"A Streamlined Powerhouse" from Westinghouse

[Paula]

In 1946, Westinghouse dubbed their model H-126 radio, "The Little Jewel". It was a weird-looking affair -- a radical departure from the rank-and-file table radios of the day -- with its vertical form factor, and other nifty appointments. This, by the way, is the radio with the ameteurish re-cap job that was featured in the thread, "How NOT to Re-Cap a Radio", back in early May (something Sandy already knew ).

Despite its unusual shape, this radio produces a fairly robust sound, and has ample sensitivity and selectivity for an old AM tuber. I replaced the remaining wax/paper capacitors that the previous "restorer" had left intact, and the annoying 'pop' went away. It has now found a place on my kitchen counter, and with its ivory color scheme, blends in nicely with my almond-colored appliances.

There seems to be a fairly persistent bit of folklore about these radios, to the effect that Westinghouse dealers gave them away as premiums with the purchase of a Westinghouse refrigerator. While this is an interesting theory, and may have actually occurred, judging from the contemporary advertising materials that I've seen, I don't think it was anything that originated with the Westinghouse marketing department. Yes, the radio does somewhat suggest the appearance of a miniature refrigerator, but I think that people nowadays don't realize that radios were not the cheap giveaway items that they later became, and I dare say that giving one of these away with the purchase of a refrigerator would have quickly eroded a dealer's profit margin. Still, I'm only guessing, and I would love to hear from anyone who has more solid information on this.

[More pictures and text to follow.]



These pictures give you an idea of the interior configuration of the H-126. Note that the loop antenna is housed in the right-hand bakelite shell, while the left-hand shell covers the raw end of the chassis. Also, note the nifty little "W" logo that glows with the dial light.

One of the headaches with restoring this radio (at least, to the extent that I actually restored it), was getting the grille cloth right. This radio features the original grille cloth material: a very insubstantial weaving of kite string-like threads. Originally, the cloth was glued to a stamped cardboard "baffle" which was fixed to the inside of the vertical grille bars. The previous "restorer" chose to supplant this method with the time tested method of masking taping the cloth in place!

[For those of you that have not discovered it for yourself, masking tape is one of the most temporary fastening methods known to man. The adhesive is particularly unstable with time, and will eventually destroy most any surface to which it is unwisely left adhered to. It is designed for temporary use only!]

Anyway, using what remained of the original cardboard baffle, I was able to construct a new one out of a couple of pieces of ordinary cardboard laminated together. I carefully re-wove the unraveled ends of the original cloth and Elmer'sed it to the new baffle. As the last picture in this series shows, the new baffle assembly is held in place with eight dabs of adhesive.

An interesting little project, all-around, and an interesting little jewel of a radio!

Paula