1941 radio question

1937hemi

1937hemi

Member
I have two 1941 radios: a Philco and a Zenith. Both are complete and appear to be in about the same condition. I am assuming that they do not work.

Before I have one of them restored for my car which brand is the better radio to start with? It would be nice to know if one has an advantage over the other.

Or plan B would be to just sell them and forget about having a radio.
 
I can't help on brands, but before you decide, you may want to take your daily driver out for a little jaunt with the radio tuned to the AM band to see if there are even any suitable stations broadcasting. Up where I am, there used to be one AM "Golden Oldies Channel". About five years ago, it disappeared to be replaced by a Spanish language station. It might not be worth going to the expense and trouble of having the radio restored to listen to that or farm reports. There is a thread on here about a simple change that can be made to a stock radio hat allows you to run modern "tunes" (MP3, Smartphones, or even a portable disk player) through the radios amp. That's what I'm going to do. A friend just fixed the stock radio in my '51 and I'm in the process of deciding what media I want to use for input. I'm also looking for a better option to replace the stock speaker.
 
I cut off the radio part on my 41 and just mounted the dials to cover up the radio hole. I then hid a mini modern am/fm in the empty heater box.
 
"mrtexas" - I guess that's OK if you are converted to 12 volts, but some of us aren't. This brings up another question. A lot of these modern devices are designed to use the USB interface for power. The USB spec says 5 volts max. It would seem that some one should make a device that would regulate the 6-7.4 volts in these older cars down to 5 volts. If this is the case, couldn't we just power an MP3 player or something like that directly from the cars power? (I understand the old electrical stuff pretty well, but am "weak", shall we say, on the newer stuff.)
 
tubman said:
"mrtexas" - I guess that's OK if you are converted to 12 volts, but some of us aren't. This brings up another question. A lot of these modern devices are designed to use the USB interface for power. The USB spec says 5 volts max. It would seem that some one should make a device that would regulate the 6-7.4 volts in these older cars down to 5 volts. If this is the case, couldn't we just power an MP3 player or something like that directly from the cars power? (I understand the old electrical stuff pretty well, but am "weak", shall we say, on the newer stuff.)
Click to expand...

Check out my album where I modified a dollar store USB lighter charger to work on 6v pos ground.
Oops seem like my album on the USB charger disappereared.
Basically I cut it open and reversed the wires, was able to charge my phone from my '48 Ford 8n.

I also bought a 6-24 volt to 5 volt converter board from eBay for $1.07 shipped I let you know how it works on 6v pos ground when I get it.
 

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Thanks "Corvette8N", that's a great information. We use the voltage converters in our "Tach Drivers" and they work very well.
 
tubman said:
"mrtexas" - I guess that's OK if you are converted to 12 volts, but some of us aren't. This brings up another question. A lot of these modern devices are designed to use the USB interface for power. The USB spec says 5 volts max. It would seem that some one should make a device that would regulate the 6-7.4 volts in these older cars down to 5 volts. If this is the case, couldn't we just power an MP3 player or something like that directly from the cars power? (I understand the old electrical stuff pretty well, but am "weak", shall we say, on the newer stuff.)
Click to expand...

This guy will convert your radio 6v pos ground to AM/FM:

http://www.turnswitch.com/radio1.htm
 
1937hemi said:
I have two 1941 radios: a Philco and a Zenith. Both are complete and appear to be in about the same condition. I am assuming that they do not work.

Before I have one of them restored for my car which brand is the better radio to start with? It would be nice to know if one has an advantage over the other.
Click to expand...
My dad worked for Zenith in 1941 so I'm biased but there's not an ounce of quality difference between the two brands.

Stations: around here there are probably 30 stations across the AM dial with great variety of content.

If you are willing to risk $25 buy a solid state ******** as most radios quit because the ******** died. A solid state version lasts forever and uses less power. It's purpose it to raise voltage for the tubes to operate.
+++++++++++++++++++++

USB - the usb jack works at 5v and there are thousands of converters for 12v cars which drop the voltage to 5v . Some will work with inputs down to 6v or so (recall your car drives at 7v) but you would have to buy a dozen to find the one which worked for your voltage. Realize with your positive ground you must have a USB device which didn't require a ground such as a plastic housed cell phone or GPS.

If you need a proper USB and GPS which can withstand ground (i.e. 12v neg ground input) simply use a 6v to 18v step up-power converter. Works as follows -6v pos gnd creates -18v = 12v neg gnd. I do this with an up-converter made by Pololu ($20) the size of a thumbdrive. Connected to a motorcycle USB adaptor ($10). I see cheaper up-converters now ($7) http://fettricks.blogspot.com/2017/06/12v-cellphone-and-gps-socket-for-6v.html
 
I went through the same scenario with my '40 radio--it worked great as long you liked salsa, talk radio, or fundamentalist preachers. My solution was to have an FMC-1 chip installed by Bill the Radio Guy (http://www.billtheradioguy.com/conversions.html). It now has the capability of receiving AM, FM, or an external source such as an MP-3 player. It's still 6v positive ground, uses the original controls, looks completely stock, and works great.
 
4dFord/SC said:
--it worked great as long you liked salsa, talk radio, or fundamentalist preachers.
Click to expand...
I only listen to talk radio or fundamentalist preachers. Occasional Spanish stations to help my language classes.

I like and use salsa but am unclear how to get it on my radio. ??
 
4dFord/SC said:
I went through the same scenario with my '40 radio--it worked great as long you liked salsa, talk radio, or fundamentalist preachers. My solution was to have an FMC-1 chip installed by Bill the Radio Guy (http://www.billtheradioguy.com/conversions.html). It now has the capability of receiving AM, FM, or an external source such as an MP-3 player. It's still 6v positive ground, uses the original controls, looks completely stock, and works great.
Click to expand...

Could you please explain what the FMC-1 chip does?
Does it replace the original radio?
Does it use the original radio but allow it to receive fm?

I'm confused after reading the website.
 
mrtexas said:
Could you please explain what the FMC-1 chip does?
Does it replace the original radio?
Does it use the original radio but allow it to receive fm?

I'm confused after reading the website.
Click to expand...

It essentially adds an FM tuner to the radio and utilizes the original amplifier, speaker, and controls. You switch modes (AM, FM, External) by quickly turning the radio off and on. Tuning is done through the original tuning wheel.
 
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Paul Bennett said:
........

USB - the usb jack works at 5v and there are thousands of converters for 12v cars which drop the voltage to 5v . Some will work with inputs down to 6v or so (recall your car drives at 7v) but you would have to buy a dozen to find the one which worked for your voltage.

.......
Click to expand...

I was hoping some has already done this.
 
My 1934 radio is stock as is my whole car . My radio has a jack hidden in the side through which I play my music playlist off my I-phone . There aren't many AM stations I sometimes listen to talk back but there is a Sports channel which lets me listen to all the important Rugby games when driving
 
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