My Wish List
If you happen to have any of these cluttering up your garage, drop me a line.

Ah, no. Not really. I've pretty much stopped collecting old radios (for a number of reasons), so don't tempt me. Let's say that this is a list of radios that I wish I already had. Or that I could find in a yard sale for 5% of their market value.



Miniman Rocket Radio #MG304
A crystal radio set exactly like the the one that I had when I was about five or six years old, living in Montreal, around 1959.

The beauty of these crystal sets is that they required no batteries. The alligator clip is a ground cord, and to tune it you raise or lower the little metal rod in the nose cone.

I'm sure I must have fallen asleep many times with the earphone still stuck in my ear.


Woo-hoo! I made this wishlist somewhere around February, 2003. A few weeks ago, I mentioned to my wife that falling asleep with my iPod earbuds in my ears reminded me of the rocket radio I had. Today, March 8, 2007, she presented me with a gift-wrapped package, which I knew came from Argentina. It was a Miniman MG304, in the box, with instructions and original plastic bag. The only thing wrong with it was that the earphone cord had imprinted its pattern into one side of the rocket body, as if it had melted a bit. This is not uncommon with plastic transistor radios which have been stored for a long time with the cord wrapped around them. In this case, it was still in the box with the coiled cord resting along one side of it.

I got it open, and clipped the ground clip to a screw that holds on a ceiling light-switch cover plate. By golly, it worked, although just barely. I was able to pick up CBC Radio One on 1070 kHz, which is transmitted from Moncton, about 60 kilometers or so away, and was only able to identify it by the network ident music at the top of the hour. I got similar results by clipping it to the ductwork in a hot-air register.

Pix and scans to come later.


Northern Electric model 55

This is a 1934-35 AC-only autodyne model, with a wooden cabinet and stand. The main cabinet is only about the size of an early Baby Champ, and it tilts back. Another unusual feature is that the intermediate frequency is only 175 kHz.

Marvel 6 YR-15A

This shirtpocket transistor radio looks just like a big piece of candy,

This image is from Sarah Lowrey's collection


Realtone 803
Realtone 803
This is the most beautiful transistor radio I have ever seen, and it doesn't even have any reverse-painted plastic. What with the pearly cabinet and gold-coloured fins down the side, it is truly a lush design.

This image also is from Sarah Lowrey's collection.



Silvertone 6110 "Rocket"
1938, designed by Clarence Karstadt.
I think that this is the most elegant-looking bakelite cabinet ever. (Photo is from "Radio Redux - Listening In Style", by Philip Collins.)

The right end cap is the tuning dial, or you can use the six pushbuttons on top for preset frequencies. Terry S. has finally finished the restoration of his 6110, as related in his "Silvertone Chronicle", where you can find a fair bit about how it's built, including a schematic.

Other versions are the 6111 in "Ivory", and the 6109 in "Mottled Walnut".


Philco Transitone 49-501

The classic 1949 "Boomerang" design that just oozes a combination of "The Jetsons", and Rock 'n' Roll

This photo came from antiqueradios.com/radios/philco.html

I did aquire a Truetone D2018 which is the other well-known boomerang-type cabinet. It's nice, but I prefer the treatment around the dial on the Philco.


Knobs - so hard to find originals, unless they're Philco or Zenith. I could always use some knobs for Northern Electric "rainbow" style Baby Champs , especially brown ones.

Oh - and how about a nice pistachio-green Crosley D25 "dashboard", a maroon and white Addison A2, and a Fada bullet, ...

Back to John Rose's Vintage Radio Home