Cool old receiver. I can imagine this being used back in the 1920's. It would have been state of the art then. Thank you for sharing this receiver. Rich
It is neat that it is still working. It does have one modern cap that bridges one of the original caps. But you get the idea of what it was like searching for stations. Thanks.
Hey Gary, All the terminals are labeled on the paper in the lid for the radio. There are two antenna connections, one for 350 meters and below, and one for 300 to 500 meters, this is also on the paper. 300 meters is 1000khz and 500 meters is 600khz, so the radio covers the AM broadcast band. A horn speaker could be used but it would be very weak. A horn speaker is really just an earphone with a horn on it. But earphone or horn speaker it needs to be high impedance about 2000/3000 ohms.
I picked up one of these radios on ebay but I have not had a chance to hook it up. Thanks for sharing your knowledge of this unique little radio with us. I am anxious to listen to mine. You might comment as to what kind of antenna you are using.
Thanks. I tried to get an accurate representation of how difficult it was to tune in stations. It took me awhile, a microphone just would not work. It did not sound like it does when you are wearing the Baldwins. This reasonably close.
Back then when you found a station you wrote down everything. Including which antenna you are using if you had more than one. The two terminals at the upper right cover different bands. 300 and 500 meters mostly.
This is the one I have except I beleive it says, "RCA Radiola Sr.". and it is the same one I spoke of a few years back. and thank you for looking up the tube for me. WD-11. MUDDy
It didn't sound very bad at all. But I can imagine that those headphones would hurt after wearing them for longer periods of time, if they are too tight? Thanks for sharing! -Frank
Back in the early 20s there were very few commercial stations. I would guess you would hear a lot of Morse code also. This receiver is close to the beginnings of modern electronics. Thanks.
Look at the still picture just before operational demo, there is one modern cap that bridges one original cap, yours may not need it. I used a 20 foot wire and no earth ground. It would be best to follow the antenna instructions that are on the led of the receiver. Good luck and thanks.
Very interesting. The band that is used on this receiver, is it shortwave or ham? Also I saw four terminals on the left with colored alligator clips. That must have been for power and headphones. Can a speaker be connected to this so that the programming is heard by everyone seeing the radio, or is it strictly made for the buldwin headphones? That would be interesting to try different speaker types if it is possible. Gary
Is there some way to know what frequency you are on, or at least low or high end of the AM band? I suppose with practice you identify a station and not the settings, you can go back to those for a known station?
Here's the connection instructions from RCA. I put the links in the show more of this video. The headset should be from 2,000 to 3,000 ohms. I can not send you a message, you have it blocked.
“Radiotvphononut” made a video about this same model yesterday, but the rest of the components underneath is gone, because the wires were cut off and had a hack job. So he filed a claim that it was a bad rap to for the seller. He got it off of eBay and it had that issue. So he decided to return it and get his money back. It’s not a good idea to hack this one. This is a nice piece of history right there. There were many of them out there, but this is a very early radio made by Westinghouse and RCA, and it was one of the earliest for RCA back in 1921. RCA also made the Radiola during the 1920’s until the company was buying the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1929 due to the stock market crash and became RCA Victor by 1930 which was the start of the Great Depression.
I did watch his video and it is a real shame. These early 1920s radios are so very close to the beginning of all electronics it would be a shame to lose any of them. I hope that he can get his money back or find the parts to restore the radio. I hope He can restore it, because the person he would send it to certainly wellness. Thanks for watching my video.
Is there any way to tell when the different variations of this radio were made? I have one that has the wood panel, silvered dials, and poplar case. Case needs repairs, though.
Here's a helpful hint - you can make a substitute tube by re-basing (okay, by putting a base on) a CK5676 tube, and putting a 22K resistor across the filament leads for the correct current draw. THere is an article online about making substitute WD-11 tubes. I 3D printed bases, and will use brass tubing for the pins, but you can also make a drilling template and pull the pins out of the base of a dud tube, and re-drill it for brass tubing pins in the WD-11 pattern. Just do a Google search for "WD-11 tube substitution". Preserve your original - it's worth more than the radio it goes into, most likely! :)
I have one WD-11 but the tube you see in this video is a rebase. A WD-11 matching spec tube put on a WD-11 base. When rebase was available I think they cost $60 each. All tubes have increased in price. Thanks.
Back then when you found a station you wrote down everything. Including which antenna you are using if you had more than one. The two terminals at the upper right cover different bands. 300 and 500 meters mostly.
Cool old receiver. I can imagine this being used back in the 1920's. It would have been state of the art then. Thank you for sharing this receiver. Rich
It is neat that it is still working. It does have one modern cap that bridges one of the original caps. But you get the idea of what it was like searching for stations. Thanks.
just great to see and hear something that old work as new!!!! thanks again for yet another great video !!
It is fun using them and just think of what might have been heard through them originally. Thanks Ed.
Hey Frank,
The Baldwin's were very high tech for the 1920s. And yes they are heavy and unconvertible after awhile. Thanks.
thanks again for the super great vids!! i am really amazed that something that old still works!! thanks again!! ed
Hey Gary,
All the terminals are labeled on the paper in the lid for the radio. There are two antenna connections, one for 350 meters and below, and one for 300 to 500 meters, this is also on the paper. 300 meters is 1000khz and 500 meters is 600khz, so the radio covers the AM broadcast band. A horn speaker could be used but it would be very weak. A horn speaker is really just an earphone with a horn on it. But earphone or horn speaker it needs to be high impedance about 2000/3000 ohms.
Thanks davej728
Yes they are fun to use, and I always think of the original owners, it must have seemed like magic finding a station.
I picked up one of these radios on ebay but I have not had a chance to hook it up. Thanks for sharing your knowledge of this unique little radio with us. I am anxious to listen to mine. You might comment as to what kind of antenna you are using.
Thanks. That broadcast was on the 15th of July.
Terminal 7 is for stations below 350 meters and terminal 8 is for stations between 300 and 500 meters. 300 meters = 999kHz, 500 meters = 599kHz.
Thanks.
I tried to get an accurate representation of how difficult it was to tune in stations. It took me awhile, a microphone just would not work. It did not sound like it does when you are wearing the Baldwins. This reasonably close.
Back then when you found a station you wrote down everything. Including which antenna you are using if you had more than one. The two terminals at the upper right cover different bands. 300 and 500 meters mostly.
This is the one I have except I beleive it says, "RCA Radiola Sr.". and it is the same one I spoke of a few years back. and thank you for looking up the tube for me. WD-11.
MUDDy
It didn't sound very bad at all. But I can imagine that those headphones would hurt after wearing them for longer periods of time, if they are too tight?
Thanks for sharing!
-Frank
Back in the early 20s there were very few commercial stations. I would guess you would hear a lot of Morse code also. This receiver is close to the beginnings of modern electronics. Thanks.
Look at the still picture just before operational demo, there is one modern cap that bridges one original cap, yours may not need it. I used a 20 foot wire and no earth ground. It would be best to follow the antenna instructions that are on the led of the receiver. Good luck and thanks.
I looked at the date on the original file and it is july 15th. Thanks.
Very interesting. The band that is used on this receiver, is it shortwave or ham? Also I saw four terminals on the left with colored alligator clips. That must have been for power and headphones. Can a speaker be connected to this so that the programming is heard by everyone seeing the radio, or is it strictly made for the buldwin headphones? That would be interesting to try different speaker types if it is possible.
Gary
Is there some way to know what frequency you are on, or at least low or high end of the AM band? I suppose with practice you identify a station and not the settings, you can go back to those for a known station?
Thanks.
Great idea, it is an interesting device to use. Thanks.
Do you know the day you recorded this ,the coast to coast show that was playing sounded interesting.
Hi, All AmercianFiveRadio:
Cool. I hooked up mine with antenna that is wrapped around electric wire in my room. It worked very well. ---Dan
Nov 2, 1920 they could listen to KDKA. Yep this was right at the start. Lots of amateur radio and Morse code, and government stations.
Here's the connection instructions from RCA. I put the links in the show more of this video. The headset should be from 2,000 to 3,000 ohms. I can not send you a message, you have it blocked.
I'll try! Thanks.
See it, like it ! ❤🎉
More then 100 years old and it still works.
Thank you, and you are welcome.
“Radiotvphononut” made a video about this same model yesterday, but the rest of the components underneath is gone, because the wires were cut off and had a hack job. So he filed a claim that it was a bad rap to for the seller. He got it off of eBay and it had that issue. So he decided to return it and get his money back. It’s not a good idea to hack this one. This is a nice piece of history right there. There were many of them out there, but this is a very early radio made by Westinghouse and RCA, and it was one of the earliest for RCA back in 1921. RCA also made the Radiola during the 1920’s until the company was buying the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1929 due to the stock market crash and became RCA Victor by 1930 which was the start of the Great Depression.
I did watch his video and it is a real shame. These early 1920s radios are so very close to the beginning of all electronics it would be a shame to lose any of them. I hope that he can get his money back or find the parts to restore the radio. I hope He can restore it, because the person he would send it to certainly wellness. Thanks for watching my video.
Is there any way to tell when the different variations of this radio were made? I have one that has the wood panel, silvered dials, and poplar case. Case needs repairs, though.
Here's a helpful hint - you can make a substitute tube by re-basing (okay, by putting a base on) a CK5676 tube, and putting a 22K resistor across the filament leads for the correct current draw. THere is an article online about making substitute WD-11 tubes. I 3D printed bases, and will use brass tubing for the pins, but you can also make a drilling template and pull the pins out of the base of a dud tube, and re-drill it for brass tubing pins in the WD-11 pattern. Just do a Google search for "WD-11 tube substitution". Preserve your original - it's worth more than the radio it goes into, most likely! :)
I have one WD-11 but the tube you see in this video is a rebase. A WD-11 matching spec tube put on a WD-11 base. When rebase was available I think they cost $60 each. All tubes have increased in price. Thanks.
Back then when you found a station you wrote down everything. Including which antenna you are using if you had more than one. The two terminals at the upper right cover different bands. 300 and 500 meters mostly.