You Just Never Know - Old Radio Find

[W1UJR]

So Nance and I spent the weekend in Stonington, ME, a charming little village off the coast on Deer Isle.
I brought along the Icom 7200 and the Buddipole antenna to set up in the room, with the idea of getting on the air.
Nance picked out a great inn and we had a front room window about 6X8' over looking the harbor, and I spent the majority of the day watching the lobster boats come in and out of the harbor, and watching the tide fall about 12-14 feet, quite impressive.
In between we listened to shortwave radio, turns out I couldn't get my antenna lash up resonate well enough for transmitting, but it sure did receive very well. Beautiful place, photos below, and a great listening post, the only noise was the wireless router in the room, made an annoying swishing noise, quickly unplugged.

Whenever we make these trips up and down the coast we usually stop at the numerous antique stores on Route 1 and check for old radios. Rarely do we find anything, it usually just an excuse to get out of the car and walk. We did make one stop at what I think was an old Grange Hall on the way back, but nothing of interest. We were thankful for the nice weekend and I asked if we could just happen to find some old radios. Well, about an hour after that request what did I spy by the side of the radio but a small hand painted sign hanging from a mailbox "Tube Radios For Sale", with a phone number listed underneath! No way I just saw that I said, had to pull over, Nancy did not see it. So I turned around, copied down the number and called from the cellphone. The phone rang for the better part of a minute of so, no answer. I tired again, same result. Nancy notice the lights were on in the house, so we drove up the driveway. The house looked rather ramshackle, and Nance made a concerned comment about not getting trapped in the basement, guess Halloween got the better of her, but you never know. So while she stayed safe and warm in the truck, I knocked on the door.

An old timer answered, I asked about old radios, and he said he had some to sell. I went inside to the enclosed porch, it was about 90 degrees warm, and first thing I saw as a old Halli SX-62. That was just the beginning, the porch was filled with old wooden radios, some ham sets, a pair of RCA Radiola IIIs, speakers, even a tube radio on the dining room table. I chuckled at the set and tools in the dining room, he explained that with his wife now passed he could work on the table.

We walked into the house and the collection only got larger, and then we went into "the room". To the right was a very nice Scott Allwave with the beautiful chromed chassis and dual magic eyes, an all glass "Bresford"?, numbers of RCA, Grebe, TRF and home brew sets. Collections of interesting tubes, all in nice wooden rack holders. It was like hitting the gold mine! I noted a nice RCA horn speaker on the shelf, asked the price and was given a very reasonable rate, would be perfect with my Grebe Synchrophase MU-1. Found a nice 860 transmitter tube, misc other transmitter tubes, 807s and such. But it gets even better. I asked if he had any ham sets or other radios, and he mentioned he had some stashed in outbuildings. We left the house, I convinced Nancy to get out of our car, and headed out to his garage. Shelves on the walls, even more radios, parts, battery sets, speakers, loop antennas, you name it!. But wait, there's more, an adjacent house also had the dining and living rooms full of radios, old magazines, parts, speakers. Stacks of old Popular Mechanics magazines from the 1930s/40s. Wow!

He was a most kindly old fellow, think he really enjoyed the company, and we were happy to talk about his radio hobby. He'd been collecting since he was 20, no he was not a ham, was a cabinetmaker by trade, self-employed in his shop at his home for 60 years, but with the passing of his wife and the infirmities of age, he knew it was time to get rid of some radios.

We left with two horn speakers, the RCA UZ-1325 and a American Electric model whose horn looks like a large flower pedal, both in very nice condition, and promise to return.

[w3jn]

You spelled "lobstah" wrong 

[W1UJR]

Yes, good catch! 

Also learned about the "peeky toe crab", which is a Maine variant of "pointed toe".


Peekytoe is the slang name for these crabs in the lobster fishing villages of Maine. Rod Mitchell, the owner of the Browne Trading Company, a seafood wholesaler in Portland, is credited with the marketing genius of calling them by their slang name.

Peekytoe comes from "picked toe" -- '"picked'' pronounced as if it had two syllables (rhyming with picket) -- because the crab leg has a very sharp point that turns inward. ''Picked" is Maine slang for pointed. Others called them "picket toe." The Maine accent no doubt contributed to the resulting name of "peekytoe." You will even find them called "picky toe" on some menus.

[k4kyv]

Why don't you post the phone number and address so that others might get to dig through that treasure trove and maybe bring home some more goodies, before the old fellow dies and his collection goes to the landfill or some bottom-feeder buys it for a  little of nothing and puts it all on ePay?

He obviously wants to sell it off; otherwise he wouldn't have posted the sign in front of his house.  He would most likely be grateful that someone was interested enough to take some of the stuff off his hands.  Too bad I live so far away.

[W1UJR]

Hi Don, great suggestion, I'll ask him about that.
Agree the sign by the road is pretty much a give away, not sure how he'll feel about putting it on the internet.
He is somewhat hesitant to open the door to strangers, but he warmed right up after a bit.
I did notice a shotgun in the radio room. 

[K5UJ]

That sounds like some kind of dream-like story, what every vintage radio enthusiast day dreams about.

If you don't mind going to a little trouble, here's a compromise idea:   With the cabinet maker's permission of course, ask folks who are seriously interested to PM you and after about a week or two, enough time for regulars to see this thread, you have an email list and you can send to those who inquired, an email with the guy's QTH and phone number.  That makes it a bit safer for him, he's not subjected to some kind of all out feeding frenzy, or getting contacted by whackos (other than us AM whackos  ) and everyone who is interested gets the contact info at basically the same time.   I imagine you'll only hear from hams within a day's drive from Maine. 

Don's right, it looks like you hit the jackpot and this is the kind of situation where all this stuff will wind up at a metal scrapper if collectors and restorers don't show up and give him some extra cash to live on and preserve what he has kept all these years. 

[W1UJR]

Bob,

I like that idea, and that is a very real possibility!
His wife is gone, he seems to have no family in the area - he mentioned his neighbor helps
him move the radios around and mow his lawn.
I've see far too much of this stuff hit the dumpster.
While some of the items are commonplace, many are very interesting!

I left him my card to call me back about a couple of items, so I'll mention it to him then.
I also plan to make another trip back up to look at a nice home brew set that I could
not get to in his garage (too much stuff in front of it).

I had thought about taking some photos, but he was pretty guarded at first, didn't
to get him worried. He seemed to warm right up when Nancy got out of the truck, guess
he figured that I was safe.

[K1JJ]

Bruce - Your description of the guy, outbuildings, reluctance at first, etc., sounds just like an episode from "American Pickers" on cable...    

In case you haven't seen it, it's about two guys who drive around the US looking for old stuff to buy and then later sell.  By the time the treasures are found, the owners are usually old and their stash can fill many barns and outhouses.

T

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

That sounds like some kind of dream-like story, what every vintage radio enthusiast day dreams about.

Sounds a lot like a story from ER in recent years. Odd for me then as now, is why someone would use the term 'tube' radios vs. 'old' or 'antique' in trying to attract buyers. 'Tube' will only resonate with a small audience of passers-by, while the latter two choices would likely bring far more interest. Odd too, that he'd be reluctant to open his doors to strangers if he posted a sign beside the road soliciting buyers. You just never know.

That RCA speaker base is in nice shape, looks like someone restored it at some point. New paint and felt by the looks, or maybe he just took it out of the box a week before so no bugs had a chance to chew holes in the felt. I've yet to see one where the slide volume control wasn't seized up due to the pot metal in the driver expanding over the years.

A lot of folks don't realize that the hard rubber horn of these speakers was actually painted a semi-gloss black originally. When I picked mine up back in '81 with an old Zenith set, it still had much of the paint on it, though it was flaking off due to being in the hot attic for years I thought. More likely just came loose from the rubber over time without a proper base or prep before painting. Looks like there are still some traces on the horn in the photos, visible just above the aluminum collar.

Some good shots of the seacoast there, too bad you couldn't get any of the piles of equipment or even the roadside sign, Bruce. Hopefully your next trip will provide more viewing pleasure for the masses. I've got a cousin up that way, I should give him a holler and see how close he is. Maybe he could go by and get some shots.

[W1UJR]

Bruce - Your description of the guy, outbuildings, reluctance at first, etc., sounds just like an episode from "American Pickers" on cable...    

In case you haven't seen it, it's about two guys who drive around the US looking for old stuff to buy and then later sell.  By the time the treasures are found, the owners are usually old and their stash can fill many barns and outhouses.

T

Nancy and I love that show Tom, but I'm always commenting on they never seem to find the radios. 
Laurel and Hardy heads yes, old milk bottles, even an old Studebaker, but where are all the old radios!

[k4kyv]

I have one of those horn speakers.  I picked it up in St. Louis back in 1963.  The slide volume control was seized, but I managed to free it up.  It just seemed stuck due to corrosion and the pot metal hadn't warped.  But the felt was practically eaten up by bugs, and I finished it off getting the bottom plate off.  I also managed to slightly gouge the bottom of the base, since the bottom plate was seized onto the pot metal, but I think that could be fixed.  One of these days I plan to try to replace the felt.  I seem to recall that felt can supposedly be stretched to fit over odd shapes when wet, and when it dries, it will conform to the shape.The speaker works, and the volume control actually controls the volume, although I can't understand why anyone would use it at anything less than full volume.  None of those old horn speakers were ever capable of room-filling volume.

Interestingly, more years  have now passed since I acquired that  speaker, than had passed between the time it was made and the date I bought it.  I occasionally operate the slide volume control so that it doesn't seize up again. Pot metal sucks!

[WQ9E]

Bruce,

You had a great weekend even before the radio find so that was the icing on the cake.  It is also nice when you can spend some time visiting with and learning about the person with the radios.  I bet you will be going back there soon!

Maine is a magical place.  My wife and I spent much of our honeymoon there and had a wonderful time.  I did ship back a Zenith TO from an antique shop on Route 1; fortunately my wife also has a strong interest in old things and enjoys browsing through antique shops.  She spotted a set of RCA glasses decorated with various transmitting tubes that I overlooked at a local shop.

Congratulations on finding some great souvenirs.

[W1UJR]

Bruce,

You had a great weekend even before the radio find so that was the icing on the cake.  It is also nice when you can spend some time visiting with and learning about the person with the radios.  I bet you will be going back there soon!

Maine is a magical place.  My wife and I spent much of our honeymoon there and had a wonderful time.  I did ship back a Zenith TO from an antique shop on Route 1; fortunately my wife also has a strong interest in old things and enjoys browsing through antique shops.  She spotted a set of RCA glasses decorated with various transmitting tubes that I overlooked at a local shop.

Congratulations on finding some great souvenirs.

Hi OM, next time you are in Maine, I'll bring you up and introduce you to Gordon.
Yes, great weekend, the radios were just a bonus.
If Nancy wants to ride along, I plan on making another visit this weekend to get more goodies, take some photos, and see if he
wants his info out on the net. He's a pretty sharp fellow, a tad hard of hearing, but knows what his stuff is worth, saw he had a note inside the big Scott set with the selling price of the same set at auction, something like $5,500. Not sure he's going to find that in midcoast Maine.

I think that you found the TO at the "Big Chicken Barn" antique store outside of Ellsworth, right?
Seem to recall that, I had seen the same set, an earlier TO, picked it up, but thought if I needed another one.
Happy to see it went to a GOOD home.
If you go back there, they used to have a good number of old radio magazines upstairs, not sure what is left, I packed out a bundle.

I've noted a bit of trend with the antique shops, over the last few years most don't seem to be getting much new stuff.
I try to ask about radio magazines and handbooks when I stop in a store, most don't have as usually does not appeal to the general public.
Some years back there was a antique store in a old barn outside of Milbridge, Maine which had a large number of QSTs, Handbooks,
radio stuff, but no radios, likely cleaned out the house of a ham. When I went by two or three years ago it was closed and the barn partially collapsed. Furniture seems to turn over, but old radio "paper" is apparently not worth the hassle.
Did find some neat sets in Ellsworth some years ago, home brew regens, gave them to Larry NE1S -->> http://ne1s.rfburn.org/1926_ARRL_regen.html

[W1UJR]

More photos from the trip, and the goodies!

[WB2EMS]

Wow Bruce, that sunset photo is stunning! Great story on the find too.

[k4kyv]

Looks like the felt has been replaced on the RCA  horn to the right. The remnant of the original on mine was black, or if it was green, was blackened with dirt and age.

[W1UJR]

Hi Kevin, agree that was amazing!
I credit Nancy with asking me to stop and shoot a photo, I was too intent
on driving to notice. Beautiful up there, beautiful but very isolated.
Hope all is well in Ithaca.

Looks like the felt has been replaced on the RCA  horn to the right. The remnant of the original on mine was black, or if it was green, was blackened with dirt and age.

I thought so too, I checked, but its got little Davie Sarnoff's signature on the bottom.  
All kidding aside, the felt may be replaced, would be surprised if it were not.
The UZ series is pretty common, the other horn, the "American Electric 205D" from 1925, I have not seen before.
Both work, and both are sure to sound yellowy.

The Gross Eagle set in the center did not come with the stash, that was another find.
Hoping the large decals come off the panel, hammy homebone stuff for sure.
This is my "B" set for my "A B" testing.
My other Gross, very clean and original, does not work very well at all, most unstable and temperamental, has fringe howl when going into regeneration, have always wondered if it was the design, or just my set, now I can find out. Not too many folks around from 1932 to ask.