Hi everyone,

I came across vintageradio.com so many times while googling for radio info I figured joining would be a good idea.

My names Jarrod, became interested in valve radios while reading about the history of computers. I'm a bit of a computer nerd, and I'm only 21, so finding out about what electronics used to be all about really blew me away. It seems like a whole other world to me and its something I really want to learn about.

I got given a working but unrestored Airzone 4A1A1 on the weekend to have a play with (i have a few questions about it but I'll post them in the relevant forum areas). the bakelite case was in really rough shape when I got it. It was filthy and in several pieces, but after a bit of research I put it back to together and it cleaned up really well.

Also have a restored Philips model 123 I bought a few months back just so I could have something with valves to call my own.

Anyway I'm really looking forward to learning about all this,

Jarrod

G'day Jarrod,

Welcome to the forums. You and I seem to have a couple of things in common, we both started collecting at an early age, news of which is universally well received by the collecting fraternity and we both also have an interest in computers though I started collecting before my foray into computers took off.

I collected my first radio in December of 1988 thinking I'd only get one. All I wanted at the time was one radio that ran on valves. I was 17 at the time and still wonder why my parents allowed me to have it, let alone play it.

It was a 1950's Kelvinator mantel model with no cabinet for which I paid $3.00 at Munro's Mill Antique Centre in Tamworth, NSW. Yep, no cabinet and all those terminals with 240V AC and 350V DC just begging my fingers to touch them although I think my ambition to become an electrician gave me the experience at the time to realise that letting fingers wander was definitely not a good idea. That said, it's something I couldn't recommend in these times as everyone seems to focus on safety, well being, duty of care and the like.

Back to that one radio, as you have found, one just isn't enough. Next it'll be two, then three, then ten, etc. It's a good addiction to be affected by. For me, I haven't collected based on historic significance but simply because I like the look of a receiver. Just incase you weren't sure, a small collection of radios does look okay next to computer equipment, as per the following photo:-

I just wish my desk was still that tidy. I wish you well with your restoration projects.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

Thanks Brad,

My desk is the same, barely enough space to move the mouse most of the time. some real nice looking radios in that pic though... don't know if i'll ever have anything that fancy. the empire states look amazing, I saw a picture of one a while back before I had learnt about any of this and instantly wanted it. Then I found out how much they're worth. would love to come across one of those in an op-shop for $15 =D does that ever happen? All the second hand shops I look in try to charge an arm and a leg for this old stuff so I dont really bother looking now.

Anyway i'm getting a bit more confidant now and I really enjoyed fixing up the airzone. I get so much more out of actually fixing things up then just buying them working. The airzone has kept me busy all week and the end result has been well worth the effort. Still a little more I want to do on it (capacitors mainly) but it's looking and sounding really good at the moment.

Thanks for the warm welcome,

Jarrod.

QUOTE: would love to come across one of those in an op-shop for $15 =D does that ever happen?

I'd have to say yes but one would be lucky to strike a deal like this even once a year these days. Antique shops were seldom keen on stocking radios a long time ago because they wouldn't sell for more than around the $20 mark so they couldn't make a profit from it. So there were plenty of shops that just wanted to get rid of radios and other old electrical appliances like grammophones, 'beehive' heaters and table fans.

Today this sort of thing is like winning Lotto - just keep looking, no matter where you are. The jade green Radiolette in the above photo I scored for $80. The lady that ran the shop didn't know what old radios were worth and I played the game, simply saying that it'd look good as a conversation piece on my mantel. At no time did I say I was a collector because the price would have doubled. If she knew I could get between $800 and $1,000 for that radio on Ebay then I would definitely not have got it for $80. Coloured 1930s and 40s mantels fetch by far the highest prices. Rare colours get the bigger bucks - Astor Mickeys in taupe, orange, green, blue and about 16 other colours and variations, AWA Radiolettes in cream, jade and turquoise (as pictured), STC Bantams in pink, blue and green, Healing Minors in around twelve colours - the list goes on.

In some ways the over-inflated pricing of the sets from the above eras clouds the true historical worth of receivers from the 1920s, the sets shaped like coffins and equipped with horn speakers made of tin and/or mahogany. When I first started collecting radios these truly collectable radios were the most expensive to buy. On the other hand the AWA Radiolettes from the 1930s could be had for a song and one of my own personal disapointments is that I didn't capitalise on the opportunity to collect some of these way back then. A jade green 'Empire State', in mint condition and working, fetched $21,000 on Ebay about three, maybe four years ago. 98-99% of collectors probably couldn't afford that or even if they did have $21,000 to spare it'd get spent on a car or extensions to their house, etc.

I don't think I'd pay $21,000 for one radio whether I could afford it or not though it is said that if someone is prepared to pay a price then that becomes what that radio is worth.

One thing I'll say for a long time to come and that is that I believe there are still radios in people's houses and garages in the older suburbs and also out on farms, particularly in isolated areas where radios still exist.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...