1926 - the roaring twenties are in
full swing! In show biz, Rudolph Valentino dies, Mae West is
jailed ten days for obscenity, and most movies are still silent.
In aviation, the Ford tri-motor airliner is introduced, Admiral
Byrd flies to the North Pole, and the Army Air Corps is formed to
replace the Air Service. In sports, Jack Dempsey loses the
heavyweight crown to Gene Tunney, and the Harlem Globetrotters
form their showy basketball team. In Japan, Hirohitho begins his
reign, in England, A.A. Milne publishes Winnie the Pooh, and in
America, Philadelphia hosts the World's fair. Of course radio is
there in the midst of all this activity, and the public clamor
for inexpensive radio sets rises. To capitalize on this demand
for inexpensive radios, Charles Freshman produces the Freshman
Masterpiece, selling for only $60!
In 1926 most radios (including the
Freshman) were tuned by means of three dials, and required
several sets of cumbersome batteries for operation. Reliable and
affordable AC powered sets arrived near the end of 1927. The
Freshman Masterpiece was a rather conventional five tube radio,
except for the fact that it sold for only $60 (competing radios
sold for $75 to $150). The Masterpiece was also available as a
kit for only $17.50. Charles Freshman cut costs everywhere he
possibly could, sometimes dealing with suppliers unethically when
it was to his advantage. Some of Freshman's cost cutting
backfired, the audio transformers and the rheostats often failed
during the warranty period, requiring Freshman to pay for
repairs.
The genius (and low cost) of the
Masterpiece lay in the simple circuit design. By locating the RF
transformers close to the tuning condensers, the set would work
without oscillating (uncontrolled squealing). Other circuits that
prevented oscillation required expensive components and license
fees. The Masterpiece circuit was not the best performer, but it
worked well enough to satisfy most customers.
Despite the average performance of
the Masterpiece, hundreds of thousands were sold since it was
affordable. Many of these radios soldiered on long after AC sets
rendered them obsolete, and a fair number still exist. The
Freshman Masterpiece occupies a place in history as many
families' first radio.
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Copyright 1997 Stan Watkins