Seeking Information re: Rogers B730

[DerrylM]

I understand there’s either a slash or a dash in the model number and welcome a correction about that as well, just to head off all the comments.

I’m an author currently writing a book about my grandfather and his father and other men who trapped in the NWT, primarily in the 1930s. In one of Grandpa’s diaries he lists as marginalia the following:

2 Batteries for Rogers Radio B730
6 Eveready “B” 45 Volt
4 Eveready “C” 4 1/2”
3 (2) General “A” (2 Volt)
Chemical ground
1 set tubes
2 fuse bulbs
aerial Kit

I’m looking for a picture as well as a good description of the size and weight of the radio, if anybody has one. As well, can anyone tell me what a chemical ground would have looked like in 1937?

Thanks in advance. The ongoing enshittification of our search engines has made this more difficult than I would have liked.

[Brad Winder]

Hi Derry,

The model number from the schematics is B7/30. It was built during the 1935-36 model year, and had seven tubes. There is no picture attached to the schematics, so I cannot tell you what it looked like, nor if it is a table or floor cabinet style.

Rogers, Rogers-Majestic, and DeForest Crosley were all owned by the Rogers family (Yes, those Rogers) The model numbers are hard to trace, as the model number was on the chassis, but the whole radio (cabinet and chassis) was given a name!

The related Rogers set is the B7/35
The related DeForest Crosley sets are the Cambridge and the Oxford
The related Majestic sets are the Algonquin and the Iroquois.
I’m assuming that, based on there being two models under each brand, that one is a table set and one is a console set. Based on what other manufacturers did, the first model is the table set and the second is a console.

If you can find pictures of any of these, you’ll get a good idea of what your Grandfather’s set looked like.

Finding obscure radios online is hard, especially Canadian-built sets.

[DerrylM]

Brad, that’s a good start, thank you. I can pretty much guarantee it’s a table set as he and his father went a good distance by canoe and then dog team to get to where they stayed. I’ll dig around for those other models so I can at least get an idea.

[Author]

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