I grew up in a major city back when people where throwing away their "radiograms" and going transistorised. For those of you who don't know a radiogram was a large wooden cabinet that had storage space for LPs at one end, then a radio/amp in the middle and a record player at the other end. There wasn't much space in our house so I would just take the radio. These valve powered (tube) beasts had several short wave bands. I could listen to "The voice of America" who informed me of how many Vietnamese jets they had shot down today. Then I could tune in to "The voice of Hanoi" who would tell me the opposite :) I love tube powered radios!
At home, I use a low power FM transmitter that can cover about 50 feet and tune my old AM/FM radio to a dead spot on FM. Now I can listen to YouYube or Podcasts in the bedroom where my old radio is and I can carry a portable FM radio with me around the house. My favorite mod as a youth was to add a stereo multiplex circuit to a tube FM radio and get stereo out (two RCA Jacks). I thought this was wonderful back in the day. (1965 or so)
I agree with your opinion on the Blue Tooth trend, What I do if the radio has a phono jack is use an interface box that plugs into the radio's phono jack, and it has is an audio isolation transformer inside of it that connects a stereo jack to a MP3 player or Blue Tooth device, and it sounds great. I also use a very good AM transmitter that broadcast through the house that plays MP3 or internet radio through it and also sounds very nice. No radio modifications needed.
Totally agree. I wish more radios had phono jacks installed. I will be doing a video in the future showing how to add a mini jack. I have to do it in a way that I don't have people putting the jack ground on a hot chassis, which is stupid dangerous. Audio isolation transformers really help with the noise and safety issue. I use my AM transmitter mostly. If I do any radio mods its usually for customers.
I grew up in a major city back when people where throwing away their "radiograms" and going transistorised. For those of you who don't know a radiogram was a large wooden cabinet that had storage space for LPs at one end, then a radio/amp in the middle and a record player at the other end.
There wasn't much space in our house so I would just take the radio. These valve powered (tube) beasts had several short wave bands. I could listen to "The voice of America" who informed me of how many Vietnamese jets they had shot down today.
Then I could tune in to "The voice of Hanoi" who would tell me the opposite :)
I love tube powered radios!
Antique radio Archeology you are good at electronics and restoreing
At home, I use a low power FM transmitter that can cover about 50 feet and tune my old AM/FM radio to a dead spot on FM. Now I can listen to YouYube or Podcasts in the bedroom where my old radio is and I can carry a portable FM radio with me around the house. My favorite mod as a youth was to add a stereo multiplex circuit to a tube FM radio and get stereo out (two RCA Jacks). I thought this was wonderful back in the day. (1965 or so)
I agree with your opinion on the Blue Tooth trend, What I do if the radio has a phono jack is use an interface box that plugs into the radio's phono jack, and it has is an audio isolation transformer inside of it that connects a stereo jack to a MP3 player or Blue Tooth device, and it sounds great. I also use a very good AM transmitter that broadcast through the house that plays MP3 or internet radio through it and also sounds very nice. No radio modifications needed.
Totally agree. I wish more radios had phono jacks installed. I will be doing a video in the future showing how to add a mini jack. I have to do it in a way that I don't have people putting the jack ground on a hot chassis, which is stupid dangerous. Audio isolation transformers really help with the noise and safety issue. I use my AM transmitter mostly. If I do any radio mods its usually for customers.
Excited to see part two. Later this month I hope to have an adaptor to input bluetooth into my Atwater Kent Model 20.
Antique radio archeoloog I like your utube videos
Antique radio Archeology this cool to add Bluetooth
Antique radio Archeology I watch on utube Mister Radio whe restoreing vintage radio he put in Bluetooth to
I don’t like to see good radios destroyed by turning them into blue tooth or guitar amp. I like my sound in stereo. Those radios are mono.