I recently acquired a vintage Eico Model 232 Vacuum Tube Voltmeter (VTVM) from the 1950s. Upon opening the VTVM for first inspection, I noticed the battery pictured above installed. I am not familiar with the Bright Star brand of battery nor can I remember in my lifetime a D Cell ever being available for a nominal price of 20 cents. So I reach out to you, my many followers, on any information that you may have about this vintage battery. Believe it or not, it still has a charge and reads 1.1 Volt when measure by the Volt-Ohm-Meter!  

In addition to restoring Ham Radio and Test Equipment, I do a fair amount of Antique Radio restoration.  Above is a picture of a fine specimen of a TRAV-LER Model 5020 I just picked up at auction. 

The TRAV-LER Radio Corporation was founded in 1921, Based in Chicago Illinois, it manufactured table and portable radios, and record players. In 1951 it added television sets to its lineup.  All radio and television production ended in 1965.

The TRAV-LER Model 5020 Vacuum Tube AM Radio was unique in that it could be powered from a wall plug or two 4.5Volt and two 45Volt batteries.  "Portable" had a different meaning in 1947 when this radio was manufactured. This Model 5020 is pretty heavy when filled with the proper compliment of required zinc-carbon batteries. Play time under battery power was probably very limited given the current draw of the tube filaments. My model 5020 still has the required batteries used for the A, B, and C voltages. It is going to be interesting to see if the batteries have any life left in them. I plan on taking the guts out of the batteries and replacing the insides with modern batteries wired together for the suitable voltages.

The Model 5020 had a very spartan exterior with only three white knobs. One knob is for volume and the other tuning, I assume that the third knob may be the power switch and maybe tone. They did embellish in the decoration of the tuning indicator. The exterior is a wood frame covered in a material impregnated with paint. It is equipped with a leather handle on top although I would be afraid to trust the vintage handle with the full weight of the radio. 

I am not sure why TRAV-LER decided to on such a bland exterior given that most radios of this era were ornately decorate. It could be that they designed the Model 5020 so it's exterior could be easily cleaned after a trip to the beach!

I think this was a great purchase an look forward to spending many hours restoring the Model 5020 back to its original specifications.

The Eico Model 232 Peak to Peak VTVM (Vacuum Tube Volt Meter) was first introduced in 1954 both as a kit and a complete unit. This meter was revolutionary at the time because it could measure Peak to Peak instead of RMS AC voltage and it's high input impedance, 11 meg DC and 10 meg AC did not load down the circuit you were measuring.  The assembled Eico Model 232 VTVM was used in many vocational electronic programs during it production years. In fact the Model 232 was still being used in my high school T and I (Trade and Industry) Vocational Electronic program in 1986! I found this fine specimen at a rummage sale and look forward to cleaning it up and bringing it back to original specifications.