Business must have been fantastic for all the companies that were producing batteries in the era of the battery operated home entertainment receiver .
So why were battery
operated radios still being produced in the mid 1930s, even after AC operated
sets made their appearance around 1930? The answer is simple. An
ad from Radio Trade Builder Magazine ,Sept. 1935 indicates that at least
100,000 homes in Northern and Eastern Ontario were still not wired for
electricity. There was still a demand for battery operated sets.
Prior to 1930 all sets were battery operated because the AC power supply
had yet to be invented. For many receivers, battery purchase was optional,
thus giving the listener the opportunity to source their own (and
maybe cheaper) batteries. Shown below are the multitudes of battery formats
and voltages that were available to early radio listeners.
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| From the Eaton's catalogue, 1923. |
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| All Images in this table provided by Lewis Bodkin |
