Detrola 4J
Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2026 1:06 am
I think my first winter project may be a Detrola 4J, a mid-30s four-tube TRF set in a very small cathedral cabinet. A four-tube TRF is not going to be a DX champ or an audio powerhouse, but I have known this radio for about as long as I can remember. It sat in a shelf on a post in Frank Phillips' basement wood shop. Frank and Cel ["seal'] Phillips lived two doors away. They were, of course, "Mr. and Mrs. Phillips" to us kids but they were kind, patient, and generous neighbors who tolerated kids around them. They set the example for how adults should treat neighborhood children. Frank would let us "help" in his shop and Cel would guide us around the garden and serve up some cookies. They taught us to do things the right way and about rules to follow. They had previously lived in Detroit, and the big city probably had enough local radio stations to make the Detrola useful. They also had a big ca. 1940 Zenith console upstairs for more serious listening. In about 1966, Cel inherited a family farm on Lake Chautauqua in NY and they moved there. Before leaving, Mr. Phillips gave me the Detrola. He knew that as a kid I had always gazed up at it.
The Detrola was working 50 years ago but surely needs new caps now. It still won't be a DX model but it will be working and will remind me of Frank and Cel and their kindness and patience. An example: once when I was in grade school, the parents went away for a long weekend and left us in the care of Mrs. Kowalski. I got sick, puked, and felt lousy enough to be confined to bed. Cel came over to visit me and lift my spirits. She didn't need to do that. But she did and I have never forgotten. We need more of that in this world, and they deserve to be remembered for modeling it. That's why I'm telling this extended story. I read somewhere that you're not dead until the last time your name is spoken aloud. Maybe being typed out counts too. For now, however, whenever the Campbell kids gather, there's sure to be a story about Frank & Cel, with smiles all around.
Chris Campbell
The Detrola was working 50 years ago but surely needs new caps now. It still won't be a DX model but it will be working and will remind me of Frank and Cel and their kindness and patience. An example: once when I was in grade school, the parents went away for a long weekend and left us in the care of Mrs. Kowalski. I got sick, puked, and felt lousy enough to be confined to bed. Cel came over to visit me and lift my spirits. She didn't need to do that. But she did and I have never forgotten. We need more of that in this world, and they deserve to be remembered for modeling it. That's why I'm telling this extended story. I read somewhere that you're not dead until the last time your name is spoken aloud. Maybe being typed out counts too. For now, however, whenever the Campbell kids gather, there's sure to be a story about Frank & Cel, with smiles all around.
Chris Campbell
