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The Northland Antique Radio ClubMark Your Calendar!February 8, 2026 - NARC Workshop and Outdoor Swap Meet May 15-16, 2026 - NARC Radio Daze 2026 See Calendar of Events for details of NARC's upcoming and past events. Antique Radio Forum's Upcoming Radio Meet List UPCOMING EVENTSWorkshop and Outdoor Mini-Swap MeetSunday, February 8, 2026, at 12 Noon
Please mark February 8th, 2026 on your calendar to attend the 2026 Northland Antique Radio Club's annual radio workshop and outdoor swap meet! The workshop will be held in the Comfort Inn Plymouth's main ballroom at 3000 Harbor Lane, in Plymouth, Minnesota, the same place as last year and where Radio Daze and the Annual Meeting were held. The event will begin with a small swap meet in the hotel parking lot, weather permitting. There are no fees to sell at this swap meet and admission is free, so there usually is a good turn-out unless it is extremely cold or snowing outside. Just bring whatever radio items you want to sell and be sure to bring some cash in case you find something you want to buy! There is no official start time, but the parking lot is usually busy by 10 a.m. The hotel ballroom will become available at 11 a.m. and the workshop will start at 12 noon. Workshop presenters lined up so far (in no particular order) include:
Finally, bring a radio item for the Show & Tell following the workshop. Prizes will be given for the best, as determined by the crowd. See you there! RECENT EVENTSNARC FALL INDOOR SWAP MEETSaturday November 1, 2025(Open to the public 10 A.M. to 1 P.M.)Hopkins High School 2400 Lindbergh Drive
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RADIO DAZE 2025Friday-Saturday May 16-17, 2025 |
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The Northland Antique Radio Club invites you to attend our 38th annual Radio Daze event! This is our club's MAIN EVENT of the year and is a great
opportunity to find that vintage radio you've been looking for! A large auction
of vintage radio equipment will be held Friday evening, and the swap meet, radio
contest, and program will be on Saturday, all at the Comfort Inn.
Please see the Radio Daze 2025 Brochure for details and the schedule of events.
AUCTION
Radio Daze will begin with a large auction of vintage radio equipment starting at 6:30 p.m. on Friday May 16 in the Comfort Inn's main ballroom. Note: The auction is starting 1/2 hour earlier this year to accomodate more items to sell! A good variety of radios will be available (216 lots were auctioned last year).
If you want to sell your radio(s) at the auction, check them in (maximum of 10 lots)
between 1:30 and 5:30 p.m. on Friday. You can download or print an Auction Entry Form if you want to fill it out before arriving. The auction preview is 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. This auction is always well attended and is an inexpensive way to sell your vintage radios. There are no buyer or seller percentage fees. The only charge to sell is a flat $5 per item entry fee, plus $2 if you want the item to have a reserve price. More auction details are in the Radio Daze 2025 brochure.
Besides these, 1920's Globe and Melo-Tone radios made in Wisconsin, a rare 1937 14-tube motorized-tuning Silvertone model 4799, a Zenith Zephyr chairside, tubes, and many more items donated to the club will be sold in this auction.
SWAP MEET
The Saturday morning swap meet begins shortly after dawn in the hotel parking lot. You can simply pay for your selling spaces ahead of time using the pre-registration form, or you can do it at the registration table in the hotel's main ballroom prior to the Friday evening auction or when the registration desk opens at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning. Please note that parking lot sales are not allowed prior to Saturday and the club does not provide swap meet tables.
HOSPITALITY ROOM
The hospitality room (just inside the hotel's side door nearest the swap meet) will open at 7:00 am Saturday with free coffee, soda, water, rolls, cookies, and snacks to those registered for Radio Daze.
CONTEST
Please enter something from your collection in the radio contest! Contest categories are described in the Radio Daze 2025 brochure. Contest item check-in will be Saturday from 11:00 to 11:45 a.m. in the hotel ballroom. The room will be closed for judging from noon to 1 p.m., viewing is from 1 to 2 p.m., and you can pick your item up any time after 2 p.m., possibly with a ribbon or trophy!
LUNCH
Nearby options for lunch include Lucky's 13 Pub within the hotel and other restaurants nearby, including Perkins, Arby's, Burger King, Wendy's, Davanni's Pizza, Chick-fil-A, and others.
PROGRAM
The Saturday program begins at 2:00 p.m. and includes contest awards, a presentation, and door prizes! Doug Ohman, a Minnesota historian, photographer, and storyteller who hosts the PBS show 'Landmarks' and has a strong interest in what people in Minnesota collect, will present 'Uncovering and Saving History'. Don't miss it!
REGISTRATION
Registration is not required (but is encouraged) to just attend the auction or to buy at the swap meet. However, registration is required to attend the Saturday indoor events, to enter the Hospitality Room, and to sell items in the swap meet. You can save $4.00 by returning the pre-registration form along with payment before May 9th. Also, it is easier to pay for your swap meet selling space using this form than to do it at the registration table. After you arrive, please pick up your name badge and other materials at the registration table in the hotel's main ballroom.
HOTEL
The Comfort Inn is giving us a special $109 per night (plus tax) reduced room rate for either Double or King rooms Thursday through Saturday night. If you plan to stay at the hotel, make your reservation a week or more ahead of time to assure room availability and tell them that you are coming for the Radio Daze radio show.
The Comfort Inn's reservation phone number is (763) 559-1222.
What better way to find old radios and see old friends than to come to Radio Daze!
Please mark May 16 and 17, 2025 on your calendar today!
Sunday February 9, 2025
NARC Workshop Review
Around 40 people braved the cold winter weather on February 9th to attend the outdoor swap meet that precedes NARC's annual workshop each year. Some good bargains were to be had, including some decent radios that had been donated to the club and some from people who had heard about the swap and just came to get rid of radios they had but didn't want to throw away.
After a few hours out in the swap meet it was a relief to go inside for the workshop! The workshop started at noon in the hotel's main ballroom with around 40 members attending. Bill Fanum had his sound system set up and we also made good use of the club's digital projector. Phillip Drexler and Jim Thompson gave brief updates on the club and Radio Daze 2025 before introducing Gary Ball who organized an interesting assortment of topics for the workshop again this year.
1. Larry Tell did an interesting presentation about how he had restored a 1924 RCA Radiola model III-A regenerative radio in rough condition. First, the inter-stage transformers had to be replaced and to keep their original appearance he disassembled them and replaced the original core and windings with modern miniature transformers that fit inside the original outer shell. The tube sockets are unusual, being suspended with strips of
rubber that had deteriorated from age. He was able to buy exact dimension replacement rubber strips from The Radiola Guy, a vintage radio parts company. Another typical problem was that two flexible wires that pass through a bushing and twist as the variometers turn, had broken, so he replaced those. Then, there are five capacitors connecting to the various antenna terminals that someone had replaced long ago with capacitors that looked wrong. Larry took end caps from some original style capacitors that had bad cardboard tubes and put them on some empty bottle rocket paper tubes with new capacitors inside, so now they look more original and work well. The battery cable was also bad so he replaced it with a new cable that he dyed brown with wood stain so it would look correct. Good WD-11 tubes are expensive, so Larry tried several alternatives in adapters but preferred solid-state WD-11 replacements that he had designed. To improve its appearance, Larry found a plating company in North branch to re-plate the corroded metal parts, and to improve the black bakelite face of the radio he polished it with black shoe polish and then filled the engraving with a white paint stick. It turned out looking great! Larry's Radiola III-A restoration notes are online here.
2. Jim Thompson brought some Japanese transistor radios and told us about them. Three years after the Regency TR-1 was introduced in America, the first Japanese export transistor radio, the Sony TR-63 shirt-pocket 6-transistor radio was sold here in 1957 and was available in four different colors. They had produced transistor radios prior to this but didn't export them. Most TR-63 radios no longer operate today due to a warped tuning condenser. In 1958, the Toshiba TR-193, also known as the Toshiba 'Lace' sets, available in red or blue, were imported from Japan. They were designed for women and had a feminine appearance with actual lace encased behind clear plastic. The early versions had a reflexed superheterodyne circuit using 4 transistors and later versions had 5 transistors.
3. John Drewitz described how he repairs cracked plastic radio cabinets by placing very fine stainless steel mesh over a crack plastic and then using a soldering iron with a large flat tip to slowly and carefully melt the plastic and smooth it over the screen to achieve a strong "weld". He also was able to very carefully smooth out scratches and other imperfections in plastic radio cabinets by using the flat tip soldering iron at very low heat, just warm enough to barely soften the plastic.
4. Bill Williams explained how he installs small inexpensive Bluetooth devices in radios at their volume control or phono jack so they can connect to his phone and play whatever music or radio station he wants to hear, and demonstrated how they work.
5. J.P. Houchins has restored several 1941 and 42 Philco Beam-of-Light radio/phonographs and gave a very interesting presentation that explained how the phonograph pick-up works and how to repair it. There is a mirror attached to the special sapphire needle that vibrates as the needle drags through a record groove reflecting light from a small 3.7 volt light bulb filament on the head of the tonearm onto a photocell that converts the light into an electrical signal. The light bulb is no longer available and must be a particular shape so the light focuses properly. There also are small rubber bushings that harden that he replaced with silicone so the mirror would vibrate properly. He has worked on five of these and found that the photocells usually still work, although some are weaker than others. To replace a bad photocell, he has modified one from a cheap Dollar Tree calculator to fit into the tonearm housing. Another aspect of restoration is cleaning the record changer itself. All parts must be cleaned and properly lubricated to they move smoothly, and rubber parts, especially the idler wheel, likely have hardened and need to be rejuvenated or replaced.
6. Randy Olson collects QSL cards. These are postcards that Ham operators have printed for themselves and then mail them to each other confirming a contact. They contain information about the operator who sent it, details of the contact such as the operator's call number, equipment used, time and radio frequency of the contact, etc., and often contain interesting graphics. Randy explained how QSL cards first became popular in the early 1920s and then proceeded to show us a large variety of cards he has collected, beginning with fairly plain cards in the 1920s to cards with more interesting graphics in the 1930s and up to the present time.
7. Kip Wallace explained how he repaints old metal advertising signs. Many of them had a crinkle type finish which is very difficult to reproduce today, but what he does is cleans off the old finish, spray on a de-rust type of primer, and then uses enamel rather than lacquer paint since enamel flows better and covers flaws better. Then he'll spray a clear matte finish over it.
Show & Tell
A number of attendees brought radios to show. Larry started things off by showing a Lafayette Explor-Air radio that he's had since about 1961 and it still works.
Gary had a 1950's Japanese radio without CD marks on the dial and with an American sounding brand, a 'Standard Radio Corporation'. He said it's a high quality radio but even so, he had sold it some years ago, and then more recently was glad to be able to buy it back.
William had a 1946 Motorola wireless turntable with two tubes in its circuit that transmitted at 1400kC AM from an antenna wire (a third wire) in the AC cord.
Kip brought a small chalkware bust of Herbert Hoover that says 'Herbert Hoover' on the front and 'RCA Radiotrons' on the back. Someone in the crowd speculated that it was made while Herbert Hoover was Secretary of Commerce, before he became the President.
Matt showed a KLH set with acoustic suspension speakers.
Tom had an old six-tube Emerson "runner" radio that he bought at a NARC Radio Daze meet to use as his daily runner. It had been 90% rebuilt, but Tom had to repair the dial string, and the dial scale was bad. Later, on a trip to Rochester, NY, at his family home there, up in the garage attic he found a pile of radio stuff he had left there many years ago, and amazingly there was a radio with the exact dial that his "runner" needed!
Another collector was looking for tubes for his Radiola Balanced Amplifier and made some using a small military triode with a resistor to control the current draw to substitute for a WD-11. He put these in cut-down test tubes so they look like an actual tube.
Jim Reynolds showed two of his favorite radios, a red and white Raytheon T-100 and another transistor radio that he found in San Diego that was the same as his very first radio.
Richard showed a Ross Triumph multi-band (?) transistor radio probably from the late 50s or early 60s..
Prizes were given to the participants.
Thanks to everyone who helped with this event!
2024 FALL SWAP MEET REVIEW
There was a good turnout again for the club's annual Indoor Fall Indoor Swap Meet held on Saturday, October 26, 2024 in the Hopkins High School cafeteria. By the time the doors opened at 9 a.m., there was a line of buyers waiting to come in and it got busy as the sale got underway and merchandise was changing hands.
As usual, it was fun to mingle with fellow collectors and see all the items on everyone's tables. There was a lot of visiting among old friends and new friends, and it looked like everyone was having a good time. I know of some who were able to make contact with someone who could help repair their radios, and others who were excited to find parts they had been looking for.
The meet wrapped up shortly after the door prize drawing, and by 12:30 pm the room was empty.
A huge thanks to Mary for handling the registration table again, signing up some new members, and collecting dues from many others who renewed their memberships!
This was our third year at this location. It works very well for this event, with plenty of space, large windows that provide good lighting, easy access to the parking lot, and it is affordable.
Radio Daze 2024 Report
The NARC Board of Directors recently reviewed this year's May 17th-18th Radio Daze event at the Comfort Inn in Plymouth, Minnesota with our Radio Daze Chairmen and the others who organize and work at the event, and everyone agreed that Radio Daze 24 was once again a resounding success! An auction full of interesting items of all sorts, a swap meet with great weather and a strong turnout, a contest with some rarely seen entries, and a very interesting program by WCCO's Mike Max made it an unforgettable event that resulted in many compliments from attendees.
The auction on Friday evening was held in the Comfort Inn Plymouth's ball room, as usual, and all the tables around the room, plus those in the adjoining room, were filled with consignments. 97 bid numbers were assigned and 216 lots of radios and related items crossed the auction block, including 30 lots that had been donated to the club. The auction crew did an outstanding job again with Frank Rasada as auctioneer.
Some of the nicer items were; Philco Predicta TV, Hallicrafters Super Skyrider S16, Zenith T600 Transoceanic, Atwater Kent Kiel Table radio model 60, Zenith 12A58, EH Scott Warrington cabinet, Bulova model 100 pink clock radio, Philco model 45 'Butterfly' radio, 1958 Zenith B835E AM/FM HiFi radio, two 7-inch Airline TVs, Zenith B600 Transoceanic, Harman Kardon Citation III-X Tuner, Philco 49-506 flying wedge radio, Zenith 5S127, Sleeper Scout type 60 battery set, box full of Radio Record and assorted magazines, Emerson AX-217 radio, RCA R28P cathedral, Aeriola Sr. battery set, Firestone Airchief S7398-3 radio, 1948 Sentinel 400TV television, Crosley 11-119U radio, Sansui SP2500 speakers, Precision Tube Tester, a box full of early radio catalogs and brochures, RCA Radiola III battery set, Eveready Radio Batteries sign, Federal 61, Fisher 800B, and a nice Zenith sign.
The weather was GREAT for the Saturday morning swap meet.
Forty-seven seller spaces in the hotel parking lot were filled with a wide assortment of radio equipment and related things. Lots of buyers showed up and sales were good!
The hospitality crew provided a nice selection of coffee, pop, water, donuts, muffins, and snacks in the Hospitality room. Registration and seller spaces were both up from last year.
We congratulate Kip Wallace for his amazing British-made World War I Marconi Mark III Shortwave Tuner, shown here. It was entered in the contest's crystal set category, and with 44 entries in the contest his won the Best of Show award. We also congratulate Matt Hyman for his 1939 RCA World's Fair radio that he entered along with a nice display of accompanying items from the 1939 World's Fair, in the contest's '1930's and Newer Tube Radios' category and won the People's Choice award.
The highlight of the afternoon program was a talk by WCCO Television's Sports Director, Mike Max. Mike told us about how he got into the profession with WCCO Television back in 1986, how he advanced after his coverage of the 1987 Twins World Series, how he got on the Midwest Sports channel and WCCO Radio, and how he is so grateful for the interesting job he has. To him, it is interesting because of the people, not necessarily the sports, and how being able to work with his good friend Sid Hartman taught him how valuable networking is. Mike went on to talk about how things have changed in the business with so many options available now other than radio and TV broadcasting - live sporting events are doing great, but other venues can be seen anytime on-demand. He took questions and we heard about his ground-breaking coverage of the George Floyd riots - he had volunteered to go out on the street to find out what the people's concerns were and what the rioting was all about because he wanted to be there to tell the story to the viewers. We also heard about the Timberwolves and some of his favorite interviews with John Wooden at age 97, Brett Favre, his friend Bud Grant, and three times with Michael Jordan. It was an excellent program that captivated everyone for over an hour.
The event ended with the ever-popular door prize drawing, thanks again to Kip Wallace for his excellent selection of door prizes to give away.
Next year's Radio Daze event is already scheduled at the Comfort Inn Plymouth for May 16-17, 2025. Put it on your calendar today!
Last Updated Saturday, 17-Jan-2026 20:38:02 CST
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The Northland Antique Radio Club