All Things Come To Those Who Wait.. (Radiola Sr.)
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Many years ago, when I was 16, my cousin who also had an interest in electronics had been given a Radiola Sr. in excellent condition. He was going to throw away the guts since they were "old junk" and he was into the latest electronics. All he wanted was the nice wooden box it came in. I bought the guts from him for $5, and have had it ever since. I mounted it on a board, and have had it working for years. Lately I have been using VT-24 tubes with vintage adapters, and they work very well.
[Image: http://40.media.tumblr.com/3b7bb2d160550...1_1280.jpg]
I have thought about getting a case made for it, but it never came to much. I have also kept my eyes open to see if I could ever find a case. Over the years I have learned that the last version of the Westinghouse Aeriola Sr. and the Radiola Sr. are virtually the same radio. Well, I finally found an Aeriola Sr. case for sale on ePay, and managed to buy it VERY reasonably.
[Image: https://40.media.tumblr.com/527cf5ce2872...1_1280.jpg]
I removed the paper label, and cleaned up the case, inserted my Radiola guts, and screwed on the Radiola nameplate. I had even saved the original tiny screws to mount it.
[Image: https://40.media.tumblr.com/0e51fea78d53...2_1280.jpg]
[Image: https://40.media.tumblr.com/124feaed8974...3_1280.jpg]
So, now my Radiola Senior has as close to an original case as I am ever likely to find for it. It works quite well for a one tube regenerative radio. Using 30 feet of 16 gauge stranded wire strung along the ceiling molding of my living room, and a good ground, I am able to pick up WOR in New York, a station up in Canada, and many other distant stations, as well as all the local AM stations. I was very surprised when I first began to use it. By keeping the set right on the verge of oscillation, the sensitivity and selectivity rise sharply, allowing some amazing results.
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(05-17-2015, 06:51 PM)Crist Rigotti Wrote: Very cool! WOW,,,nice,,,BUT,,I am really confused,,,,the set has the word westinghouse under the brass handle,,that is pointing to the number 6,,,,and you are saying it is a radialo ????  Please set me straight….. Sorry
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Up to 1930 or so, RCA was only a sales agent for GE and Westinghouse, who actually manufactured the Radiolas.
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It is pretty amazing what a little one or two tube set can do. I picked up a Crolsey 51 at Ktown a couple of shows ago. It's a two tube set using 01A's. Really a good performer. Drives a speaker fine and picks up very well too. Had an old variocoupler I found in a box of junk. Mated it up with a tuning condenser, grid leak, and a 01A tube. It worked well too.
Terry
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Thanks everyone. The other night when I was playing with this set I picked up WNYC from New York. I'm In Providence, RI. I have heard a couple of French stations from Canada, and 740 from Toronto. It is a fun little radio to play with.
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>>>All Things Come To Those Who Wait..
Yep. In my case it is usually a layoff 
People who do not drink, do not smoke, do not eat red meat will one day feel really stupid lying there and dying from nothing.
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Mike (Morzh): at least it's better than waiting for tanks to chase you across the Ukraine!
Mike (Druid): ahhh, go ahead and drive it into oscillation, then wait for all the wonderful comments from your neighbors about all the ________ (bad word) static on the radio!!
I often entertain myself with my 800-watt spark transmitter equipped with a directional antenna, especially at radio-controlled airplane meets and ESPECIALLY when I see one of those pesky drones with "we're from the government, and we're here to help" painted on the sides.
But TENGA CUIDADO, amigos....... as 800 watt spark transmitters have a nasty habit of bouncing off the ionosphere and blasting clouds open, causing them to dump billions of gallons of water on unsuspecting people thousands of miles away..... like (ahem, I know NOTHING about what caused the flooding) Texas.
In parting, I would like to start a petition to support changing the title of Werner Von Braun's biography from I Aim For The Stars to the more appropriate I Aim For The Stars, But Sometimes I Hit London.
And now..... I shall go out in the garage and smoke a cigarette, which is weird, because I don't smoke.
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Is this a Fessenden "musical tone" spark-gap or a Marcony-type "Broadband" ?
People who do not drink, do not smoke, do not eat red meat will one day feel really stupid lying there and dying from nothing.
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Actually, if you want to do it right, build an Alexanderson alternator. LOL ! As for spark gaps... many years ago, back in the 1960s, I built a complete one using a Model T spark coil. Made my own oscillation transformer and condener. The condenser I made with plates of window glass, and aluminum foil. It actually worked, although it was rather broad in its tuning. LOL ! Fortunately, I just used it for a few experiments. Never actually heard any complaints.
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This is because you never told noone you are the one creating the oscillations or you would likely hear an earfull.
As for Alexanderson, as far as I read, it was in fact Fessenden's because Alexanderson's did not quite do what was asked of it, so Regie spent a few months making his own machine (he migh've used some parts of GE unit for it). Then GE took Fessenden's design and marketed it as Alexanderson's.
But....this was single frequency unit, not broadband, and was used for CM.
People who do not drink, do not smoke, do not eat red meat will one day feel really stupid lying there and dying from nothing.
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Yes, spark is pretty "broad" in that it pollutes the local area with a broad spectrum of noise.
The model T coil trick was one used by many early experimenters. Crude but effective.
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Heck I've got a handful of switching battery chargers that pollute the RF all around me.
I don't need no stinkin' spark gap when I've got chargers!!!
Have to unplug the D*** things so I can listen to the SW.
Terry N3GTE
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