The Claravox

The Claravox iHORN is an extremely rare radio horn and is the only iHorn ever made from an Australian radio horn.  It was made by the Claravox Radio Company, Ltd., in Sydney Australia.  The bell of the horn is rubber.  It was made between 1924 and 1926.  The first year it was sold it sold for 28.95 AUS £.  As of November, 2019, the exchange rate from the United States Dollar to the Australian Dollar is $1.47, therefore in terms of United States Dollars, the original purchase price was $42.55.  If we adjust the US dollar price for inflation, choosing the mid-manufacturing date of 1925, the price would be $625.72 with a cumulative inflation rate of 1370.5%.

The Claravox Radio Company, Ltd. in Sydney was short lived.  It advertised itssled as “Makers of high-class” radio sets and components.  Claravox was developed by two radio experts. Walter H. Hannam as designer and constructor, who had spent 18 months in the Antarctic with the Sir Douglas Mawson Polar Expedition as Chief Wireless Engineer and 2 years as Wireless Instructor at AIF headquarters in France during WW1. Hannam also operated experimental broadcast station 2YH.  Mr Z. J. Jacobs was Business Manager for the company.  Claravox ran a radio school which offered free instruction to DIY radio builders, so long as they purchased parts from Claravox.  Similarly, they ran competitions, giving away Claravox radios to the winner who built the best crystal radio set out of Claravox parts.  These marketing strategies while inventive and unique, did not result in substantial market penetration and the company folded when its business manager Mr. Jacobs died in 1926.