A depression era 4-tube "Auburn" cathedral

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by ZenithDude88

Thanks, what's interesting about mine is that mine does say who made mine on a paper label inside the cabinet along with the tube location chart, but the U. S. Gloritone designation on mine was apparently the name that U.S Television and Radio Company used for their Radio Division since they made both TVs (experimental) and Radios. My radio is actually a 5 tube radio and not 4 like yours is, and mine is a cold chassis radio (it has a power transformer in it and a rather beefy one at that) and isn't a hot chassis unit like some of them were (curtain-burners).
My unit thankfully was already electronically restored already but the person who did the restoration work on the electronics must of been somewhat of an amateur who was still learning seeing as he was stupid enough to put his hand through the speaker by mishandling the radio (he grabbed the radio with one hand by the top of the radio and the radio slipped in his hand and when he went to regrab it his hand ended up in the speaker).

But either way at least the repair was fairly simple and the damage wasn't any worse than it was. Mine is AM Only with a frequency spread of 550-1650kC and I was able to pick up a lot of stations on it with just a 3 foot length of speaker wire that had been made into an antenna by the prevoius owner.

Also do you have a picture of the guts of your radio? Just curious because after looking over the front bezel/knob arrangement and even the tuning dial on yours its exactly like mine except different name on the bezel and the bezel on yours isn't as ornate as mine is, other than that its is an exact copy of what mine looks like. Are you sure yours doesn't actually have 5 tubes in it? Because on mine they had 3 tubes hiding under a rather large shield cover and then the output tube and the rectifier tube are sitting on the chassis above where the power cord goes into the radio out in the open, if your radio's chassis is indeed an exact match to mine (like I think it is based upon the appearance of the dial/bezel and knob layout) it would actually be a 5 tube cold chassis set.

It seems your set is a notch up from my set because mine is a very bare-bones 4-tube chassis. I took another look just to be sure. It also is a "cold chassis" with a fairly large power transformer. It has the same exact chassis as this set: http://www.oldradiosnstuff.com/aubur...e-radio-4-tube In the pic looking straight-on at the chassis, the transformer is directly behind the large component to the left.
It seems my set is unrestored or maybe service was done a long time ago on it. The set was such a clean original that I didn't even bother to remove the chassis when I got it to peak under the chassis.

[ZenithDude88]

Originally Posted by decojoe67

It seems your set is a notch up from my set because mine is a very bare-bones 4-tube chassis. I took another look just to be sure. It also is a "cold chassis" with a fairly large power transformer. It has the same exact chassis as this set: http://www.oldradiosnstuff.com/aubur...e-radio-4-tube In the pic looking straight-on at the chassis, the transformer is directly behind the large component to the left.
It seems my set is unrestored or maybe service was done a long time ago on it. The set was such a clean original that I didn't even bother to remove the chassis when I got it to peak under the chassis.

If yours is indeed anything like the one in the link you posted, it might of been a rebadged Magnavox because the one I see in the pictures in the link you posted has Magnavox parts in it including a Magnavox Speaker.

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by ZenithDude88

If yours is indeed anything like the one in the link you posted, it might of been a rebadged Magnavox because the one I see in the pictures in the link you posted has Magnavox parts in it including a Magnavox Speaker.

Actually mine has a Rola speaker, but other than that it's exactly that chassis in the photo. That Rola name, besides the various tube names, are the only labeling anywhere on the chassis/components. The speaker looks like it was always with the set. I remember other collectors often identifying these generic chassis' by a plant number in Chicago. They likely churned these and similar chassis' out by the millions and were simply assembled with a generic cabinet by them or another company. The name molded on the bezel was likely of any stores choosing.
Over the years I've seen a lot of these low-cost 4-tube cathedrals and they usually share the same basic chassis and cabinets with other sets.

[ZenithDude88]

Originally Posted by decojoe67

Actually mine has a Rola speaker, but other than that it's exactly that chassis in the photo. That Rola name, besides the various tube names, are the only labeling anywhere on the chassis/components. The speaker looks like it was always with the set. I remember other collectors often identifying these generic chassis' by a plant number in Chicago. They likely churned these and similar chassis' out by the millions and were simply assembled with a generic cabinet by them or another company. The name molded on the bezel was likely of any stores choosing.
Over the years I've seen a lot of these low-cost 4-tube cathedrals and they usually share the same basic chassis and cabinets with other sets.

OK, well I guess there goes that theory. But either way its kind of impressive that your radio made it 75+ years later in that good of shape. By the way the name Auburn is actually the name of a town in Indiana where they made the Auburn, Cord and Dusenburg cars back when that radio was made, this is just a theory but possibly the Auburn Car company expanded into selling radios for a while, or possibly they gave away radios with their name on them as a promotional gift when you bought an Auburn car back in the 1930s? Just a guess.

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by ZenithDude88

OK, well I guess there goes that theory. But either way its kind of impressive that your radio made it 75+ years later in that good of shape. By the way the name Auburn is actually the name of a town in Indiana where they made the Auburn, Cord and Dusenburg cars back when that radio was made, this is just a theory but possibly the Auburn Car company expanded into selling radios for a while, or possibly they gave away radios with their name on them as a promotional gift when you bought an Auburn car back in the 1930s? Just a guess.

Thank you. Being the car buff that I am I know all about the Auburn automobile. True classics. Anything is possible as far as the radio goes and it also could be connected with Auburn New York. Likely there wasn't a whole lot of thought as to choosing that name. Someone was possibly thinking of the car because it evoked something up-scale. I've seen slews of interesting names molded in similar bezels for these sets and I highly doubt that they point to the origins of the sets. In the day these were very low-end $10 radios likely sold in small department stores.
PS - Interestingly enough the "Auburn" spelling on the radio is done in the style of the automobile's logo!
http://auto-logo.info/logo/auburn6.jpg

[Nuke]

Like that Philco console. Have one just like it in excellent condition I restored. Sits in my kitchen and matches my cabinets perfectly.

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by Nuke

Like that Philco console. Have one just like it in excellent condition I restored. Sits in my kitchen and matches my cabinets perfectly.

Thanks, That's a 118H Philco model from 1935. It's interesting how Philco resold that same exact 1932 model 3 years later when it looked rather dated. It's one of my best players and has that true warm "tube sound".
ZenithDude88: It is amazing how, at this point in time, you find a radio that's from the local area. I like when there's a service tag on the chassis from a long-gone repair shop.
Either the "Auburn" name was connected to the automaker or it was just written that way to appear like it. Likely it was the latter as the automaker would've chosen a more high-end unique set to use as a promotion.

[ZenithDude88]

Originally Posted by decojoe67

Thank you. Being the car buff that I am I know all about the Auburn automobile. True classics. Anything is possible as far as the radio goes and it also could be connected with Auburn New York. Likely there wasn't a whole lot of thought as to choosing that name. Someone was possibly thinking of the car because it evoked something up-scale. I've seen slews of interesting names molded in similar bezels for these sets and I highly doubt that they point to the origins of the sets. In the day these were very low-end $10 radios likely sold in small department stores.
PS - Interestingly enough the "Auburn" spelling on the radio is done in the style of the automobile's logo!
http://auto-logo.info/logo/auburn6.jpg

Well There we go, all the more reason to suspect that the radio might have a connection with the Auburn car company, by the way, I have family that lived in the Auburn and Garrett area of Indiana and I just thought it was kind of interesting that the radio said Auburn on it.

Another interesting thing is that my cathedral radio I have was made in Indiana which is where I live and it uses parts that were made by CTS here in Elkhart, Indiana where I live and I just thought that was rather interesting that the radio was made in Indiana and has managed to stay in Indiana all its life.

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by ZenithDude88

Another interesting thing is that my cathedral radio I have was made in Indiana which is where I live and it uses parts that were made by CTS here in Elkhart, Indiana where I live and I just thought that was rather interesting that the radio was made in Indiana and has managed to stay in Indiana all its life.

You never know, unless it's previous owners told you it's history, it may have done some traveling....Years ago when I lived in Florida I visited an antique shop in Georgia and bought a set with an 40's-50's repair shop sticker. The sticker had a Milwaukee address, some years later I ended up living in the greater Milwaukee area and sold the set at a swap meet there....I brought it home, so to speak.