Finds: RCA Victor Filteramic Radio
When visiting any of my favorite antique stores I find myself gravitating towards vintage electronics, especially radios. I cannot explain my attraction to these objects, perhaps it is the fact my mother used my great grandmothers 1940's Zenith, a fine looking radio, when baking in the kitchen when I was a child or perhaps it is due to my general dissatisfaction with the sterile looking electronics currently for sale. At any rate, despite the attractiveness of these relics, I have never purchased one for fear that its faulty wiring would burn the house down or the tubes would be damaged and I, the technically challenged girl that I am, would not be able to repair the radio. Price is also often a deterrent when considering purchasing radios along with the fact that I never want just one, I want them ALL. This changed, however, on Saturday.
Browsing my local Salvation Army store for hidden treasures, as I so often do, I found this gem: a Filteramic radio by RCA Victor. Before I stumbled on this beauty, my luck had been poor at Sal's, yielding only a large crystal bowl that my mother would fancy. As I approached the counter to pay for my bowl, I saw this plugged in to the left of the cashier. As I fiddled with the knobs the radio slowly lit up and began to project a static-y station playing classical music, with a bit of adjustment the signal cleared- the 45 year old radio sounded wonderful.
Items at Salvation Army are generally a steal, and this beauty was no exception. Now it sits, for lack of a better place, beside my bed. While the radio is great, the plan that it has help me to devise is even better. Sure a couple old radios scattered about the house are wonderful, I can listen to my favorite NPR programs on them, but as far as great music, no stations exist in my area that I really care to listen to. So instead of finding a station I like, I will broadcast my own. I picked up an FM transmitter for my Ipod and I am currently, as I type, broadcasting my own favorite tunes to my vintage RCA- old technology meets new in an interesting way. Pick up another radio? No problem, I can just tune it to the same frequency. I am sure that I am not the first to devise this plan but for a vintage radio lover like me this sure is great!
A poster from the late 1950's advertising the AM only version of the Filteramic.
