Anyone into Antique Alarm Clock - AM/FM Radio Comboes?

[Inkmo]

Since my little brother is studying to be a horologist, I thought it would be fitting to get him a stylin' old alarm clock radio for Christmas. I've been on ebay, and non functioning radios seem to be a pretty common problem on a lot of old solid state and tube units. If I ePay it, does anyone know a quick place I can get replacement tubes, etc? How hard will it be to fix things on my own in time for the holidays? Lastly, if this isn't asking to much, do any of you guys know other good places to shop for vintage clock radios, or do any of you have some pieces you might be willing to sell a guy who waited too late to do his Christmas shopping?

Thanks in advance if you've read this far ^_^.

[Celt]

Most of them used GE-Telechron movements, which are easy to work on and have modular components. The coils, capsules are usually easy to find and most of the movements are made of brass and steel...easy to clean and lubricate. Usually, somewhere on the dial, you'll see the word "Telechron". I don't have anything to sell, but you shouldn't have too much of a prob finding something in good shape. I always liked the GE radios.

[Inkmo]

cool, thanks! That's good to know. You make it sound like someone with limited technical expertise like myself could fix one of these puppies.

Anyways, I'm out to take a walk to the mini mall and poke around for old timepieces and radio stuff. Peace!

[maxm]

Zenith made a really cool AM/FM clock radio in the 50s that used Zenith's wonderful AM/FM chassis they used in their table radios.

Here's one I have, I also have a brown one...



When buying old clock radios make sure they have the little plastic knobs that go around the clock dial that are used to turn on the radio and set the sleep timer. These are often missing and hard to find replacements for.

[jstout66]

I've got a few I could part with. I have tons, as I tend to "hoard" LOL! PM or hollar if interested.

[Adam]

I like old clock-radios as well. I use my 60s Zenith AM/FM as my main alarm-clock. I have a few old GEs too.

[Inkmo]

Rad! That Zenith is exactly one of the models I was looking at, but the seller was saying the FM was spotty and I don't know if I could fix it in time for the holidays.

I was out at the local mini mall today, and saw that there is someone local that refurbishes and sells old bakelite radios. I'm gonna send him an email and see what else he'll work on. Maybe I can get my receiver restored without having to pay ghoulish shipping charges .

Folks offering to to sell: I'm certainly interested. My brother, Adam, has a taste for vintage things (he was firing WWII era rifles for a while as a hobby, has a number of old working and not working watches, etc...). I think he would appreciate a classic clock radio (sort of a combination of our respective hobbies, I guess). I'm only interested in ones that still have their knobs and work, but I know that I can trust AKers . If any of you have some pics you want to show me, please PM me, or feel free to show your radio off here .

[VinylHanger]

I wanted to become a horologist, but at 50 bucks a pop I couldn't afford it. Plus, once ya done one whore ya done 'em all.

[Jeffhs]

I have a Zenith H-480 AM/FM/FM-stereo clock radio of 1980 vintage. It's not an antique yet (halfway there, though), but it still works, for the most part (the FM used to work very well, but now is very weak and no stereo after I cleaned the slide pots--the cleaner must have shorted something out; AM still works great). Amazingly, the NiCd backup battery for the digital clock is still good after 25 years. This radio was made for Zenith in Taiwan, but it still has the Zenith crest and name on the front panel above the clock display. I keep the set in my bedroom on my dresser, but don't use it much except once in a while to test it and to keep the filter caps formed. I'm not about to get rid of this radio because, like the other four Zeniths in my collection (K-731, Royal 1000-1, R-70, H-511), it was built to the specifications of the former Zenith Radio Corporation of Chicago. I wish I hadn't messed with the slide pots, though. If I'd kept my hands off those, the FM band on my H480 would probably still be working today. When it was still working, the FM section of this radio was excellent. Sensitive, selective, and it sounded great through its speakers; it probably would have sounded absolutely fantastic through headphones as well. I've almost forgotten how good this one can sound using headphones (the last time I used it with phones was perhaps 20 years ago).

I am amazed that the mechanical electric clocks in '50s-vintage clock radios, such as are often listed on ebay, often work well today--those clocks never seem to wear out in many cases, though I can't figure out why. Being mechanical devices with gears, linkages and a motor, one would think these clocks would almost always give up the ghost after about ten years or so.

I always questioned the usefulness of FM in 1950s and even '60s-vintage radios, with or without clock timers. (Stereo FM clock radios were not introduced until perhaps the late '70s, but I question the usefulness of stereo FM in a clock radio for the same reasons.) FM was just starting out in the '50s; most cities only had a few stations in those days, and the reception in many areas, using the radio's line-cord antenna, was probably fair to poor at best. I think many AM/FM clock and standard radios located in areas other than major metropolitan centers in the '50s through the '70s wound up being set on the area's local AM station, with the FM band being essentially forgotten. The adage "use it or lose it" applies here because the FM oscillator (converter) tube in old sets can become "lazy", or quit altogether, if the FM section of the radio is not used occasionally. Many AM/FM sets used more or less exclusively on AM for years or decades(!) wound up having the FM converter tube replaced for this reason.

[Nolan Woodbury]

There are tons of affordable clock radios available; cheap enough to buy two or three of the same model to insure a complete, working set. I think the idea of giving vintage electronics for a Christmas gift is an outstanding idea! I'm doing the same with several of my friends this year. It's a great hobby, and enjoyable to share. Sometimes, the craftsmanship must be experienced to be appreciated.

I haven't dived into the clock radio scene, but I can understand the attraction. There's some wild designs out there! It's hard to pick an aspect of this hobby that isn't fun (well, I DID light myself up pretty good the other day on a hotwired chassis...) and finding your own little niche is part of the fun.

Merry Christmas everyone!

[Inkmo]

Hmm... That's really interesting! That kinda explains why a majority of these auctions have nearly the exact same sentence "turned FM on, but only got some buzzing. picked up no/2-3 stations. don't know if it works, etc"

The Zenith radios look all sorts of rad. I still haven't found anything yet. I would hit up our local guy, and probably will in the future, but the change he wants for a restored unit is more than I can part with this time of year.

[wa2ise]

I have a page of clock radios http://www.geocities.com/wa2ise/radios/cr.html and electric clocks http://pw2.netcom.com/~wa2ise/radios/clocks.html

[Inkmo]

wa2ise: Excellent Page!

This is a hobby I think I want to investigate more seriously after I have my stereo setup a little better!

Anyhow, I found one on eBay and bit because the seller claims everything, including the radio works, and that there are no cracks or missing knobs.

Here's a picture of a similar one (though not the one from the auction)


Cross your fingers for me that everything works, AKers! Hmm, on second inspection, it might not have FM, like I thought it did at first,

but there's a chance it will have a phono jack?! wowwow! Looks like I've got his bday down, too.

[Jeffhs]

I know what you mean as to finding out too late that a radio you won on ebay doesn't have FM or some other feature you were hoping it would have. I also thought a Zenith TransOceanic Royal 1000-1 radio I bid for (and eventually won) on ebay earlier this year had FM. Then I did some research on the solid-state T-Os and found that the first SS designs of these sets (1000, 1000-1, the latter with a jack for an AC adapter) were AM/SW only, no FM. The first of the SS TOs to have FM were the Royal 3000 series; all TOs to follow had this band, plus several SW bands.

However, as to the radio you are either bidding on or may have already won, if it has a phono input jack you are in luck as radios with these inputs usually have very good audio systems. (The older RCA TVs with phono inputs were the same way, as their audio systems and in many cases speakers were hi-fi material as well.) The Zenith C-845 comes to mind as I write this; it has a phono input and a two-way speaker system, so the fidelity of sound from these must be very good to excellent. I own a Zenith K-731 table model with a two-way speaker system, one speaker being an electrostatic tweeter driven directly from the plate of the 35C5 output tube, the other being a 5x7 oval. This radio sounds so good I am amazed as all get out that it doesn't have a phono jack, but the C845 does. This amazes me, since the C845 has two speakers, both of which are standard cone types, probably driven from an output transformer with a tapped secondary winding.

[Inkmo]

WOWWOW. an electrostat tweeter in a vintage radio. how wierd. Anyways, if the radio doesn't work, I'm going to go out and get him something at hastings last minute. Or maybe buy him a subscription to Suicide Girls :p.

Right before I discovered that the radio I'm getting may have a phono jack, I made another post wondering about taking my vinyl portable. Congruous? I might have to get a second TT to leave at mom's and one of those old radios.

I'm also hoping that if it turns out to be AM only (made in 55 it seems, so FM isn't seeming too likely) that he will at least be able to get some good stations as he lives in Seattle.