This is an early Midget T.R.F., even though it was marketed in late 1930 and early 1931. The four known brand names are "Crest", "Syrene", "Broadway", and "Super Junior". Others that have been found without brands, all used the same chassis.

Comments:

These radios were likely manufactured on the Jackson-Bell assembly line at the Gilfillan factory. The Gilfillan RCA license decal is on the front of the chassis which is not visible to the customer. This allowed the retailer to brand the radio as needed with no confusion. For example, if you bought the radio at the Los Angeles Broadway Department Store, you only saw Broadway's branding. The metal name plate is the only visible difference between the available examples. Retailers of these sets were throughout the United States.

Performance:

The balanced-lever cone speaker gives only very modest fidelity and volume. The unshielded coils are mounted under the chassis at right angles to each other thus providing some isolation. Hiding an antenna of about 15 Feet for local reception may have been a greater challenge. This radio has poor selectivity; a longer antenna would only exacerbate interference from adjacent stations.

Outwardly, the only Jackson Bell distinguishing features are the correct dial escutcheon and knobs, both of which are shown here.

The best that can be said for this radio was that it was small and could go anywhere in the home.