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.
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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)
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