Craig's Vacuum Tube (and some Transistor) Radios, by Year Manufactured

 

1940 RCA Victor 19K Floor Standing Console

I bought this at a hamfest flea market in Syracuse, NY in about 1978. I remember paying either $5 or $10 for it, and having a difficult time fitting it into the back seat of my 1973 Pontiac Ventura (3 speed on the column). It just fit, lying on its side. I had to replace the line cord, and it has worked great since. The Sound is wonderful. It's missing one original knob, which I hope to replace someday.

Tubes (9): 6SK7 6SA7 6SK7 6H6 6SF5 6SF5 6F6G 6F6G 5Y3G

Purchased: Fall, 1978

 

1941 Delco R-1229 Two-Tone Wood Table Radio

This was acquired in an antique store in Omaha Nebraska, in 1999. It was dirty, and needed a new line cord. The plastic knobs went from brown to bright white, with that nice red circle, with soap, water, and gentle toothbrushing! It plays very nice. The wood appears to be mahogany (reddish main cabinet) and ash (light honey colored grille louvers).

Tubes (6): 12SK7 12SA7 12SK7 12SQ7 35L6GT 35Z5GT

Purchased: Spring, 1999

 

1948 GE 356 AM/FM Bakelite Tabletop

This is an early example of an AM/FM tube radio using licensed "Armstrong Technology" for FM demodulation. The bakelite cleaned up well, and the radio worked on AM after a line cord replacement was made (though at first, the loop antenna connections were placed wrong to the back cover, and AM stations were very weak and distorted until I properly connected the AM loop). The radio did not operate in FM mode initially. The three FM tuning capacitors are a unique vertical slotted affair, in which the 'rotor' plates raise and lower through a lever attached to the AM capacitor mechanism as you tune. I found a schematic on the web (barely readable) and attempted to troubleshoot. Was concerned that the 2^nd IF transformer was missing a screw adjustment, but the schematic showed there are only 3, not 4, coils in that can. So I proceeded . . .

Tubes (8): 6AG5 6BE6 6BA6 6AU6 6AU6 6S8GT 25L6GT 25Z6GT/G

 

 

1948? Olympic 6-604W (LP 213 Chassis) AM/Shortwave Tabletop Radio

This 110 v AC/DC set with large bakelite housing, 6 tube design, AM and SW (5.9 - 18.4 MHz) was purchased on eBay, June 2, 2002.

The radio shipped 6/5/02, was received 6/7/02, and unfortunately was severely damaged upon receipt - the case was cracked and in pieces on left and right bottom. One tube was rolling around inside the housing, and another was 3/4 out of its socket.

I glued the case pieces together with super-glue, and painstakingly cleaned (water, soap & water, Fantastic) the bakelite case, then polished it with Turtle Wax White Finishing compound. It shows beautifully from the front now, but sides show the cracks from the shipping damage. I'll probably try to patch up the crack areas someday (using auto body filler or the old standby PC-7 epoxy cement). August 4^th - experimented with using PC-7 epoxy on the left rear side of the radio. Restoration is still in process.

Inside, the radio chassis was real dusty, with some big old dustballs in it, and a heavy film of grimy dust. That’s the way I like to see the inside of an old vintage tube radio, as it indicates it probably hasn't been opened (and potentially hacked) for a long time!

After cleaning the inside (I use a small vacuum cleaner and a small paintbrush to loosen up the dust and grime, which looked like it was 40 or 50 years old), I powered it up (after jumpering the 120v. line where it was cracked and open). After plugging in the tubes, and replacing the #47 pilot light, I gave it the 'smoke test', but the radio would not power up. The radio needed a new line cord - and then it played but with a high hum level. A new filter cap fixed that, and it plays real nice now. AM and Shortwave stations come through really nicely.

Tubes (6): 12BA6 12BE6 6SS7 6SZ7 50B5 35W4

 

1948 Philco 48-200 Transitone AM Bakelite Tabletop Radio

This older-style (for 1948) design is a nice compact All American 5 broadcast receiver, which had a broken dial string and brittle cord when I bought it. It was plenty dirty, but cleaned up nice. One feature I'm not crazy about is the AM loop antenna, rather than being attached to a removable back cover, is glued directly around the inside rear of the bakelite case! To remove the chassis and service the radio, I had to cut the antenna loop leads! The bakelite case and even the molded plastic dial window cleaned up great. With a new line cord installed, the radio played, but with very faint volume. After about 5 minutes of warm-up, the volume finally would get louder. I was tapping under the chassis looking for an intermittent, when the pin 2-3 portion of the rectifier filament opened, causing the #47 pilot lamp to burn out, as well. After some fussing, I found the cause of low volume to be . . .

Tubes (5): 7A8 14A7 14B6 50A5 35Z5GT

 

 

1949 RCA Victor 9-X-651 AM/Shortwave Bakelite Tabletop Radio

Covers both AM (540 - 1600 KC (KHz)) and a number of shortwave bands (41, 31, 19, 12 meter bands from 5.95 - 17.9 MC (MHz)). This uneventful design (especially the cheap, plain looking frequency indicator dial) was deemed non-working when I bought it for $10 at a second-hand store in Erie, PA. However, it worked when plugged in - for a few minutes, before distorting badly. As with most of my collection, this one needed a good cleaning - for some reason, most bakelite radios seem to have attracted a lot of paint specs from ceiling or room painting! Once cleaned off, the bakelite is usually nice and smooth, and can be shined with auto rubbing compound (fine) followed by car wax. The fade-out after warm-up problem was corrected by . . .

Tubes (6): 12BA6 12BE6 12BA6 12SQ7 35L6GT 35Z5GT

 

1948 RCA Victor 8-X-541 Bakelite Tabletop, 'Golden Throat' Design

Needed a mild cleaning when purchased ($14.99 w/o shipping, from eBay), but was reported working well when purchased.

Tubes (5):

Purchased: 7-29-02

 

1949 RCA Victor 8-X-542 Painted Bakelite Tabletop, 'Golden Throat' Design

Same design as the 541, but painted bakelite. Needed a good cleaning when purchased ($8.49 w/o shipping, from eBay), and had a few chips in the ivory paint. Radio played very well, though the AM stations are much stronger when I put my hand over or near back cover, augmenting the signal collection of the loop antenna. The design is simple and low cost, with direct coupled tuning dial (no cords to re-string!) and speaker attached to chassis. I used some surface filler on the chips, then primed and re-painted close to the original color. I popped out the metal disc in the center of the tuning dial using the back of a bic pen, as it needed sanding and painting as well. The resulting restored radio looks quite fine, save for a little paint droop on the right side!

Tubes (5): 12SA7 12SK7 12SQ7 50L6GT 35Z5GT

 

1951 Olympic 489 Portable Tube Radio - Ivory Case, 4 Tube Design

This is the first portable tube radio I bought for my collection. The eBay seller did not know if it would work or not, given it uses a 67.5 volt battery, and those cost $49.95 in the Radio Shack catalog! (I was surprised they are still produced at all). Well, in trying to power this up, I damaged my college-era homebrew dual power supply (blew a LM723 regulator) as I tried to put two supplies in series, then proceeded to accidentally short B+ and ground! Well, I found out the radio would play with the 1 1/2 volt D cell, and 30 volts DC applied in place of the 67 1/2 volt battery. This was exciting - I could place 4 9 volt batteries in series, and power the radio (at 36 volts, the current drain is only 5 mA; the D cell provides about 80 mA to warm the tube heaters).

A neat feature of this radio is that it turns on when the lid is opened. Also, I was surprise that the 'warm-up' time is literally about 2 seconds, not what I expected from tubes!. Since it does not need a rectifier tube, it's a 4 tube (AA4 ?) design versus the ubiquitous 5 tube AA5. The AM loop antenna is visible inside the top cover when you backlight it!

For some reason, I like the Olympic brand of old radios - partially because they were made in New York City, which I don't think of as a manufacturing location.

Tubes (4): 1R5 1U4 1U5 3V4

 

1952 GE 409 AM/FM Bakelite Tabletop, 'Speedometer Dial'

This radio has one of the nicest backlit displays and dial arrangements. The tuning dial faceplate is clear plastic, with lettering and numerals recessed from the back.. It is hard to read the dial with the radio off. When you turn on the radio via the center on-off/tone control (allows volume to stay set at last used setting), a 10C7/DC lamp (which took a while to locate the needed new one - double bayonet base, 120 v, 10W 'appliance lamp' that is shaped like a nightlight bulb) backlights the plastic and illuminates the entire dial faceplate so it is very legible. This one actually worked somewhat in FM, not AM, after reworking the line cord plug, which had a short in the wires at the screw-on connections when I received it (via eBay). After cleaning the AM/FM selector, AM worked well. FM tuning is still touchy - the stations at times either lock in and play well, or are low volume and distorted, or cut off alltogether. The gentlest nudge of the tuning knob may then bring back the FM station at full volume. The illuminated dial is very visible even in a well lighted room, and is quite stunning in a darkened room.

Tubes (7): 12AT7 6BJ6 12AU6 12BA6 12AU6 19T8 35C5

Rectifier: Selenium Diode

 

1954 (?) GE 440 AM/FM Bakelite Tabletop, 'Speedometer Dial'

This radio is nearly identical in appearance to the GE 409, with the following key differences: The 440 has a phono input, it also has the AM frequencies reverse painted gold, and the fm frequencies reverse painted white on the clear plastic speedometer dial.

This radio came from Puerto Rico via eBay, and unfortunately, had a cracked case (top left rear) when it arrived. It did play on AM, and was intermittent with intermittent noise on FM.. Glued the case and cleaned it up. Found that . . . fixed the FM performance problem.

Tubes (7): 12AT7 6BJ6 12AU6 12BA6 12AU6 19T8 35C5

Rectifier: Selenium Diode

 

 

195x Arvin 451-T Painted Bakelite with 'Starlite Dial'

Love the glowing circular (annular ring) frequency indicator and large dial on this radio. The stars in between the freq. markings give a whimsical touch, especially in a darkened room. Radio worked well when I got it, I just had to do a little cleaning inside and out. This is a good candidate for a re-paint job.

Tubes (5):

Purchased: 7-29-02

 

195x Motorola 5X1 Painted Plastic Tabletop, Large Airplane Dial Design

I really like this late - '50s design, having first seen the dark reddish-brown version of this (or a very similar) radio in an exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. I wrote the Hall of Fame years later for the model number, but they told me it was in a sealed exhibit, so they couldn't easily get to the back of it! So I kept searching eBay until I found this version. It came with a loud hum/buzz, that was tamed, but not fully eliminated to my taste, with a filter cap replacement.

Tubes (5):

 

195x Motorola 6X Bakelite Plastic Tabletop, Large Airplane Dial Design

This 6 tube AA6 played great from the start. It's one of the few radios I've bought that didn't need much work.. Looks a lot like the 5X11, but without the metal piping trim at the base.

Tubes (6):

 

1957 Philips BD-273U Philetta

A great little compact radio made for the German market by Philips of the Netherlands. It has 4 bands: AM (MW - Medium Wave), FM (UKW - Ultra Kilo Wave, early European band of 89 - 101 MHz), ShortWave (KW - Kilo Wave, covering x - y Mhz, and with European (mostly German) cities marked), and 'Marine Band', or Long Wave (LW - 200 - 500 KHz). The backlit dial lights the entire clear plastic grille with a warm yellow glow. I had to replace two tubes, and one capacitor to get it to play, which it now does quite nicely.

Tubes (6): UY85 UCC85 UCH81 UF89 UABC80 UL84

 

1957 Olympic 450 Portable Tube Radio - Mint Green Case, 4 Tube Design (#1)

Following my fascination with the Olympic brand, I bought this radio, which even came with an old 67 1/2 volt #477 'B' Battery. I took the 36 volt approach (4 X 9 volt batteries), but at first the radio did not play. After re-seating the tubes, I was pleasantly surprised to hear it play OK. This radio has a nice thick plastic housing, but unfortunately the plastic handle was broken - a little super glue helped, but it still is missing a chunk..

Current drain is about 100mA from the 'A' Battery (D Cell) and about 10 mA from the 36 volt battery. I'm going to experiment with seven 9v batteries in series to give 63 volts, and compare the audio and sensitivity performance to 36 volts!

This radio was sourced from Japan, and has Hitachi Tubes also labeled with the 'Olympic' name and logo, so I assume Hitachi made the radio for them. It is as small as some early transistor radios, but I'm sure it was heavier given the battery weight.

Tubes (4): 1R5 1T5 1S5 3S4

 

1957 Olympic 450 Portable Tube Radio - Mint Green Case, 4 Tube Design (#2)

I found an identical unit on eBay a few months after buying the first one. This one had a complete (non-broken) handle, but a chip in the back cover. It was also missing a tube (1R5). I had a spare 1R5, and placing it in the radio, found it powered up and received fine. I swapped handles with the older one, to create a single near mint unit. Interestingly, the schematic is upside down in this unit versus the other (which has it top near the radio top, which makes logical sense to me). It is in great shape, whereas the other unit's schematic has black 'goop' on it, apparently from the little rubber band that used to hold the ferrite loop antenna in place.

I'll probably sell this unit, though it also looks great cleaned up - just has a chipped handle!

Tubes (4): 1R5 1T5 1S5 3S4

 

GE 551 Radio Alarm Clock - 'Walnut' Plastic

An impulse eBay purchase - it works great, even has both of the clock-radio little knobs, which are often missing from these radios.

Tubes (5): 12BA6 12BE6 12BA6 35C5 35W4

 

GE Radio Alarm Clock - Red Plastic

Very similar to the 551 model, but in a striking deep red plastic housing, and without the metal dial/clock face accent of the 551. Bought at second hand store in Erie, PA in July 2002. Two small knobs (of three total) were missing. Radio worked for a while, then distorted out. Problem found to be. . . .

The radio was quite dirty, but cleaned up very nicely.

Tubes (5): 12BA6 12BE6 12BA6 35C5 35W4 ??

 

Wells-Gardner BC-348 Army Shortwave Radio

This is a real 'boat anchor' of a radio, and was my first shortwave radio.

 

 

 

Craig's Solid State Radios (early ones transistor only, later ones include ICs), by Approximate Year Manufactured

 

1963 Mellow-Tone Boy's 2 Transistor Radios (Green, Blue)

I searched for these radios on eBay, as this model radio was my 1^st personal radio, a gift from my parents in 1963 or 1964, when I was 8 or 9 years old. The blue one was missing the white plastic escutcheon, so after getting the green radio, I fashioned a reproduction by making a 1:1 photocopy of the green one's (used my scanner), then plastic laminating it, cutting it out to shape, and gluing it on. Looks pretty good, especially 2 feet or more away. Both radios operate fine.

 

1966 Star-Lite 6 Transistor Radio

I traded Bob Tullio (whose uncle was Erie's Mayor at the time) something(s) for this radio when I was in 5^th or 6^th grade. It had the slight grille dent when I acquired it. I liked the thin, small size.

 

1968 Star-Lite Ruby 7 Transistor Radio (Miniature)

I saved up lawn-mowing money to purchase this at keystone Auto Store in Erie, PA in 1968. It's a 'keychain' radio, which I used a lot, and wore off the chrome paint on the plastic grille. I also added an 'external antenna' connection sometime in 7^th or 8^th grade, which is a brass nail sticking through the side, connected to the antenna input via a capacitor. I wasn't thinking of 'collectible old transistor radio' at the time, but of DX'ing the AM band! I still have the sales slip, and the original plastic and cardboard boxes it came in.

 

1974 Panasonic AM/FM Transistor Radio

This was my first AM/FM portable radio, purchased in about 1973. I wanted a black one, but all they had at the time were ivory and red. I liked the circular dial, and relatively compact size.

 

Other Radios in the Collection

1978 GE SuperRadio II

 

1979 Panasonic RF-2200 AM/FM/Shortwave Tabletop Radio

 

1987 Sony ICF-SW20 AM/FM/Shortwave (7 Bands) Small Portable Radio

 

1996 Ericsson Promotional Novelty AM/FM 'Cellular' Radio with Digital Clock

 

1999 Tivoli Audio Henry Kloss MODEL ONE Tabletop Radio

 

HW-100 Amateur Transceiver

 

Ten-Tec Amateur Transceiver

 

1969 Allied-Knight VHF Police Band Radio