1921 Westinghouse / RCA Type RA Tuner In VG Cond / / It ' S 98 Years Old
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:4317019 |
These are actually pre-RCA .. Westinghouse, GE and Wireless Speciality all produced receivers under their own names and sold them through the "new" Radio Corporation of America banner. It wasn't until the next generation of sets were produced that the RCA label actually appeared on the radios. Beautiful .. pre-war [WW I that is] quality workmanship. Built like the wireless sets they decended from. Just take a look at the detail and quality evident in the coil assembly. Beautifully made... .. precise machine work and coil winding ... built to a far higher standard than later sets ... they reflect the early military applications of wireless rather than the consumer use they were intended for. The RA was the tuning element of the two piece RA/DA radio that Westinghouse introduced for sale in 1921. A later version .. the RC combined both units in one cabinet. The RA tuner and DA detector amplifier were pioneering components -- the 1st tuner and detector/amplifier designed explicitly to receive commercial broadcasts when KDKA was launched in late 1920! This is a nice, clean example of the RA .... front panel and interior components are near perfect .. very clean inside and all of the knobs and binding post caps are original to the set. The mahagony cabinet is in original finish .. it does have some typical checking/alligatoring of the finish but is very presentable. Just waiting to be matched up with an DA unit to be back at work after 98 years. These also make very good crystal sets ... just add a detector and headphones. It measures approx 10" X 6.5" X 9.5" deep and very well packed shipping weight will be 11 pounds from zip code 24012. The matching DA [detector amplifier] unit is also available on eBay this week .. the last picture shows how the two units are connected. Please see my other auctions.
