Atwater Kent Model 20 Radio Tuner

This is an Atwater Kent Model 20 radio receiving set, a vintage 5-tube battery-powered radio first released around 1924.

• Design: The radio is housed in a compact wooden case with a dark brown front panel. It features several controls for operation:
  • Three large tuning dials (calibrated 0-100) are used to tune the various RF and detector stages. Proper tuning requires adjusting all three correctly to pick up a single station.
  • A small knob between the first and second large dials acts as an antenna tap switch.
  • A cluster of knobs on the far right includes two rheostats (for controlling filament current and thus volume/clarity) and an on/off switch.
• Power: The original units were battery-operated, requiring both a low-voltage "A" battery for the filaments and a high-voltage set of "B" batteries.