Radiola 28 (DC)

[Winky Dink]

That was too easy. I hadn't looked up the stations yet. Definitely the Detroit area, and definitely after 1934. Several of the stations' call letters were not in use until 1932-1935. I was puzzled at first about those starting with "C," but I remembered that in 1960, in the Washington DC area, I used to listen to CJBC, Toronto, on my first transistor radio.

In cleaning up the dial, under certain lighting conditions, I could see some erasures. The only one I could read was "WNEW." From metromedia.com, "In 1934 businessmen Milton Biow and Arde Bulova purchased a Newark, New Jersey radio station, WODA. They changed the call letters to WNEW for “the NEWest thing in radio”. Indeed, it was the newest thing.

The station was launched in a ceremony performed on February 13th at 9 pm by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. From the White House the president pushed a button and moments later a lamp illuminated in a New Jersey transmitter room. As the light shined, soprano Yvonne D’Arle sang the Star Spangled Banner and WNEW-AM 1130 officially went on the air."

The radio was in North Dakota 25 years ago, so apparently it is well traveled.


Regarding the hobby, my wife is actually supportive. After all, I gave up 25 years of avid golfing (which I sucked at) for vintage electronic restoration (which I suck at).