Old Time Radios Were "Boat Anchors"

Reliving Our Parents Memories Seventy Years Later

Old Radios

Consoles The console radio was the center piece of every house back in the era of radio, they were big and expensive running up to $700 back in th late 1930's mostly for the rich, these radios were place in hallways and living rooms. most console radios were waist high and not very wide , as the years went on the got shorter and wider. Most consumer console radios were made by RCA, Philco, General Electric, Wards Airline, Montgomery Ward, Westinghouse, radio-bar and many more they were all affordable. Others like Zenith, Scott, Atwater-Kent, were mainly for the rich as there prices ran into the $500-$800 range in the 1930s and 1940s.

The Insides Were Different

The Insides The insides contained "discrete components" which were hard wired together using hot solder!

There was a load of room in the old radios and they all had power supplies which generated several hundred volts of electricity in order to operate... ouch! Paul used to work on these old radios when growqing up.

Trans-Oceanic

The Trans-Oceanic was the name given to a series of portable radios produced from 1942 to 1981 by Zenith Radio. They were characterised by their heavy-duty, high-quality construction and their performance as shortwave receivers.

Zenith's founder, Commander Eugene F. McDonald, was a great admirer of advanced technological development and believed that his company's products should include the latest, most practical advances in a well-built product that continued to enhance the company's reputation. Of the many products of Zenith Radio, the 'Trans-Oceanic' series of portable radios were amongst the most famous.

Zenith

Firsts

The first radio news program was broadcast on August 31, 1920 on the station 8MK in Detroit, Michigan. This was followed in 1920 with the first commercial radio station in the United States, KDKA, being established in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

In 1922, the first regular entertainment programs were broadcast. A highlight of this time was the first Rose Bowl being broadcast on January 1, 1923 on the Los Angeles station KHJ.