Anyone know the Lafayette history or quality opinions, particularly 1930's era sets?

I have seen a few consoles in odd almost custom-like cabinets and usually with high tube counts on ebay or CL but I've never seen one in person.

Not much info on google except some Communications sets and few photos in the gallery here, so I was hoping for some insight in them.

Thank you

Bruce, I have the Lafayette catalogs of the 1934-1940 era. They did offer some higher-endy sets. Like Allied with their Knight brand... these were all supplied by various makers.

I have figured out the supplier code is the letter. Some are Wells-Gardner, some Belmont I think, maybe Detrola, some Garod, and others.

Mark Oppat
www.oldradioparts.net

I've got a low end Lafayette, a little tombstone with 6 tubes max. and in a very plain cabinet. Couldn't tell you the model right off hand but it was probably an entry level radio.

The lone Lafayette tube radio in my collection is a late 30s table model, medium size wood cabinet. Odd in a couple ways-it's a "plant A" set, and the chassis has a space for a power transformer but the factory just put a metal plate there to cover it.

I have a Lafayette KT 320 circa 1962. Not nearly as old as what you were asking about though, sorry. I recently pulled it out of the closet after 20 years and cleaned up the band switch and lubricated everything I could that was adding friction to the tuning dial cord. All these things helped a lot.

This thing is a big grey box with an illuminated frequency "map" across the top front. Score of about 93 on the "BABE" calculator. Has BFO, selectivity, RF gain, audio gain, antenna "tune" dial, band-spread dial labeled for freq readout on several specific sub bands. The s-meter lights up but the needle never moves. 9 tubes.

I guess it is a single conversion type receiver. The only place I am finding anything to listen to (Other than AM broadcast band) is around 9 to 10 MHz. In the mornings I get Japan and sometimes China. Evenings I get Latin America - Spanish language stations. One of those is around 6.9MHz. (The freq calibration is way off on this radio but I got some of these stations on another well-calibrated radio too. Oh, and some very very powerful Christian broadcasts in mornings and evenings in that 9 to 10 MHz zone.

I might try to do some work on this Lafayette since I have been disappointed in the panasonic RF2200 that I just got and thought was going to really pick up the stations. The lafayette is MUCH cleaner sounding!!!

I guess the first thing I should try to do is get the tubes checked and see if maybe they are limiting what I get on other bands. The 10-30MHz band is completely silent unless I go through it with the BFO turned on. Even then it is just all squeals and squawks - no voice, no carrier wave, no ssb....


Just passed my tech licensing exam last night!
I have a lot of radio "projects" to work on - especially antenna work for a 2nd floor apartment!

Priscilla,

Congratulations on getting your license! Welcome, and be
sure to let us know your call.

I'd guess that Pricsilla's unit was made by Trio later known as Kenwood.

Bruce, I have a couple books that have ads in them for that vintage sets, but I can't comment on quality as I have never owned one. You are correct that they do have some high tube counts on some models. If I remember correctly I think they have one with 2 chassis.

I looked in the books, and it show an 11 tube console. I looked up tube compliments and they had a few 15 tubes. One was AC/DC and the others used 2 # 80 tubes and 4 #6C5's, so you can guess they were running up the tube count. The dual chassis model turned out to be a Knight radio with 19 tubes and 30 watt output. The dial looks to be like the Admiral oval one used on some of that vintage sets.

Mark or Jim

This is the Lafayette a fellow forum member has and I may have an opportunity to make a trade for it. It would be nice if its in one of your books.

It has I believe 13 tubes including the eye, 2-12" speakers ala the WG La France and has a Capehart RP up top. It may be chassis model B45 and the dial is a way cool mirror dial with blue accents.

The bottom 1/2 of this actually looks to me just like my LaFrance but the 2 speakers are not chromed like the WG.

thats a very cool and RARE set, Bruce. Is the top hiding a phono?

Looks to be a Wells Gardner made one, 1937. those knobs with rings are usually a give away to that.

Mark Oppat
www.oldradioparts.net

Hi Y2K Bruce --

Resuscitating an old thread here, but I was surprised to see the radio you were talking about. I have the very similar but more modest LaFayette B-80, a 1937 7-tube tombstone, that has the same dial:



From my research the chassis is a Wells-Gardner 7L. I haven't got enough experience to say whether the components are premium, but on the whole it seems like a good set. I've already recapped it and the electronics work great, but it's the dial that's giving me a headache.

Like yours, the dial is back-lit. Lights on a moving armature pass through voids in the mirror glass dial, indicating the tuning, volume and tone. As you can sort of see, however, the mirror has completely disintegrated on mine. I've reproduced the graphics and markings in a CAD program but can't decide what to do next.

The problem is that some of the blue graphics, like the text, was applied to the glass prior to the mirroring silver. Then the silver was applied, leaving voids for the light to pass through. Last, more blue was painted over some (but not all) of the voids from the back, making them appear opaque from the front. The light from the tuning armature passes through the blue paint but not the mirror silvering, nicely indicating the radio's tuning.

I tried creating a new dial glass by using an laser printed decal on polycarbonate, then masking and painting over the back with silver paint. The effect was pretty lame.

Congratulations on nabbing one that doesn't need dial work. I fear mine's going to end up in the parts bin. All the best.

Dave

Lafayette sold many different sets, but obviously not in quantity as there are very few around. I have a few large cathedral and tombstone sets made by Sentinel and branded by Lafayette that are exceptional sets and 8 to 10 tubes, 4 bands. However I have never seen others like them. Ill see if I can post some pix.

U106, I have one of those 10 tube large tombstones made by Wells-Gardner... mine is branded Lafayette and its a B-36. I got it at Kutztown 2yrs ago and have yet to check it out. Lafayette used the B code for WG stuff. There were some upper endy consoles in that line too. I have never seen them.

Mark Oppat
www.oldradioparts.net

I have never seen that one in person Mark, only ads from magazines. Can you post a pic? Mine are all F prefixes

Bruce, I have a Lafayette Duo-Symphonic 1930, schematic is in Riders Vol 1. A photo of that radio is in the photo gallery. I restored the radio and had the cabinet refinished. It resides in my home as a beautiful piece of furniture. Bill

Cant get to that Lafayette B-36 right now, but if you remind me in a couple weeks maybe I can. send me an email, thru my website
www.oldradioparts.net
Mark Oppat

still like to se the old Lafayette Mark