I think I had about ten radios from the 30's and 40's when I was in grammar school in the late 1950's. I had problems replacing spekers - I think most had "dynamic" speakers that worked only with certain circuits, not the more versatile permanent magnet speakers we see today. the other problem I had was trying to filter out the 60-cycle hum that seemed to develop so easily in those old monsters.
Changing tubes was a cinch. People would give me broken radios, and I'd take out all the tubes and take them down to the drugstore. Most of the time, I could get the radio working.
I had a long antenna in the yard, and I liked to stay up late at night and log all the faraway stations I could find. I got Radio Moscow and Radio Havana on the shortwave band.
I liked the smell of those hot, dusty tubes and transformers - and the tube glow was way cool.
-Joe Offer-