The Mississippi Historical Radio and Broadcasting Society
| Vol 2 #8 | February 8, 1993 |
News Letter
Our regular monthly meeting was held January 10th, 1993 at the usual place and time.
Our next regular meeting will be Sunday, February 14th - 2PM at 2412 C St. Meridian. This is an extremely important meeting, all members are urged to attend. The show is February 27th, 1993 9AM to 6PM at the J. C.'s building on highway 39 north (same location as last year). Most of the publicity and advertising is in place; so the final planning for displays and concessions remain as the hot topics for this meeting. It has been suggested that each member who can, contribute 1 or 2 two liter Cokes, and bring them to this meeting. Won't cost a lot, and will go a long ways towards helping out with our current tight-money situation. The J.C.'s are going to let us use their big PopCorn popper, and that is about all we intend to sell this year. The Alabama Historical Radio Folks (Don Kresge, Dave Cisco, et al) are going to try to bring some of their wonderful early stuff (1900 - 1925 or so) so our museum should again be very complete. If you wish to display something from your collection, be sure and attend this planning meeting. As once the displays are set, it will be difficult to change them. We want to include LOT's of variety from all areas of radio interest!
Radio Collecting Today
This column will be a continuing feature here. It will cover various aspects of collecting, restoration techniques, repairs, and other related topics. This issue's topic is the third part of "Dating a find". It covers dating based on dates on the radio and it's parts -- as well as working from the latest patent number. While there are always exceptions, these general guidelines can help you date items within reasonable time frames.
Wow!, neat! What is it? How old is it???
Sometimes there are glaring differences in the dates indicated by our previous methods -- for instance: what if a radio has both 4 and 5Êpin tubes -- AND has a metal tube???!!!! Has someone just replaced an older 4 or 5 pin with a newer tube -- or did the manufacturer have a bunch of 4 and 5 pin sockets & tubes to get rid of??? Both have happened over the years. So how do you get a clue? Looking the radio up in one of the 25 or so reference books you carry around withÊyou at all times will likely give an accurate answer. NOT! Ok so what can the radio itself tell us? Most radios have a tag on them that lists all of the patents that cover the various circuits, components and so on. The highest (i.e. latest) patent gives us a clue - the radio had to be made after that patent was issued. Soooo- a list of the first patent issued each year from 1910 - 1950 should help in that regard.
First Patent Issued in the Year | Year | First Patent | | Year | First Patent |
| 1911 | 980,178 | | 1931 | 1,787,424 |
| 1912 | 1,013,095 | | 1932 | 1,839,190 |
| 1913 | 1,049,326 | | 1933 | 1,892,663 |
| 1914 | 1,083,267 | | 1934 | 1,941,449 |
| 1915 | 1,123,212 | | 1935 | 1,985,878 |
| 1916 | 1,166,419 | | 1936 | 2,026,516 |
| 1917 | 1,210,389 | | 1937 | 2,066,309 |
| 1918 | 1,251,458 | | 1938 | 2,104,004 |
| 1919 | 1,290,027 | | 1939 | 2,142,080 |
| 1920 | 1,326,899 | | 1940 | 2,185,170 |
| 1921 | 1,364,063 | | 1941 | 2,227,418 |
| 1922 | 1,401,948 | | 1942 | 2,268,540 |
| 1923 | 1,440,362 | | 1943 | 2,307,007 |
| 1924 | 1,478,996 | | 1944 | 2,338,081 |
| 1925 | 1,521,590 | | 1945 | 2,366,154 |
| 1926 | 1,568,040 | | 1946 | 2,391,856 |
| 1927 | 1,612,700 | | 1947 | 2,413,675 |
| 1928 | 1,654,521 | | 1948 | 2,433,824 |
| 1929 | 1,696,897 | | 1949 | 2,457,797 |
| 1930 | 1,742,181 | | 1950 | 2,492,944 |
Another source of dates are the components themselves. If you look over the set 's parts real careful, you may find some with a four digit number stamped on them. Sometimes these are part numbers, but more often than not they are date codes. Reading these dates may not make sense, however, until you understand how they work. A date may look like 2247. The Radio Manufacturers Association (RMA) which later became the Electronic Industries Association (EIA) used a four digit code to indicate the date something was made. The first two digits indicate the calendar week of the year. 01 typically was theÊlast few days of December and the first few days of January; while 52 is the last whole calendar week of December. Obviously, the first two digits aren't that important. However, the last two digits are -- they are the year. So a date code of 2247 would be the week of May 25, 1947. And obviously, the radio was probably made after that date. Watch out for replacement parts though, they can really throw you off if you get fooled by one! Another interesting thing here is the RMA/EIA source code -- we know Sears doesn't make radios -- so who did?? the RMA / EIA source code can tell you that most of the time. SAMS published the RMA / EIA list from time to time, there are 1947 and 1963 versions of the list in the Library if you need a source code number looked up.
Most important in trying to date a radio is to take your time. Look it over several times -- and don't let yourself get distracted. People will tell you most anything to part you and the contents of your wallet.
Also as a help, several of the key parts of these methods have been condensed and printed on the back and insides of The MHR&BS's membership cards which are being printed now and will be distributed to members at the next meeting. Those not able to attend can pick theirs up at the show Feb 27th. Any not picked-up by then will be mailed to members in the next newsletter.
The Mississippi Historical Radio and Broadcasting Society Newsletter is published monthly by:
The Mississippi Historical Radio and Broadcasting Society
2412 C Street
Meridian, MS 39301
601 693-5958
© 1993, The Mississippi Historical Radio and Broadcasting Society.
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