ECA and Wonderbar technology

[walyfd]

So another winter project is to find out why the wonderbar in the 62 works sometimes and doesn't. I recapped the electros and main couplers years ago and it's hit and miss. I just replaced the 5 couplers on the circuit board but haven't tried it in the car but, I remember a similar tag in the 57...

Obviously, RCA played a great role. I also recall another ad where RCA was credited for the technology of Autronic Eye, the automatic headlight dimmer...

Were Delco tubes really RCA?

[walyfd]

Again, the photo failed to upload

[William]

I'm not sure about RCA making Delco's tubes, but I got a photo of the tube chart.

Bill

[walyfd]

I don't mean the tubes. I mean the disclaimer on the tag.

I believe the technology was created by RCA and licensed to Delco... furthermore, it was used by Mopar and possibly Philco after GM had a year or 2 as exclusive manufacturers.

Autronic Eye was basically the same concept. Many innovations came from outside sources and sold to car companies. The first swivel seat was not in a chrysler but in the 1955 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham show car. GM passed on it for a gorpy memory seat. They passed on Perfect Circle cruise control, too...

[electra225]

As far as I know, RCA built all the tubes for Delco radio with the exception of the Loktal types. Olds and Cadillac in the 1940's used lots of Loktals. There is a sticker on the Guidematic chassis on my Buick that says the system was built by Delco Radio. I'm guessing that the system was not unique to GM. The tubes have GM part numbers instead of the normal tube numbers. The Buick shop manual lists the tube numbers then translates them to normal tube numbers. Sylvania built the Loktal types and put Delco nomenclature on them. There was a guy on ARF, recently deceased whose name escapes me, who argued with me about this until I produced the literature directly from the Delco Radio archives. I never did figure out why some Olds radios used Loktal tubes, since RCA didn't build those. There was a discussion that Delco Radio did not actually build GM car radios until 1949 or so. This is not true. It might be possible that Zenith or Philco built some of the Olds radios, immediately after the war, hence the Loktal tubes. I don't have any documentation to support this theory. Delco Radio started building their own speakers in 1946. Mallory supplied some of the vibrator transformers and filter capacitors at various times. Delco Radio also made them. Delco Radio has a very interesting history. David Sarnoff and Boss Kettering got their heads together, bought Day-Fan for their radio production facilities, then started Delco Radio in 1927. The Depression delayed any real radio production until about 1936 or so. They started production in an airplane hanger on what is now Grissom Air Force Base.

Wonderbar radio troubleshooting is an acquired skill. I find them haunted. They have a mind of their own. Mine works, usually. The foot switch will stick if you don't use it frequently, then the dial keeps hunting until you turn the radio off and start all over. I see that is an all-tube set. The one in the Buick is solid state with a 12DT8 (?) trigger tube. The local/distant switch gets dirty and make the Wonderbar wonky. I don't use the Wonderbar in the Buick. I just use it for a cool-looking AM radio. Antenna strength, having the antenna fully extended sometimes is critical to the Wonderbar working correctly. Good luck.

Didn't every radio built since something like 1920 have the RCA patent information on it somewhere?

[19&41]

It looks like there is a database to look up the information the number represents. That would probably be a good way to find out it's pedigree.