[Jeffhs]

I guess the idea of putting a very small chassis in a very large cabinet isn't new. It seems as if this radio's chassis is somewhat smaller than the cabinet, not unlike the small PC-board "chassis" (not much larger than an oversized postage stamp) used in Zenith's last console color TVs. There was a lot of wasted space in those sets' cabinets as well. However, the extra space in the radio's cabinet probably improved the sound quality by at least a small amount. There isn't enough empty space in this cabinet to cause problems such as echoes or a "hollow" sound.

BTW, what was the meaning of the term "one good quarter gives two hours (of listening time)"? I would think the radio's coin box probably was designed to detect any kind of counterfeit stuff, be it slugs or anything else, while allowing legitimate coins to pass through and operate the radio normally. My best guess is the detection scheme used an electromagnet to determine the authenticity of the coins.

The adage "there is no free lunch" applies here, in spades. The coins were probably used as partial payment of the motel's electric bill, as there was probably one radio in each room; depending on how many rooms the motel had, the income from the radios' coin boxes could have been substantial.