Tube table top radios

01-23-12: Lewm
I used to listen to The Lone Ranger on a black Zenith tube radio, when I was a child in the early 50s. I never realized it dated back to the 30s.

Lew, you might find this page to be of interest. Note that each set can be clicked on to expand the photos and for more information.

If it was a tabletop set where the height was significantly greater than the width (referred to as the "tombstone" style), it was almost certainly from the 30's. If it was wider than it was tall, it may have been from the 40's or from the late 30's.

The 1930's black dial Zeniths are very popular with collectors.

Best regards,
-- Al

I've had 2 of the tube radios (in walnut) from Quest, 1 mono and 1 stereo, since they first came out. Neither has given me a hiccup of a problem. Maybe some batches of them afterward had issues, who knows. I have heard of people not using the proper input tube (6n? or 6f?) with bad results. I've used many brands of the el84 output tube and they all work fine.

Our stereo one sits in my wifes craft room and goes unused most of the time lately. If you can't find any for sale, I might be able to persuade her to let go of it.

Dear Al, You've sent me off looking on ebay for art deco style tube radios. I even considered bidding on one, but I know nothing about the value system. I love tubes and I love art deco style, so it's a natural for me. I really liked a Crosley tabletop radio with a huge dial that looks like an airplane propeller. Maybe not art deco, maybe 50s kitsch, but way cool. Too bad I already bought that Tivoli for our kitchen (the cobalt blue with cherry wood version is a perfect match for our kitchen tiles and cabinets, respectively), but I could use a radio in my basement workshop.

Hi Lew,

There are a number of good price guides that are available for these things. The most widely used one, which is also probably the most comprehensive, is the Slusser/Radio Daze Guide, which in its early editions was known as the Bunis Guide. It is available here, as well as from many other sources at various prices (mostly higher). It includes a great many nice pictures and useful information, as well as valuations.

I've found its price guidelines to generally be pretty accurate, with the exception of a few rare and valuable kinds of esoterica, such as what are known as "catalin" plastic sets.

Best regards,
-- Al

Almarg and Lew,
Radio museum.com is a great site. It will give you the year of production and lots of information on just about any radio made.
Enjoy
YOGIBOY