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Classic Radio

D

Drew5164

Guest
Today I cleaned everything off the top of my old Capehart console stereo. I'm not sure when it was manufactured by my guess is circa 1960. When I was about 14 (I'm 41 now) my Dad bought it at a garage/estate sale for use by us kids - I suppose to keep us away from his stuff. At the time it had a record player and the AM-FM tuner. The record player was removed some time ago, I don't remember why. The AM dial has the ConelRad symbols at 640 and 1240 kc. Apparently, at the time of manufacture, stereo radio broadcasts were planned by broadcasting the left channel on AM and the right on FM becouse there is a setting called AM/FM Stereo on the selector that splits the two into separate speakers as described. The AM side and the FM side are tuned separately to accomodate this feature. The power is turned on via the treble control, as opposed to the volume control. The power can also be turned on by switching the selector to phono. The record player was automotic and would turn the whole unit off after completing play if it was on Phono.

It also has RCA input jacks to connect a Tape deck. This still works and I can hook up a CD player to it. It's tube type and still operates almost perfectly. I did replace the light bulbs in the lighted dial about 20 years ago and they still light.

I moved out after high school and went to college. Got married and started my own life. Dad moved the Capehart into his office be built in the garage. There it stayed for a number of years. Later he retired and moved from Mississippi to Arkansas. On a visit I found it in his barn. I took it to Tennessee, where I lived at the time. I have since moved it with me to Texas, South Dakota and now to Kentucky. It has suvived about a dozen moves and a divorce.

The sound is still good although there is not as much high end as I'd like to hear, that may have something to do with my not being able to hear as much High end as I used to.

I have always wondered: Did anyone really accomplish Stereo Broadcast in the manner this old radio was built for?
 
> Today I cleaned everything off the top of my old Capehart
> console stereo. I'm not sure when it was manufactured by my
> guess is circa 1960. When I was about 14 (I'm 41 now) my Dad
> bought it at a garage/estate sale for use by us kids - I
> suppose to keep us away from his stuff. At the time it had a
> record player and the AM-FM tuner. The record player was
> removed some time ago, I don't remember why. The AM dial has
> the ConelRad symbols at 640 and 1240 kc. Apparently, at the
> time of manufacture, stereo radio broadcasts were planned by
> broadcasting the left channel on AM and the right on FM
> becouse there is a setting called AM/FM Stereo on the
> selector that splits the two into separate speakers as
> described. The AM side and the FM side are tuned separately
> to accomodate this feature. The power is turned on via the
> treble control, as opposed to the volume control. The power
> can also be turned on by switching the selector to phono.
> The record player was automotic and would turn the whole
> unit off after completing play if it was on Phono.
>
> It also has RCA input jacks to connect a Tape deck. This
> still works and I can hook up a CD player to it. It's tube
> type and still operates almost perfectly. I did replace the
> light bulbs in the lighted dial about 20 years ago and they
> still light.
>
> I moved out after high school and went to college. Got
> married and started my own life. Dad moved the Capehart into
> his office be built in the garage. There it stayed for a
> number of years. Later he retired and moved from Mississippi
> to Arkansas. On a visit I found it in his barn. I took it to
> Tennessee, where I lived at the time. I have since moved it
> with me to Texas, South Dakota and now to Kentucky. It has
> suvived about a dozen moves and a divorce.
>
> The sound is still good although there is not as much
> high end as I'd like to hear, that may have something to do
> with my not being able to hear as much High end as I used
> to.
>
> I have always wondered: Did anyone really accomplish Stereo
> Broadcast in the manner this old radio was built for?
>


Yes, it was done although I don't know if it was done on a regular basis.
I understand the station I work for back around 1960 or so did this type of thing on an experimental basis... I'm guessing maybe once in a while for a "stereo hour" or something. It's kind of interesting they were doing this back then when they didn't actually convert their FM to stereo until about 1980, far after most stations went stereo.
 
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