Atwater Kent Radio Model 10, 1924

[dynadude56]

I notice the stations you pick up are from the Raliegh area. I am a fellow radio nut from the Chapel Hill area. I don't have any AK bread boards yet, but I do have several of their metal cased sets, a 318 console in very good original condition, and a very nice 725 table top tombstone.

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Thanks dynadude56

Yep, and taking pictures of the Raleigh Little Theatre gives it away. I think I have four or five AKs, they are really nice radios to have in a collection. They all work very good to.

[RetroCaptain]

Good Day,

Very good job on that model 10!

I works well!

My grandfather had a model"TC? 8. It looked the same as yours. He never ran it .

The speakers back then were radically different from today's. I have one called a "Dictophone",..& they also worked with "Cannonball" headphones. I have also. Those radios fed the speaker right off the plate if I'm not mistaken.

It will be 100yrs old before long, & I bet STILL work!

Today's China radios will likely not, after 100yrs.

.

[CassetteMaster]

Very nice and neat indeed! It works nicely and it is interesting to see and hear a 1920s radio operate in the present day (and playing modern radio). I wonder how that same radio would sound if played through a high-quality more modern speaker/amplifier.

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Thanks CassetteMaster

Thanks a good idea. Sometime soon I try and capture the audio output digitally. The audio should be good quality because these radios are RF amplifiers straight from the radio station.

[stratocat9999]

I've always wanted a Atwater-Kent breadboard set! This is the first time I've seen one operate, period! Thanks for sharing! I stopped collecting radios about 15 years ago and sold off all that i had (mostly Hallicrafters and Grunow sets, and one Spartan loaded with blue Arcturus tubes). I see there are more old sets posted on YouTube. It's great to see and hear sets i am never going to acquire. Don't need to, cause I can watch 'em here! Thanks!

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Thanks stratocat9999 

[CSquire82]

Great radio! Requires some knowledge (and patience!) to get it tuned. The volume control is also interesting. I had trouble sometime ago trying to repair a 5-tube radio. It took me a while to find out that the filament voltage was lower than it should be, causing the sound to be quite distorted. But low voltage filament in this radio causes no distortion at all! And thanks for the great videos!

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Thanks. I really like the early radios. Every time I use one or work on one, it reminds me that this is the start of all electronic.

[fernando140887]

Itt´s a very beatiful radio, congrulations! Do you have the schematic??

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Thanks! Yes I do have the wiring diagram. I downloaded it from nostalgiaairDOTorg.

[Willslimo]

I recently recieved a Atwater Kent Model 40 (1928) radio as a gift. Unfortunately the original speaker is not with the receiver. Can you tell me if a modern design permanent magnet speaker will work as a substitute? Thank You

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

That AK speaker has a filter choke (field coil) that is part of the power supply. It also looks like the speakers connections (the audio part), terminals 1 & 2 are at least a few thousand ohms connection. So to use a modern PM speaker the power supply and the audio circuit would need to be changed.

[OlegKostoglatov]

I all honesty it would probably be easier to find a matching speaker over fleabay or at an old radio swap meet, most A.K speakers are fairly common. The main problem with using a modern P.M dynamic speaker is that the voice coil impedance won't match so you will need an output transformer, of the proper ratio, to make it work. If the A.K model 40 used an electrodynamic speaker you will also need a filter choke to substitute for the field coil, which was an electromagnet.

[mbasciano26]

AllAmericanFiveRadio,

I have been watching some of your videos with intense curiosity. Is there a way for me to contact you about a Bosch Amberola, Model 16?

Thank you.

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Sure. The Website on my channel will go to contact information after the radio Flash movie. But I will YouTube email you the information also.

[workensmart]

wow thats very cool. it was quite a task to use a radio back then. What would be the oldest radio made?.

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

It was a challenge to find stations and when one was found you would write down all the settings on the dials, the time, and the antenna used. The earliest radios were crystal sets. Thanks.

[workensmart]

thanks for replying. but I ment like when did the oldest radios come out?.

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Oh! RCA had two boxes an RA and a DA. When they put them together RCA called it an Radiola RC and now it was a radio with a RF tuner and a RF amp and audio amp, this was in 1921. 1921 is just about the beginning of vacuum tube radio receivers.

[workensmart]

I thought that tube radios came out in the late 1900's for some reason. My dad has an old kit radio that he built when he was a kid I want to try and fix it all I get out of the speaker is static.

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

De Forest Audio in 1906 is the start of the vacuum tube. Of course a lot of experimenting, like amplifying crystal sets. Then WWI 1914-18, the money from the military helped the development of the radio and commercial radios soon followed. From the start you could buy parts and plans for building a radio, even today.

[darksound1973]

These radios, for Am really have better fidelity than new ones, they seem to have a wider frequency response, the highs are much clearer. I have hooked an RCA jack up to the speaker out, and ran to a 50s high fi tube amp and the sound quaility is very good.

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Yes the fidelity is mainly dependent on the AM station and their quality is much better than the ones in the 20s. The TRF is a pretty broadband circuit. You are listening to station with out any frequency mixing or conversions. A straight Tuned RF amplifier until it is detected for the audio. They do sound surprisingly good. Thanks.

[musicman0150]

Excellent demonstration. This must have been one of the first battery operated radios or electric radios used to receive programming. The tuning of stations seems complicated since there are 3 tuning knobs and then three more fine tuning knobs. What is the range on this radio as far as bandwith? Sounds like it can cover the entire AM band if working the tuning enough. It would seem that the main right tuner is the one that finds the stations and the others tune it in for best quality. Gary

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

1924 is fairly early, for tube radios 1921 is close to the beginning. The TRF circuit is a cascade RF amplifier. The left most dial is the first stages and the right most is the last stage.

[KA4PNO]

Wonderful! Thank you for the great video. I have been waiting to find one of these lovely old girls to show-up at the right price. Never had the pleasure of operating one. Please take a look, if interested, at my video for a Freed-Eisemann NR-6 I just recently got working. Search KA4PNO, or Freed-Eisemann. Thanks again!

Keith

Knoxville, TN

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Very neat radio. I really like the early 1920s radio. That is great you have a station log by the people, just a wonderful thing to have found.

[patchcords]

I have the Atwater kent model 20.

I love these old radios ;-)

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Atwater Kent made some very nice radio and there fun to use. Thanks.

[W2QYVkz789]

WOW!!!!!

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Thanks!

[classy8888]

Very good thank you indeed. I have a model 10C like this which I have working very well into a Magnavox R3B horn. The antenna just runs around the living room wall and is way too strong for most of the local stations! A wonderful hobby!

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Thanks. It is fun using it and works well on local stations in the daytime. I would like to find a nice Magnavox horn that are beautiful.

[Idelia412]

Hello,

This is the first itime I have ever heard a Atwater Breadboard Radio. No collector I have known in the past that had one of these was afraid to turn it on as they said it could be fried. Very nice video and demonstration!!!!!! Great Job!!!!!!

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Thanks. Operating this radio is like traveling to the passed. You have to search for radio stations just as the original owners did back in 1924. Radio made amazing advances in a very few years. By 1927 there were AC powered sets and then RCA develop superheterodyne. Radio station transmitters also advanced in technology.

[LittleModig]

wow!!!what a beauty!!!! Great piece of history nice that there still great professional engineers that can fix or Repair this Relics.Great clip thank you Sir AAFR.

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Thanks. Using the 1920s radios is fun, just about the start of commercial radio. It is interesting to see how the radio progressed in a few short years. There is a huge difference in a 1920 and a 1930 radio.

[Frescalicious]

thank you,

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Thanks, Atwater Kent made very interesting and now, collectable radios.

[PupuTheClown]

can you still find tubes for these or are any still made ?

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Antique Electronic Supply has new old stock. If you Google "vacuum tube" you will find other sites that sell tubes.

[musicman0150]

Great demonstration of the radio. I always enjoy the workings of old radios like that. Does that radio cover the entire AM band from 520 to 1710kHz or just part of it? The tuning though looks complicated because of the 6 knobs you have to turn, especially knowing what sequence to tune each one. Can a modern speaker be connected to that radio, such as a permanenet magent speaker or even a field coil speaker?

Gary

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

It appears to cover the entire AM band. The tuning is difficult but that is 1924. Using an impedance match transformer at the output would drive a modern speaker but not much louder than the Horn Speaker.

[tramp1964]

Nice Radio, I just got mine running also and it plays very well. Thanks for the video.

...Gary

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Hey Gary, it is a fun radio to use or just to look at. When I fire the AK10 up it's like operating a time machine. You can almost visualize the original owner's excitement in discovering a new radio station and experimenting with numerous antennas. Thanks!

[OTAlucard]

This is the coolist radio i have ever seen they must be worth alot

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

I bought the radio from Ed Bell and I did have to think about it. But the radio is so cool looking I had to have it, and I did repair it as mentioned in the video. It's not worth a fortune but it's enough that you really have to want one. Since I bought mine it has doubled in value. Thanks!

[corgihound]

THANKS for the great video! I almost (!) bought a Model 10 breadboard about 10 years ago. (Going for only about $900 or so at that time!) A true "touchstone" to the past. Too bad most of AM radio is not worth listening to nowadays. Again, thank you!

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Thanks you! I really like the 1920's radios. You absolutely know that there were a group of people gathered around these radios. No tubes or batteries were wasted and it was at least a weekly social event. All electronics start from here.

[coondogtheman1234]

wow that thing started right up like a modern radio no warm up tube delay, sounds great too,

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

The tubes I'm using in this set are "01A's" each one draws 0.25 amps at 5 volts. That's one reason for the fast startup. The other is, these tubes are true triode tubes, and they have no cathode that takes time to heat up. As you said the startup is fast. For 1924 technology it works surprisingly well and with the horn speaker that is the way it sounded back then. Thank.

[coondogtheman1234]

yeah it sounds fantastic, but this unit was prob state of the art back in its time. i dont think I like having to tune 3 knobs just to find a station but hey that was before they combined all 3 of these tuning knobs into 1 as we see later

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

The three dialers are very hard to use, but they are the earlier radios. My RCA Radiola 66 manufactured in 1929 biggest features was One Knob Tuning and a Superheterodyne. And the one knob tuning was listed first.

[coondogtheman1234]

do you have a video on here of this unit

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

No not yet, but I'll do one soon.

[coondogtheman1234]

that would be cool, and is it possible to hook something like a cd player to this unit or no

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

No audio plugs on this chassis, I'll broadcast into it.

[coondogtheman1234]

prob have to use an AM transmitter, thats ok can you play some rap on it? lol

[tramp1964]

What voltage is your Model 10 ?

I'd like to power mine up !

Thanks Gary.

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

This radio uses two 'B' batteries 90 and 22.5 volts. One 'A' battery of 5 volts.

[wlvaiii]

I am the great grandson of Atwater Kent and have several radios that were his own or my grandmothers. I'd like to restore a few and maybe sell a couple. Anyone have any Ideas?

William Laurens Van Alen III

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

I would have to know what models you would like to have repaired. With the documented Provenance you could provide with each radio I think that eBay would do you well.

[douro20]

Superhet sets from Atwater-Kent aren't very common, are they?

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Atwater-Kent had a small window of opportunity. RCA did not license the superheterodyne patents to other radio manufactures until 1932. Atwater-Kent stopped making radios in the year of 1936.

[bingcrosby1903]

a lovely radio! ive just gotten ahold of a model 20 (4640) AK. i love breadboards...but a bit pricey! Its great to see one of these on youtube finally!!

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

The AK 20 is a really nice radio. And thanks!!

[bingcrosby1903]

do you happen to own one? id love to see a video of it, tht goes to anyone who reads this too!

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Yes, I have the large box AK 20 and the small box AK 20. I plan on doing videos on both. I need to get busy!

[bingcrosby1903]

Sounds wonderful! ill be looking forward to them, ill try to get one of my AK 20 up fairly soon too!

[MasterShake54]

beautiful radio!

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Thanks!! It was fun restoring it, but beads of sweet did appear on my forehead as I made the repairs.

[radioam232]

a real beauty

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Thanks radioam232. It is a real joy to listen to very really radio programs using the AK model 10 and to know that this is the way it sounded to the original owners of this radio.

[speedyc395]

Wow, that is definitely a very interesting and unique radio! Varying the filament voltage was definitely different.

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

The history of radio is absolutely fascinating. It is the origin of all electronics. The filament battery was the most expensive battery, so the engineering incorporated the conservation of that battery.

[jefferyb304]

kewl ! Im surprised that changing the filament voltage doesn't change the tuning on the radio or have some other affect than changing the volume.

I have a solid state Magnavox stereo receiver in my collection. When I turn it off while in FM mode I hear a slurry of stations as the caps discharge.

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Thanks jefferyb304. It is amazing what designs developed in these few years. Like today they tried everything. Back then and now, are the most exciting times. Your Magnavox oscillator is winding down. Cool stuff.

[damusician]

i think i know what you talking about. you mean you can hear the audio fading when turning off? some of my equipment does that too.

[jefferyb304]

You are close. say like if I were to tune upward just past a radio station and turn it off the unit would drift down to that station and possibly below before the audio circuits die out. And if I turn the unit off while something is playing on the inputs of the unit I will have impared sound coming from the speakers for around, I guess, 10 seconds.

[CameramanLink]

This is a really strange but fascinating radio. I've never heard of changing the filament voltage to control the volume! I'm surprised that doesn't cause more distortion from the lack of emission. Very cool!

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Changing the filament voltage conserved the most expensive battery. As usual the design is $ oriented. The performances of the 01A's are not stellar so changing the filament voltage is a reasonable engineering call.

[damusician]

omg! thatz one awesome radio and wow that radio is old as my grandpa and that cool part modern broadcast coming out of something from a different era. kinda freaks me out somehow. thanx 4 sharing!

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

You're welcome. Well the passed can be haunting and it's always accurate. The way these 01A's work, are the same the much newer tubes and parallel the functions of transistors.

[coolbluelights]

Wow! so very old... It's fascinating to see how much radio has advanced, I mean, look at the sise of the tuning caps and coils! someday, people will look at today's computers the same way! 5 stars and favorited!

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Your right, people really liked putting up videos on YouTube. Everything progresses, if we like it or not. But it is important to know the passed. ALL that you do today came from RADIO.

[mariopica]

This is one of the most interesting videos I have ever seen. Fantastic !! I can imagine the first owner and his family arount this joy. It fascinates us today just imagine back in 1924. Thank you very much. Wonderfull video and explanation.

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

It is really hard to understand how big of a deal this was, this era was the being of mass communication for the first time in the world. We don't think anything about it now. Thanks mariopica!!!

[Organgrinder010]

I remember a story my grandfather told me about a man who built one of these way back in the turn of the century. He spent a year saving up for the tubes he needed, and built the set with the greatest precision. But a quick slip of his screwdriver shorted out a wire and destroyed the tubes instantly.

Very nice set. I've been eyeballing one of these at a local dealer for a while now, but his price is a tad steep.

[Hammondlover2]

I read that story in a book: "Fixing Up Nice Old Radios" by Ed Romney.

[Organgrinder010]

Knowing him, he probably read it in there as well, and then forgot he did, then assumed he remembered it happening. LOL

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Unfortunately this is probably an all too true story. Had to be devastating, but I'll bit he got it working. Yeah the price is steep enough to be an avalanche.

[Hammondlover2]

These regens from the pioneering days of radio are becoming even more rare. They are simple but surprisingly good performers, even if a little finicky. A lovely example.

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Thanks. Atwater Kent would also sell individual parts so you could build a home-brew. This model 10 is an example of some of the last TRF radios breadboards AK made for the thriving radio market. It was very exciting back then to be about to tune in stations at night, from deferent States. Thanks again, these old radios are fun.