Pierce Airo

[AUdubon5425]

Hi everyone,

I went to look at a Pierce Airo radio chassis for sale yesterday - there was no model number on it but I thought maybe someone here might be more familiar with these. The chassis and faceplate are made of Formica, it has six battery terminals (C-, C+/A-, A+/B-, B+45, B+90, B+135).

It also has six tubes:
3 Cunningham CX-301-A
1 Cunningham DX-201-A
1 Cunningham 201-A
1 CeCo 201

The seller insists it was made in 1901 since he read an ad for a Pierce Airo radio in a 1901 Sears catalog. I told him this looked like a typical battery set from the 20's, but I think he's pretty convinced it's from 1901.

Any information on this would be helpful, including what a fair price would be.

Thanks,

Ryan

[Sandy G]

Typical 1920s battery set. Most of the time, the ones I've seen have had the tubes robbed outta 'em. But if the tubes are all still good, they're prolly worth more than the radio itself.

[Tom Bavis]

The UV201 was introduced in late 1920, the UV201A in 1923, and the UX201A in 1925. So mid '20s is the earliest it could be... there may have been a earlier radio from this brand, but this ain't it...

[Fisherdude]

Wow, it's almost impossible to find any solid info on this radio!

Here's what I've found so far:

It is an American manufacturer. There's a possibility it was originally made by a company called United Scientific Laboratories, which started production in New York around 1921. Pierce-Airo eventually became part of DeWald.

This is definitely not from 1901. It may be valuable. It's not a true "breadboard" radio, it's a bit newer than that, but it's close. I'll keep looking.

[Sandy G]

I've got one of those old battery "mystery" sets, & back B4 AK, I wrote off to the Antique Wireless Ass'n about it. They wrote back that during the early-mid '20s, there were literally HUNDREDS of companies that went into the business of making radios. A lot of 'em had some sort of furniture/cabinet making connection, hence the beautiful cabinets you sometimes encounter these sets in. Most of them made no more than a handful of sets, if they ever made any at all, & more than likely were little more than "assemblers" of commercially available components. The introduction of AC powered radios in the late '20s, & the introduction of the superhet circuit a little later, & its jealous guarding by RCA's patent attorneys, pretty much did 'em in.

[electronjohn]

Very nice set! My guess is the company chose the name to capitalize on the cachet of Pierce-Arrow automobiles...which were the 1st choice of the "upper crust" back then. I'm not aware if the car company was in the radio biz...but ya never know. And, as far as I know...there were no radio manufacturers in 1901...a few components were commercially available, but everything else for your spark gap transmitter and coherer receiver had to be homebrew.

[AUdubon5425]

Originally Posted by Fisherdude

Wow, it's almost impossible to find any solid info on this radio!

There's a possibility it was originally made by a company called United Scientific Laboratories, which started production in New York around 1921. Pierce-Airo eventually became part of DeWald.

The back of the tuning cap is stamped "United Scein. Lab." so that makes sense.

I appreciate the help - I really wasn't looking for anything like this, but I would like to see it go to a good home. Trouble is, the seller seems to think it is very valuable, although I couldn't get him to name a price. I am going to get back with him next week with the information y'all have been nice enough to furnish me with and make him an offer.

If anyone is interested in this set pm me - like I said, I'd really just like to see this go to a good home and would be happy to help.

Ryan

[Bob E.]

Those transformers are works of art! It could have had 01 or 01A tubes originally, and been re-tubed with 201's later...when was Formica invented?

--Bob

[Reece]

Formica came into being around 1913. There were many many industrial uses besides the familiar countertops which came about later. Westinghouse used it for fan blades in the 20's: I have one of those fans.

That radio is definitely from the 1920's, as has been previously stated. The history of radio communications would tell you that: the form of the set, the tubes it uses, the fact that those tubes weren't available until the early 1920's, and that broadcast radio didn't come around in force until the early 1920's. Having a 3-gang condensor is different and advanced for the day: most TRF consumer sets of the day were "three-dialers." In the mid twenties and later Atwater Kent and others chained or belted together three single condensors in attempts more or less successful to make single dialers. The problem was making the three tuned circuits track together. Since RCA had a stranglehold on the superhetrodyne patents, not many wanted to pay them the royalties to make the superhets which largely solve the tracking problems along with other advantages, so the TRF's persisted until the early 1930's.

Reece

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by Reece

Formica came into being around 1913. There were many many industrial uses besides the familiar countertops which came about later. Westinghouse used it for fan blades in the 20's: I have one of those fans.

That radio is definitely from the 1920's, as has been previously stated. The history of radio communications would tell you that: the form of the set, the tubes it uses, the fact that those tubes weren't available until the early 1920's, and that broadcast radio didn't come around in force until the early 1920's. Having a 3-gang condensor is different and advanced for the day: most TRF consumer sets of the day were "three-dialers." In the mid twenties and later Atwater Kent and others chained or belted together three single condensors in attempts more or less successful to make single dialers. The problem was making the three tuned circuits track together. Since RCA had a stranglehold on the superhetrodyne patents, not many wanted to pay them the royalties to make the superhets which largely solve the tracking problems along with other advantages, so the TRF's persisted until the early 1930's.

Reece

General Electric had a four-tube clock radio, circa late 1940s-1950, that I think was a TRF design. My grandmother had one in her summer cottage; it worked well for all the local stations, but one 50kW station about five miles away came in on at least two spots on the dial. The station's assigned carrier frequency is 1220 kHz; the little GE radio also tuned it in on, IIRC, 620-640 kHz or thereabouts. Was this a common problem with these four-tube sets (or TRF radios in general) in very strong signal areas?

BTW, I agree 100 percent with Reece; there is no way the radio Ryan (AUdubon5425) found could have been from 1901. Radio as we know it today hadn't been invented yet, as KDKA in Pittsburgh did not sign on as a commercial station until 1920--nineteen years later. However, KDKA was on the air as an experimental station prior to 1920 (but, I'm sure, well after 1901). Its callsign in those days was 8XK.

BTW (2): This is OT, I'm aware, but I'm curious. Ryan's AK member name looks like a very early telephone number, after four-number dialing but before seven-digit dialing. Was this member name modeled after such a number, say in the New Orleans area circa 1930? AU.5425 translates to 28.5425; the only difference between this and an actual telephone number is the absence of the third digit in the exchange. Was there an AUdubon exchange in the New Orleans area (or anywhere else in the United States, for that matter) at any time, before seven-digit dialing became the standard for US telephone service? As I said, I'm curious, as I had never seen a member name on AK like Ryan's until now, and I've seen some pretty wild and creative ones in my six years here.