RCA Cunningham Radiotron Ad
July 1934 Radio News and the Short-Wave

July 1934 Radio News & Short-Wave

[Table of Contents] Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles from Radio & Television News, published 1919-1959. All copyrights hereby acknowledged.

Back in the early days of radio - and then later television - companies used big-name media personalities to promote their wares. To a lesser extent some of that happens today as well. Advertisements like this one for RCA's Radiotron vacuum tubes appearing in a 1934 issue of Radio News magazine is typical of what you would have seen in the era. In it, none other than Bing Crosby was joined by a trendily dressed woman who was rejoicing in her decision to buy a new radio that contained those newfangled "Micro-Sensitive" receiver tubes. Radio was considered a mystical entity by most people, and in 1934 there were still many households that did not yet host a radio of any sort. Rural residences often did not have AC service and relied on storage batteries to power machinery and appliances. Farmer Brown had to haul a wagon loaded with heavy lead-acid batteries to town to get them recharged. Some of the more prosperous ruralites had windmill- or water-driven generators to produce the necessary power. In fact, in 1934 a complete power generator setup could be purchased from the Sears, Roebuck catalog.

RCA Cunningham Radiotron Ad

Get Radio at its Best with Micro-Sensitive RCA Radio Tubes

Here's a new thrill in store for you when you replace old tubes with these new Micro-Sensitive RCA Radio Tubes. For true-to-life reception a radio tube must be sensitive enough to pick up a microscopic electrical impulse - the millionth part of a volt. RCA Radio Tubes give you "Micro-Sensitive" accuracy. Have your dealer test your tubes today. Replace worn tubes with the only tubes guaranteed by RCA Radiotron Co., Inc., to give these 5 big improvements:

     1  Quicker Start 

     2  Quieter Operation

     3  Uniform Volume

     4  Uniform Performance

     5  Every Tube is Matched

Posted July 12, 2022
(updated from original post on 10/9/2013)