Show us your radios!

[jamespowers]

Setting aside spare parts of the Silvertone model 4786. A spare chasis is a good thing to have---especially with most of the parts there. $25 plus shipping? I'll take it.

 

[38lasalle]

Silvertone Chassis

Interesting set... with its telephone-like preset station selector and the rotating drum sliderule dial. These console sets come up on eBay from time to time and I've been tempted to bid on one, but the examples I've seen always have some unfortunate (and virtually unfixable) problem with the plastic trim- either broken or warped/terribly distorted. You see the same problem with RCA Victor sets. It's sort of ironic that the sets that are the most easily restorable are the ones made by manufacturers with insufficient product volume to use parts shot in thermoplastic. Plastics technology has come a long way in the 70 years since these sets were made.

 

[LizzieMaine]

That "Tenite" plastic is also responsible for all the 1939-42 Philco sets that show up with decomposed pushbuttons. It's very vulnerable to heat -- such as is found in attics -- so if one is lucky enough to find a set without degraded Tenite parts, you want to keep it in a cool room, out of the direct sun.

The good news is that most of the Philco parts originally made from Tenite have been reproduced, so replacing them is not difficult. A few RCA parts have also been reproduced, but so far nobody is doing anything for the Silvertones.

The only Silvertone set I own, a 1938 table model in my office, has only very slight warpage of its escutcheon -- it's never been in an attic, as far as I know, and my office is the coldest room in the house.

 

[jamespowers]

That "Tenite" plastic is also responsible for all the 1939-42 Philco sets that show up with decomposed pushbuttons. It's very vulnerable to heat -- such as is found in attics -- so if one is lucky enough to find a set without degraded Tenite parts, you want to keep it in a cool room, out of the direct sun.

The good news is that most of the Philco parts originally made from Tenite have been reproduced, so replacing them is not difficult. A few RCA parts have also been reproduced, but so far nobody is doing anything for the Silvertones.

The only Silvertone set I own, a 1938 table model in my office, has only very slight warpage of its escutcheon -- it's never been in an attic, as far as I know, and my office is the coldest room in the house.

You can have the dial bezels made. There is a guy in Southern California that can make them. Mine was broken but I temporarily fixed it by gluing it back together. I have to order a new one and see how well the guy remakes tehm. He also reproduces knobs. I'll have to see if I can find his name if there is interest.

 

[jamespowers]

Interesting set... with its telephone-like preset station selector and the rotating drum sliderule dial. These console sets come up on eBay from time to time and I've been tempted to bid on one, but the examples I've seen always have some unfortunate (and virtually unfixable) problem with the plastic trim- either broken or warped/terribly distorted. You see the same problem with RCA Victor sets. It's sort of ironic that the sets that are the most easily restorable are the ones made by manufacturers with insufficient product volume to use parts shot in thermoplastic. Plastics technology has come a long way in the 70 years since these sets were made.

Everything can be fixed. It just depends on how much money you want to spend.
The drum dial on mine is slightly warped so I got the chasis just in case I decide to change it in the future. Always good to have spares around just in case.

 

[pgoat]

Some beautiful radios here!

I thought I'd share my "radio". It's actually a guitar amplifier, but it uses three of the latter day Post-WWII "All American Five" series heater tubes (12AU6, 50C5 and 35W4). Apparently many of these were sold to kids and amateurs back in the late 50s and early 60s. As I have learned, these were made by another company and sold as the "ElectroLab," or rebranded as Harmonys.

Here is my '64 H303A - I got it about thirty years ago, in trade for half of a Mighty Diamonds LP (my friend's roommate was a DJ and had the other half...he wanted my LP - which I paid a quarter for - and I wanted his amp....). It was dead until I substituted the ungrounded AC cord from my mother's old 1950s Hoover Constellation...thank God this one had a power transformer!! I've since had a grounded AC cord installed and some fresh capacitors too....

Interestingly, Harmony sold the H303A with a small power transformer, but a few years later revised it to the H303B, which just had a "death cap." So, instead of tightening up safety as time went on, they got more lax and shipped more hazardous units in the interest of reducing weight, and thereby, overhead. That made these amps even more dangerous than a Bakelite radio with a live chassis, in that you were always touching metal (the guitar's strings!), whereas, with a radio, one could minimize the user's contact with metal parts. As you can see from the red and yellow stickers, UL went along for the ride....

Several years later, I also bought a H303B and swapped cabinets. Oddly the later, cheaper 303B had a 8" Jensen AlNiCo speaker, while the older amp with a PT had a 6". It also had an upgraded particle board cabinet, possibly to handle the extra weight of the larger speaker. There is a difference of about 1.5 pounds between the two amps.



Speaking of which - here is the H303B (in the A's original cabinet, with teensy 6" speaker - it's essentially made of thick cardboard!).

The tech installed a Isolation Transformer (rather inelegantly on the top of the chassis, I might add). This one never sounded quite as good as the A model, despite using the same tubes and output transformer. The circuit was ever so slightly different (note choke at far right). Also notice the metal chassis on the B lacks a folded lip at the bottom - that sliver of metal must have saved about $.10 in shipping weight *Groan.* It actually was thinner sheeting too - it buckled in spots. I just sold this one, but the "A" is a keeper, especially with the 8" Jensen.

 

[W4ASZ]

Thanks for showing the "radios". In the absence of a power/isolation transformer you really could have plugged in your old electric guitar and gotten true Killer Tone.

 

[Miss Moonlight]

My sister found this 1978 Stewart Warner radio-phonograph (unfortunately before I did) and it's in pretty good shape. However, it needs new tubes, and the phonograph won't turn on. She wants to fix it. Tubes we can find. But if anyone has any information specific to this item, and can fill me in, I can pass on the info.

 

[Mr. Hallack]

I'm pretty much a tube radio nut, started on accident about a year and a half ago. And I'm now just starting to get into working on these to bring them alive again. Here are a few of them:

If you want more info on radios check out www.antiqueradios.com Lots of info, helpful folks, links, etc. I love this site and quite happy there are other antique radio nuts out there, along with others who want to preserve years gone by!!

 

[pgoat]

Thanks for showing the "radios". In the absence of a power/isolation transformer you really could have plugged in your old electric guitar and gotten true Killer Tone.

LOL

I actually just sold the 8" speaker model, too. I never thought I would do that, but needed $ for gifts so there goes that...

 

[pgoat]

I'm pretty much a tube radio nut, started on accident about a year and a half ago. And I'm now just starting to get into working on these to bring them alive again. Here are a few of them:

What brand is this one? It looks similar to an old Kiel Radio Table I once owned.

 

[LizzieMaine]

My sister found this 1978 Stewart Warner radio-phonograph (unfortunately before I did) and it's in pretty good shape. However, it needs new tubes, and the phonograph won't turn on. She wants to fix it. Tubes we can find. But if anyone has any information specific to this item, and can fill me in, I can pass on the info.

That appears to be a model RA1-4210A from 1948. Your best bet would be to get the Sams Photofact manual for that model -- it shows detailed diagrams and a photo chart identifying what everything is. That's the first step in fixing it up, whether she does it or hires someone to do it for her.

There's a pretty good chance the problem with the phono is simply that the grease has set up in the mechanism -- if you can hear the motor running but nothing is happening, that may be the problem, in which case the solution is to clean out the old grease with a solvent, clean the parts, regrease and reassemble.

If you don't hear the motor running when you try to engage the phono, the problem is electrical rather than mechanical. Possibly bad wiring that will need to be replaced.

 

[dhermann1]

My sister found this 1978 Stewart Warner radio-phonograph (unfortunately before I did) and it's in pretty good shape. However, it needs new tubes, and the phonograph won't turn on. She wants to fix it. Tubes we can find. But if anyone has any information specific to this item, and can fill me in, I can pass on the info.

Those post war, 1945 to about 55 or 56 all purpose systems are so cool. With the 78 RPM record players, and no TV, they were a doomed format. I see that one doesn't even have an FM band. There are some that include a TV. The styling is definitely not what you'd call deco, but still very elegant. "Modernistic" for their time. Lotsa nice woodwork and grill cloths. Problem with collecting them is they're SOO cumbersome. There's always one or two available on Ebay somewhere around the country. And they always say "Local pick up". Can't imagine trying to ship one of those babies. But if I had the space time and moolah, I'd own a dozen of them.

 

[PADDY]

Late 30's working.

 

[Adcurium]

I just came into something earlier today. I'll take some photos and post 'em tomorrow. I just want to make sure I'm not taking photos of a radio from the 1970's and thinking it is from the 50's...

 

[ScionPI2005]

Late 30's working.

Wow. I love the looks of that one Paddy! Is that "marbleized" bakelite?

 

[Mr. Hallack]

What brand is this one? It looks similar to an old Kiel Radio Table I once owned.

American Bosch Model 5C. I have tried to find info on it, not much luck, but it works real good!!

 

[p71towny]

My wife says no more radios. My problem is I don't think there was ever an ugly one produced until the mid-late 50s. So if I see one, I want to buy it lol.

 

[PADDY]

Wow. I love the looks of that one Paddy! Is that "marbleized" bakelite?

1930's Gilfillan 'marbelized' Bakelite. Just waiting for the step-down transformer to come through so that I can play it (otherwise the UK 240 V would just blow it!!).

 

[dhermann1]

p71Towny: I totally agree. How can a healthy normal man not salivate over almost every radio ever built before about 1955?
Paddy: So you get the voltage step down. Do you have broadcasts on the same frequencies that this pulls in? You could probably get an SSTran AM-3000 over there as well. You'd just need a different adaptor to power it.
Sweet radio.