1922 Westinghouse RC lives!
 

I recently acquired this early set and my repairman nearly gave-up on the restoration. It had a slew of problems, but it plays again! The audio is acceptable, but not loud even with the 1922 Magnavox loudspeaker with it's field coil. It's the oldest set in my collection now.
See photo below.

Fantastic
 

What a Beautiful Set!!!
:thmbsp:

Thanks. It really evokes the early days of radio! After some tweaking I've gotten some very decent volume out of it too. The audio is surprisingly crisp and clear.

A thing of grace and beauty. Bravo!

Thank you. These early sets really do have a beauty of their own. It has such a solid, sturdy, well made feel to it.

That's a super set, with RCA engineering behind it. Where was it made, Pittsburgh?

Thanks. A relatively small number of RADA's were made in Pittsburg, but most including the RC like mine, were made in East Springfield, Mass. It's literally the first practical home radio employing Armstrong's regenerative circuit. 1922 was the first year radio really boomed with the public.

Actually, Westinghouse made those sets at their plant in Mass. They also made other things there like electric fans. The Radiola 17 and 18s were made there.

Only in recent times was the plant demolished. The locals were trying to save it for repurposing, but it wasn't to be.
http://media.masslive.com/republican...0-standard.jpg

Marvelous!

Thanks. I wasn't having much luck with the Magnavox speaker so I picked-up this1924 Amplion speaker. I'm getting excellent results and it looks pretty cool on top of the RC!

Very nice! :)

Thanks Celt!

Always wanted me one of them REALLY "Old-Timers".. Guess my Grebe Synchrophase will hafta do. (Actually, I have another couple. One was an Xmas present from someone here, bought another couple. Wish I knew how to set 'em up..

I avoided set made before 1930 for years, but about 2 years ago suddenly found them appealing. I decided I wanted one or two very early sets in the collection. If you want them working it can get pricey with repairs, tubes, loudspeakers, and power supply's, but it's worth it. They actually play quite well, are fun to tune, and have a unique sound.

It was a tough decision, but I traded the beautiful Amplion speaker for a scarce authentic "Vocarola" speaker that was designed to go with my 1922 Westinghouse RC. A very primitive looking thing, but, along with the radio, this was Frank Conrad's vision of a complete home receiver. The performance isn't impressive, but it's okay. You're only sensible choice to was hang it on the wall by it's rear bracket.

I finished detailing my Vocarola. With a removal of a dent in the front, paint touch-ups, an repro decal, and a homemade driver cap to hide the non-factory "Dictograph" nickel-plated driver, it's looking good again. The driver cap is deeper than the original, but, from what I read, I believe it plays better than the original driver. The clarity and volume level of the RC and the Vocarola is surprisingly good!
http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...psf4hbbvxt.jpg

I fortunately located the correct driver for the Vocarola and I'm finally calling this one done! :)
http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...psgwaeoewe.jpg

Wow, that is just too darn cool.

Love the tiny shelves for individual radios.

It is kind of amazing, looking into a Crosley 50, that there are really enough parts to make it work.. (And amazingly well, for a 1 tube set)

I agree. You'd swear parts are missing when you look into the cabinets of these early sets! To think so much genius went into the them to make it possible.
BTW, thanks toxcrusadr. To me the way you display these sets is important. The shelves are actually "floating" shelves used with brackets. My own idea.

I love old radios!

Same here. It started at about 10-12 and has never gotten old for me!