Things to Know

Before you buy or consider buying a restored vintage radio you need to know a few things.

• These are old technology. A good 75% of the electronics and components in these radios are stock…from the 40’s. Don’t expect great reception at all times and in all locations. While they can and do play great at times; sometimes the television playing in the next room can impact your reception…or your neighbors air conditioner kicking on. Internal loop antenna radios may mean you will have to turn your radio in different directions to receive particular stations. All of these radios play, but I would advise you to buy one because you appreciate the aesthetics and “vintageness” of them vs looking for a high-fidelity radio.
• Don’t Panic. When you turn these old radios on they need a good 20-30 seconds to warm up before they start playing. That’s normal.
• Longer is better. If strong reception is really important, attaching a long wire antenna can really boost volume and sensitivity. In the old days folks would run an antenna the entire length of their attic. Today 10′-12′ of wire along a baseboard can be all you need to get distant stations.
• These are AM radios. AM radio reception is going to depend on what AM stations are close to you and what sort of antenna you are using. I have a couple of pretty strong stations fairly close by so they come in clear and strong….you may not. AM radio tends to be stronger at night due to interaction with the ionosphere, so you may get stations from distant cities at night. Conversely, AM stations are known to reduce their signal strength at night to avoid interference with other stations (FCC regulations) so a strong station during the day may suddenly seem weaker at night. Again, the antenna makes all the difference with this.
• Don’t touch the merchandise. Many of these old radios were made in the days when if you decided to stick your hand into an electronic device while it was on and got electrocuted it was your own damn fault. While it may take the right combination of circumstances to get shocked (you have one hand in the playing radio and are grounded by your feet or other hand) there is the possibility it could happen with some of these old radios. In other words, don’t mess around with the insides unless you know what you are doing and leave the back panel on. Keep an eye on any children who may be interested in sticking their fingers into things.
• Tubes generate heat. Keep some space behind the radio to allow air circulation. As the radio warms up the change in temperature can cause some drifting in tuning, possibly requiring you to re-tune or (if it is internal loop) turn the entire radio a bit.
• Collector “purity”. To be 100% transparent, most of these radios are repainted with color, techniques and paints that didn’t exist when they were manufactured. Hard core collectors scoff at repainted radios. If you like them for their aesthetics that’s great, but I wouldn’t want to imply that any of these radios have significant collector value at this point.
• Cost. I based my pricing on a variety of factors, such as; what I paid for the radio, the cost of the paints, components and supplies I had to purchase to refinish them and of course my time spent. I have also looked at what other folks are selling the same models (refinished) for and tried to set what I though was a reasonable price.