Inside a 1920s Vintage Radio: GECoPHONE BC2830

Have you ever wondered about the technology used for vintage radios or antique radios from the 1920s.

Here's your chance to look inside a genuine TRF or tuned radio frequency radio that was launched in 1925. A true vintage radio or wireless set using real vacuum tubes or valves

This GECoPHONE BC2830 was the latest in technology when it was launched. Using three valves or vacuum tubes it was able to provide top level performance for its day - the superhet radio had not yet become commonplace.

It was battery powered as the valves of the day used directly heated cathodes, etc. It also had a control called an "Intensifier" to provide additional gain. This would be called a reaction or regeneration control. Feedback was applied in the detector stage and by advancing the feedback more gain and selectivity were achieved, but as the point of oscillation was approached, the signal would become more distorted, and when it broke into oscillation, the output consisted of a whistle and distortion.

The internal construction of this old tube radio or wireless set is magnificent and the tuning or selector control was a mechanical wonder.

The wire wound resistors mentioned in the video are 2 Ohm resistors - there are some capacitors that could be mistaken for wire wound resistors. These are not visible in the shots taken. They were quite interesting but very unusual. They were made by taking a metal rod was covering it with a thin layer of insulation and then winding a coil of tinned copper wire. The turns were soldered together along one side to make them non-inductive. One connection was made to the metal rod and the other to the winding layer. These capacitors were used extensively in many early GECoPHONE sets including a GECoPHONE crystal set I have.

Overall this was a magnificent valve radio set, and although the technology would be overtaken ion only a few years, it would have provided excellent service in its day.

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