March 1930 Radio News
 [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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 1931 Scott All-Wave Superheterodyne Console
Radio (RadiolaGuy.com)
"Art Combines with Precision Engineering,"
proclaims the Scott Transformer Company advertisement that appeared in a 1930 edition
of Radio News magazine. I'm not sure how many radios Scott sold, but a fairly extensive
Google and eBay searches turned up only one restored model of the fancy "artistic"
cabinet type. Based on the prices in the ad, most people probably could not afford
to buy them. According to the BLS*
Inflation
Calculator, the $703 "Cortez" radio would cost $12,555 in 2023 money. Even
the $334 "Cavalier" at an equivalent of $5965 would cost more than many houses
in 1930! Black Tuesday had precipitated just a few months prior to this
March edition, so all the design and manufacturing accommodations had already been
put in place. Plus, publishing lead times were many months in advance so this promotion
likely was arranged and paid for before the Stock Market crash in October of 1929.
"No station tunes at more than one point on the dial and local stations do not interfere,
even to the slightest degree, with distant reception. Four Screen Grid tubes are
used in this new Scott Model. Think of it! Four Screen Grid tubes!" Evidently affordable,
crappy reception was good enough for the times. Scott Transformer
Company Ad
 Art combines with Precision Engineering to add laurels of magnificent dignity to
those of world-record achievement now held by Scott. The Scott Custom-Built World Record Receiver is the precision instrument of radio.
It is a handmade product of the micrometer, the microscope, the oscillograph, other
of the most infinitely accurate measuring and testing devices known to science,
and of an inflexible determination that nothing short of absolute perfection in
building can ever be productive of complete owner-satisfaction.
The physical and electrical dimensions and characteristics of every part and
piece of wire in each individual Scott receiver are determined one by one - not
to a tolerance - but to exactness, and made to match one another so perfectly that
each completed Scott receiver will stand as a thoroughly qualified example of Scott
precision, and as a symbol of the world record prowess which distinguishes Scott
Custom-Built Radio from the ordinary.
 Scott Custom-Built World's Record Radio has always been purchased for the sterling
qualities of performance its precision engineering has made possible - Bare-nerve
sensitivity! Seemingly unlimited power! Ability to bring in the greatest number
of far distant stations! Superb, perfectly realistic tone! Positive selectivity!
And for its absolute, unfailing dependability!
Scott Custom Built Receivers
Art Combines with Precision Engineering
Now, however, Scott Custom-Built Radio is more than the perfect answer to the
prayer of the radio-minded man. It is also the' most beautifully clothed radio in
the world. It comes in consoles as fine as the chassis itself; Consoles designed
especially for Scott Radio by great artists - consoles such as you have never seen
before! Some of them are illustrated on the following pages, where more of the story
of Scott Custom-Built Radio is told.
E. H. Scott, designer of World Record Radio - and the laboratory in which all
Scott Receivers are handmade to laboratory standards.
There is nothing else in radio like Scott Custom Built Receivers
To bring in 117 programs consistently from 19 stations 6000 to 8000 miles away
- all within a period of 13 weeks, is not an ordinary accomplishment. An ordinary
receiver could not do it. A Scott Receiver, custom-built to Scott standards of engineering
precision did do it, and Scott owners are constantly reporting equally remarkable
reception.
The New Scott A-C Shield-Grid 10
This, we believe, is the most powerful broadcast receiver ever designed. It is
considerably more powerful than the original Scott World Record Receiver. It brings
in most of the distant stations with greater volume than can be used - even in the
largest home, and reproduces all stations in a manner that is nothing short of realism
itself.
The new Scott A-C Shield-Grid 10 is likewise perfectly selective. No station
tunes at more than one point on the dial and local stations do not interfere, even
to the slightest degree, with distant reception. Four Screen Grid tubes are used
in this new Scott Model. Think of it! Four Screen Grid tubes! The resulting amplification
is far, far greater than that obtained in any other receiver we know of. This means
sensitivity, power and tone such as you have never experienced before. Everything
worth listening to is within easy reach of the new Scott A-C Shield-Grid 10, and
so it is in all truth that we say, "There is nothing else in radio like Scott Custom-Built
Receivers."
Now, add to Scott precision, performance and dependability, the originality,
beauty, richness, fineness and genuineness of Scott Consoles and the last vestige
of argument as to which receiver to buy, is gloriously swept away.
The Cortez - an original, authentic, artistic reproduction of 16th Century Spanish furniture.
It is impossible to conceive of a more beautiful piece. The price of this model
complete is $703.
Scott consoles are not mere cabinets of varied design. They are not merely things
of wood, made to conceal a radio mechanism. Rather, they are studied creations,
each designed to comply perfectly with a definite requirement of interior decoration.
Nor are they made as ordinary consoles are made. Indeed not. They are handmade,
like Scott Receivers, with just as much care and quality given to the unseen parts
as to their fronts.
The five models illustrated on these two pages and the other shown on the next
page are typical. The Cortez, shown at the left, is authentically Spanish. The romance
and lavishness of the 16th Century Spanish Court is in every minute detail of its
construction and finish. Its beautiful matched burls, its smooth, perfect inlays
and carvings, its gorgeous hand-tooled leather panels and rich, genuine hand-wrought
iron trim add to its fine construction to give the Cortez a proper place in a room
suited to the introduction of a Spanish motif.
In sharp contrast to the Cortez there is the Scott Moderne, illustrated at the
right. This model is very nearly futuristic and will exactly suit the requirements
of living room or den stressing the modern note.
A Model for Every Requirement
In between the Cortez and the Moderne there are more than a dozen other equally
original Scott consoles. Some that portray the early English, French and German
trends and others that can be described only by saying that there is nothing else
in radio quite like them. Whatever your requirements are - whatever your taste may
be, there is a Scott Console - a genuine, individual, original work of art, to completely
and perfectly suit that requirement or taste.
The next page contains a coupon which will bring you complete information and
large photographs of all Scott Custom-Made Consoles. It also tells about another
new Scott development - the final requisite of radio pleasure.
The Lancaster. at the left. is another typical example of Scott cabinet artistry.
The price complete is $345.
This is the Moderne, a true interpretation of the ultra-modem in fine furniture
design. Note its severe straight lines, yet how these lines are relieved to graceful
softness thru cleverness in the panelling. The Moderne complete is $351.
The Orleans, at the left, is a Jacobean Cabinet which successfully catches the
rich stateliness and sublime dignity of the Renaissance period. The price complete
is $353.
The Cavalier, above. is authentically Puritan. The precious woods of which it
is made, as well as its fine carvings, give the Cavalier an air of unusual distinction.
The price complete is $334.
Above you see the Abbey, a glorious bit of Old English furniture work, thoroughly
suggestive of the fine things which characterized the period it so faithfully represents.
Massive carvings, deep design and sturdiness characterize the Scott Abbey. The price
complete is $521.
Touch a Button - There's Your Station!
Only a thin cord connects the Scott Remote Control to the Scott Receiver. Yet
what wonders go on inside this little cord. It carries the wish of the bridge-player,
- the bed-ridden, or the reader from his place of quiet to the Scott Receiver and
causes the receiver to instantly reproduce the chosen program at the mere touch
of a button. You have never experienced the delights of real remote control until
you see this one in operation.
The world record performance and the outstanding beauty of Scott Custom-Built
Radio are sufficient in themselves to decide anyone's preference for these fine
receivers. But Scott also offers you perfected, practical, positive remote control!
Sit at leisure, any distance from your Scott Receiver, push the button for the
station you choose - and there it is, instantly! Regulate the volume with a tiny
knob on the control case. Switch from station to station by simply pushing buttons.
Nothing Else Like It
The Scott Remote Control actually does the tuning itself. The condensers in the
receiver do not move when the control is being used. There are no motors, no relays,
nothing in fact to get out of order or to become inaccurate. The cord connecting
the Remote Control to the receiver is no thicker than a lamp cord. Nor does the
Scott Remote Control interfere with the regular dial-tuning of the receiver. Either
the dial or the Control may be operated at will by turning a switch one way or the
other.
Clip the coupon and mail it now for full particulars of this truly amazing new
radio development.
(Exclusive Representative in Detroit - Scott Radio Salon, 306 Book B
Posted June 23, 2023
(updated from original post on 2/20/2014)
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