These radios were made for Channel Master in Japan by Sanyo in 1959-60. They are six transistor radios. The sound quality is very good, and the radios pull in stations very well. The radios are very well made, solid as a brick, and are considered by some to be among the most stylish transistor radios of the era. This model uses four AA cells in a 2x2 holder. The black radio performed very well as found. The red radio had good volume and sound, but was only picking up about half the stations that the black radio could. The red radio came with its original box, owners guide, case, strap, and external antenna and earplug in a small case. I removed the chassis from both radios and checked all connections, shot a little contact cleaner in the volume pot, and cleaned and polished the cases. The internal ferrite rod antenna in the red radio was loose as both mounts were broken. I repaired those. The red radio was also missing the holder for the AA cells, so I bought a replacement at Radio Shack. I also replaced the battery snap terminal which had some corrosion which couldn't be removed without further damaging connector. I then recapped the chassis from the red radio, which brought its performance up to par.

Channel Master Model 6515

This 1960 radio is often called the 6506's "big brother." A solid, handsome, well-built radio, the 6515 "Super Fringe" is an eight transistor radio capable of pulling in distant stations. Like the smaller 6506, this model has good sound quality and sensitivity. Powered by four C batteries, the radio is much heavier than its little brother, and about 1/3 again larger. It features an external antenna connection, ear phone plug, and external speaker plug. Shortly after I acquired the radio, I noticed that I could hear a pop or crackle from it every now and then when the radio was supposed to be off. I hooked up a milliammeter and found it was drawing a few mA of current even when shut off. I pulled the chassis and the first thing I found was that the positive battery terminal wire had come un-soldered at the on/off switch on the volume control, and was probably intermittently shorting against the chassis. I resoldered it and tested it with the milliammeter and there no more current draw when the switch was off. I also noticed that four of the eight capacitors had been replaced.

Zenith Carousel

The radio at left is a very nice Zenith Z404L, leather cased portable from 1956. This is a four tube design, using the 1U4, 1U5, 1R5, and 3V4 power tube. This radio picks up a lot of stations, although the small tuning capacitor requires some toggling to get a weak station in just right. Sound quality is nice, and it has a very stylish look. I first brought the radio up on a Variac and got only a weak hum. I tested the tubes and found that the 3V4 was bad. I replaced it and the radio came to life, no hum or static. I took a peek inside the chassis, but decided not to recap it since it was playing well. The chassis is quite small and recapping will be a challenge when the time comes. I cleaned the leather with a moisturing body wash bath soap and a lightly dampened towel. One handle gusset was detached when I got the radio, and during the cleaning process, many of the dry-rotted stitches holding the end panels in place broke. Although the leather looks good, it is quite brittle and cracks and flakes easily. I removed both handle gussets, installed new reinforcing and re-riveted them to the case. I then re-sewed the gussets and replaced the lacing in both end panels. I cleaned the knobs in a ultrasonic cleaner and polished the brass with Brasso. I used gold paint to touch up the frequency numbers on the tuning dial (not visible in the photos). I then gave the leather case a good coat of saddle soap.



RCA Globetrotter

At right, a RCA Globetrotter 7-BX-8J Portable tube radio from around 1957. This radio uses a tube line-up similar to the Zenith Carousel above, but in a five tube chassis, adding 1T4's for the rf and if amps, a 1R5 for the converter, a 1U5 for the Detector-AVF-1st audio, and the 3V4 for the output. I bought the radio on EBAY as a working radio, but it was DOA when it arrived. Again, it only turned out to be a dead tube. Cosmetically, the radio was in excellent condition, except for the dial cover, which was cracked and yellowed. I made a new one from clear acetate and cleaned the radio with Novus plastic polish. Electrical restoration was somewhat of a challenge, as the electrolytic capacitors had been replaced, probably in the late 60's. Wires and components that had at one time been connected to the can were soldered together, along with the leads to the new caps, and taped with electrical tape and stuffed in the chassis. This radio has four electrolytic capacitors, so the mess was considerable. To sort it all out and restore some semblance of order, I first replaced all the paper caps to provide more room, then I mounted a new 5 lug terminal strip inside the chassis, and brought all the taped and soldered leads to the lugs, along with new electrolytic caps. I also replaced five out-of-tolerance resistors. The selenium rectifier had already been replaced with a diode, probably when the electrolytics were replaced in the 60's, so I left that alone. The speaker had a small tear, about 1/4", which I mended with white glue. Other than scratches on the speaker grill, which I was afraid to mess with much as the entire front assembly is easily bent, the radio looks almost new. The radio initially developed an intermittent fading problem, that seems to clear up the longer it's played. I replaced all the resistors in the power circuit to make sure high resistance during operation wasn't causing a drop in B+ voltage, and that seemed to improve the performance quite a bit, although it will still fade briefly, but rarely. I may have a bad tube that tests OK. I built a battery for it, but the space for the battery is just too small to build a battery that would last very long, so I just play it on AC.



Jewel Model 910

This is a very early version of the Model 910. It is a four octal tube AC/DC radio with no AVC and a very primitive volume control in the RF stage. As can be imagined, the radio is not very sensitive, and tuning from staion to station requires constant adjustment to the volume. If you tune a strong station with the volume too high, you may get a piercing harmonic howl. I only bought the radio as a parts radio for a Model 935 I was restoring, not realizing it had a completely different chassis. Jewel used this same cabinet for the 910, 920, 920A, 935, and 936. The radio became a 5 tube AC/DC superhet by the model 920. The schematic for the 910 shows miniature tubes, not the octals as this one has, so it must be one of the very first models off the line after the war when parts were still hard to get for consumer production. The chassis had considerable rust and the volume pot was completely worn out. Because the volume control is in the RF stage, it requires a reverse audio pot which was hard to find. After recapping and replacing some resistors and the pot, it plays as well as can be expected given the design, but the cabinet and clock were in very good shape and the cleaned up radio is very nice looking.



Motorola Model 56A

This tiny tube radio was a rescue. It had been sitting outdoors for some time and the cabinet was quite weathered. This is a late 1950's model radio with a PC board rather than a metal chassis. With a couple new tubes, it actually played very well with no other repairs. However, I went ahead and replaced all the capacitors and all but two resistors. The hardest part was finding a replacement speaker. The originial speaker cone was rotted from being outdoors. I finally found a replacement that would work from Mouser Electronics. The original radio was a dark brown plastic, but badly deteriorated. I cleaned it up, then applied two coats of Krylon primer, followed by several coats of Krylon buttercream yellow. I wet-sanded with 600 grit sandpaper between each coat of primer and finish color.




Zenith B511L

Left, a Zenith five tube ac/dc AM table radio from the late 1950's. This radio was given to me in working condition. I replaced the capacitors and checked tolerances on resistors. Most of the work on this radio was cosmetic. The gold and silver (looks blue in the picture) paint around the tuning knob was badly soiled and worn down to bare plastic in places. I matched the paint as closely as I could and repainted gold and silver areas, and touched up the remaining gold detail with gold leaf paint.






1946 National Union Model G-619

I bought this radio on E-Bay. The cabinet needed a full restoration, and was my first attempt at a wood cabinet restoration. The veneer on the right side was peeled back and there were several areas with missing veneer. The first step was to glue the cabinet back together. I then stripped the old finish off with Minwax Antique Furniture Refinisher. Following that step, I replaced all missing veneer with new. I then lightly sanded the cabinet and then applied a light coat of stain. This was followed with multiple coats of spray lacquer, toners, and more lacquer, for more than a dozen coats. I lightly wet sanded every three our four coats. I intalled a new grill cloth, but learned a painful lesson--a stray thread wound around the tuning knob shaft and unraveled a portion of the grill cloth. I had to replace it, and the second time didn't come out quite as nice as the first. I replaced all the electrolytic and paper capacitors and some out of tolerance resistors. The tuning capacitor had some bent plates and it took some work to align them for good reception, along with considerable cleaning and some lubrication. Now the radio plays very well, with strong volume and good sensitivity.







1947 Philco Model 47-204

This is an attractive leatherette covered radio I found in an antique mall. The top of the radio was splattered with white paint, the leatherette scuffed, and the plastic dial cover was brittle and yellow with age. I spent hours picking off the paint with the point of an x-acto knife, then used mineral spirits for final cleaning. I renovated the leatherette with brown shoe polish and scuff repair. I made a new plastic dial cover. After replacing the capacitors and power cord, this radio played well. It has a very nice sounding speaker.







RCA Victor 4-C-533 ca. 1954

This was my first restoration project. I purchased this radio for $4.99 at an antique mall. Cosmetically, the radio was a basket case. However, with new caps and tubes, it powered right up and plays well. The cabinet has some deep scratches, the finial on the clock dial is missing, and the on/off knob under the clock is missing. Since this photograph was taken, I have found a finial and knob, so the radio is now complete.






Western Auto Truetone, ca 1959-1960

Many radios were marketed under house brand names such as Western Auto, Sears, Montgomery Wards, Firestone, etc. Some of these radios are harder to find than the big brands such as RCA, GE, Westinghouse, Crosley, etc. This model is a basic 5 tube design, AM only, but internally begins to show signs of the modern era. The steel chassis is gone; instead the tube sockets, caps, and resistors are mounted on an early style of circuit board.







General Electric Model 67, ca 1949

This is one of my favorite models, and I think one of the best looking clock radios with its late art-deco styling.









General Electric Model 50, ca 1946

Some consider this radio to be the first true alarm clock radio. The clock can be set to turn on the radio or alarm. The clock movement is by Telechron, which by this time was a subsidiary of GE. Telechron marketed an almost identical model (internally)under their name. Due to post-war shortages of certain materials, this radio uses a slug tuner rather than a variable capacitor.

















Radios in waiting

Radios awaiting repair or restoration, top shelf, left to right, a Westinghouse H-104 BC/SW radio, a spare H-104 chassis, a Motorola 5 tube AM radio, and two Philco 38-12's. Bottom shelf, left to right, a Crosley BC/SW farm radio, a Philips B5X43A/74 stereo AM/FM/SW receiver, and a GE model 67 clock radio. Left of the Crosley, bottom shelf, is a vintage Lionel ZW trainsformer also awaiting restoration. Not shown, a Jewel 910 clock radio, a Jewel 935 clock radio, a RCA 5 tube AM, and Zenith 5 tube AM, and a RCA 56X 6 tube BC radio.