As you may have seen in the June finds and losses thread, I just got this cute little cathedral radio. It seems to be quite old, maybe late 1920s or early 1930s. It has a two wire, twisted, cloth covered power cord. The tuning scale is the old 0-100 type, not the later frequency type, which makes me think it is an early set. There are no IF transformers, just two coils mounted on the top of the chassis. I am thinking it is a TRF set with one stage of tuned amplification before the detector stage. I haven't traced out the schematic yet. It looks to be a job and a half if it comes to that. Here are pictures of the set including the chassis from front, back, and underneath. The tube line up is two type 57s, the control grids of which have leads that go to the coils, a type 47 audio amplifier, and a type 80 rectifier. Here are pictures of the set and of the chassis. There are the remains of a paper label on the back of the chassis, but there are no other markings on the set which would tell me the maker. If anybody can tell me who made it , and hopefully the year so I can look for it in my Rider's, I would appreciate it. If you either have the schematic, or know the volume in Rider's and can tell me that too, that would be even better. Any help is appreciated at this point.
[Image: https://66.media.tumblr.com/1cbcb147fff6...1_1280.jpg]
Hello, Someone might be able to ID the radio but in the mean time you can check this link. https://grillecloth.com/sylvania/tubelist.php
Put your tube line up in and just look for a schematic that matches what you have.
Takes a little looking around, hope this can help you out.
I looked online in google and found a few similar but no matches. I searched the Grillcloth site and found a few similar but no matches. I searched about 20 off brands and found nothing. I am thinking there is no photo but you may find the schematics. I really feel it is a Jackson bell variation. The chassis is very similar and the knobs were used by them for years. The knobs are also for a few other off brands but at this point you may need to use the schematic layout. I don't read schematics well so I cant help there...
Thank you KCMike! I used that link, and came up with only one radio that matched my line up of tubes, an Autocrat Jr. 4. I looked up the schematic, and at first glance it looks very close. I will have to print it out, and cross match it more carefully. None of the other 4 tube radios it came up with have the same tube line up. The Jr. 4 matches mine closely, a simple TRF receiver, type 57 1st RF amp, type 57 detector, type 47 audio amp, type 80 rectifier. One thing I have noticed though, the schematic for the Jr. 4 seems to only have a volume control, and the tuning, i.e. the ganged variable condense, two controls in all. My set has 3. It has the volume control connected exactly the same as shown in the schematic for the Jr. 4. The 2 gangs of the variable condenser also are the same connections. The third control seems to be a tone control connected to the Type 47 tube, a feature not on the Jr. 4. So we still have a mystery. At least now I have a jumping off place to begin to look at my set more closely.
I have a couple of Simplex sets that are similar. 4 tube trf the tricky thing is the the knob on the right is for a tone control and band switch. The sw band is not calibrated on the dial. Same tube layout, uses the fc in the negative leg of the hv to make the bias for the 47 w/a couple of resistor in parallel w/the coil.
Happy Hunting!
When my pals were reading comic books
I was down in the basement in my dad's
workshop. Perusing his Sam's Photofoacts
Vol 1-50 admiring the old set and trying to
figure out what all those squiggly meant.
Circa 1966
Now I think I've got!
Thanks Old Restorer! Well, we're getting closer and closer. The Jackson Bell model 4 schematic shows a tone control. I think it is a pre Peter Pan version of this same radio.
It shares the tube line-up as my little Jackson Bell Peter Pan (24A/24B), but the chassis is laid out differently (similar to the model 4 you found):
For some reason My gut has said west coast radio the first time I saw it; it's a typical Pee-Wee style set from the Los Angeles area. It's a blurry shot, but the knobs don't remind me of any J.B. sets (Gilfillan factory) from that era, but they might not be original to that set. I have found several schematics that use the same tube line-up but they are all pretty similar to the Jackson Bell 4 tube Peter Pan which is understandable since they all came from the same Gilfillan factory.
It's been my experience that most Jackson Bell sets have their name on the escutcheon or a small name plate or decal on the front of the cabinet, but I'm sure there are exceptions. Take a peek at Riders page 5-14 under Misc and look at the El Ray, but again similar to the Jackson Bell and no tone control, but the radio under it does have a tone control. If it is a west coast set you should see some similarities between it and the Jackson Bell schematics, or if you look at enough of them you might be able to piece it together. PM me your e-mail and when I get a chance I'll send all the info and schematics I've found in my Floyd Paul archives.
OTOH, it might have been made in some obscure garage in Chicago or New York, but I get a definite west coast vibe from it.
When you get time go to this site and start browsing through the 1931-33 Radio magazines. I usually prefer Radio Retailing but these have a lot of West Coast sets in them:
By 1933 the Pee-Wee sets were disappearing from the market because the same circuit that made them affordable, the TRF, was being overshadowed by the superheterodyne.
And to make your quest a little more difficult here is a quote from Floyd Paul, "The author has seen a few Pee Wee sets, including his own with no name on them. They were most likely not made at Gilfillan Bros. but rather by radio assemblers who made a quick dollar and dropped from sight after a few weeks."
And lastly, for any collector I recommend the Floyd Paul series on L.A. Radio Manufacturers:
Much better pictures Mike, thanks! That's a really neat set, but I don't recognize those knobs. I sent some pictures off to the fellow who was once the cathedral collector king to see if he has any ideas.
EDIT: Julie (Radiopup) said they looked like early Zenith knobs, and Steve Geary verified they were the same knobs on his Skyrover made by Zenith. Kick me, but I also have a Skyrover with those same knobs but it was on a bottom shelf that I failed to inspect this afternoon . Anyway, I don't think those knobs were original to that set, and it might have to be classified as one of the little 4 tubers that came from one of the L.A. manufactures. I'll look through some of my other books, but my most likely source, the Floyd Paul archives, didn't turn up an exact match.
John KK4ZLF
Lexington, KY
"illegitimis non carborundum"
(This post was last modified: 07-01-2019, 09:59 PM by Eliot Ness.)
Mike ,
That is a very common style radio. I can't say who the manufacturer was but I have read there were many different manufacturers who used that same or very close design. I think it has been a topic of conversation on the other forum in the past. It sticks in my mind because I have one in the cellar that I purchased appx 25 years ago.
Henry
Mike, a very similar radio was discussed last year on ARF. The chassis layout is identical to yours and the transformer housing looks the same. Same escutcheon
Yes, I've been through Floyd's books a few rimes each. I have seen some grainy pictures that look a bit like my radio; but, when I search out the schematic, if I can find it, it turns out to be different from mine. I have found several that are close. The J-B 4, although the case looks different, and the chassis layout is a mirror image of mine from left to right, is very similar. I have printed out several similar schematics, and am presently drawing a diagram of all the under chassis wiring and parts to make my own schematic for this set. Now THAT'S a job! It's fun though, and I work on it for a while, then let it sit while I tend to other things, then go back. That way it doesn't get to be a chore. Meanwhile I am getting in the parts to restore the set. Today the grill cloth came, just about a perfect match ! https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/i-QAAOSwy...-l1600.jpg
(This post was last modified: 07-05-2019, 10:50 AM by mikethedruid.)
I have finished with the chassis restoration. I replaced all but 2 of the condensers, which I think are micas and probably OK. Those 8MFD Solens are big compared to electrolytics of the same rating, but I managed to fit them in. All the resistors were well within 20% of their marked value, but I replaced the two big 20K ones anyway with new 5 watt 20K ceramic resistors. I left the others. I replaced the old line cord and the 4 wires that will go to the speaker with new cloth covered wires. The line cord is the twisted kind that it originally had. When I cut the wires to the speaker I labeled each end number 1 - 4. The replacement wires are brown, red, orange, and yellow, think resistor color code. When I desolder the marked stubs on the speaker, it will be a breeze to reconnect the new wires correctly.
. Anyway, I don't think those knobs were original to that set, and it might have to be classified as one of the little 4 tubers that came from one of the L.A. manufactures. I'll look through some of my other books, but my most likely source, the Floyd Paul archives, didn't turn up an exact match.
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