[Arran]

Mike;
The last time I took a potted condenser can apart, and it was maybe 1/4 the size of the one in the model 96, I melted the tar/pitch out first, then drove a screw into one of the condensers in the middle, and pulled it out with a hammer claw I think. They really pack those things in, but once you get one of the paper caps out, the rest will come out easily. It was a completely square box, made out of tin they reused from some food product, it still had part of the label on the inside, Canadian Westinghouse was frugal I guess, and labour was cheap in 1931. Anyhow the replacement caps mounted on the inside of the original terminal strip on one side of the can, and didn't take up much room, so I stuffed one of the original paper caps in the top just to fill up space, and stiffen up the can, and filled the rest up with old candle wax, and topped it off with the tar I melted out.
Regards
Arran

[jrblasde]

Sounds as though you’re just about done. I’m excited to see the video! I’ve never heard a TRF radio, so I’m curious to see how the audio quality is.

Tell me more about Kutztown, if you don’t mind. I may need to get to a few of these events.

[morzh]

Joseph

well, for now we will have to get by the video I have made, as the final video would not be made before I get a working speaker. A G speaker sounds better than the K speaker with solid spider (I hope to get a G with 45rpm spider, as they also do come with a solid one.)
As for the sound, this radio will not sound very different from 111 or the early 112 superhets, as they are, with exception of the RF part, starting from detector-rectifier, are exactly the same. And they are using the same tubes (later 112 uses newer tubes).
And I do have 111. Not sure I ever made a video of it.
I also have 112, but it is "X" with the inclined baffle, and so the comparison wouldn't be fair: it does sound better than the 111 I have.

As for the Kutztown...here it would be an off-topic, and could become lengthy.
However, there are archived accounts of almost every Kutztown somewhere.

In short, I go every time, which is twice a year, as it is aboyut 2 hrs from me going there and about 3 hrs going back (busier roads).
I held off going there for almost 3 years, starting the last pre-pandemic one and then 2 years thereafter, but that was an exception.
I go there mostly for the atmosphere, but once in a while I return with something I couldn't resist, especially if I find something that is on my bucket list and is being offered for a very reasonable price. Last time i got me a Philco 37-604 and Atwater-Kent 84.
I try to be judicioius in my buyings as I am running out of space, and I do not want to start selling off my collection. I try not to hoard: all my projects are going to my semi-finished basement space as the exhibition, and I have few left, which would be enough for 3-4 years, as I do not do this full time.

The folks in Kutztown are mostly nice to very nice, friendly, and are very interesting: many have stories to tell and lived very interesting lives; I love sitting with them and listening. Unfortunately, recently some have left us, like Lewie Newhardt, one of the founders.
Last time I camped out on the grounds, though most times I reserve a hotel room.
The last Kutztown was the last to have the vendors moving in Thursday afternoon: the management at Renningers decided to move that to Friday morning. They quoted the customers being upset that the best deals happen between the vendors Thursday. But now the vendors are upset, as obviously unloading a large trailer takes time, and some do have that much. John Huffnagle specifically said he won't be bringing as much stuff he usuallyt brings because of it.
Well, we will see. Perhaps Renningers will run it, look at it, and make adjustments. Or maybe not.
For me this is not as important, as I am a guy who comes in, drinks beer, and floats between the isles, simply marvelling at the radios and chatting with folks. That recharges me for a few months.

Again, try to look up for archived Kutztown threads. Also, John Hagman always puts out a great photo report of each Kutztown, so you could see all that was there or even who was there.

[jrblasde]

Thanks for mentioning the video you had uploaded. Somehow I missed that post. Just watched your video, and it sounds to me that the TRF system is comparable to the early superhets. And it looked as though selectivity is decent. You were able to faintly receive two stations which were very close together. I’ll stay tuned for the final product!

And thank you for the explanation about Kutztown. I’ll go read about it.

[morzh]

Well, selectivity today, with stations disappearing, is not such a problem for TRF as it likely used to be.
Although when they did appear first, there probably weren't that many of them either
As for the soud, like I said, if you take two radios, of whom the audio portion of the schematic uses exact same circutry: same tubes (3x27 and 2x45), same exact parts around them, same transformers, same....every ysingle thing (the sch was cut and pasted, literally), plus the RF part also uses same exact tubes (3x24A), the difference being with amplifying BC band frequency instead of 127kHz IF, and then you use practically the same exact cabinet (with the same exact grill cloth ) and the same exact speaker, guess what: they will sound the same.

[Arran]

Mike, Joseph;
The better TRF designs from the late 1920s and early 1930s are not too bad for selectivity, sensitivity is no issue as they are as good, if not better, then the average superhet. However I have one of the infamous "Plant A" AC/DC sets, and it only has two tuned stages, the sensitivity is fair, but you need the fingers of a safecracker to tune it with it's direct drive dial.
As Mike correctly pointed out, in the early 1930s there were not as many stations, and many were low power compared to today, 15 KW, 10 KW, 5 KW, some were only 500 Watts, 50 KW ones were the exception. I think this is where the notion of adding more and more tubes to sets came into play, more tubes equals more gain, which reached ridiculous levels by the late 1930s. Other then with the audio amp there are only so many extra features you can add to an AM radio before the law of diminishing returns sets in, double conversion, variable IF bandwidth, extra IF amps/stages, extra TRF amplifier stages, AFC (yes some sets had that too). But after the war the power output of AM broadcast stations became higher and higher, such that 50 KW became typical, so nobody needed a 15-20 tube monster unless they were a Ham, plus TV was the big thing.
Regards
Arran