Wonderbar Radio

The Gray Lady

Wonderbar Tid-bits & Ads

This page presents information and advertisements for the Wonderbar signal-seeking radio

The WonderBar signal seeking car radio: All you had to do was press a button, and the radio would tune and stop at the next station. It used a spring motor to move the tuning slugs, and when it got to the top of the dial, a huge electromagnet would pull it back down. A detector circuit would sense the presence of a signal, and a relay would drop out. The relay had a mechanical pawl which would stop the gear train, and the radio would be tuned to whatever station was next on the dial.

A footswitch to tune the radio was mounted on the floor, next to the dimmer switch.

In 1947 Delco Radio manufactured the first signal-seeking car radio. [www.kickcomics.com/Timeline.htm]

Cadillac had it available as an option (some say as early as 1951, others 1953). Cadillac did put it into mass production in 1954.

Signal-seeking radios are a rare example of a postwar radio that will not work on reversed polarity. The problem is with the signal-seeking motor. [http://www.fifthaveinternetgarage.com/tech_tips/tech_tips_factory_radios.html]

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Created 10 May 2009 - 00:02:22 Hrs.