ANTIQUE AUTOMOBILE RADIO, INC. , began manufacturing carradio vibrators in 1982. The auto radios of
the 30s, 40s and 50s were made by Motorola, Philco, Bendix, Sylvania, RCA,
Zenith, Detrola, Wells-Gardner and others, all of whom had either gone out of
business or turned their attention to other ventures, and had abandoned the old
car market.
At that time, there were no new vibrators available, and the
original ones had a life of about 18 months in regular service. We designed a
solid state vibrator and produced it in metal cans with the same base and
physical dimensions as the originals. The greatest benefit of the solid state
design was its long service life. Indeed many of our first vibrators are still
in regular service. Today we make over 60 different types of vibrators and ship
to every corner of the globe.
As our dealer network expanded, we began to make other
hard-to-find parts for older car radios. Dial glass and special speakers
that are no longer used were added to our catalog.
As we developed new replacement parts, we were faced with a
problem seemingly beyond our control. Our AM audience was leaving. The question
our restoration shops and dealers were being asked was "Why bother to
restore a radio when there is nothing being broadcast that I want to listen
to?"
Our FM Solution
By 1988, we had a solution. We developed a tiny FM "front end"
tuner that could be installed inside some radios to provide the FM band without
changing the appearance or function of the original radio.
