Masterpiece I (1) Early, Brass

McMurdo Silver, Inc.(pre WW2); Chicago

  • Year
  • 1932
  • Category
  • Broadcast Receiver - or past WW2 Tuner
  • Radiomuseum.org ID
  • 282452

 Technical Specifications

  • Number of Tubes
  • 15
  • Main principle
  • Superhet with RF-stage
  • Wave bands
  • Broadcast plus more than 2 Short Wave bands.
  • Details
  • Visual Tuning Indicator pre Eye
  • Power type and voltage
  • Alternating Current supply (AC) / 110 Volt
  • Loudspeaker
  • Electro Magnetic Dynamic LS (moving-coil with field excitation coil) / Ø 13.5 inch = 34.3 cm
  • Material
  • Metal case
  • from Radiomuseum.org
  • Model: Masterpiece I [Early, Brass] - McMurdo Silver, Inc.pre WW2;
  • Shape
  • Chassis only or for «building in»
  • Notes
  • The 1932 McMurdo Silver Masterpiece was the first radio introduced by the McMurdo Silver Corporation, after Mr. McMurdo Silver left the Silver Marshall company.  The Masterpiece consisted of a receiver chassis with 11 tubes, a power & amplifier chassis with 4 tubes, and a 13.5" Jensen Auditorium-series speaker.  No specific cabinet was included; McMurdo Silver offered a range of cabinets at additional cost.

    Note:  This model is sometimes called the "Masterpiece 1" by collectors.  It was never referred to that way by McMurdo Silver in any available literature.  McMurdo Silver named this model the "McMurdo Silver Masterpiece".  The model name is presented here as the Masterpiece 1 for searchability only, recognizing that it is not the name of the model.

    The Masterpiece received on four bands, including the Broadcast band and three shortwave bands.  The receiver chassis consisted of an RF-amp (58), separate oscillator (56) and mixer (58), two IF amps (2-58s), detector (56), push-pull audio preamps (2-56s), and dedicated tubes for the AVC (automatic volume control-56), BFO (beat frequency oscillator-56), and "Automatic Tone" (56) circuits.

    There were two versions of the Masterpiece chassis.  The earlier one was brass-plated, and the later one was chrome-plated.

  • Literature/Schematics (1)
  • Radio News (January 1933, back cover (pg. 66), ad for brass chassis)
  • Literature/Schematics (2)
  • Radio News (June 1933, back cover (pg. 68), ad for chrome chassis)
  • Author
  • Model page created by Rodney Boleyn. See "Data change" for further contributors.

 Collections | Museums | Literature

 Forum