Scott serial numbers

[Kent King]

As most of you know, I've been gathering and analyzing Scott serial numbers for over 20 years. I have a couple requests....first, if you haven't sent me your serial numbers, please do. Also...if any of you have a confirmed date for a set/serial number, please send me that. There is a warranty tag on ebay at the moment, these are great, since they have the date and serial number on them. A letter with a date is also good confirmation. I would greatly appreciate any info you fellows can provide. I'll post more about serial numbers here in the future.

Kent

[Thomas Nickel]

What´s about the following theory: About June of 1940 Scott noticed the conformity of the Phantom SS prefix with the German terror organisation and decided to change the prefix to EE. But some type labels (at least SS 277 to 289) were printed already and therefore Scott restamped them. According to this idea there should not exist any SS-prefix radio built after this time. Kent, is there any fm  Phantom with SS prefix?

Thomas

Kent King said:

Well, the one part of this mystery that intriques me is that the EE shape and format exactly match between these two examples... This implies that the serial number tag was restamped by Scott, the match of the letters seems too good. So going back to my earlier comment, SS was all Phantoms, EE was partly Phantoms - maybe a tag was reused? I do not have an SS-289 on record, but it should/could exist in that series. Could it have been a different pair of letters? KK is another all Phantom prefix...I'm truly puzzled on this, it could really throw a wrench into the serial number analysis...

Kent

[Kent King]

Given that idea - maybe Scott did restamp/reassign a serial number for export sets. The reason I say this is there are a LOT of SS sets...the entire series is Phantoms, some AM, some AM/FM, running from SS-48 to SS-539. And I have SS-288 as a known set (unsure if it is an FM set though, older data). So...that's my thinking on a reassignment being limited to an export set. Exports were not unusual for Scott, but certainly not a large part of the business. 

Kent

Thomas Nickel said:

What´s about the following theory: About June of 1940 Scott noticed the conformity of the Phantom SS prefix with the German terror organisation and decided to change the prefix to EE. But some type labels (at least SS 277 to 289) were printed already and therefore Scott restamped them. According to this idea there should not exist any SS-prefix radio built after this time. Kent, is there any fm  Phantom with SS prefix?

Thomas

Kent King said:

Well, the one part of this mystery that intriques me is that the EE shape and format exactly match between these two examples... This implies that the serial number tag was restamped by Scott, the match of the letters seems too good. So going back to my earlier comment, SS was all Phantoms, EE was partly Phantoms - maybe a tag was reused? I do not have an SS-289 on record, but it should/could exist in that series. Could it have been a different pair of letters? KK is another all Phantom prefix...I'm truly puzzled on this, it could really throw a wrench into the serial number analysis...

Kent

[Thomas Nickel]

Did Scott make export Phantoms without 230V?

[Kent King]

They would ship/build sets with whatever power requirements were given by the customer. Not all exports required 220/230V, In the 1930s, standards were  not fully established. Even in the US, we had 25Hz power, etc. I have never seen a 32 VDC Scott set (yet), nor a 110V DC set, but those voltages weren't uncommon. Anything is possible.

Kent

[David Wilson]

Kent,

interesting string here! I will share this insight gained from collecting and track the Zenith 1000 Z Stratosphere serial numbers in a 12 year period and then merging them with an older data base. Zenith exported their 1000 Z models. I found that export version for the radio, with the transformers added handle the higher voltage in Europe,  totaled 3 serial numbers found out of the 53 found to date that were export models. The mystery in all this was that all three export examples had the early dial face going up to 60 MC band and the large ornamental dial pointer. This version of the dial was found in the first batch of 100 Zenith Stratospheres produced.  When we got to looking at the three-export serial plate examples they were all at the very end of the number sequence of the 350 produced. This was baffling because I had kept track of the serial number, I had reported to me noting if it had the later 45 MC dial face or the early 60 MC version. My records showed when they produced all Stratosphere model after the first 100, they had the later 45 MC dial phase and the new pointers, with the matching 1936 model line pointer, changed out after the first 150 produced. We know they produce 100 in the first run and 250 in the second run according to Zenith factory records. So the question on the table was, why did these three surviving export models, with the earl 60 MC dials from the first production run, all have serial plates with numbers at the end of the production run?

 

Some of the ideas to explain this anomaly are as follows: It took Zenith 4 model years 1935-1938 to sell all 350 of the 1000 Z Stratospheres radio produce, mainly due to its $750 price tag in a world depression. Some of the early models may have come back to the factory with issues and were exchanged for later improved chassis models and then after sitting around for 3-4 years in a Zenith factor warehouse were repurposed and sold to foreign customers since they were older inventory. One more idea for these first run 60 MC dials going out of the country is that places like Europe had stations broadcasting in the upper 60 MC range the U.S. did not. Zenith for whatever reasons change the second run of Stratosphere radios to only go to 45 MC. It kind of makes since that Zenith would take these remaining early chassis and reposed them to become export models and dumped them into for countries to get rid of them, with less of a chance of them coming back too. Base on the serial number study, these export radios could have been serial plated late in the second production run or replated as old unused inventor or when they came back to the factory with issues and were repurposed for export. Who really knows but it does show you that the serial plates are not always use in sequence and in the case of these Zenith exports they bucked the trend set by the other 50 serial numbers recorded, which do seem to follow a number sequence that matched the model changes in the two production runs.

Kent King said:

Given that idea - maybe Scott did restamp/reassign a serial number for export sets. The reason I say this is there are a LOT of SS sets...the entire series is Phantoms, some AM, some AM/FM, running from SS-48 to SS-539. And I have SS-288 as a known set (unsure if it is an FM set though, older data). So...that's my thinking on a reassignment being limited to an export set. Exports were not unusual for Scott, but certainly not a large part of the business. 

Kent

Thomas Nickel said:

What´s about the following theory: About June of 1940 Scott noticed the conformity of the Phantom SS prefix with the German terror organisation and decided to change the prefix to EE. But some type labels (at least SS 277 to 289) were printed already and therefore Scott restamped them. According to this idea there should not exist any SS-prefix radio built after this time. Kent, is there any fm  Phantom with SS prefix?

Thomas

Kent King said:

Well, the one part of this mystery that intriques me is that the EE shape and format exactly match between these two examples... This implies that the serial number tag was restamped by Scott, the match of the letters seems too good. So going back to my earlier comment, SS was all Phantoms, EE was partly Phantoms - maybe a tag was reused? I do not have an SS-289 on record, but it should/could exist in that series. Could it have been a different pair of letters? KK is another all Phantom prefix...I'm truly puzzled on this, it could really throw a wrench into the serial number analysis...

Kent

[Bret Menassa]

Hi, Kent and fellow Scott lovers. I picked up several Scott items at a recent Sargent auction down here in Texas back in May.  Here are the serial numbers and some pics if they are helpful:

All Wave XV (in Waverly Cabinet): Serial #M-254

Improved Super XII (7 knobs instead of 5): Serial #WW-115

Sixteen (UK voltage): Serial # CC30

Laureate FM-AM: Serial #WW-493

Model C Masterpiece: Serial #NN-329

Phantom (AM only, version 2, pg 53 in Collector's Guide): Serial #SS-142

BFM Phantom Deluxe: TT-465 (the TT is questionable, my photo is not focused well)

FM-AM Laureate (with NO "Scott" brand name on glass!): Serial #FA-348

As for this last chassis, anyone have an idea why there's no "Scott" logo (or the words "Custom Built") on the dial glass? See pic below. And I'm not sure what the "Model C" designation means on my 11-tube Masterpiece chassis (3 additional tubes are on the power supply/amp). A pic of the label is below, as well as the late-model "Improved" Super XII with 7 knobs, if they are of interest to anyone...

Bret Menassa

[David C. Poland]

Hi Bret.

I also have a 7 knob Super 12 ser#  WW-223. (unrestored, but complete.) I judge it later Super 12 production of Spring 1939 with the revised control layout being a prelude to the 7 knob arrangement of 14 tube Masterpiece introduced June 1939. The one tube power supply was upgraded from a 5V4 to a 5U4 rectifier as well. Easy to confuse with the Masterpiece receiver, until one notices the 6V6's are on the Super 12 receiver chassis. Whereas the 14 tube Masterpiece uses a 3 tube amp with two 6V6's and a 5U4. The Super 12 speaker is unique in having only one field coil with a 5 pin plug to the back of the receiver.

The Laureate power supply does turn up. Sizable almost looks like 2/3rds of a Philharmonic amp with the rectifiers, power transformer, chokes and filter caps, but without 6L6's. Odd about your dial glass. Wonder if it was 1942 production as radio production was ending for the war and parts sourcing was becoming a problem.

[Mike Baldwin]

I may be repeating not sure.

Here is what I have to contribute:

They are:
2/10/47, Model 800B-6, serial number on the receiver plate 6854
10/29/46, Model 800??? (label is gone) serial number on the receiver plate 4146

Thanks,

Mike

[Kent King]

Just to bring this thread up and provide an update: I was fortunate to obtain over a dozen "new" serial numbers in the past month. While it is an unusual number of finds, it has brought us to 1972 serial numbers - 28 short of 2000. I have determined that when we reach 2000 serial numbers, I'm going to reprise a past article in one of the radio club newsletters. If you have any chassis in your collection that you haven't sent in the serial number - please do! All the information helps with our research. Thanks!
Kent

[Robert Feenstra]

I have an Allwave 15 parts chassis (someday maybe I'll rebuild it!) SN F414. And, an 800B chassis SN 800 6652.

[Kent King]

Thanks F-414 is new for the list. I don't count (but do keep) 800B numbers as well.

Kent

[Michael Lawton]

Hi Kent, Not sure if You caught it from the picture of the serial number plate I posted when I was refurbishing my SLRM, but the number is 2446. Also, my 800B tuner is 1405.