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airline radio [message #26064] Sat, 27 December 2008 22:29 Go to next message
kary is currently offline  kary
Messages: 1
Registered: May 2009
Esquire
I have looked and looked and have no idea what kind year my wards airline cabinet radio is. Would the tube line up help? 6SK7, 6SA7, 6SQ7, 6V6, 5Y3 (?) Could been a 6. The chassis # is 0465579. Can you tell me where I can find more info? The cabinet is in fair condition and the radio works good.

Re: airline radio [message #26065 is a reply to message #26064] Wed, 31 December 2008 16:19 Go to previous message
Wayne Parham is currently offline  Wayne Parham
Messages: 18670
Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)

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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