[skodajag]

Good Morning

I recently bought one of these sets here in England. I've been in touch with Mike at the Midwest Radio Museum and he has been very helpful. I'm sending out this message because I'm interested to be in touch with anyone else who has one of these sets. Mine is working and I'm impressed with it, especially considering the age (1935).

regards,
Jonathan

[Doug Houston]

Today, Midwest has acquired a nice image. They deserved it. The company advertised on a factory-to-you basis, having no dealers anywhere. They capitalized on high tube counts at a low price. Many "observers" on message boards like this, claimed that Midwest sets had tubes in them that did nothing but draw filament current. None of that was true. Indeed, Midwest sets had such things as parallel push-pull output stages, two rectifier tubes, rather than one, and so on. But the confounded things were mighty good sets, and worked like champions. I have a 1935 18 tube Imperial, and it's a regular thunder machine. Its sensitivity puts many other radios to shame.

Mike, of Midwest fame, has very recently found a Midwest Imperial like mine, and he's having fits of ecstasy over it. He had been on the lookout for one for several years, and has just now, found it. He's overjoyed (I don't blame him).

Your Royale is more nearly a 1936 model. It is the "holy grail" of Midwests of that era. You're very fortunate to have it.

[skodajag]

Thanks for your response Doug. I must check out the Imperial. My Royale is actually in the cabinet most usually associated with the DD18. It's definitely the 24 valve two chassis Royale (with three speakers). I understand they were flexible about which chassis went with which cabinet. I've been experimenting with feeding a CD/VHF signal through the output stage, and the sound quality really is remarkable, despite one of the small speakers having an open circuit coil (it's still working, with some heavy duty resistors doing the job of the coil). I haven't investigated properly yet, but the coil has plastic wires coming from it so it looks as if it may already have been rewound at some stage.

I'm going to be in the USA for three months from January 2010, based at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. I'm supposed to be teaching, but I hope to track down one of the Zenith chairside consoles to bring back home. Like you do/would. Just the one. No, honestly.

regards
Jonathan

[Doug Houston]

Upon our first correspondences, Mike (I'll cal him Midwest Mike for now; forgot his last name). Anyway, like many, he wondered why my Imperial had been sold in the cabinet that it's in. Supposedly, it was sold for the '36 model sets. But, as you have already said, Midwest probably had a sort of wide menu of cabinets to choose from, so unless someone comes up with a Midwest catalogue from that time, we're not likeley to pinpoint just what cabinets were offered at what period of time. He expects to be at the radio meet in Lansing, Michigan in July, and I hope to see him. He has been at one of the Antique Wireless Assoc. meets in New york, and I had a nice chat with him then.

You're so fortunate to find one of those sets in the UK, when they're not easy to find in the USA.

[Arran]

As far as I can recall Midwest cut corners more in the hardware department then in the circuitry, wafer tube sockets, thinner sheet metal in the chassis, etc.
They may have used some cut rate components, they would have had to with what they were offering for the prices they advertised. I have not heard any complaints about a lack of performance, and the circuit diagrams do not indicate too much for redundant tubes. I seem to remember that some of their cabinets were not the best using thinner plywood, cheaper wood species in certain parts, I guess it depends on which cabinet you ordered. But they would not have been the first to cut costs through the cabinet, Philco did the same on many models, the model 16 and 116 tombstone cabinets used good veneer on the front panel and shaded lacquer on the rest but they are still excellent radios.
Best Regards
Arran