Radios

About Antique Radios

The ‘golden age of radio’ may be gone, but antique radios are still going strong. Whether you’re interested in a specific manufacturer (RCA, Philco, Zenith, Crosley, Emerson) or style (catalin, transistor, cathedral or console), there’s a radio out there for you.

You can identify most antique radios by model number, which can include any combination of letters and numbers. If you don't see a manufacturer's name, look inside the chassis, as it may be stamped on the tubes or other components...

The earliest radios were typically bare components (e.g. glass tubes) mounted on a board. Later came plain wooden or metal boxes, and by the late 1920s, elaborate cabinets designed to look like real furniture. Cathedral and tombstone style wooden cabinets were popular during the 1930s. And Art Deco style radios made of Bakelite, Catalin and other early resins or plastics (Plaskon, Beetle, etc) became popular during the 1930s and 1940s. Transistors were introduced in 1957, displacing tubes and enabling miniaturization.

Although you may be able to play an unrestored antique radio, note that its capacitors are likely to fail without warning (and may also pose a fire hazard), so replacing them pre-emptively is advisable.

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Interviews & Articles

Guest Column: Understanding Antique Radios

You've just acquired an old radio, but apart from the manufacturer's name on the front, you don't know a bles… [more]

Guest Column: Collecting Vintage Transistor Radios of the 1950s and 60s

Perhaps you recently saw a picture of a cool looking pocket radio from the early 1960’s and were reminded o… [more]



Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)

Jim's Antique Radio Museum

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This photo gallery of over 7800 vintage radios, categorized by manufacturer and model number, is a group effort wit… [read review or visit site]

AntiqueRadios.com

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Alan Voorhees' reference resource for vintage radio collectors includes a photo gallery, article library, PDF archi… [read review or visit site]

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This vast archive and community of radio collectors features over 120,000 radio model listings and 350,000 photos a… [read review or visit site]

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Steve Erenberg's extremely wacky and well-done collection of vintage mad-scientist devices and contraptions. Writte… [read review or visit site]


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1940's Motorola Catalin Tube Radio Model #50c$3,050 Ends Friday 8 bids 50 watchers
1938 Zenith 12s232 12-s-232 Walton Tombstone Radio$2,325 Ends Sunday 16 bids 127 watchers
Antique Fada Model 711 Catalin Tube Radio Deco Green Nr$550.00 Ends Tuesday 6 bids 41 watchers
Vintage Awa Empire State Bakelite Radio Cigarette Box$539.73 Ends Thursday 7 bids 72 watchers
Classic Art Deco Monrach Bakelite Valve Radio Stunning!$532.38 Ends Tuesday 19 bids 103 watchers
Mcmurdo Silver Tube Radio Tuner Masterpiece 5$510.00 Ends in 20 hours 9 bids 54 watchers
Tv-7 D/u Military Tube Tester / Pristine & Working..10+$510.00 Ends in 19 hours 16 bids 106 watchers
Atwater Kent Model 10c Compact No 4700 Breadboard Radio$504.99 Ends Saturday 2 bids 20 watchers
Vintage 1931 Echophone Classic Gothic Cathedral Radio !$501.00 Ends in 18 hours 8 bids 90 watchers
Ekco Black & Chrome Bakelite Radio-model Adt95-c.1934$489.97 Ends Monday 2 bids 38 watchers
Philco 16rx Chairside Radio And Speaker$456.99 Ends in 18 hours 14 bids 59 watchers
Fada Radio, Catalin Model 1000 Bullet Red And Yellow$440.00 Ends in 14 hours 4 bids 62 watchers
Rare Zenith Wood Console Tube Radio 12-s-471 Black Dial$406.99 Ends Saturday 11 bids 44 watchers
Superrare Huge Philips Tube Radio,motortuning,bx998a$405.00 Ends Sunday 9 bids 25 watchers
Vintage Toshiba Rice Bowl Old Japanese Transistor Radio$380.00 Ends Sunday 10 bids 34 watchers
Antique 1939 Zenith 6-s-330 Tube Radio Clean & Working$360.55 Ends in 16 hours 7 bids 57 watchers
1931 Philco Cathedral " Model 90" Beautiful Condition$338.00 Ends Wednesday 6 bids 30 watchers
Antique Rca Radiola Rs Radio & Amp W/ Rca Wd-11's*works$336.50 Ends in 18 hours 12 bids 61 watchers
Rare German Korting 730w Tube Radio. Near Mint$305.00 Ends Sunday 5 bids 14 watchers
Vintage '50s Blaupunkt Am/fm Tube Radio 'sultan' Works!$290.66 Ends in 14 hours 14 bids 15 watchers
Philco 41-290 Console Radio$280.00 Ends in 18 hours 10 bids 43 watchers
Superb 1946 Philips 760a, 8 Tubes, All New. Excellent. $275.00 Ends in 14 hours 2 bids 8 watchers
Vintage Art Deco Prohibition Era Penthouse Bar Radio !!$255.00 Ends in 17 hours 9 bids 88 watchers
Lone Ranger Radio$250.00 Ends Thursday 1 bid 22 watchers
Western Electric 7a Amplifier-216a Tubes$234.50 Ends Thursday 6 bids 27 watchers
Rare Black Chalkware Cat For Zenith Stratosphere Radio$234.45 Ends in 19 hours 4 bids 36 watchers
Vintage Martian "big 4" Tripod Mounted Crystal Radio !!$222.50 Ends in 17 hours 6 bids 67 watchers
1921 Colin B Kennedy 220 Antique 1 Tube Radio Receiver$212.59 Ends Tuesday 7 bids 53 watchers
Vintage 1940s Dewald Art Deco Catalin Bakelite Radio !!$207.50 Ends Sunday 5 bids 66 watchers
Vintage Bakelite Philco Tube Radio$205.05 Ends Tuesday 9 bids 54 watchers
1949 Coca-cola Cooler Radio Great Original Working Cond$203.50 Ends in 18 hours 8 bids 33 watchers
Vintage 1950s Gem Mint Art Deco Chrome Pill Microphone$202.50 Ends Sunday 14 bids 37 watchers
Telefunken Opus 2004 Tube Stereo With External Speakers$202.50 Ends Wednesday 2 bids 20 watchers
Rca 74 Junior Ribbon Microphone Mi-4036 Xlnt In Box$202.50 Ends Saturday 6 bids 6 watchers
Zenith 12 S 265 Radio Original Finish, Works Great$201.50 Ends Monday 3 bids 71 watchers
Antique Vintage Emerson Wood Tube Radio $201.00 Ends Tuesday 1 bid 48 watchers
1920's Radiola 20 Radio$200.00 Ends Monday 1 bid 22 watchers
Echophone Super Heterodyne 1930's Tombstone Radio$199.00 Ends in 17 hours 1 bid 27 watchers
Sony Icf-sw1s Portable Shortwave Receiver Radio Mib$189.99 Ends Tuesday 6 bids 20 watchers
1950's Retro Vintage Bell Blue Bakelite Valve Radio $183.58 Ends Thursday 10 bids 38 watchers
Grundig 2540-u Shortwave/am/fm Tube Radio----stunning!!$177.50 Ends Monday 38 bids 61 watchers
Antique Zenith Plastic Plaskon Tube Clock Radio G-516w$172.50 Ends in 6 hours 13 bids 15 watchers
Thomas Blue Mirror Art Deco Radio Sparton$172.49 Ends in 16 hours 7 bids 35 watchers
National Hro Senior With Coils Buy it Now$162.49 Ends Sunday 6 bids 27 watchers
Mandarin Red Regency Tr-1 Transistor Radio With Bonus$161.38 Ends Tuesday 12 bids 42 watchers
Deco/moderne Black Dial 1942 Zenith 6d628 -- A Beauty!$160.00 Ends in 17 hours 9 bids 33 watchers
Beautiful Panasonic Rf-4900 Shortwave Ssb Receiver Nice$158.05 Ends Monday 13 bids 60 watchers
40's Console Radio Style Japanese Musical Cigarette Box$156.50 Ends Thursday 5 bids 24 watchers
1934 Rca Model 120 Cathedral Am Tube Radio Ac Superhet.$152.50 Ends in 17 hours 12 bids 56 watchers
Small Sharp Looking 1933 Ge K-63 Cathedral Tube Radio $152.50 Ends in 19 hours 10 bids 51 watchers
Philips Stereo Fm, Shortwave Tube Radio (near) Mint$152.50 Ends in 12 hours 6 bids 23 watchers
Rare Blaupunkt Sultantube Radio With Fm & Shortwave$152.50 Ends Sunday 2 bids 11 watchers
Early Grebe Mu1 Synchrophase Radio 1924 * Exc. Cond. $150.00 Ends in 18 hours 7 bids 68 watchers
E H Scott Wood Knobs Set Of 9 - Nos - Exceptional $150.00 Ends in 18 hours 1 bid 15 watchers
Vintage 1941 Philco 41-280x Wood Consoletube Radio$149.99 Ends Thursday 2 bids 8 watchers
Superb 1921 Ra/da Radio Separates * Pre Radiola Rca$148.83 Ends in 18 hours 7 bids 77 watchers
Huge Wood Table Radio Panasonic Re-7259 2 Band Am Fm Nr$142.50 Ends in 15 hours 17 bids 9 watchers
Old Antique Wood Zenith Tube Radio - Elegant Gold Dial!$137.50 Ends in 19 hours 10 bids 70 watchers
Old Antique Wood Zenith Tube Radio -art Deco Black Dial$137.00 Ends Sunday 5 bids 37 watchers
The Popular Regional Three Valve Early Radio Wireless.$136.19 Ends Friday 11 bids 39 watchers

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Recent News: Radios

Source: Google News

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