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scottran 3T WIS 
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I saw some were talking about their other hobbies so here is one of mine. Antique radios, mostly pre-war. They are all over the house but this is the "radio room". Sorry about the lighting, can never get good pics in there. Scott   |
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Skipdawg 3T WIS 
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WOW! that is rather amazing. Cool hobby. hand6.gif |
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scottran 3T WIS
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Thanks Skip! I enjoy fixing them up and bringing them back to life. They are also like art. Back then they made radios to be pleasing to the eye and ear. A little art deco and machine age styling. Plus, you cant beat the sound of the big speakers and tube amps. Scott |
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James Haury 3T WIS
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Who still makes tubes,and why do tube amps sound better?I love my old Zenith clock radio but a compulsive cleaner threw it out and it rained that day.If i knew where to get tubes i might pick up an old radio. |
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Upside 3T WIS 
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Vacuum tubes are all the rage with audiophiles. My step dad is very much into that these days. He combs through ebay daily looking for them. He tells me there's a company in China (go figure) That has caught wind of the rage and is producing some tubes. I've heard his set up and it's true, they do make a differnce even to an untrained ear. very cool hobby indeed! |
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mcwright Admin 
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Tubes provide a warmer, more musical sound. On paper their harmonic distortion % is often higher than solid state amplifiers, but it more pleasing to the ears than tranistors. Transistor amps at lower price points often use class B or AB designs. These "switching" amps create an unpleasant or hard sound when pushed (driven hard) to clipping. Better transistor amplifiers with larger power supplies reduce this type of distortion. Class A transistor amps mimmick tube designs (each transistor is on all the time - no switching) but they are expensive and inefficient. |
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mcwright Admin
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Pic one brightened Attachment: 2008_0218radioroom0001a.jpg (Downloaded 20 times) |
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mcwright Admin
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pic two Attachment: 2008_0218radioroom0002a.jpg (Downloaded 22 times) |
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mcwright Admin
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pic three Attachment: 2008_0218radioroom0003a.jpg (Downloaded 22 times) |
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scottran 3T WIS
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There is a place in Arizona that sells them. Antique Electronics supply http://www.tubesandmore.com. Also I believe radio shack can also still get tubes. You have to ask them as its something they dont have on the shelf. If you can ever get to listen to and old Zenith floor model with tone controls and at least 9 tubes you will see how great they sound. The more tubes, the better they sound. Scott Last edited on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 10:06 pm by scottran |
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scottran 3T WIS
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Thanks for brightening up those pics. None of my digital cameras ever took good pics there. My radio room is my refuge. It is so nice to turn on an old radio, sit down and fire up a cigar and just relax. Ahhhhh. Scott |
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hucky 3T WIS 
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Wow, Scott That is cool, great hobby you got there Did you ever get into CB Radios, Ham Radios. Scanners type of hobby? I ask cause I have been wanting to get into scanners, cbs, but dont know anything about them. Huck |
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Norman 3T WIS 
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Great collection of radios Scott!...I like old radios. Mcintosh amps, Garrard turntables, Wharfdale speakers..... brings back the days!woohoo.gif |
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scottran 3T WIS
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hucky wrote: Wow, Scott Huck, THe only CB I have is the one in my truck. I have thought about the hams, I have always wanted to get an old Halicrafter set or two. I can listen to the Hams on most of my old radios as the most all have short and medium wave bands. My old Zenith Transoceanics all have 6 medium and short wave bands. I can pic stuff up from all over the world with these 50+ year old radios. Also they had novelty radios. If you look in pic 2 there is a brown radio sitting on top of a floor model at the right. You see the speaker grill is offset to the left. That is called a "Smokerette" It is a radio with a humidor, 2 tobacco tins, holders for pipes, and an ashtray. Same company made a "Bar-radio" It came with flasks and whiskey glasses. They also made "Chair-side" raios. They were a small floor model that sat beside your chair like an end table. You could tune your radio while sitting in your easy chair. I have quite a few of these, i think they are so neat. Another neat radio is the "Pillow speaker radio". It was mainly used in hospitals and motels. It was coin operated. It mounted on the headboard. It has a small speaker on an extension cord that you put under your pillow. It is coin operated and so the more dimes you put in the longer it would play. Kind of like the sleep mode on your clock radio. The dial is upside down so that while you are laying in bed it is right side up. I could go on but I better not. If you want to know more just ask. Scott |
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scottran 3T WIS
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Norman wrote:
Thanks Norman! I always tell people, If your out yard-saleing or antiqueing and see an old radio that catches your eye, especially a floor model, buy it. Get it restored and it will provide many hours of enjoyment and look great doing it. They also make a great conversation piece. Especially if you can find one with a tuning eye. I will post a pic of one. Scott |
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scottran 3T WIS
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Here are 2 pics of radios with tuning eyes. 1st is a zenith, if you look close you can see a darker wedge shape at the bottom of the eye. When the signal is stronger the dark wedge will get smaller like in the 2nd pic of my stromberg carlson chairside. Scott  |
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Norman 3T WIS
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that is just neat...I want one! |
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