Late 1920s Eveready Model 1 TRF Set need info

[vortalexfan]

Kevin:
I think you might be right on the money for the one "volume control" because it is a coil that moves with the knob and depending on how the coil is positioned it makes the selectivity of the radio better or worse (better or worse separation between stations on the dial and also makes the overall reception better or worse depending on the position of the coil) and the second "volume control" which is the one that is actually a rheostat type control is the actual volume control because the overall volume of the set is made louder or quieter when that knob is turned.

Titan1a: This radio I think is on par with Grebe as far as being a great DX'ng TRF set because as I said previously this radio was picking up stations loud and clear from as far away 300+ miles away or more, and this radio is still using the original bypass caps for the RF cans!

Also I got my replacement speaker in for this radio's speaker cabinet which was an American Bosch Model 612 8" Dynamic Speaker just like what was in there originally so right now I'm working on repairing the blown out wood around the original screw holes that were used to hold the original speaker in place when the speaker was made back in 1927, and I'm making the repairs with Elmer's Stainable/Paintable and Sandable Wood Filler that also resists shrinking and cracking.

Once I'm done repairing the damage I'll re-drill the holes back where they were originally and install the speaker and put it back together and wire up the speaker and test out the radio with the newly repaired speaker and see how it sounds and works.

[vortalexfan]

It is finished! I have uploaded a video showing the after results of the restoration including what it sounds like with the speaker repaired (I actually had to repair the replacement speaker because apparently the speaker I got off ebay even had some damage to it (fairly minor damage compared to the original).

Enjoy!

Pictures below showing what the radio looks like.

YouTube Video Link Below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-1rXkXH_IY

[Kevin Kuehn]

You did real good, it sounds very nice for a radio from that period. Now if you only had an outdoor antenna away from buildings with a shielded lead-in connected to a good ground, you could lose a lot of that buzz riding on the rf. With an indoor antenna you're actually picking up a lot of your signal that's being re-radiated from your AC wiring. In other words your houses AC wiring acts like a long wire antenna, but it's also got all the noise on it.

[vortalexfan]

Originally Posted by Kevin Kuehn

You did real good, it sounds very nice for a radio from that period. Now if you only had an outdoor antenna away from buildings with a shielded lead-in connected to a good ground, you could lose a lot of that buzz riding on the rf. With an indoor antenna you're actually picking up a lot of your signal that's being radiated from your AC wiring.

Well Unfortunately I don't own my own place so a long wire antenna is just going to have to suffice for the time being since I can't drill holes in the wall at my place.

[Kevin Kuehn]

Originally Posted by vortalexfan

Well Unfortunately I don't own my own place so a long wire antenna is just going to have to suffice for the time being since I can't drill holes in the wall at my place.

Understandable. Sometimes just getting the radio connected to a good earth ground can help, or even a separate long wire connected to the antenna ground can act as a counterpoise and cancel out some of that noise. Often it takes a lot of experimenting to find the best solution.

[Titan1a]

You did the best you could. To cut through the "crud" I use a very expensive amplified loop antenna. Listening to WSM as I type.

[vortalexfan]

Originally Posted by Titan1a

You did the best you could. To cut through the "crud" I use a very expensive amplified loop antenna. Listening to WSM as I type.

I was able to pick up WSM just fine on my radio with just a long wire antenna at 10 o'clock at night, I was also able to pick up the Oldies station out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada just fine on my radio as well on my radio at 10 o'clock at night one night with just a longwire antenna.

[Titan1a]

Excellent! Maybe I need to get one of these.

[vortalexfan]

Originally Posted by Titan1a

Excellent! Maybe I need to get one of these.

Yes, this radio actually has really good sound for its age and also it has great DX'ing abilities for a TRF set.

[Tim R.]

I know I'm late to the party here, but I own two of these. Mine are Model 2's, which are the same radio but in a green metal case. $75 is a good price; I paid about $100 each for mine.

On a whim I powered up the nicer of the two and was surprised to find it still worked! It's encouraging to hear it'll be a decent performer after restoration. I'm not a big fan of 1920s sets, but the Art Deco styling of these won me over.

[vortalexfan]

Originally Posted by Tim R.

I know I'm late to the party here, but I own two of these. Mine are Model 2's, which are the same radio but in a green metal case. $75 is a good price; I paid about $100 each for mine.

On a whim I powered up the nicer of the two and was surprised to find it still worked! It's encouraging to hear it'll be a decent performer after restoration. I'm not a big fan of 1920s sets, but the Art Deco styling of these won me over.

Yes, I've always wanted a 1920s radio so that my radio collection could be rounded out to include all of the various style of radios ever made over past 100 years.

One question Tim, did your radio when you powered it up make a high pitched whistling noise out of the speaker while it was warming up?
The reason I ask is because my radio when its first powered on and while its warming up makes a high pitched whistling noise out of the speaker before finally putting out an audio signal.

[init4fun]

Originally Posted by vortalexfan

Yes, I've always wanted a 1920s radio so that my radio collection could be rounded out to include all of the various style of radios ever made over past 100 years.

One question Tim, did your radio when you powered it up make a high pitched whistling noise out of the speaker while it was warming up?
The reason I ask is because my radio when its first powered on and while its warming up makes a high pitched whistling noise out of the speaker before finally putting out an audio signal.

The reason is that your detector tube , which should be a #27 if I looked at the right schematic , is an indirectly heated cathode type of tube , whereas your #80 B+ rectifier and #71A audio output tubes are directly heated cathodes . When you turn the power on the directly heated cathode tubes are conducting pretty much instantly VS the one indirectly heated cathode taking it's sweet time to begin passing signal . For all that time you have the audio amp section operating wide open but with no signal to process . In the absence of signal to force a bit of bias onto the circuit the tubes become very sensitive to "Microphonics" , having loose elements in the tube actually rattle and give off squeals . This is of course assuming that you did a full recap on the radio (haven't kept up with the entire thread here) because an electrical cause could be if the capacitor listed on the schematic as "43 - By pass condenser .002 mfd." were bad that could cause the amp to squeal till the detector warmed up and began supplying it with audio as well .

[vortalexfan]

Originally Posted by init4fun

The reason is that your detector tube , which should be a #27 if I looked at the right schematic , is an indirectly heated cathode type of tube , whereas your #80 B+ rectifier and #71A audio output tubes are directly heated cathodes . When you turn the power on the directly heated cathode tubes are conducting pretty much instantly VS the one indirectly heated cathode taking it's sweet time to begin passing signal . For all that time you have the audio amp section operating wide open but with no signal to process . In the absence of signal to force a bit of bias onto the circuit the tubes become very sensitive to "Microphonics" , having loose elements in the tube actually rattle and give off squeals . This is of course assuming that you did a full recap on the radio (haven't kept up with the entire thread here) because an electrical cause could be if the capacitor listed on the schematic as "43 - By pass condenser .002 mfd." were bad that could cause the amp to squeal till the detector warmed up and began supplying it with audio as well .

I did not replace any of the bypass caps just the filter caps, and that's how it operates.

No. 43 the .002 MFD Cap is a mica cap so I didn't even bother with that cap.

[init4fun]

Originally Posted by vortalexfan

I did not replace any of the bypass caps just the filter caps, and that's how it operates.

No. 43 the .002 MFD Cap is a mica cap so I didn't even bother with that cap.

If you want the squeal to go away I'd try replacing that cap , yes I realize it's mica but in very very rare instances those can fail and go open just like any other cap .

Always remember , NOTHING in life in infallible , from the "unsinkable" Titanic to our "Always good" mica caps

[vortalexfan]

Originally Posted by init4fun

If you want the squeal to go away I'd try replacing that cap , yes I realize it's mica but in very very rare instances those can fail and go open just like any other cap .

Always remember , NOTHING in life in infallible , from the "unsinkable" Titanic to our "Always good" mica caps

Ok, I'll give it a shot. But taking this thing apart again is going to be a pain because of the way they have this thing assembled into the case.

The whistling noise it makes when it first powers on isn't that annoying , because it does go away once the radio is warmed up, it doesn't really bother me that much it was more of a curiosity than anything.