A Radiola III joins the collection!
 

I always wanted to add a 1924 Radiola III or IIIA to the collection. I had no idea the volume on the accompanying 1924 Radiola UZ1325 horn speaker would be at such an acceptable level with only 2 864 tubes and using my AM transmitter. It's the typical somewhat raspy "megaphone" sound of '20's sets, but in that is their charm. The set is very small and light and their is practically no glow of the filaments in the 864 tubes. It's working on it's original audio transformer.
http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1c306ghq.jpg

Hi,
Are those 864 tubes the ones with 1.1 volt at 0.25 amp filaments ?
Ed

My local repairman, who happens to be the seller, recommended to set my ARBE to 1.5V. Supposedly the 864's were military grade for aircraft! (?) Don't know much about them except that they are known to be the best choice for performance on the III, and they share the same characteristics of the WD-11's.

Fantastic! Always wanted a working 1920s battery set :)

Thank you. For many years I passed on '20's sets because I preferred the stylish cabinets of later years and AC operation, but once you get one and use it, you'll be hooked! They're simple light-weight sets that are fun to tune and listen to with that mega-phone style sound. I treat myself with ARBE III's for my sets, which is expensive, but if you're adept you can get inexpensive build-it yourself battery eliminators from AES, if they're still available. I would highly recommend getting at least one early battery set.

It is not too hard to build a battery eliminator with some wallwart transformers, diodes, caps resistors, and some LM317 and LM337 regulators....Design and build work is great training in power supply theory.

I agree Tom. My only regret about the hobby is not learning chassis restoration right at the outset. I would've had 35 years experience by now! No doubt half the fun is actual hands-on electronics work.

***UPDATE***
I had the opportunity to purchase a very nice matching "Balanced Amplifier" for the Radiola III and I went for it. It's running on it's original audio transformer like in the Radiola. This unit now matches the combined IIIA model and offers plenty of volume. It's a beautiful display and evokes the early days of radio.
http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...psfk5h781o.jpg