About the radio: This 5 tube battery radio uses 201A tubes which were introduced 1922 by RCA. This was the first tube which could be successfully used as an RF amplifier. An RF amplifier increases the sensitivity of a radio allowing it to pick up more stations, even without the use of a problematic regeneration circuit. However, when a radio can receive more stations, accurate tuning (selectivity) becomes much more critical, thus the 3 tuning dials.
The two tubes seen on the left form a two-stage RF amplifier with each stage individually tuned. (A “Tuned Radio Frequency” or TRF design) The 3 tubes on the right are the detector and a two stage audio amplifier making the radio powerful enough to operate a loudspeaker. By using a speaker instead of headphones radio became something that the whole family could hear at the same time and also freed the listener from having to sit close to the set in order to wear the headphones.
There were several difficulties inherent in a radio such as this one. One was operating three tuning dials in order to tune stations another was the batteries:

The tube filaments required a 6 volt lead-acid storage battery (car battery) which was heavy and required periodic recharging, usually by taking the battery to an automotive garage or radio store … being careful not to spill acid on the way. Third, was the issue of using triode tubes for the RF amplifiers (hey that's all they had in 1924!). A triode will create feedback on strong stations causing the radio to squeal. Atwater Kent added a gain control to each RF amplifier so that the user could boost the gain on weak stations and reduce the gain on strong ones.
Radio wasn't easy in 1924, but in spite of the annoyances, there were an estimated 3 million radios in use.

A block diagram of a 5 tube TRF would look like this. ( = Signal Path)

The lack of a cabinet was intentional - for the radio user who liked to show off the components. Atwater Kent also marketed radios with cabinets as well as a line of “breadboards” intended to be installed in aftermarket cabinets.

Arthur Atwater Kent  (1873-1949) founded the company in 1895 making electric motors, fans and automobile electric and ignition parts. In 1921 he began producing radio components and then, in 1923, complete radios. By 1925 his company was the worlds leader and his "Atwater Kent Hour" was the most popular show on the radio.
A victim of the depression, he closed his factory in 1936. Before retiring, he founded the Atwater Kent Museum in Philadelphia. Visit the museum at www.philadelphiahistory.org.

· President: Calvin Coolidge
· Population: 114,109,000
· Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.02
· Unemployment: 5.0%

Headlines

· IBM is formed.
· Death of Lenin; Stalin wins power struggle, rules as Soviet dictator until death in 1953.

Oscars:
No Oscars until 1928

· World Series: Washington d. NY Giants (4-3)

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Historical Data From InfoPlease.com

· The A.M. broadcast band is expanded to 550 - 1550 kHz
· Over 1400 stations are now broadcasting.
· First network sponsored broadcast; "The Eveready Hour"
· Calvin Coolidge is the first president to broadcast from the white house.
· Third National Radio Conference held

Listening to the Radio in 1924*

This schedule is taken from the radio columns of a San Francisco newspaper November 2, 1924.

KGO, 312 m (962 kc)
11:00 AM Church Service
3:30 PM Concert
7:30 PM Church Service
KPO 423 m (709 kc)
11:00 AM to 12:00 Noon Church Service
8:30 to 10:00 PM Concert - Rudy Seiger's Fairmont Hotel Orchestra

KFRC, 280 m (1071 kc)
6:30 to 7:30 PM Concert, Ben's Little Symphony Orchestra
8:00 to 9:00 PM Concert, continued
9:00 to 9:05 PM News
9:05 to 10:00 PM Concert, continued
10:00 to 12:00 PM Dance Program, Roof Garden, Hotel Whitcomb

KLS, 360 m (833 kc)
10:00 to 11:00 PM Radio Church of America

*Radio ratings services did not begin until 1929

The Radio History Society's Atwater Kent Page
Atwater Kent's Philadelphia Museum Homepage
Atwater Kent Radio.com