[NostalgiaRadioTime]

A 1936 General Electric model E-101

"Colorama"

Top of the line table model offered by GE in 1936, with 10 tubes and 3 bands! It's housed in a HUGE cabinet measuring 16" wide, 21" tall and 12" deep. GE Pioneered metal tubes, and they were still relatively new in '36. The radio features all its original tubes, save for two (the glass 6L6 will be replaced with a metal one). This is a rare one year only model that used a saturable reactor and seven #40 colored dial lights (4 red and 3 green) that changes the color of the dial. When a station is strong and optimally tuned in, the dial turns green. In between stations, it turns red. I was very fortunate that none of the coils were open on this radio...something very common. Especially in the saturable reactor.

   

   

   

   

   

[Eliot Ness]

Nice!

Where did you find it?

[NostalgiaRadioTime]

An antique store online. Been looking for one of these for over 3 years. There was one on eBay last year that sold for $350. I got this one (unrestored) for less than a third of that. 

[NostalgiaRadioTime]

   

I have this full page ad for the focused tone colorama from a December 1936 issue of the Saturday Evening Post framed above the radio. It features Bing Crosby, proving he wasn't just partial to Philcos!

[NostalgiaRadioTime]

   
Here's a picture of the chassis showing the bank of colored lights. I bought colored red and green vinyl sleeves to slip over the new #40 bulbs from Mouser. They work great and give excellent color contrast.

[Eliot Ness]

Interesting set; thanks for the pictures and descriptions.  The colorama sets are ones I haven't paid too much attention to until a few months ago, and your pictures nicely illustrate how the dial changes color.

Those red and green vinyl sleeves sure add nice color to the bulbs.  Too bad the colored LED replacement bulbs from places like Pinball Life don't seem to come with a screw (type 40) base:


http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=1883

[Arran]

Interesting set; thanks for the pictures and descriptions.  The colorama sets are ones I haven't paid too much attention to until a few months ago, and your pictures nicely illustrate how the dial changes color.

Those red and green vinyl sleeves sure add nice color to the bulbs.  Too bad the colored LED replacement bulbs from places like Pinball Life don't seem to come with a screw (type 40) base:


http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=1883

 It's too bad, but you could not use those LED bulbs with the tuning indication system that these G.Es used, maybe with a regular 28 volt tuning light like Rogers and some other makes used but not these. It's one feature I wish that the Canadian G.Es models had, but most seem to have used clones of Canadian RCA chassis, but in a different cabinet.
Regards
Arran

[sam]

greg
sharp looking GE 
love the dial and lights

sam

[klondike98]

Great find especially since it was on your wish list!

[codefox1]

Glad you got it. I have a couple of specimens same as the one atop the refrigerator in my childhood days, they still play but mom is long gone. I didn't finish either one to vintage, but cleaned and completely mechanically/electrically restored the sets. Not much to listen to anymore on AM but they still work.

[morzh]

Cool design.

Similar grill design exists in several others. Zenith, I think, is one of them.

[Joe Rossi]

It sure is a beauty! Congrats. Joe