crosley: Ch= 1217; Prestotune 12: Station labels

Hello dear Radio Collectors.  I have decided to make little station labels to go on the eight preset buttons of this radio.  Check out my first try at this:

I have two questions:

1. Does anyone know what AM stations might have been on the air in the New York region when this radio was new (1937)?  I prefer having historical names to just using whatever local stations I can receive today.

2. I have created a template that fits these buttons.  It is in CorelDraw (.cdr) format.  Using this, it is very easy to type in any station call letters and print them in the correct size.  Do we, in RMorg, have any provision for uploading this type of file and keeping it associated with the model?

Thanks!

To thank the Author because you find the post helpful or well done.

Dear Michele
You have a wonderful set here! 8 tuned circuits at that time and a very potential AF amplifier ... Congratualtions!

I leave this a s question for you ;-)

I think US-members will answer you on this. I think it is a very good idea to keep the information on the model. You can stick the proceedings like you did on this thread and it will be with the model all the time.

But my question is: Can you please upload some pictures to the model?
The reason: Yust my feeling tells me that the other photos show a set which has not the correct buttons - but my feeling about this can easily be wrong.

To thank the Author because you find the post helpful or well done.

Hi Ernst.  Hmm - you know, all of the pictures for this model are of this very set, so the buttons have to be the same :-)  Here is an (admittedly fuzzy) picture of the buttons taken from the original dealer ad from 1937:

You can sort of see that this looks the same as what I have.  Now it is known that between 1937 and 1938, Crosley changed the type of buttons they used.  Originally, you had to hold your finger on the button until the "Prestotune" motor turned the dial to the station you wanted.  If you let go of the button early, the motor would stop wherever it was on the dial.  This is the type I have.  Crosley later improved this to use locking pushbuttons, so you only had to push the button and could immediately let go.  Since the button locked down, the motor would continue all the way to the station by itself.  I have never seen that version - perhaps those buttons look different.  In any case, I am sure the buttons on my radio are original.  There is no sign at all that they have ever been removed or replaced.

This is indeed a fine radio.  The parallel push-pull pentode audio output is *loud* and it sounds wonderful thanks to the help I got during the repair process from some kind members of theRMorg.  With 12 tubes, this was the top of the line for Crosley in 1937, at $137.50.  There was only one model more expensive, the Prestotune 12 lowboy, and that was the same chassis but in a fancier case (designed by Walter Darwin Teague).

To thank the Author because you find the post helpful or well done.

Well, after doing further research on this question, I have found a neat answer.  I post it here because it may be of use to other collectors.  Check out the URL http://earlyradiohistory.us/3roll.htm.  There you will find a "comprehesive list of the three-letter calls used on the standard AM band in the United States".  The list includes station names, location, and dates on the air.

To thank the Author because you find the post helpful or well done.