Atwater Kent Model 20 Set No 4640

[MyPat9999]

Nice video. I have a big box like this one. I don't have a horn speaker. Will it work with a type E Atwater kent speaker (E1,E2 or E3) ? Also, can I use a 112A tube as a detector and at the audio stage without modification ? Thanks

[Thermionman1970]

Looks like fun to tune a radio with three knobs, a very different kind of radio experience and enjoyment than later one dial radios!

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Thanks Thermionman1970

In the early 1920s you would jot down the settings of each dial and if you had more than one antenna, note that too, for each radio station you found. Where the Wood Pencils is in the radio is where the notes were stored.

[togst]

That is one beautiful radio you got there! Looks bothersome to have three or more dials to adjust, but it is still quite impressive how well these work. Do you give the radios a new layer of paint if necessary? Besides restoring the circuit itself.

Regards,

Frank

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Thanks togst

Generally this was radio state of the art, in 1925, for most of the radio households. I only refinish or paint if it is really bad. The goal is to keep them as original as possible. The big selling point for my 1929 RCA Radiola 66 is that it only had one tuning knob and it was a superheterodyne receiver. One tuning knob was a big deal back then.

Regards,

Rick

[douro20]

I wish I could afford a unit like that...

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

@douro20

It has taken many years to find and aquire these radios, a little peaces of history.

[Organgrinder010]

That is a beauty!

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

@Organgrinder010

Thanks. These radios were very popular in the 20s and it is amazing that they when out of business in 1936.

[rafalrrrr]

Very, very nice old antique radio !!!

Merry Christmas, Mr. Richard !!!

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Thanks rafalrrrr

Merry Christmas!!!

[coolbluelights]

I'm amazed at how simple the circuit design is! what an awesome specimen of an early radio there! I read that when AC radios came out lots of people destroyed these old battery sets, even throwing them in a community fire, it's good to know some still survived!

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Thnks coolbluelights

TRF Tuned Radio Frequency circuits are just straight tuned RF amplifiers. Same thing happened to old wooden telephones. They got thrown into the fire or the dump or runover with telephone company trucks or all of the above.

For radio, the AC sets started in 1927 and that is why Philco started to make radios in about 1929. Because there radio battery business was disappearing.

[wolfhawg]

Hi Rick. Great looking radio, Iam interested in the power supply. Is it homebrew? Would you have a schematic for it? Thanks for another GREAT video. Merry Christmas. Charlie....

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Thanks wolfhawg

Hey Charlie,

This power supply was made by an X Philco radio engineer. And I do not have the schematic, but I wish I did. But that would be of little help because he had the transformers specially wound.

Merry Christmas!

Rick

[K0W0O0N0]

What a wonderfull piece... with your horn speaker it reminds my of the sound of the early 30´s...

Cheers....

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Thanks K0W0O0N0

Oh yes, that is what it sounded like in the 20s and 30s.

[joernone]

Rick,

Battery operated radios still aren't my cup of tea, but I do enjoy listening to one every now and then. Yours is a very good sounding set. I can just picture someone many years ago fiddling with those knobs in an attempt to hear another human voice. Must have been an absolute thrill for them...even magical.

Thanks for letting us see it.

Regards,

John

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Thanks joernone

Hey John,

By 1925 the demand for this new thing, radio, was amazing. Chances are this radio was used with earphones and with a very long outside wire antenna. If a group wanted to listen, they would put the earphones in a big glass blow which allowed everyone to hear the radio.

Regards,

Rick

[JimW925]

Very handsome radio. I had an old Atwater Kent, it was in a black metal case with a vernier tuning dial, volume, and off/on switch.. Ran on household current. Inside on the chassis there was a screw adjustment for a regenerative peak circuit for weak stations. Sounded very nice. I think it had a #80 rectifier tube.

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

@JimW925

I do have a simular AK model. Have not turned it on in years. And it does have a #80 rectifier tube.

[jwl329]

Nice video. I have several Atwater Kent's in my collection. I am most proud of my breadboard model 10. Radio sure changed the world. Thanks for sharing.

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

@jwl329

Thanks for getting the point of this channel. Radio is the start of all electronic and it is in everything today.

[BadChizzle]

Kinda looks like a crazy camera with a lot of lenses, from back in the day. Awesome!

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

@BadChizzle

Will they use to make cameras out of wood.

[HDXFH]

How much voltage do these run off?

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

@HDXFH

This model uses +90, +20, -5 volts