Radio Products Corporation

The Radio Products Corporation was the Birmingham-based manufacturer of Superflex radio receivers. The corporation was founded in 1925 by inventor Ernest House with W. T. Estes and Jelk Cabiness. The company manufactured its radio sets in a facility at 3814 28th Street North in North Birmingham. The factory featured roof-mounted loudspeakers which were used for advertising and special public-interest broadcasts (such as radio coverage of prize fights).

House's primary innovation was an electric circuit that provided feedback to the tuner, allowing for "self-tuning". Superflex radios were also distinguished by using fewer vacuum tubes than 3-dial models and for having a distinctive "stage curtain" design on the front panel.

The company was not able to survive the Great Depression. Its assets were sold out of bankruptcy to repay investors. Some company records and the only known Superflex radio set are owned by the Alabama Historical Radio Societyand displayed in the lobby of the Alabama Power building on 18th Street in downtown Birmingham.

References

• "Four-Tube One-Dial Control Receiver" (March 1927) Radio Retailing.
• Bates, George (January 1991) "SuperflexA-1021X:Manufacturing Radios In Birmingham". Radio Age. Vol. 16, No. 1