Here's a BIG Airline!

[decojoe67]

Thought I'd share my newest aquisition. It's a huge circa 1938 tabletop radio by (Montgomery-Ward) Airline model 62-228. It's 22" long, 15" high, and weighs over 40 lbs. The dial is over 8" in diameter and has two smaller function dials inside it. It has 3 bands, a "second hand" two speed dial, magic eye tuning indicator plus 8 tubes, and even a chrome chassis! The set sounds awesome with rich tone, and it's very sensitive. I can't find a whole lot of imformation on it.

[Sandy G]

Dah-Yum ! I'd scarf that Bad Boi up in a heartbeat, if I'd run acrost it !

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by Sandy G

Dah-Yum ! I'd scarf that Bad Boi up in a heartbeat, if I'd run acrost it !

Thanks. I hesitated to buy it because of it's huge size, but that dial hooked me and I just had to get it. It sure commands your attention in wherever you place it and it's sounds like a higher-end '30's console - it practically is one!

[marty59]

That radio is a looker! I would have found a spot for it here if I had come across that. Yes, there's info on your radio. It is covered in Riders Volume 8 and you can have access to a schematic courtesy of Nostalgia Air.

http://www.nostalgiaair.org

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by marty59

That radio is a looker! I would have found a spot for it here if I had come across that. Yes, there's info on your radio. It is covered in Riders Volume 8 and you can have access to a schematic courtesy of Nostalgia Air.

http://www.nostalgiaair.org

Thank you very much for the link

[bgadow]

I'm a sucker for radios like this; it really has a lot going for it. Post a pic of the chassis if you get a chance.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by marty59

That radio is a looker! I would have found a spot for it here if I had come across that. Yes, there's info on your radio. It is covered in Riders Volume 8 and you can have access to a schematic courtesy of Nostalgia Air.

http://www.nostalgiaair.org

Another of those great Wells-Gardner sourced sets.

[decojoe67]

Thank you. I too am a sucker for impressive '30's radio dials. I never had one this big in my collection. When it's on I stare at it more than I do my TV screen! I'll try to get a pic of the chassis as soon as I can. I have to build-up the strength to take it off the shelf again!

[Sandy G]

I'm THINKIN'-And you must remember I had a Stroke, so sometimes I "Remember" things that Ain't So-but I THINK I remember there was an Italian Boatanchor, that had a "Rainbow" dial similar to this...

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by decojoe67

Thank you. I too am a sucker for impressive '30's radio dials. I never had one this big in my collection. When it's on I stare at it more than I do my TV screen! I'll try to get a pic of the chassis as soon as I can. I have to build-up the strength to take it off the shelf again!

I think this chassis and dial was also intended for a console model.

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

I think this chassis and dial was also intended for a console model.

It seems that way, but if you look through pages of Airline consoles in Steins console guide you will not see this particular dial on any set! The typical Airline console dials around '38 were tele-dials and movie-dials. I'd love to learn the whole story on this unique set.

[decojoe67]

Here's the dial lit-up. It has a soft back-lit glow that was hard to capture in a pic.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by decojoe67

It seems that way, but if you look through pages of Airline consoles in Steins console guide you will not see this particular dial on any set! The typical Airline console dials around '38 were tele-dials and movie-dials. I'd love to learn the whole story on this unique set.

I have that same model. I think the Riders pages show 1936.
Those telephone dials don't impress me, even though I have a few.

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

I have that same model. I think the Riders pages show 1936.
Those telephone dials don't impress me, even though I have a few.

Thanks. In my mind I dated this set as a '36, but when I saw it listed as a '38 on the few examples shown on the net I figured I was wrong. '36 seems right. I too am not a fan of the teledials on any brand of radios, but they were put on some sharp looking models.
If you could post a picture of your set I'd love to see it!
Joe

[bgadow]

This reminds me a of the Detrola built sets, though I'm not sure if they did any for Wards. I have a Truetone they built with some of the same details (but not nearly this flashy).