This item is listed on craigslist in my area. I think I've seen these once or twice before, but the pic isn't quite clear enough to read the small print. Any idea of what this is and approximate worth?

TIA!

Looks like one of the modern "interpretations" of an antique radio (no actual radio looked anything like it). Other than as a novelty I can't see much value to it. Maybe in thirty years someone will be collecting these.

Yup, it's one of those Charles Lindberg reproduction things.

Charles Lindbergh Spirit of St. Louis Wireless radio. Neat replica with all the bells & whistles. Cassette player in the side. Lights up and works well. I think these were sold via Brookstone 10-15 years ago.

LOL!! Thanks Alan and Gary! I suspected something was amiss in the picture - I noticed the left "tube", despite the missing glass, was illuminated. Some of the other tubes as well, and they were the wrong color and brightness for most tubes I've seen.
Still, none of my radios has a built in cassette player!!

Out of curiosity, does anyone know if the tubes on top are real? I know they don't do anything, but are they actual tubes?

Would you (as the original poster) add "Spirit of St. Louis" in the title, to catch someone's attention?

All of the tubes are actually clever imitations made of plastic. The miniature ones light up with indications of the various functions, perhaps inspired by Nixie tubes. The large ST shape tubes simply light at all times.

This radio appears to have been inspired by European sets of the 1920s, some of which have wood cabinets of almost identical shape, and tubes mounted on top.

Of the many modern sets made to look like vintage models, this was certainly the most imaginative.

Title edited

Seems that there wer several other things made under the "Sprit......" name. I had one that I'd gotten at a flea market. It was a telephone desk set, and it looked rather impressive. Getting it apart, I found that it was one of the most disgusting pieces of junk I'd ever seen. Of course, it didn't work.

To the trash can it went.

If its cheap and you like it buy it, no harm in a novelty set in your collection.
It is quite a nice looking radio.

My wife has just bought me one of these. It looks fun and interesting.

Has anyone got a photo of the coil type aerial arrangement. The coil is detachable and seems to have two pins. The hole into which it clips has a singgle metal base plate. Is the "aerial" purely cosmetic or is the hole into which it connects missing some conectors? The radio seems to work better without the aerial thing.

Would appreciate some close up photos of the connection arrangements.

Thank you,

Steve

Hi Steve, it might be an antenna for the FM, not AM.
One way to find out, take 'er apart an let us see

Hullo,

I am sorry to be so technologically inept but I can't. I have taken photos of the loop aerial, (lots of wire looped around a plastic former) which has a circular base in which there are two lugs. (I presume each lug is from each end of the wire). It connects into a plastic whole in which it can rotate to better pick up the signal. My query is that the base of this circular hole is a single metal plate onto which both lugs from the loop aerial connect. Presumably this would "short" out the aerial. I have taken lots of photos and resized them but this web site keeps telling me there are too many pixels whilst my photo editing software tells me that there are not.

It is a Spirit of St. Louis Radio with pretend valves visible on the top. It's a load of rubbish but the wife bought it for me on ebay for christmas so I would like to get it working.

Whoops, this might work. Pictures may be attached.

These were wholesaled by Polyconcepts of Stamford CT. They may still have some. Google them up to see. I took 10 or so of the blue mirrored replicas about 10 years ago.

I tried googling the company but I couldn't get to see whether the connection between the aerial and the radio is like mine. ie is mine correct?

Theoretically, it shouldn't be. There are two lugs in the base of the aerial, which I presume represent the two ends of the wire that is coiled round the plastic proforma, but only a single metal base plate in the radio side of the connection.

Can anyone enlighten me? Its been 45 years since I built a simple diode radio at school so I have forgotten lots and knew even less to begin with!

Help?

Steve

Hehe - I bought one about a dozen years ago. A Euro version to boot - 4 bands, and I paid shipping from EU. It was loosely styled after the Ekco round radio that is popular in European collector circles. Man, it was a miserable POS. Couldn't use the FM band at night because of all the 31 meter SWBC signals plowing through the IF. I think it picked up more SW on its FM band than a Hallicrafters S-38!

Didn't trash it, though. Resold it on ebay for more than I had put into it since that model is unknown on this side of the pond.

Does the metal plate tie to anything in the radio? It might be a simple "whip" antenna a few inches high (rotating it would have no effect). To be a coil ("loop") antenna, there would have to be many turns of wire. I'd guess it's just decorative.