represent a special time... a time when things moved just a little bit slower, were a little bit simpler. Mankind stood at the threshold of a door leading to a technological boom the likes of which he had never seen before... and may never see again. Oh yes, make no mistake about it, those times were special, these radios are a representation of those special times. In todays world of hi-tech, it is a comfort for me to be around these old radios. A form of therapy.... if you will.A WORD ABOUT RESTORATION
I am a supporter of leaving any thing old original...If possible. With that said, you must take a look at each set on an individual basis and determine it's rarity, it's condition etc. to make a decision whether it should be striped and refinished or if just a general cleaning is in order. You will be suprized what a good cleaning will do.As far as the electronics go, if the set is going to be used, the original electronics can be dangerous and a possible fire hazard. If it is simply a display piece, such as an Awater Kent breadboard, I would recommend leaving everything as original as possible. The overall objective is to make the set presentable and ready to display. If the set is going to be used , then to make it safe and reliable.MY COLLECTION
TO SEE SOME OF THE RADIOS IN MY COLLECTION, CLICK HERE
A VIRTUAL TOUR OF MY SHOP
MY SHOP ABOUT 26X30 NO HEAT OR AIR (YET)
FUTURE PROJECTS CAN'T NEVER GET ENOUGH RADIOS
MY WORKBENCH A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING AND NOTHING IN IT'S PLACE
MY PHONOGRAPH COLLECTION
ALTHOUGH MY MAIN INTEREST IS RADIOS, I ALSO LOVE THE OLD WINDUP PHONOGRAPHS. OVER THE YEARS, I HAVE ADDED A FEW TO MY COLLECTION. I HAVE ONE VERY SPECIAL EDISON PLAYER! TO VIEW THEM, CLICK HERERESTORATION ARTICLES
RESTORATION HOW TO'S...IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT RESTORING OLD RADIOS CLICK HEREI BUY OLD RADIOS AND PHONOGRAPHS! IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING I MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN, E-MAIL ME. I WILL PAY YOU FAIR MARKET PRICE IF IT IS A SET THAT I WANT FOR MY COLLECTION.
IMPORTANT LINKS
ED MIELKE HAS SCANNED MANY OF THE OLD RIDER TROUBLESHOOTING MANUALS. HE SELLS CDs CONTAINING SCANS OF PRINTS, SERVICE INFO, ALIGMNENT INSTRUCTIONS, AND MORE FROM THESE MANUALS. THESE MANUALS ARE SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS THE RADIO REPAIRMANS BIBLE. ALL OF THE SCANS ARE HIGH QUALITY AND EASY TO READ. DON'T TRY TO RESTORE YOUR RADIO ELECTRONICALLY BEFORE YOU CONTACT ED! ALSO, HE SELLS AN INDEX FOR THE RIDERS MANUALS THAT IS WORD COMPATIBLE. MUCH EASIER TO READ AND FASTER THAN THE OLD ORIGINAL INDEX. PLUS, HE'S A SUPER GUY!BILL TURNER MAKES DIALCOVERS FOR MOST RADIOS. HE ALSO SELLS A WIDE VARIETY OF HARD TO FIND RADIO STUFF. DIAL STRING, POWER SUPPLIES FOR BATTERY SETS, PHONO TURNTABLE "REFLOCKING"...YOU NAME IT, BILL HAS IT.
ROCK SEA ENTERPRISES MAKES REPRODUCTION DIAL SCALES, DECALS, AND MANY OTHER GREAT ITEMS. HIGH QUALITY WORK TOO.
ANTIQUE ELECTRONIC SUPPLY SELLS ALL TYPES OF TUBES, CAPACITORS, RESISTORS, REPRODUCTION PARTS ETC.
