In contrast to the fully transistorised radios, which hardly need any service work after the final adjustment at the factory is done and which should work for years without complaint - the tube-less technology is therefore called solid state - these „real radios“ are tube-equipped. After changing a set of radio tubes after years of use, realigning work is necessary. The technology of these receivers is called hollow state, these heavyweight receivers are also called boatanchors, you get an impression why after you have lifted one from a shelf.
In contrast to the transistor receivers, the tube-equipped receivers need some time to warm up and thus become frequency-stable. Because of their higher AF output power, the sound is full and listening is often more relaxing, since the high-frequency hiss often found in modern shortwave receivers equipped with ICs and processors is absent.
Professionally used "solid state" receivers with semiconductor technology can be found in a different section.
Whether one is more attracted to the high stability modern receivers with their small tuning steps and frequency readout to 10 Hz, or wants to tune in the same station with a tube-equipped veteran set, with which you have to retune from time to time during the reception, and enjoy listening to a station with the full sound of the oldie set, is a matter of taste.
A real radio glows in the dark!
Boatanchors
| Manufacturer | Typical sets |
|---|---|
| Boatanchors by Autophon | After the 1930s, the Swiss company Autophon started the production of wired broadcast receivers over telephone lines, later followed by domestic radios and several all wave receivers, which were mainly used by the Swiss Army. |
| Boatanchors by Collins | The Collins Radio Company, founded in Cedar Rapids in 1932, initially manufactured amateur radio transmitters. Based on the receivers and transmitters devoloped during World War II, from 1946 onwards Collins initially produced amateur radio receivers and later commercial transceivers again. |
| Boatanchors by Drake | R. L. Drake was a manufacturer of amateur radio equipment after the late fifties, these sets were increasingly used in commercial communications; in the 1990s Drake had a range of modern Tabletop receivers in its catalogue. |
| Boatanchors by Eddystone | From 1926, radio and shortwave sets were manufactured by Stratton & Co. Ltd, Birmingham, under the trade name Eddystone. After World War II, the company remained one of the major British manufacturers of marine, police and commercial communications equipment, with the HF segment sold to Marconi in 1965. |
| Boatanchors by Hallicrafters | In 1934, radio engineer Bill Halligan founded a company almost entirely dedicated to the construction of communications receivers, the Hallicrafters, Inc.. |
| Boatanchors by Hammarlund | The first receiver, the „Comet“, was developed by the American company Hammarlund in 1931. From 1936 onwards, shortwave receivers from the Super Pro series were produced, and the SP-600, as the final model in the series, was produced in a number of variants until 1972. |
| Boatanchors von Lorenz | Lorenz or C. Lorenz AG was a major manufacturer of military communications equipment for the Wehrmacht in Berlin and continued to produce commercial equipment in the post-war era. |
| Boatanchors by Murphy | Murphy was a British manufacturer of military communications equipment and maritime communication receivers. |
| Boatanchors by National | National Company Inc. was one of the most important manufacturers of commercial and military wireless equipment in the USA, in Switzerland only a few units were in military use. |
| Boatanchors by Philips | Only a few receivers meeting commercial requirements were manufactured by the Dutch Philips corporation. |
| Boatanchors by Plessey | The British Plessey Company, founded in 1917, manufactured detector receivers, telephones and, from 1929 on, equipment for the television pioneer Baird. After 1936 Plessey produced components for the aircraft industry and telecommunications equipment. |
| Boatanchors by Racal | Racal is one of the most important British manufacturers of commercial and military communication equipment. At the Racal plant in Bracknell, Dr. T. Wadley developed the well-known Wadley Loop circuit. |
| Boatanchors by RCA | RCA oder Radio Corporation of America is one of the most important American manufacturers of commercial and military transmission equipment. |
| Boatanchors by Rohde & Schwarz | The Munich-based company Rohde & Schwarz is one of the largest manufacturers of communications equipment and has an excellent reputation in the field of aeronautical radio as well as in the development of radio communication systems. |
| Boatanchors by Siemens | The German corporation Siemens was founded in the late 19th century as Telegraphen-Bau-Anstalt Siemens & Halske and it was active in the early days of wireless technology in the transmitter / receiver construction and tube production. After the end of World War II, Siemens resumed its own receiver production and supplied the navy in particular with powerful receivers. |
| Boatanchors by Telefunken | In 1903, competing development groups from AEG and Siemens Halske merged to form the „Gesellschaft für drahtlose Telegraphie mbH“, which later became Telefunken. In 1938, Telefunken equipped the first electronic television studio. Commercial receivers, equipment for maritime and aeronautical communication and military telecommunication systems also contributed to the rise of Telefunken. |
| Boatanchors by Watkins Johnson | The Watkins-Johnson Company was founded in 1957 in Palo Alto, CA. As Watkins-Johnson Company Telecommunications Group in Gaithersburg, MA, it manufactured communications equipment primarily for military and intelligence agencies after 1966. |
| Manufacturer | Typical Sets |
|---|---|
| Boatanchos from other manufacturers | In this section, tube-equipped communications receivers, so called „Boatanchors“, from various smaller brands can be found. |