1925 Atwater Kent 20c Restoration PT1

I bought this AK20c at the Elkhorn Wisconsin antique flea market a few years before 2005 and the radio sat on my "someday" shelf until 2005. At that time I decided to restore it working on my kitchen table which is not an easy place to do this kind of work. The radio was in terrible condition and had a huge mouse nest inside. Fortunately the radio had been stored in a dry place so the case is in good condition but the mice had caused a huge amount of rust on the inside of the chassis and had completely ruined the center coupling coils. I finished the restoration but the radio sat on my shelf untested until this past week. Within the last year I have build a very nice electronics work shop and bench where working on and restoring old electronic items is made much easier than it was trying to do it on my kitchen table. Now I will begin to work on all those "someday" projects.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Atwater Kent
• AK-20c
• 1925 model 20 compact
• antique radio
• 1920s radios
• TRF radio
• radio repair
• antique radio restoration
• battery set radio
• Radiola horn speaker
• UZ-1325
• Gerhard Klechowtz
• KC9RUB
• Ham Radio
• Amateur Radio

[HarborGuy]

I have an Atwater Kent Radio Christmas ad for a Model 35 6 tube One dial Receiver , Model 30, six tube one Dial and a Model 33, six tube One Dial Receiver. Also shows a Model H Radio Speaker. I have it framed but don't know what year it is from.

[HD7100]

@HarborGuy You can probably research it in the internet in such places as nostalgia air.

[AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Great find and save.

[HD7100]

@AllAmericanFiveRadio Thanks Rick. I have aquired a big King radio that is also a mouse hotel. It is in my lineup of things to be restored. What I like about several of the radios I have is that I got them from the estate purchasers who bought them from the estate sales. No collectors have had them. I have a single dial Mohawk radio that is right out of the attic. It has the pear shaped tubes with the side clips. Gary

[maynardcat]

Very interesting project, and a through job well done. It will be fun seeing your before and after future projects. I also have many projects I haven't even started on. My grandmother had a yellow 1950's breakfast set exaclty like yours and I still have it.

[HD7100]

@maynardcat My table is about to go out to the trash unfortunately. It is in bad condition as far as rusty legs and it will not fit within my kitchen remodeling plans. Gary

[maynardcat]

@HD7100 Better put in on Craigs list, sometimes they bring a good price, and a little sos will take the rust off. 

[HD7100]

@UmaBlinky Old radios from the 20s seem to make ideal homes for mice. They can easily get in the back main cable hole and have a nice private wooden mansion to live and breed a family within. Gary

[UmaBlinky]

The mice were evicted and had better keep out!

It's so amazing how things were done back then.