1919 Wireless Radio Receiving Station * Crystal & Tube Detectors * Pre-Broadcast For Sale
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1919 Wireless Radio Receiving Station * Crystal & Tube Detectors * Pre-Broadcast:
$405.00
Make sure to check out all of my auctions after you\'ve looked at this one. I\'m listing another eclectic assortment of antiques and collectibles this week, and I suspect that there will be something of interest to just about everybody. Here\'s an ancient lab-built or home-built wireless receiving station featuring both crystal and vacuum tube detectors. This radio, probably assembled just after the end of the 1st World War, pre-dates the broadcast era and was used when amateurs were using \"wireless telephones,\" as they were known at the time, to communicate among themselves.Built on a 15\" x 12\" x 5\" oak platform with enough room inside for an array of wafer style B batteries and several large A cells, the radio -- found at a flea market in the northeast -- utilizes a Murdock variable condenser, an early (probably factory built) slide tuner, an early (factory-built) ceramic tube socket, an early crystal detector mounted on a hard rubber platform (probably factory built but unsigned), a pair of hard rubber (factory built) switches, a wood toggle switch (factory built) for the two detectors, a tipped 201a tube and a scarce pair of Dymac Type E headphones made in Providence RI . The headset is good, the tipped 201a tube has strong emissions (I suspect the radio was originally used with an earlier Moorehead tube or possibly a Western Electric VT-1) and the slide tuner has electrical continuity. However, the radio is only minimally wired inside and will need to be extensively re-wired in order to be useable. I do not have a wiring diagram for this radio, so a bit of knowledge will be required to get it up and running again.Note that this is an authentic century-old wireless set, not a modern \"re-creation\" assembled with vintage parts. Someone\'s great great grandfather put a lot of time and effort into building this set, and when it was new, it was probably the talk of the town. The oak case, like the parts assembled on it, is almost 100 years old, with its original finish and original hardware. Some of the slotted screws that secure the underside of the base to the cabinet are missing and others are period replacements, but the board is securely attached to the base nonetheless. The radio measures approximately 15\" long by 12\" deep by 10\" high. Shipping weight approximately 18 lb.That\'s about it. Iwill package it carefully and properly, and Ican assure you thatit willshow upat your doorstepin the samefine condition in which it leaves mine. I have been shipping antique phonographs and radios for years, and if you check my feedback, you\'ll see that I know how to do it correctly. Overseas customers may remit payment with Paypal only. Auction participants with no prior ebay history, or with private feedback, should contact me before placing a bid.
