VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Radios, Tools, Accessories Show and Tell

It has become obvious that many of the members on the Chevy Chat have not been involved with the VCCA for very long or may not even be members. Therefore, they have missed a truckload of very informative information that has been published in the Generator and Distributor over the years. Just one of those items was the series of articles I did on car radios from about 1985 through 1990. Consideration is being given to uploading those articles to the Columbia River Region VCCA Website. While that is being massaged, I am going to attempt to make a fairly regular posting under a new heading “Show and Tell”. This is the first posting.

Available to Chevrolet dealers was a waiting room radio. This radio consisted of two units. A tuning unit, that was placed by an armchair or sofa, and a radio receiver unit that was placed somewhere in the room, probably on a table. The combination unit carried the “GM” logo. Introduction was about 1931.



On the left is the tuning unit. In essence this was a transmitter. This unit could tune in a station and the signal sent to the receiver by a multi wire cable. This cable was 35 feet in length; therefore the tuner could be placed in the room that distance from the receiver. On the right is the receiver and was referred to as the “Little General”. This unit could operate as a normal AM radio receiver and tune the entire broadcast band. To receive the signal from the tuning unit it was tuned to the transmitted frequency, on the low end of the dial at about 600KC.



This is the tuning unit. You can see the tuning dial near the top of the device. The large knob was the tuning knob. The tuning range was 600KC through 1500KC. The bottom small knob is the ON/OFF/Volume control and only controlled the ON/OFF function for the tuning device, but actually controlled the volume of the receiver. This was done electrically by means of the 35 foot interconnecting cable.



This is the top of the tuning unit. Note the “GM” logo in the center. There is no agreement among the collectors as to the placement of an ashtray on top of the device. It does make sense, as the top is shaped like and is the approximate height, of a chair side ashtray. This unit either had the glass ashtray or smoking was not allowed in this waiting room, as the top is still in very nice condition. The tuning unit contains two vacuum tubes. A transformer in the base of the unit powers the heaters. The high voltage is taken from the receiver.



These are the controls of the “Little General”. Note again the “GM” logo at the bottom of the dial. The left knob is the ON/OFF/Volume for the receiver. The lower knob is the tuning knob. The right hand knob is the tone control. Unfortunately this unit has not been restored. Cabinet restoration is not my strong point. Note the ugly scratches in the right portion of the picture.

The tuning unit that I own came from a dealership in California. I know some history about it but not as much as I would like. The tuning unit was located in the attic of the dealership. The receiver unit “Little General” was located for me by a radio collector here in Vancouver after a long search. He has located several extremely rare radios for me over the years.

If you would like me to focus on a particular Chevrolet car radio, let me know and I will attempt it. My collection and interest is only from 1932 for the Chevrolet car radios, and a few years earlier for the pre-Chevrolet radios (GM and UMS), through 1964. After that year they are just RADIOS.

Ray, that is really interesting stuff. I never knew such "GM" logo items exhisted. Thanks.

This high technology is far beyond me.What will the think of next? A TV screen that can tell you the route?.....This was really cutting edge in that era.I had never seen this before.

This is very fascinating and much appreciated material. I think your show and tell series is great.

I would like to see one of your earliest radios, and maybe some details about how many stages were used etc., maybe even a peek inside to see all that hand wiring! I just can't get enough of these old radios and technology. They didn't have computer programs to help them with these designs and that makes them all the more amazing!

My membership application is in the mail.

Thanks, Ray, for the excellent article, and for your plans for the new series. It is a great example of the potential of this site for providing thoughtful, organized Chevrolet information. I'm looking forward to more.

SPEEDLINE

If you thought Chevrolet was out of business during the war years you were partly correct. They were not producing cars, but were very involved with production to support the war effort. One of their major efforts was aircraft engine production.



Chevrolet mass produced 14 and 18 cylinder aircraft engines for fighters, bombers, and cargo aircraft. These were the Pratt & Whitney “R-2800” engines. Directly under the crankshaft, and on the front of the engine, Chevrolet proudly affixed a cloisonné badge that proclaimed Chevrolet made the engine. If you look very closely you can see the badge on this engine.



This is a picture of one of those cloisonné badges. This badge is from my extensive collection of Chevrolet memorabilia.

I have seen aircraft engines and other equipment made by GM during the war but I didn't know that Chevrolet had their own branded products? Did the other divisions of GM have this too?

Very interesting and informative.Looking forward to future posts.Thanks Ray

Ray, WoW those are rare! missed those issues , do you have any information on my GM plug in portable # 985651.thanks

Although not too prevalent, some accessories that are correct for Chevrolet application do not display the Bowtie. Instead they are marked GM. Examples are the interior temperature gage, the compass, the battery-charging unit, fender markers, paint touch up units, and several more. This was most evident in the 30’s.

So it is not too strange to find a series of portable radios that were available in late 30’s early 40’s which carry a GM logo. The first of these radios appeared in 1939. Strangely, it did not even sport the GM or Chevrolet logo. However, inside the radio it was marked with the model number, which is in sequence with the model numbers for the car radios in 1939. This radio was actually marked on the front as a COLONIAL. Then in 1940 another portable radio became available. This radio did sport the GM logo on the face and again was listed among the accessories available for 1940, and the model number was again in sequence with the car radios. And so things went, another GM portable radio in 1941, and the last one in 1942.

Apparently none of these radios saw widespread distribution. In almost every case where they are listed in the accessories list for each year, the price is not listed, and most of the special bulletins pertaining to these radios do not list either a cost to the dealer nor a suggested sale price.



This is the 1940 GM Model 985651 and is coded P1. It is an AC/DC or battery radio. It has 5 tubes, one of which is used for the AC/DC function along with a ballast resister. The case is wood and is finished. The antenna is the familiar loop wire type.

What were the typical batteries for this ? My guess is 2 x 45V, and a series of drycells making up 6 V for the heaters. I am trying to remember whether the 67 1/2 V battery was a more modern invention.

The Model 985651 GM radio was designed to operate from a 115 volt line of either DC or AC power. When operated from a battery source it used a square 6-volt dry cell for the heaters and two 45-volt dry cells in series (90-volts) for the B+ requirements.

Ray, Who manufactured that 1931 unit for GM or did they make it them selves? Also with use of just the GM logo, it could have been used for all other brands too?
Great information,
John

John,

Nothing like getting sent to the books for a workout. This goes way back in the history of the radio business and into an area that I did the research some 20 years ago. Took me a while to dig out some of my notes that will permit me to give a more accurate answer.

To refresh your memory this is the radio unit that is being discussed in this post.



The General Motors Radio Corporation manufactured this waiting room radio. The plate mounted on the radio chassis on the backside attests to this


And the sticker on the speaker frame.



The tuning unit also bears similar markings when the cover is removed. The Model number is 281 and the serial number is 1062 R-1

In the book “The Turning Wheel”, The Story of General Motors Through Twenty-Five Years 1908-1933, By Arthur Pound, published in 1934, the description of General Motors Radio Corporation is described as follows:

The Twenty-First Annual Report of General Motors Corporation for Year Ended December 31, 1929 reports that the General Motors Radio Corporation was organized in the latter part of year 1929. The Twenty-Second Annual Report of General Motors gives the mission statement for the General Motors Radio Corporation as: The Twenty-Third Annual Report for year ending December 31, 1931, continues to list the General Motors Radio Corporation, and is carried on the books at $2,550,000.00.

It would be interesting if someone who collects other GM (Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Cadillac) cars from the GM line could report as to any of the accessories that carry the GM logo. Are these items listed as accessories and do they carry the same part number?

Ray, that is very interesting. I would have figured that they would have "subbed"it out rather then manufacturing it, and just put their own logo on it. I have a feeling that these were for all the GM brands. I thought I had some real strange stuff, but nothing like that. Thanks again for sharing it with us all.
John

Another non-vehicle-related GM radio product.

Ebay Item #2152537566 :cool2:

hello ray thanks for this information on the 1940 portable radio. i have seen a dealer picture with this radio for sale with a 24.95 price tag attached to it , im waiting to get a copy will submit a picture when i can, thanks

Ray, what was the reason for GM buying into a company with a license to use an RCA patent? Was it the superheterodyne circuit?

RustyFender: According to a chart I have for patent issuances, the patent number for this radio was issued in 1919. Of course, patents were granted for 17 years and a small change could have extended it for another 17, but I would guess that this radio wasn't offered for too long, so early 20's vintage would seem correct. Beautiful & interesting piece! Thanks for pointing it out to us. -Bob

ray what do we know on delco portable radios. mine has a part number /R-1401@R-1402

Hi Guys,

We have three subjects going here at one time so let’s see if we can sort them out.

D2d2

If you can’t purchase the patent, you purchase the company. Don’t know specifically what patent was involved; however RCA was one of the pioneers in radio and obviously held something very important.

Rusty Fender & Bowtie Bob,

The item on ebay that you directed us to is the exact type product that the General Motors Radio Corporation was organized to produce. As for the date of the item. Since GMRC was organized in 1929 and disbanded in 1931 (See the extracts above from the GM Annual Reports) the item must be somewhere in that time frame.

Calmcar,

Take a look here .

AntiqueMechanic: The patent number on the radio in question has a patent date of 1,302,344. According to the US Patent Office records, patent number 1,290,027 was issued in 1919 and number 1,329,352 was issued in 1920, so the patent for the radio was issued in the '19 / '20 era. GM must have purchased the company that held the patent. The patent would have been good for 17 years, or up to approx. 1937. In any event, thanks for clarifying the GMRC dates of '29 - '31. I had missed that information, above.

-Bob

According to my patent number listing, patent number 1,302,344 was issued in 1920.

Since the Corporation (GMRC) only existed from 1929 to 1931 it would appear obvious that the radio in question could only be manufactured during that period. The patent then must have been included in the purchase of the Dayton plant and was most likely an RCA patent.

FYI,.....The patent that has the U.S, Patent #1,302,344 is not for the radio it self but instead is issued to John Fenton of Oakland Ca. in 1919 for a method of produceing ornamental releif on a wooden box, as for the filligee work on the front of the radio cabinet. Now why not get this thread back on line and discuss whatever it started out to discuss? I assume it had something to do with Chevrolet?