Ship Radios - World Radio History

ANTIgUE RADIO CLASSIFIEDvEDITOR'S CO M MENTSstores were relegated towarehouses. Norm haswitnessed the demolition ofthose warehouses tomake way forthe new,and hereflects onwhathecalls "Paradise Lost."However,there's comfortinknowing thatsomeradio treasures live on. Gordon Stanley has onethat he shares with us. It's aClearfield glasscased radio that isunusual among such sets inthat ithas a glass panel, which isnot the norm.This set may be rare.A"norm" for Ham radio operators back inthe1960s used to be the Heathkit Cantenna RFdummy load forofthe-airtransmittertesting.ChrisJones describes what he thought was his goodfortune finding a Heath Cantenna for use with atubetype, citizens' band transceiver. However,his euphoria was shortlived when he found outthat the transformer oil used inCantennas contains PCBs. Thanks toChris forhiswarning ofyetanothersafety hazard beyond asbestos and mercury inold radio equipment.The Bonhams auction reported with atouch ofawe by Ray Chase contains an implicit warning— be sure to treat Art Deco and Calalin radioswith special care and respect. The Wooley collection broughtclose to amillion dollars, making itone ofthe highest totals inradio auction history.For anyone who could attend, this was a rareopportunity to see these sets in afull range ofcolors and styles al inone place. As Ray says,some events are worth the price of travel andadmission just to be aspectator and see thehobby atwork.A.R.C. Benefits. Besure totake advantage ofA.R.C. benefits: atollfree number (866) 3710512; Discover, MasterCard, American Express,Visa accepted; the Web, www.antiqueradio.com;books shipped free inthe U. S. by USPS mediamail; and for current subscribers, a10 percentdiscount on al book ordersCo ming Radio Events. Fall is aprime seasonfor getting out and enjoying radio events beforecold weather sends us al indoors. Listed thismonth are 13 meets. 25 meetings, and 5 auctions. Be sure to make at least one inyour area.Happy Collecting!John V. Terrey, EditorLooking forGrandma's nice oldkitchen-counterradio? Notthis time, I'mafraid,atleast among thearticles this month. Instead, this isan issue full ofthe unusual — radios disguised as ships, or encased inglass, orinshapes and colors that bringastronomical prices. On the other hand, maybeGrandma's old radio was a Catalin like one ofthose inthe Bonhams auction reported here, anditsurvives inyourcollection.Such a scenario reminded our staff colleagueRay Bintlif of the tale of alady who brought aCatalin set to him for evaluation. He wisely advised against her letting her son take itoff tocollege. Maybe you'll be saved from a similarmistake as you read about the unusual in thefollowing articles.For Jack Gray the pursuit ofthe unusual tookthe form of ship models containing vacuum tuberadios. Jack's lead article inthis issue ofers solidresearch and many good photos of awide rangeof styles — both sailing and cabin cruisers withradios camouflaged, or under lift-up covers, orsitting on top ofor underneath a ship.AR C. has had earlierarticles onthe combination of nautical and radio history, but they concentrated largely on speakers in ship models.This article alows us to expand our coverage tovacuum tube radios inships, and expanding ourknowledge ofradio history iswhatwe're al about.Phil MacArthur isalways ready to help us outwith informative articles, but the subjects areusually on a small scale. We thought he musthave shifted gears from the Flavoradios and Zenith 500s of his earlier articles when he wroteabout consoles. But, true to form, his subject issmall consoles — tiny, to be more exact. Forexample, the sixtransistor Concord Imperial isonly three inches high; nevertheless, italso hasstorage space inthe top. Aplace for tiny secrettreasures?Treasures show up almost anywhere. NormHertz takes us back tothe familiarnostalgic territory ofRadio Row, the demise ofwhich has beenthe subject of many past articles. But Norm explores post-Radio Row times, from the 1960s tothe 1990s, when the remaining contents ofthosePRINTED WITHOUT CO MMENTON THE COVERWe continue toreceive reports from advertisers ofe-mail responses totheir classified ads proposing topay them with acheck, sometimes via athird party, inexcess ofthe purchase price. The seller isasked torefund the diference by wire. Inmore than one casereported to AR C. thecheck received was "bad."Tominimize problems, wesuggestthatyou alwaysknow whom you aredealing with orask forreferences,The "Melody Cruiser" from Majestic isseen onour cover this month. In our lead article, JackGray covers eleven diferent vacuum tube shipradios ranging from an early TRF set, where theradio is hidden and the sails function as thespeaker cone, to several sets from the 1940s,similartothe Melody Cruiser.5

WITH THE COLLECTORVacuu m Tube Ship RadiosBY JACK GRAYTragedies at sea like theunforgettable "Titanic" wouldhave multiplied beyond comprehension ifradio and nauticaltechnology had notgrowntogether throughout the 20thcentury. One way that theco m mercial efectofthatcollaboration beca me evidentwas thatradio manufacturersbegan to marketship designsfor their novelty products.Jack Gray describes so me ofthose products in the following article. (Editor)Co m munication with shipsat sea was one of the earliestpractical uses of radio. Itgreatly reduced the isolationof ships, saving thousands oflives. Inthe firstcouple ofdecades of this application, radio was generally limited toMorse Code trans missions.However, the 1912 sinking ofthe Titanic clearly ilustratedthe value of radio to oceangoing vessels.By 1914 the use of radiobyseagoing vessels was wellestablished, and the marriageof radio and ships has continued to grow to the presentday. Radio technology provides not only co m munication but also safety enhancement through the use of radar and loran, and, more recently, precise navigation byuniversal use of global positioning syste ms.Just as the ship operatorshave adapted to the manyuses of radio technology, theradio equip ment manufacturers have adapted ship designs to their products. Collector's guides to novelty radios show many transistornovelty sets that were madetoreplicate early ship designs.as well as other nauticalequip ment, such as an engine order telegraph, an out-Figure 1.A very large "Venetian Merchantman." ca 1926-1927, atopoftheline modelfisted for 500.Figure 2. Aside view of alarge cabin cruiser. ca 1941, with aninternalradio and a circular cutoutdesign on the foredeck.6

board motor, alife preserver,and a Morse code key.Similarly, anu mber of early radio speakers with shipdesigns have been identifiedin other publications, including the July 1997, January1999, and October 1999 issues of A.R.C. An early radioantenna wooden ship designwas also described inan article by Dave Gonshor in theFebruary 2000 issue ofA.R.C.This article focuses specifically on early vacuu m tubenovelty radios that were madeas or incorporated into models of ships. The following ismy list of identified vacuu mtube ship model radios.Figure 3 A top Liew of Vie same large cruiser showing its cabin underwhich theradio ishouse() with controls extending into thebridge area.THE "VENETIANMERCHANTMAN"The earliest vacuu m tuberadio in the design of ashipthat Ihave identified is abattery-powered set called the"Venetian Merchant man."shown in Figure 1. It wasmade in 1926-1927 by MiniaFigure 4. Aside view ofanothercabin cruiser. modelanc makerunknown,ture Ship Models of Philadelwith the radio inside the hulland thespeakerintheopenfrontcockpit.phia. This model, along withso me others which incorporated radio speakers, is described in a co mpany brochure, "Ship Models — TheirHistory and Radio Loudspeakers." So me of thespeaker designs were alsodocu mented by Dave Crocker in the October 1999 issueof A.R.C.The "Venetian Merchantman" was at the top of theco mpany line. It was verylarge — 53" high, 22" wide.and 43" long. A5tube, TRF,battery set, itwas housed behind a hinged panel in thehull. It featured a Melodyspeaker sail (see box onpageFigure .5Aninside view ofthechassis oftheatot e o(11 for adescription), electriclights,and afull,castiron crewof 16 sailorfigures. Itwas notsold inkit form and was listedco mplete at aprice of 500. Ido not know of a survivingexa mple, but perhaps so meone out there does.TWO CABIN CRUISERS,MAKER AND MODELUNKNO WNShown in Figures 2 and 3is a large cabin cruiser, ca1941, maker and model un(Continued onfollowing page)Figure 6.A"Radio Launch," modeland makerunknown, with lights andradio :Rounted inthehullunderthehinged cabin.

(Ship Radios, continued)known, which may be unique.The cruiser is approxi mately261/ "l2ong, 71/2"wide and 10"high with an internal radio andcirculargrille cutoutdesign onthe foredeck.A 4tube AC/DC model,the radio is housed underthe cabin with controls extending into the bridge area.Ithas a tube layout and circuitsimilar to a De Wald Model 406R. Isuspect that thisset and the one that followsmay be ship models thatwere adapted at so me stageto house a radio within thehull. The set isfro m my collection.Figures 4 and 5 show another possibly unique, largecabin cruiser, ca 1941. Itisfrom the collection of ChrisProbert. The hull isapproximately 24" long, 7" wide, and10" high with internal radio.The speaker is mounted inthe openfront cockpit. Itisa5tube radio having a chassis layout and IF transfor merpart nu mbers and knobs thatare like an Airline Model14BR-521 A. The model andmaker are unknown.THE "RADIO LAUNCH,"MAKER AND MODELUNKNO WNFigure 7.Anotherview ofthe "Radio Launch."Figure 8.Aview ofthe "Radio Launch" showing the radio.The "RadioLaunch,"shown in Figures 6, 7, and 8may be another unique set,model and maker unknown.The hull isapproxi mately 20"x6" x6". Itis adark woodlaunch design with lights andradio mounted inthe hull under the hinged cabin. Itsoldon eBay in 2004, and thecurrent owner isunknown.THE MAJESTIC"MELODY CRUISER"Shown in Figure 9 is aMajestic set fro m my collection, possibly a Model 1S49.It has three masts withchro me sails, and the bowplate reads, "Majestic Melody Cruiser." This model, ca1941, uses the sa me chassis and dial as the Majestic"Charlie McCarthy" radios.ARVIN RADIO CRUISERThe model nu mber of theset inFigures 10and 11, alsoFigure 9. The Majestic "Melody Cruiser," ca 1941, uses the samechassis and dialasthe Majestic "Charlie McCarthy"radios.8

fro m my collection. is unknown. Ituses an Arvin Model444 chassis and has threemasts with chro me sails anda chro me dial escutcheon.The bow plate label reads,"Radio Cruiser," and the grilleis a cutout anchor design.Although manufactured byArvin, this model was marketed by Imperial, as shownon page 69 of Evolution ofthe Radio. Vol. I.GENERAL RADIO ANDTELEVISION MODEL 920.The General Radio andTelevision Model920, showninFigure 12, has three mastswith chro me sails. Its bowplate reads "Melody RadioCruiser," and an alu minu mfoil across the back of thechassis na mes the Chicagoco mpany and the modelnu mber 920. Like so me other General Radio and TVCo mpany sets, ca 1948, thismodel has a vertically oriented dial and a plastic grillewith seven bars. The set isfro m my collection.Figure 10. AnArvin 'RadioCIuiser." modelnumberunknown.MASTERCRAFTERSMODEL 921The Mastercrafters Model921, for which no ilustrationwas available, has threemasts with chro me sails. Thebow plate reads "Melody Radio Cruiser." This model isquite similar tothe Model920, Figure 1 The above Arvin 'Radio Cruiser grille has acutoutanctordesign.but the dial is oriented horizontally and the grille barsare made of wood. Ibelievethis set was also made byGeneral Radio and Television, but marketed by others.The sche matic and chassis infor mation on the internal label also identifies itasa"Mastercrafters Model 921."However, itis pictured andidentified as a"Majestic Melody Cruiser" in Evolution ofthe Radio, Vol. 2, and in Radios The Golden Age.THE "HOLLY WOODNAVIGATOR"The "Hollywood Navigator"shown in Figure 13 is fromthe collection of Chris Probert. Ithas three masts withchro me sails on aship with aclock. The ship sits on top of(Continued on following page)Figure 12 The General Radio and Television Model 920. ca 1948. has avertically oriented dialand a 7bar plastic grille.9

(Ship Radios, continued)the radio contained in thebase cabinet. Labeled "Hollywood" and "Navigator" underthe volu me and tuning controls, itis approxi mately 19"long, 19" high and 41/ "w2ide.The base cabinetis121/ "l4ongand 41/ "h2igh, and the clockis labeled "United." Anotherpicture ofthis set may beseenon page 236 of Machine Ageto Jet Age. Vol. I.BRITISH SHIP RADIO,MAKER AND MODELUNKNO WNThe "British Ship Radio,"maker and model unknown,shown inFigure 14, has threemasts with chro me sails andsix portholes along the uppersection of the hull. Itis approxi mately 20" long, 4" wideand 5" high (not includingsails). The raised cabin inthecenter section is approximately 2" high and 10" long.It was sold from England oneBay in 2004, and the current owner isunknown.MODERN NOVELTY CO."OLD MARINER"Figure 13. Botn radio and cloc are obvious components of the"Hollywood Navigator."The "Old Mariner" sailboatradio by the Modern NoveltyCo., ca 1941, shown in Figures 15, 16, and 17, is fromthe collection of Chris Probert. The label "Old MarinerModern Novelty Co." and thepatent nu mber 123493 areshown on the botto m label.The patent shows this set asasingle- masted sailing shipwith metal sails and a clock,but also describes itas adesign that might be used forother purposes. This exa mple with a vacuu m tube radioisshown in"as found" condition without sails. It is approxi mately 21 1/2" long, 5"wide, and 24" high.The reader should understand that the infor mation onthe models that Ihave described is based on my review of available literature,as well as on my own radioFigure 14. A "British Ship Radio,' model and maker unknown, withcollecting experience. Ihavethree masts, chrome sails, and sixportholes along the hull.also included infor mationfro m my contacts with other early noveltyReferences:radio collectors. Additional detailed informaCollins, Philip. Radios the Golden Age. San Frantion about the radios described or other decisco: Chronicle Books, 1987, p.73.signs not mentioned here would be sincereCrocker, Dave "Three Ship Speakers." Carlisle,lyappreciated.Mass.: Antique Radio Classified, Oct. 1999.10

Desjarlais, Dick, Richard Groman, Dave Crocker. "Moreon Cone Ship Speakers."Carlisle, Mass.: Antique Radio Classified, Jan. 1999.,Alan Douglas, DaveCrocker. "Cone Ship Speakers."Carlisle, Mass.: AntiqueRadio Classified, July 1997.Gonshor. Dave. "A Ship Antenna." Carlisle, Mass.: AntiqueRadio Classified, Feb.2000."Ship Models — Their Historyand Radio Loudspeakers."Philadelphia, Penn.: Miniature Ship Models, Inc., 1927.Stein, Mark V. Machine Age toJetAge, Vol. I.Baltimore: Radiomania Publishing, 1948,p.236.Figure 15. An' 'Old Mariner," as found, withoutits metalsails.Wood. Scott. Evolution ofthe Radio. Vol. I.Gas City. Ind.: L-WJack Gray received a BSEE in electricalBooks, 1991, p.69.engineering from the University of California.Evolution ofthe Radio, Vol.2. Gas City,at Berkeley and served in the U.S. Navy asIN.:L-W Books, 1993, p. 128.an Aviation Electronics Technician. He hasbeen actively collecting and restoring radios(Jack Gray, 1162 Broadmoor Dr., Napa,as ahobby for over 30 years.CA 94558. E- mail: trust mej @aol.co m)Melody Sail Speaker6if. rtoboo11”.ifoe AFigure 16. An ilustration from the patent of the"Old Mariner"showing the sails and clock.These ilustrations are from the Miniature Ship Models, Inc.,booklet,"Ship Models — Their History and Radio Loudspeakers." The top ilustration shows how aconespeaker isformed into one ofthe sails. Thelower ilustration shows the cone speakerdriver which is mounted above the shipdeck adjacent to the sail. The small rodshown on the driver isattached tothe center ofthe sail to trans mit the sound vibrations to the speaker cone/sail."1 NIE OLD MARI NER"BYTHFModern Novelty CO.P.ATHO. D-1?Figure 17. The tag on the bottom of the "OldMariner"shows the maker. Modern Novelty Co.,and the patentnumber.11

WITH THE COLLECTORSConcord Imperial and Other Very Small ConsolesBY PHIL MACARTHURWhen Phil MacArthur sent inthe photos shown here, hereported that he had very littleinformation about these sets.However, we decided that thephotos were interesting enough,along with his text, toinclude inthis issue. (Editor)HighFidelityConsoleConcord Imperial Model T-9 —Wow! Sounds like a hugeTelefunken with AM, FM, SW,tape, phono, eight speakers!Wait aminute. Itmeasures only7" x3" x2",and maybe it'snotsohigh onthe fidelity. We're talkingabout a6transistor,almostshirtpocket,portable transistorradio.It's one of several Japanesedesigns from the mid-1960smade tolook like atiny horizontalconsole with alifttop and asmallstorage bin inside.Ithink that the first of themicroconsoles was the NationalPandora, also called a Model T9, as well as "Midget Personal"radio. Itwas the first tohave the"secret"storage compartmentinthe top. National was the originalname ofthe manufacturer, but itwas changed to NationalPanasonic for abrief time, andthen finally tojust Panasonic.This ModelT-9 even sported apicture of agreen Type 6U5 eyetube painted onthe dial.With butasingle 1inch speaker, therewasn't much "high"inthe fidelity.The clones ca me fromMidland, Golden Shield, andothers.They were al6transistorsets made inthe late 1960s andearly 1970s.The Panasonic Model R-8, a1964, 6transistor radio, is themostcommon and came insevencolors. The only one I've seenwith FM isthe Panasonic RF-90.When Isuggested to my wife thatshe should collect these sets tostore her rings, she just smiledand mixed me another drink, astrong one atthat.The Concord Imperial Model T-9, a6transistor, high fidelity console.NationalPandora Model T-9, the 6transistor"MidgetPersonal"radio.The Midland midgetconsole didaway with theslide rule dial. The numberbetween thetwo dials indicates the frequency ofthestation being tuned.12

ReferencmBunis. Marty & Sue. Collector'sGuide io Transistor Radios.Paducah, Ky.: CollectorBooks, 1996.(Phil MacArthur,60W.SchuylerSt., Oswego, NY 13126. Email:keywestmac @ verizon.net)After 25 years of teachingin Key West, Florida. PhilMacArthur and his wife Junehappily ratired and returnedtothe"fourseasons"Northeast. (And while we weregone. you guys invented thesnow blower.) They collectZenith radios and Flavoradios(who knows why).NationalPanasonic R-8, the mostcommon set, came inseven colors.The Golden Shield Mini-Table 75.The rVational Panasonic R-7.The Panasonic RF-90, an AM-FM set with ninetransistors.The Remembrance.Anarray ofclones. Lefttoright, fronttcrear:Concord Imperialand NationalPandora:Panasonic RF-90,National Panasonic R-8 and Golden Shield, Midland and Remembrance.13

RADIO RAMBLINGSRadio Row — Paradise LostFro m Storefront to WarehouseBY NOR M HERTZThe story of New York's "Radio Row" hasinfinite appeal. Since 1990, ithas surfacedmany times in articles on our pages, not theleast of which was our coverage of the connection of Radio Row history with the TwinTowers tragedy in2001. In the following article, Norm Hertz describes that history fromanother angle — the warehouses that storedsurplus stock after the World Trade Centerswallowed up Radio Row in the early 1960s.(Editor)unsold for aperiod oftime. The cabinets werewhattook upthe most space. Foran additionalperiod, co mplete and incomplete radio panels could befound, stacked incartons outsidethe shop and in less advantageous displayareas inside. Finally, the unsold panels the mselves were stripped of salable parts. Unsoldparts found their way into green metal partscabinets and bins, all but disappearing fromview fordecades. Eventually, even these cabinets were moved to base ments, subbasements and other dead storage areas in thebuilding.While the bulk of the Radio Row shopswere displaced bythe Twin Towers, so me oldradio shops continued to exist inthe generalarea on West Broadway, Reade Street, WorthStreet, CanalStreet, and other nearby streets.There were also nu merous old warehouseswith old radio equip ment and parts in"perpetual storage." Fro m the late 1960s to the mid1990s, Iand a very few other radio collectorswere able to access some of these sites andpurchase material. However,these were mainlyN.O.S. parts and tubes for restoration.Imagine coming into one such old warehouse and being offered alarge box of mounted Galena radio crystals to pick from at 25cents each, or a large quantity of CatalinFada cabinets at 4.00 each — still wrappedin their paper factory wrappers — or disasse mbled crystaldetectors at 10cents foreachco mponent. Yes, those kinds of offerings andeven better stuff continued to exist rightthrough the 1980s.Fro m time to time, one reads of tales ofMarconi radio sets and other early receiverssitting in piles in front of Manhattan's RadioRow shops and selling for a"song." While Ihave no doubt that just about every type ofearly radio found its way to Radio Row, thereisreason tobelieve that relatively few ofthosesets

16 Pandora's Can — Heathkit Dummy Load Hazard PCB alert' 17 Clearfield Glass Case Radio A rare 6-tube TRF set. 18 Bonhams Vintage Radio Auction — The Mark Wooley Collection Radio "works of art" bring 946.500! 26 A.R.C. Rates and Policies Subscription, display and classified ad rates and policies. 28 Classified & Display Ads