A Crosley Christmas: A Thread by Cam Miller
It will started when I uncovered this old brass plate and socket in floor when I restored floor this past fall. It is a few feet from the fireplace and it got me thinking. 1/8
It will started when I uncovered this old brass plate and socket in floor when I restored floor this past fall. It is a few feet from the fireplace and it got me thinking. 1/8
An old socket like this next to the fireplace? It had to be for a radio. I imagined Dad reading the Times Star and the family gathered around listening to updates on the war, tuning in to Reds games, or blasting Christmas music and dancing the night away. It gave me an idea. 2/8
I have long wanted to restore an old Crosley, the problem was finding one restorable at a good price was not easy. I finally came upon one that was in VERY rough shape. I jumped on it. 3/8
Upon inspection, I realized that it was going to cost a fortune for parts, not to mention a fire hazard. And then it hit me: Use the body to house my Amazon Echo and play through cabinet speaker! The best of old world radio beauty and new world technology! 4/8
Originally I wanted to figure out a way to use the speaker in the cabinet, but testing the speaker, I realized it was shot. So I removed the cone and sat the Echo front and center inside cabinet. 5/8
Next: How to get it to light up without plugging it in. I got some LED battery powered lights and strung them around the tuning dial glass from the inside. I purchased the lights that had a warm glow and it took all of 10 minutes. 6/8
No fire hazard with old wiring, no high costs in parts, just $8 for LED lights and presto...radio warmth! I definitely have some cosmetic work to do on the wood, but that's for another day. 7/8
Now I just tell Alexa to play "Christmas at Chateau de Miller" and a playlist from Bing Crosby to Burl Ives resonates from within the old gal. :) 8/8
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