RADIO AGE The Vintage Radio Journal of the Mid-Atlantic Antique Radio Club Volume 45 December 2020 Number 12 The Midwest Radio Corporation By Brian Belanger ounded by A. G. Hoffman when he began prices. Midwest was unusual because it did not rely F making simple radios in his Cincinnati basement, on a dealer network and jobbers, but rather sold Midwest sold its first radio in 1920—the one-tube directly to customers. Its marketing strived to model shown on this page. convince potential buyers that they could save big money by ordering right from the factory. Of course The company introduced a number of models in its if you ordered a heavy console radio, the significant first few years, including the regenerative set shown shipping cost (usually railway express) had to be on page 3. But Alan Douglas says it was advertised considered. Midwest sometimes quoted prices only for one month, probably because the company without including the cabinet cost because the same did not have an Armstrong license and may have chassis could be used in more than one cabinet. been threatened with patent infringement unless it Midwest offered a time payment plan and a 30-day immediately ceased selling regenerative sets. trial period with a full refund if you were not satisfied. At first Hoffman used “Miraco” [MIdwest RAdio COrporation] as his brand name, but later, just In its first decade, Miraco did reasonably well Midwest. The company advertised widely in popular keeping up with changing technology and its com- magazines and bragged about its low “factory direct” (Continued on page 3) Midwest’s first radio (1920), called the Model VT. It A. G. Hoffman, Midwest’s founder. appears to use an Audiotron type tube. BOUT MAARC and RADIO AGE. Radio Age became the A monthly newsletter of the Mid-Atlantic Antique Radio Club in Mid- June 1994. Prior to that date, the MAARC Newsletter and Radio Age were separate publications. Atlantic Subscription to Radio Age begins with the next available issue after the membership application and dues are received. Dues are $24 per Antique year in the US, $36 in Canada, and $60 elsewhere, all payable in US dollars. Two-year, three-year, and life memberships are available; contact the Membership Chair (see column at left). All Radio checks are payable to MAARC and, for new members, must accompany the membership application, which is available from the Club Membership Chair or the MAARC website (www.maarc.org). If you change your mailing address, email, or phone number, please notify the Membership Chair immediately so corrections can be made to Radio Age’s mailing list. The Post Office will not forward MAARC Board of Directors your newsletters. 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Permission to reprint any 410-279-0226 Bruce Pellicot image or graphic used in the article must be obtained by the author. [email protected] 410-461-7441 [email protected] Contact the editors for further guidance. Contact the editors for Treasurer further guidance. Send your submission to any one of the editors Rod Matzko Roy Stehlik and include your name, address, phone, and email. 3 Coloma Court 410-517-0566 Sterling, VA 20164-5507 [email protected] MAARC MONTHLY MEETINGS. Most MAARC meetings are 703-406-2713 [email protected] Eric Stenberg held at the Davidsonville Family Recreation Center, 3789 Queen 703-780-7391 Anne Bridge Rd., Davidsonville, MD (map below). From U.S. 50, Radio Age Co-Editors [email protected] take MD 424 south for 2.5 miles. Turn right on MD 214 for 0.6 Ed Lyon miles, and angle left on Queen Anne Bridge Road for 1.1 miles. The 11301 Woodland Way Randy Warren entrance will be on your left. 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[email protected] Annual MAARC Membership Fee is $24 Life Membership is $426 or 3 installment options at $142 The entire contents of this publication are copyright ©2020 Mid-Atlantic Antique Radio Club, unless specifically marked otherwise on each article. Generally, all articles in Radio Age may be reprinted, provided specific permission is first obtained from a Radio Age editor (and the copyright holder, if not Radio Age) and full credit is given. We value and respect your privacy. MAARC’s membership directory and listing will not be sold or marketed to any other organizations or businesses. Editor, designer, and production for this issue: Brian Belanger Proofing: Domi Sanchez Radio Age December 2020 Visit MAARC’s web site at www.maarc.org page 2 Ad in Radio News, October 1921 for Miraco’s regenera- tive model, sold only briefly. (Most likely due to patent infringement issues.) (Continued from page 1) petitors. The company offered single dial tuning in 1925, AC operation in 1928, superhets in 1930, and screen grid sets in 1931. The 1930s was Midwest’s most successful era. It claimed to have sold more than 120,000 radios by 1936. After World War II Midwest continued to make radios, and even a few television sets. In later years the company was called Midwest Radio and Television. A. G. Hoffman retired in 1953 and the company went out of business in the late 1950s. We can only speculate about why. Its demise may have been partly because of the loss of Hoffman’s leadership and partly because of the need to transition into transistor technology. During the 1930s the company’s adopted a strategy of emphasizing high tube count. Midwest tended to seek ways to use two tubes to perform a function that other manufacturers accomplished with one, e.g., using two rectifier tubes. A Midwest console that touted eighteen tubes might have performed comparably to an RCA, Zenith, or Philco radio that used perhaps ten or eleven tubes. (Midwest might have called attention to possible savings on winter fuel bills because their radios generated so much heat!) Popular Science Miraco ad, April 1924 . To be fair, Midwest radios were well designed, used good quality parts, and performed respectably. Radio collectors today admire Midwest sets for their attractive “machine age” cabinet styles, although In This Issue compared to competitors like Scott, Midwest’s cabinets tended to be more cheaply made (nails and Midwest Radio Corp. by Brian Belanger ............ 1 glue rather than screws, less expensive wood types, Evolution of the Hearing Aid by Ludwell Sibley 8 and fewer coats of lacquer). Some models saved The 6AD6 Magic Eye Tube by Brian Belanger 12 money by eliminating the dial glass. Aerials Are Unnecessary? by Brian Belanger 13 The Wirt AC Voltage Regulator by B. Belanger 14 In the mid-1930s the company used louvers behind the speaker grille in some models to enhance sound Classified Ads……………………...………………15 quality. MAARC Your Calendar! .................. …………....16 (Text continued on page 7) Radio Age December 2020 Attend MAARC’s virtual meetings during the pandemic page 3 December 1924 Radio Broadcast Radio Age December 2020 Visit MAARC’s web site at www.maarc.org page 4 Midwest’s 20-tube chassis advertised in the 1938 Catalog. Radio Age December 2020 Attend MAARC’s virtual meetings during the pandemic page 5 Examples of console cabinet offerings from the 1938 Midwest catalog. Radio Age December 2020 Visit MAARC’s web site at www.maarc.org page 6 (Text continued from page 3) For a new technology as complicated as television, that service provided set owners with some comfort. A 1938 Midwest catalog bragged about special Midwest’s catalogs included TV antennas, but you features. That year their high end models featured a would have to install it yourself, and many customers volume expander. (Crosley’s more expensive models were probably not eager to climb up on their roofs. also had that feature.) Midwest offered motor-driven tuning, but Zenith and others did too. Wards’ Airline Since many radio models of that era had a phono jack, brand offered their “movie dial” projected onto a Midwest’s 1950 Catalog A offered the money-saving screen, and Midwest’s 1938 models also had a “movie “Television Adapter” console (shown on this page) for dial” that projected the shortwave band onto a screen.