1920’s Store / Radios

1920’s Radios

In the 1920's radio was as popular as TV is today. Families would sit around the radio in the evenings and listen to music or radio shows. Radios were extremely expensive initially and only the well-to-do could afford them. It was only when hire-purchase and installment plans came along that the average family could afford a radio.

Vintage radio enthusiasts contend that while modern, state-of-the-art, microprocessor based amateur radios are extremely good at what they are designed to do, they lack the aesthetic appeal and "soul" of amateur electronic gear from the vacuum tube era. Additionally, many find satisfaction in taking commercially-made amateur radio equipment from the 1920s - 1970s (affectionately called boat anchors by US/Canadian amateurs because of their relatively large size and weight) and carefully restoring it back to health.

The simple, roomy electrical and mechanical designs of boat anchor radios are more easily worked on, modified, and tinkered with than their modern Japanese counterparts. In an age where fixing a transceiver is accomplished by boxing it up to send to the manufacturer for a custom VLSI chip replacement, devotees think of boat anchors as "real radio". According to these hobbyists, a hot soldering iron is almost a requirement for operating a vintage station.

Other enthusiasts claim that boat anchors sound better than their silicon descendants, saying that the tube audio from vintage gear is "warmer" and more aesthetically pleasing than the audio produced by the typical modern transceiver. Some hobbyists see vintage radio operation as a valuable asset to help preserve the history and heritage of radio for future generations, and may assist in the restoration and operation of vintage radio equipment for historical exhibits, museums and museum ships.