'37 Airline "movie dial" radio

[decojoe67]

This is a very unique 1937 Montgomery-Ward Airline model 62-418. This all-original set has 8 tubes, 3-bands, tuning eye, a nice chrome chassis, and dark brown crinkle painted cans. The unique feature is, of course, is the mini projection unit used for tuning. The film loop moves up and down when you change bands and displays clearly on the ground glass screen. There's even a spare projector bulb mounted inside the cabinet. There was many variants of this basic tabletop design - 6-tube, 8-tube, and battery farm versions. They're quality (in and out), great performing sets made by Well-Gardener for Montgomery-Wards stores. These movie dial sets were only made in '36 and '37.

[MadMan]

That's kinda neat. I'm surprised the film hasn't burned up or faded out.

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by MadMan

That's kinda neat. I'm surprised the film hasn't burned up or faded out.

Interestingly I had heard long ago that the bulb on these does not burn hot like a normal projector. It's basically an over-sized dial pilot bulb.
The film strip is more like a typical dial plastic than a conventional celluloid film strip, but under rough storage conditions it is known to deteriorate. This one is still very nice. There is, or was, repro's available. I haven't checked recently.

[Electronic M]

One day I'd like to own one. 2 years ago I owned an older Airline console where the dial scale was printed on normal material but with the set off there was no dial pointer visible...the dial pointer was behind the scale. It was a transparent green triangle with a completely clear white stripe in the center with a dial lamp behind it...so in opperation the dial would have a green triangle around your position with a white stripe indicating the exact position rear projected on the dial.

Part of me wishes I had kept it, but it came to me as a surprise give away with 3 other consoles and I didn't have room for it. I did take the time to make it work before I sold it and the cabinet was decent so I suspect the new owner is enjoying it.as it was meant to be.

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

One day I'd like to own one. 2 years ago I owned an older Airline console where the dial scale was printed on normal material but with the set off there was no dial pointer visible...the dial pointer was behind the scale. It was a transparent green triangle with a completely clear white stripe in the center with a dial lamp behind it...so in opperation the dial would have a green triangle around your position with a white stripe indicating the exact position rear projected on the dial.

Part of me wishes I had kept it, but it came to me as a surprise give away with 3 other consoles and I didn't have room for it. I did take the time to make it work before I sold it and the cabinet was decent so I suspect the new owner is enjoying it.as it was meant to be.

Yes, there was many, many unique types of dials and pointers. Philco was big with having a sliver of light behind the rotating dial.
That Airline pointer sounds interesting. I too have parted with sets and regretted it later. You have to really think it over about parting with models that are not easy to find.
The good about this 62-418 model is that you get the movie-dial without having to squeeze a console into your collection. There was basically only 2 styles of tabletop movie-dial radios. This one and another with a different speaker grill. This was the only local opportunity to get one these in all my years of collecting. I'm finding it more appealing in person than in pics.

[Jeffhs]

Did the Movie Dial radios have different dials for different parts of the United States? The radio being discussed here had Minneapolis and Denver, etc. stations on its MD film strip. Were any of these radios made with movie-dial strips showing stations in other parts of this country, like Minneapolis, Denver, Chicago, Milwaukee, et al.? For that matter, were there strips for these sets showing radio stations in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, etc.? (I hate to think someone would have to buy an entire new radio if he or she moved, just to get correct stations on the dial, even if the radio itself still worked perfectly well.)

BTW, was it possible to change the film strip in these radios if the owner moved from one region of the US to another, say from Minneapolis to Chicago, or did the sets' owners simply leave the dials as they were when they moved? I would think it would be possible to recalibrate the dials (after replacing the strip, of course) for the owner's new area; however, I wonder how many folks would have gone to the trouble and expense of having this done, as I think it would be a major undertaking.

[jr_tech]

I believe that the dial had the AM broadcast stations in three groups: East, Central and West, so it covered the major broadcasters across the country. The radio shown in post #1 seems to have the scale shifted upward, so the call letters of the Eastern stations are not seen. Only the locations of the Eastern stations can be seen. The scale was shifted when in Shortwave mode to reveal shortwave frequencies, call letters and cities of location of the major international shortwave broadcasters.

EDIT add pix showing East, Central and West markings:



Shortwave typical display:



jr

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by jr_tech

I believe that the dial had the AM broadcast stations in three groups: East, Central and West, so it covered the major broadcasters across the country. The radio shown in post #1 seems to have the scale shifted upward, so the call letters of the Eastern stations are not seen. Only the locations of the Eastern stations can be seen. The scale was shifted when in Shortwave mode to reveal shortwave frequencies, call letters and cities of location of the major international shortwave broadcasters.

EDIT add pix showing East, Central and West markings:



Shortwave typical display:



jr

Thank you for making me aware that my film loop is up high. Is it easy to lower?

[jr_tech]

I’m sorry, I don’t know, but IIRC, the table model uses a mirror in the optical path, which may be adjustable, as well.

jr

[bgadow]

I have one of the console versions and never realized they built tables as well. A decent performer; I need to tune it up a bit. I do recall an adjustment, which I don't recall being difficult.

[decojoe67]

Just wanted to say that tinkering with these units could cause more trouble than it's worth. First off, tilting the mirror with the left-right adjustment could cause the mirror to crack if you're not careful. Mine did and I had to cut a new piece.
Interestingly, I see mostly central cities on my dial, even on the top row. I found only one upstate NY town. I was expecting to see the old NYC stations.
Also, I found that I could focus the center part of the screen, but the edges remained fuzzy. I can only figure that the film is not as flat as it once was.
My advice to anyone with one of these is that if your imagine looks decent, do not tinker with the unit unless you have a lot of patience and mechanical skills.

[decojoe67]

Photo of the set after refreshing with the flash on:

[vortalexfan]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

One day I'd like to own one. 2 years ago I owned an older Airline console where the dial scale was printed on normal material but with the set off there was no dial pointer visible...the dial pointer was behind the scale. It was a transparent green triangle with a completely clear white stripe in the center with a dial lamp behind it...so in opperation the dial would have a green triangle around your position with a white stripe indicating the exact position rear projected on the dial.

Part of me wishes I had kept it, but it came to me as a surprise give away with 3 other consoles and I didn't have room for it. I did take the time to make it work before I sold it and the cabinet was decent so I suspect the new owner is enjoying it.as it was meant to be.

I have an old Capehart Console that has a similar Dial arrangement where the dial glass is normal dial glass material but when the unit is off the pointer isn't visible but when you turn it on the pointer is red line that moves across the dial.

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by vortalexfan

I have an old Capehart Console that has a similar Dial arrangement where the dial glass is normal dial glass material but when the unit is off the pointer isn't visible but when you turn it on the pointer is red line that moves across the dial.

There was many radios that had dial indicators that only were visible when the set was on. The early Philco's had an insert behind the dial with a slit that made a distinct line when the set was on. My favorite will always be the big airplane dials, but these other one's are interesting too.