A reader has shared photos of an unusual Grebe Radio-phonograph console found in a house recently purchased.  This item is for sale, so if you are interested in this well preserved antique Grebe radio, contact me by email for more details.

Henry Rogers Performs The Glow-Worm Idyl

This was shot January 2011 in Henry and Sharon’s home, just above their Western Historic Radio Museum. It was a surprise to learn that Henry is an accomplished musician. At the tail end of the video, Henry is in the museum speaking about Grebe radios being a favorite choice among hams in the 1920’s.

The video is a bit shaky because it was shot with a small portable Flip camera.

The Grebe Clarifier

Pages scanned from June 1924 Radio News article by electrical engineer Ralph Batcher are now online, posted to this link.

One of our readers submitted this photo of a Grebe Synchrophase AC Six in much better condition.  If you double click on the image above you can see the photo enlarged for better detail.   Thank you Mr. Morrison.

We’ve received a request for help to repair the cabinetry of this Grebe Synchrophase AC6.  The owner is looking to find a picture to enlarge to have the scroll work replaced to look like the original.

Henry Rogers of the Western Historic Radio Museum just wrote and published an excellent article on the history of the Grebe Synchrophase MU-1 radio receiver.  See the article by clicking this link to his website.

We visited the Western Historic Radio Museum in Virginia City, Nevada on September 25, 2009.  Henry and Sharon Rogers were outstanding hosts, and generously gave us their time and attention to explain the many historic radio sets and radio memorabilia in their museum.  Henry has an encyclopedic knowledge of radio history, including the business side of the early radio patent disputes.

Henry opened up one of his Grebe Synchrophase receivers and thoroughly demonstrated the critical components to test in order to get an old set up and running.  I will have to bring my inoperable Synchrophase with me next time.

Virginia City itself is a delightful town full of late 19th Century gold and silver mining history.  The Mark Twain Museum is worth seeing, where he worked on writing for the local newspaper during the gold and silver mining boom times.  Twain’s book Roughing It covers this period.  Also on display is the first telephone switchboard operated in Nevada, one of many reminders of how far telecommunications and networking devices have come in the past 125 years.