Item ST 28932 Broadcast Receiver - Victoreen, Superheterodyne, circa 1927

Summary

Early battery powered superheterodyne receiver based on a kit manufactured by Victoreen Radio Co. Of Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

In the middle years of the 1920s, the owners of the superheterodyne patent (RCA mainly) refused to licence other manufacturers to make superheterodyne receivers. A number of manufacturers of radio parts circumvented this problem by producing complete kits of parts for superheterodynes to allow individuals and radio retailers to build receivers in small quantities for their own use or sale.
The fitting of a rheostat to every valve's filament seems like overkill but produced an impressive knob-filled front panel. The ninth knob at the left-hand end of the bottom row was the volume control. The left hand tuning dial controlled the frequency of the local oscillator; the right hand dial tuned the aerial circuit to select which of the two possible receiving frequencies was to be used.
A superheterodyne receiver will accept signals on frequencies separated by the intermediate frequency above and below the local oscillator frequency. A pre-selector circuit is required to determine which will be heard.

Physical Description

Long wooden cabinet with bevelled glass window in its lift-up lid. The front panel has two tuning dials, one small trimmer, 9 rheostats, a key switch, a small knife switch, a push-pull switch and three phone jacks.