Posted by Wayne Parham [ 71.153.183.227 ] on December 31, 2008 at 17:19:30:
In Reply to: airline radio posted by kary on December 27, 2008 at 23:29:42:
I have radios with similar tube compliments and they're all made in the 1940's. Those tubes are fairly easy to get, but I still like to have a couple of them on hand to make sure I have spares.
I have found little information on Airline brand radios, but one thing I know is they are the Montgomery Ward brand and they bought chassis from OEMs and had cabinets made for them. Because of that, if I need a schematic I usually have to dig through a Riders collection or Sam's photofacts to find chassis that look similar and have the right tube complement. One of my Airline radios had an RCA chassis, so when I found it, I made a copy of the schematic and placed it inside the radio cabinet for future reference.
The truth is they rarely need service though. The tubes will go ouyt after a while, just like light bulbs. But they do tend to last a long time. The original capacitors go bad after sitting dormant for a few decades, so usually the caps need replacement but not always. But as long as the capacitors are good, these old radios tend to last a lifetime.
I love these old tube radios. It's fascinating, knowing someone listened to history through them.
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