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Originally Posted by Charlie
I, too, have a couple of these replica radios. One of them I found at Target about five years ago... seems I recall getting it for ten bucks... there were only a few left. It has AM/FM. I guess it's supposed to look like a small tombstone.
The other is a cathedral with AM/FM and a cassette on the side. Like Jeffhs points out... that's kinda cheesy. However, I'm sure they wouldn't sell as well if they were AM-only. This cathedral actually has a few years on it. My grandparents bought it back in the early 80's.
Both radios pick up stations pretty good... considering I have them up at my cabin in the woods... where there aren't any local radio stations. The FM bands definately pick up great... I pick up Lufkin (80 miles away), Beaumont (40 miles away), and Houston (90 miles away).
I don't really play them very often. I might turn them on softly just for some background music. If I wake up early enough on Sundays, I'll listen to the Cajun music program on 560 KLVI.
Anyone here on AK would likely see one of these sets and immediately know it was a modern replica. However, it's amazing to me how most people think these sets are actually from radio's early days. I've had guest here and their reaction is something like, "Wow, look at that neat old radio! Does it work?" Even when they examine it closely, they don't realize it's a replica. As far as they know, FM has been around since radio first came out.
The wood cabinets seem to be pretty nice. However, I think they could have scrapped the little plate that says "Thomas Collectors Edition 1932".  |
Charlie -
I reread my post just now. I didn't say anything about the replica radios being "cheesy" because they have FM or cassette players; at least I didn't mean to imply that. I was simply pointing out that, in my own opinion, it is odd to see 88-108 MHz FM in a radio that is supposed to be a replica of a cathedral set from the '30s.
I did mean what I said, however, about the AM sections of these radios being not much better than crystal sets, but that comment could apply to the AM tuners of most radios and even low-end stereo systems made in the last 30 years. I had a Zenith stereo in the early '80s that had an excellent FM tuner, but the AM tuner was so bad I was getting shortwave stations on it after dark!
Poorly designed, no doubt.
I read in Popular Electronics some years ago where someone had an
FM tuner that would receive shortwave after sundown; same thing. Not to mention that the tuner in my stereo wouldn't pick up the local AM stations in Cleveland very well at night (no provisions for an external AM antenna), and I lived about 15 miles closer to town at the time.
The FM section of my replica cathedral, however, is very good, getting most Cleveland stations using just the short FM wire antenna that came with the set. I have yet to hear anything on FM 80-90 miles away on this radio, though (I bought the set some four or five years ago). I think that may be due to the fact that this set has fixed AFC, which prevents it from receiving stations very close to strong locals. Doesn't really make much sense, considering the FM tuning scale is very wide on this radio (it takes up fully half of the round tuning dial).
As to the "Thomas Collectors Edition 1932" plate on one of your replica sets, I would say just take it off the cabinet if it bothers you. The thing is just advertising for the company that made the radio, anyway; the set will work just as well without it. You will know it's a Thomas replica cathedral, but anyone else (other than we AKers) will look at it and think it's "the real deal" from the early thirties. The number "1934" is stamped in raised numerals on the lower half of the dial bezel of my replica cathedral set, but it means nothing; it is just part of the dodge Thomas (or whatever company made my replica set; I don't see any manufacturer's name anywhere on the cabinet) uses to make these radios look like real early-thirties sets. No matter. I use the radio mostly on FM anyhow, and I like the looks of the cabinet. Besides, it was a bargain at Big Lots for $20. I'm glad I snapped it up then, as I haven't seen these replica sets in that store since I bought mine (Big Lots' motto is "when it's gone, it's gone").