1923 Atwater Kent Model 5 Breadboard Radio Factory Set Restored &
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:44043052 | Type: Model 5 Breadboard |
| Brand: Atwater Kent |
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Here's a 1923 Atwater Kent Model 5 breadboard, arguably the most iconic and most sought after battery radio manufactured in the 1920's. This is a factory-built set, restored in 1985 by E.A. Smith, who signed and dated the underside of the board. It was powered up and tested this past week, on Christmas morning, and as you can see and hear in the video that I posted below, it still works, probably as well as it ever worked, with good selectivity, good volume and good sensitivity -- even tuning WLW in Cincinnati, located more than 500 miles from my home in central NC.
That said, condition is used, with no warranties of functionality expressed or implied. I had no trouble getting it to work, but I can't promise you that you'll be able to get it work, particularly if you've never had any experience operating a 1920's battery radio.
Smith's restoration of the radio entailed 1) re-painting the TA island (beautifully done, as you can see, with a color match that's identical to the original olive/gray that the factory used in 1923), 2) repairing a complex fracture in the rear left side top of the TA cover; the repair is visible in the 9th, 10th and 11th phonographs, and 3) replacing (and re-finishing) the baseboard, as well as the interconnecting underboard wire.
There may have been other (minor) issues attended to in the radio's restoration, but I'm aware of only those three.
The TA is an authentic factory-wired Type 5A island, and its electrical components (2 RF transformers, 2 AF transformers, two 1/4 amp rheostats, a plate potentiometer and a grid-leak) are the original AK components, still potted in their factory tar, and still connected to the to the underside of the bakelite cover with their original wiring. The TA's knobs and hardware are original to the island and in good condition. The Type 11 tuner is the correct version for a factory-assembled breadboard, with two drill-outs in the bakelite case. One drill-out is for wire that runs from the antenna binding post to the tuner's output post; the other drill-out is for the wire that runs, beneath the tuner, from one of the TA island's input binding posts to the tuner's output post. I note this because only Type 11 tuners that were built to be used on factory-assembled breadboards have this configuration. Tuners that were sold for home-assembled sets have just one drill-out, for the wire that runs from the antenna binding post to the tuner's output post.
The engraved numbers and hash marks on the dials of the Type 11 tuner are still crisp and clear, and there are no cracks or hairlines in the fragile backing plate. The wire on the tuner is still tightly wound, and the primary winding is still fully secured to the interior of the housing.
All of the radio's binding post nuts are present, all of them are original and all of them are in good condition. Same for the rest of the brass hardware, including the metal AK tag affixed to the top of the board.
As noted above, the potting tar inside the TA island is original, and the original AF and RF transformers are good.
All five tubes are good (as you can see in the video).
If you'd like to operate the radio, you'll need a good regulated DC power supply (such as an ARBEIII), a good indoor ground connection, and a longwire outdoor antenna (at least 120 feet long, and 20 feet above the ground). It will also help to have had some experience tuning/operating a similarly configured 1920's battery radio, preferably an early breadboard. The radio also requires a small, stand-alone antenna condenser (about the size of a postage stamp), which I'll include. The original condenser that ran inside the tuner was removed by the restorer, probably because it went out of value.
That's about it. I will pack everything carefully and properly, and I can assure you that it will show up at your doorstep in the same fine condition in which its leaves mine. I have been shipping antique phonographs and radios for years, and if you check my feedback, you'll see that I know how to do it correctly. Tuning a 1923 Atwater Kent Model 5 Breadboard RadioVideo will open in a new windowUsing the mobile app? Copy this link into your browser:
02003
Here's a 1923 Atwater Kent Model 5 breadboard, arguably the most iconic and most sought after battery radio manufactured in the 1920's. This is a factory-built set, restored in 1985 by E.A. Smith, who signed and dated the underside of the board. It was powered up and tested this past week, on Christmas morning, and as you can see and hear in the video that I posted below, it still works, probably as well as it ever worked, with good selectivity, good volume and good sensitivity -- even tuning WLW in Cincinnati, located more than 500 miles from my home in central NC.
That said, condition is used, with no warranties of functionality expressed or implied. I had no trouble getting it to work, but I can't promise you that you'll be able to get it work, particularly if you've never had any experience operating a 1920's battery radio.
Smith's restoration of the radio entailed 1) re-painting the TA island (beautifully done, as you can see, with a color match that's identical to the original olive/gray that the factory used in 1923), 2) repairing a complex fracture in the rear left side top of the TA cover; the repair is visible in the 9th, 10th and 11th phonographs, and 3) replacing (and re-finishing) the baseboard, as well as the interconnecting underboard wire.
There may have been other (minor) issues attended to in the radio's restoration, but I'm aware of only those three.
The TA is an authentic factory-wired Type 5A island, and its electrical components (2 RF transformers, 2 AF transformers, two 1/4 amp rheostats, a plate potentiometer and a grid-leak) are the original AK components, still potted in their factory tar, and still connected to the to the underside of the bakelite cover with their original wiring. The TA's knobs and hardware are original to the island and in good condition. The Type 11 tuner is the correct version for a factory-assembled breadboard, with two drill-outs in the bakelite case. One drill-out is for wire that runs from the antenna binding post to the tuner's output post; the other drill-out is for the wire that runs, beneath the tuner, from one of the TA island's input binding posts to the tuner's output post. I note this because only Type 11 tuners that were built to be used on factory-assembled breadboards have this configuration. Tuners that were sold for home-assembled sets have just one drill-out, for the wire that runs from the antenna binding post to the tuner's output post.
The engraved numbers and hash marks on the dials of the Type 11 tuner are still crisp and clear, and there are no cracks or hairlines in the fragile backing plate. The wire on the tuner is still tightly wound, and the primary winding is still fully secured to the interior of the housing.
All of the radio's binding post nuts are present, all of them are original and all of them are in good condition. Same for the rest of the brass hardware, including the metal AK tag affixed to the top of the board.
As noted above, the potting tar inside the TA island is original, and the original AF and RF transformers are good.
All five tubes are good (as you can see in the video).
If you'd like to operate the radio, you'll need a good regulated DC power supply (such as an ARBEIII), a good indoor ground connection, and a longwire outdoor antenna (at least 120 feet long, and 20 feet above the ground). It will also help to have had some experience tuning/operating a similarly configured 1920's battery radio, preferably an early breadboard. The radio also requires a small, stand-alone antenna condenser (about the size of a postage stamp), which I'll include. The original condenser that ran inside the tuner was removed by the restorer, probably because it went out of value.
That's about it. I will pack everything carefully and properly, and I can assure you that it will show up at your doorstep in the same fine condition in which its leaves mine. I have been shipping antique phonographs and radios for years, and if you check my feedback, you'll see that I know how to do it correctly. Tuning a 1923 Atwater Kent Model 5 Breadboard RadioVideo will open in a new windowUsing the mobile app? Copy this link into your browser:
02003
