Well I guess this question will match just about a hundred questions already posted. I just purchased this radio from a hubcap dealership for $150. It is in good condition and it was so unusual I had to have it. I went home took the back off it and used a can of air to blow all the dead bugs, dust, etc out of it. Sense the wires where good I plugged it on in. No lights came on and no tubes lighted. I am more or less curious about how to get it operating again. As well as any other info.

Since the set is totally dead I'd start by checking voltage at the power switch and continue on from there. Is it reaching the power transformer? Or if the set has series filaments- trace the voltage through the filament string to see where it stops. A few voltage measurements will tell you a lot in a case like this.

:Well I guess this question will match just about a hundred questions already posted. I just purchased this radio from a hubcap dealership for $150. It is in good condition and it was so unusual I had to have it. I went home took the back off it and used a can of air to blow all the dead bugs, dust, etc out of it. Sense the wires where good I plugged it on in. No lights came on and no tubes lighted. I am more or less curious about how to get it operating again. As well as any other info.

IF YOU LOOK UP YOUR MODEL IN RESOURCES, YOU'LL FIND THAT IT IS AVAILABLE AS BOTH AN >>AC<< MODEL AND A >>DC<< MODEL. Look up Radiola 18 under RCA Victor.

If your model is the AC model, it'll have a power transformer (which may confuse you because sometimes it will look like other transformers within the set), and the real give-away will be a #80 tube. Read the diagram carefully. If your set does not have a #80 tube and power supply, DO NOT PLUG IT IN!!!!! The DC set will be ruined on AC if you get it to light up. If the set is an AC set and you cannot get it to power up, then you have line cord, switch, or transformer issues. Check your cord. Check the on-off switch. Check the optional 110-125 volt selector switch. Check the transformer primary for resistance. If it is complete, it'll have a resistance somewhere from 50 to 200 ohms, in that neighborhood. If it is open, the needle of your meter will remain at infinity.

If you have a DC set, the tube filaments are strung in series, so if one is burned out, the rest won't light. If you find a burned out tube, don't plug the set in after replacing this tube anyway, because the DC set will be ruined on AC.

If your model is a DC model, let me know, and I can come up with a very simple AC-DC power supply for you. If you'd rather go the more expensive route, you can build an AC power supply using a transformer and #80 rectifier tube. This is probably the better route to go as AC-DC power supplies put line voltages in the set, which can create a shock hazard if you do not know what you are working with. Otherwise you can build a simpler AC-DC power supply. The output tube of your radio requires no more than 90 volts, so an AC-DC power supply should work. Either power supply will work about the same as far as performance.

Thomas

A "DC-only" radio that plugs into the wall? Never heard of that. I would guess it would have to have some sort of special polarized plug to insure correct polarity? Considering how rare DC house current was by 1920 this must be a very rare bird.

:IF YOU LOOK UP YOUR MODEL IN RESOURCES, YOU'LL FIND THAT IT IS AVAILABLE AS BOTH AN >>AC<< MODEL AND A >>DC<< MODEL. Look up Radiola 18 under RCA Victor.
:
:If your model is the AC model, it'll have a power transformer (which may confuse you because sometimes it will look like other transformers within the set), and the real give-away will be a #80 tube. Read the diagram carefully. If your set does not have a #80 tube and power supply, DO NOT PLUG IT IN!!!!! The DC set will be ruined on AC if you get it to light up. If the set is an AC set and you cannot get it to power up, then you have line cord, switch, or transformer issues. Check your cord. Check the on-off switch. Check the optional 110-125 volt selector switch. Check the transformer primary for resistance. If it is complete, it'll have a resistance somewhere from 50 to 200 ohms, in that neighborhood. If it is open, the needle of your meter will remain at infinity.
:
:If you have a DC set, the tube filaments are strung in series, so if one is burned out, the rest won't light. If you find a burned out tube, don't plug the set in after replacing this tube anyway, because the DC set will be ruined on AC.
:
:If your model is a DC model, let me know, and I can come up with a very simple AC-DC power supply for you. If you'd rather go the more expensive route, you can build an AC power supply using a transformer and #80 rectifier tube. This is probably the better route to go as AC-DC power supplies put line voltages in the set, which can create a shock hazard if you do not know what you are working with. Otherwise you can build a simpler AC-DC power supply. The output tube of your radio requires no more than 90 volts, so an AC-DC power supply should work. Either power supply will work about the same as far as performance.
:
:Thomas

The proof is in the pudding:

http://www.nostalgiaair.org/PagesByModel/317/M0040317.pdf

: A "DC-only" radio that plugs into the wall? Never heard of that. I would guess it would have to have some sort of special polarized plug to insure correct polarity? Considering how rare DC house current was by 1920 this must be a very rare bird.
:
:
::IF YOU LOOK UP YOUR MODEL IN RESOURCES, YOU'LL FIND THAT IT IS AVAILABLE AS BOTH AN >>AC<< MODEL AND A >>DC<< MODEL. Look up Radiola 18 under RCA Victor.
::
::If your model is the AC model, it'll have a power transformer (which may confuse you because sometimes it will look like other transformers within the set), and the real give-away will be a #80 tube. Read the diagram carefully. If your set does not have a #80 tube and power supply, DO NOT PLUG IT IN!!!!! The DC set will be ruined on AC if you get it to light up. If the set is an AC set and you cannot get it to power up, then you have line cord, switch, or transformer issues. Check your cord. Check the on-off switch. Check the optional 110-125 volt selector switch. Check the transformer primary for resistance. If it is complete, it'll have a resistance somewhere from 50 to 200 ohms, in that neighborhood. If it is open, the needle of your meter will remain at infinity.
::
::If you have a DC set, the tube filaments are strung in series, so if one is burned out, the rest won't light. If you find a burned out tube, don't plug the set in after replacing this tube anyway, because the DC set will be ruined on AC.
::
::If your model is a DC model, let me know, and I can come up with a very simple AC-DC power supply for you. If you'd rather go the more expensive route, you can build an AC power supply using a transformer and #80 rectifier tube. This is probably the better route to go as AC-DC power supplies put line voltages in the set, which can create a shock hazard if you do not know what you are working with. Otherwise you can build a simpler AC-DC power supply. The output tube of your radio requires no more than 90 volts, so an AC-DC power supply should work. Either power supply will work about the same as far as performance.
::
::Thomas

Yep, there it is. They don't show the plug at all, just wires going off to the source. And it has some switchable resistors in the line that could well be bad, assuming this is the set he has. As far as I know only the old Edison system supplied DC to houses and I thought that was pretty well gone by the radio era. Well, learn something new all the time.

- Nat

:
:The proof is in the pudding:
:
:http://www.nostalgiaair.org/PagesByModel/317/M0040317.pdf
:
:: A "DC-only" radio that plugs into the wall? Never heard of that. I would guess it would have to have some sort of special polarized plug to insure correct polarity? Considering how rare DC house current was by 1920 this must be a very rare bird.
::
::