Thoughts on antique radio collecting

[Jeffhs]

Our hobby of antique radio restoration and collecting is not new by any stretch of the imagination. I don't know how many of you remember the old (now defunct) Popular Electronics magazine, which was published between roughly 1955 and 1980 or so, but in the mid-'60s they had several articles dealing with the restoration of what were then referred to simply as "classic" or "relic" radios from the '20s through the '60s. These are the antique radios we AKers collect and work on today, only in the '60s these sets were only 30 years old or less and were properly referred to as either vintage or classic (an item has to have been made at least 50 years ago to be properly referred to as an antique). Even the early Zenith T/Os (both the original tube versions from the '50s and the first transistorized sets from the latter part of that decade until 1962--the 7000 series didn't appear until the late seventies) were just little sprouts in those days, and the big consoles like the Stratospheres and other makes hadn't even come to middle age yet. So, little as we AKers may think of it, these antiques we own and work on today were simply classics and relics at one time, but even in the '60s and '70s people still got a kick out of making them "talk" again after 30-40 years; thanks to AK, we still do. I am proud to be a member of a group such as AK which is dedicated to keeping this wonderful hobby alive and well in the 21st century.

Please, whatever you do, don't get rid of your old sets if you can possibly avoid it. Little as we may think of it, many if not most of these antique radios we have so lovingly restored to operating condition are one of a kind; those which are still around are becoming increasingly more difficult to find as time goes on. As the Big Lots expression goes, "when they're gone, they are gone"--in the case of our treasured antique radios, in many cases for good. The Zenith TVs and radios of the '20s through the '60s are one perfect example of this, as the Zenith Radio Corporation is no more. My hat is off to AK's own Doug Harland and Max Morgenthaler (as well as other Zenith TV and radio collectors here). Please, guys, hold on to your old sets, as they are becoming scarce in this day and age. Who knows? Thirty years from now the small Zenith 5" combination TV/AM/FM radio from, I believe, the mid-'70s or '80s (one of which I saw on ebay the other evening and was strongly tempted to bid on) may be part of a new breed of antique, classic and vintage equipment. My best hope for AK is that it is still around 30 years from now, so that a new generation of vintage radio/TV collectors can have as good a forum to discuss their ebay scores, etc. as we, the current members of AudioKarma, have today.

Kind regards,