Tube Radio Vintage

For your consideration is this wonderful 1939 motorola push-button table radio, model 61c. This nice radio is a six tube superhet receiving the standard broadcast band, 550 to 1700 khz, and a shortwave band 5.5 to 18.0 mhz. The radio works great on both bands. Many short wave stations were heard with just a small length of wire stretched out. The sound is pleasant to the ear without any hum or distortion. The first owners must have been excited to bring this gorgeous radio home and then gather around it to listen the soap operas, mystery dramas, music concerts and then, the all important war news. Please note that the finish on this cabinet is a process called photofinish. The factory made a photographic film of an exotic wood grain and then wrapped the top and all-around the surfaces of the radio. The top was damaged beyond repair and was stripped of the film and then sprayed a dark walnut color. The film on the rest of the radio, all the sides and front, has no damage what so ever. It is just beautiful, a real piece of art. The film was carefully cleaned and then given many coats of clear lacquer to preserve it’s beauty for many years to come. Many photos were taken so that you can get a good look at the quality of the colorful photo grain. And, it’s safe to say, you’d be hard pressed to find a photo finish this nice looking. Once the cabinet was finished, the chassis was tackled. The old tubular filter capacitor remains but it’s components were replaced with new electrolytics soldered to an installed terminal strip. Then, the old wax caps were replaced with new “orange drop” capacitors. Any resistor measured out of tolerance was also replaced. All tubes were checked and any weak were replaced with tubes testing “good”. A new dial cord was installed with a new rubber friction tuning drive drum, when tuning you should slightly press the tuning knob either up or down while turning. The dial needle assembly was missing and after some research, a new one was built from brass pieces. In my humble opinion it looks better than the original and works just fine. Two new #44 dial lamps were also installed. All contacts were chemically cleaned and all working parts were lubricated. A new polarized power was installed. The speaker cone has no tears or cuts and the voice coils moves easily. And, finally the radio was aligned on both bands. The push-buttons work, however i tend to leave them alone. The push-buttons are the mechanical type and. When a preset button is depressed the station. Needle moves by applying the pressure to a button which turns the variable capacitor to a predetermined location. The gold color foil slide rule dial is perfect, no cuts, scratches or missing digits. The plastic escutcheon was heated carefully to flatten the piece. You’ll notice there are no breaks or cracks. The dial glass was broken and missing pieces so a new plastic dial cover was installed the same thickness of the original glass. The speaker grill cloth is the original and was carefully cleaned and stretched out to dry. There are no holes or cuts in the grill cloth, it’s perfect. The original knobs were missing so three replacements are correct, the tuning knob is a close match. And 4 tuning. This lovely radio is a great player. You’ll find most short wave activity above 8 mhz. The radio doesn’t have an internal antenna, so a long external antenna, 100 foot or longer, would really enhance your listening pleasure. I’m really pleased with the way this nice radio finished up. The photo-finish is exceptionally nice and makes this motorola radio stand out. I’ve seen this same model in the past and the photo finish was so bad that who ever worked on it just painted the entire cabinet brown. If you are looking for a nice working radio and one that pulls in short wave stations then don’t pass this one by. You won’t be disappointed. Notice how beautiful the dial lights up in dim light.. The light shines brightly off the gold foil dial and the new brass pointer adds that air of class. This awesome radio’s dimensions are approximately: 16 1/2″ wide, 9″ tall and 9 deep. Thank you for looking.The item “GORGEOUS VINTAGE PRE WAR 1939 MOTOROLA TABLE RADIO AM & SW RESTORED WORKS GREAT” is in sale since Thursday, March 12, 2015. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Radio, Phonograph, TV, Phone\Radios\Tube Radios\1930-49″. The seller is “autoprints” and is located in Manchester, New Hampshire. This item can be shipped to United States.