[Rob Quay]

Hi Guys,
I’m working on an AK 944 from Kutztown that had previously been restored. After cleaning and replacing some wiring that was deteriorated it’s working but the volume level starts at painful and goes up from there. I can play it at about 80 volts and it sounds good. Any suggestions for bringing the initial db level down are appreciated. Thanks. - Rob

[Eliot Ness]

There's a feedback control on the back of the 944 that might make some difference. It's a 4 tube set so I'd start with the basics. Check the tubes, verify your wiring is correct, check resistors and replace any wax and electrolytic capacitors. I'd stress double checking the wiring and all coils.

These little 4 tube sets sometimes used some unconventional circuits like the regenerative detector in this 944.

[morzh]

Kinda like AK's attempt at the Philco 80

[Rob Quay]

Thanks Guys,
This is my eighth AK radio that I’ve worked on. It appears that the company was winding down by the time the 944 was produced. Some obvious loss of quality is evident.
 Fortunately the schematic for this model is easy to use and understand. I’m trying to keep as much original work as possible but want a decent sounding radio too. So, yes, I’ll start checking out the individual parts. Thanks again. - Rob

[Arran]

Well it was a budget set made for the depression market, A.K had a good reputation, but Philco, whom also operated in the same city, was hard to beat as competition. Mike is right, it does sort of follow the lead of a model 80, 81, or 84 Philco, I believe all of which used modern 6.3 volt tubes, and was priced at under $20, the ads I found for this suggest it was $22.50, which doesn't sound like much but $2.50 was a few weeks worth of groceries in 1935. On the other had it has a much larger speaker then an 80 series Philco, those had 5'' speakers, that A.K looks like it had at least an 8'', so they must have sounded better.
Regards
Arran

[MrFixr55]

+1 on the other comments. This is AK's attempt at a Philco 80, with the exact tube compliment except for the fact that theirs are 2.5V tubes and that the Convertor and the regenerative detector are pentodes. Note that other than Heater voltages, the 2A5, 42 and 6F6 are very similar. and similar to the 47 other than the 47 being a direct filament cathode as opposed to an indirect heated tube cathode of the 2A5, 42 and 6F6. 6.3V tubes were originally designed for car radios and for DC operation on heaters, but Philco found out early that running on AC and grounding one leg of the heater supply instead of a center tap worked just fine. A-K was using 2.5V tubes for a while. Both the 80 and this set were introduced in the throes or the Depression. 1932 was probably the worst period of the depression, at least for the industrial area. I believe that the other major issue, the Dust Bowl occurred somewhat later.

This set has a very simple volume control, shunting the antenna input only and not changing the bias on the 1st detector., same as the 80. If stations in your area are too strong, you may have to resort to shielding, but prior to doing so, verify resistors and caps, especially R3, the 2 Megohm Grid Leak. Cap A5 adjusts regeneration. CW increases, CCW decreases regeneration and therefore volume. Worst case scenario, add a volume control between the detector and output tube grid, but veriying the grid leak resistor and adjusting the regeneration should do it.

Philco created a major ruckus with the Model 80, which originally was priced at $19.99 and dropped to $14.99. Other manufacturers cried "FOUL" and accused Philco of unfair pricing. The entry level RCA R-28 "Suprette" a strange 5 tube set with RF amp, 2A7 pentagrid converter, no IF amp, a biased "power" detector and 2A5 output tube was introduced at $28.50 and had to be dropped to $19.99, a price that RCA likely lost money on. The Philco Model 80 was supposed to be a loss leader to get people into the store where the sales rep was supposed to "upsell" to a more expensive and technically superior radio. Instead, they sold hundreds of thousands of these. The 80 remained popular and there were several other iterations, including the 84 which replaced the 2 tetrodes with 77s (pentodes), the 6.3V equivalents of the 57s that AK was using, and eventually to octal tubes in the 1937 iteration, the 37-84.

[Rob Quay]

Thanks so much for the info guys! Exactly what I need to know. Except for the shock of looking into the chassis and thinking- “Is this really an Atwater Kent?”, I really like the looks of the exterior. The cardboard tube shields covered with tin foil told me a lot!