Philco for 1939 (introduced January 1939)

Overview

Only minor changes were made to the reg­u­lar 1939 Philco line; the most dra­mat­ic changes were made to Mod­els 39-17, 39-18, 39-19 & 39-75; these sets lost their mechan­i­cal push­but­tons, were giv­en new elec­tron­ic push­but­tons, and reis­sued as Mod­els 39-117, 39-118, 39-119 & 39-175, respectively.

The two orig­i­nal Tran­si­tone mod­els were dropped from the line, and were replaced with nine new mod­els. The Tran­si­tone line would con­tin­ue to expand over the next year or so.

Model Index

The fol­low­ing mod­els con­tin­ued in the Philco line­up: 39-6C, 39-6CI, 39-7C, 39-7T, 39-8T, 39-25T, 39-25XF, 39-30T, 39-30XX, 39-36XX, 39-40XX, 39-45XX, 39-55RX, 39-70B, 39-70F, 39-80B, 39-80XF, 39-85B, 39-85XF, 39-116RX, 39-711T, 39-720T, 39-744T, 39-744XX, 39-750T, 39-750XX, 39-751T, 39-751XX, 39-770T, 39-770XX.

The fol­low­ing mod­els were dis­con­tin­ued: 39-7CS, 39-10TP, 39-12CB, 39-12CBI, 39-12T, 39-14CB, 39-14CBI, 39-14T, 39-15CB, 39-15CBI, 39-15T, 39-17T, 39-17F, 39-18T, 39-18F, 39-19T, 39-19F, 39-31XF, 39-35XX, 39-71T, 39-75T, 39-75F, TH-1TH-3.

Click on a thumb­nail to see infor­ma­tion and pho­tos for each model:

The Jan­u­ary 1939 Philco Line

39-31XK 39-72T 39-117T, 39-118T & 39-175T 39-119T 39-117F, 39-118F, 39-119F & 39-175F

Jan­u­ary 1939 Tran­si­tone Models

TH-4 TP-4-I TH-5 TP-5-I TP-10 TP-11 TP-12
TH-14 TH-15

Models

The January 1939 Philco Line


Model 39-31XK

Model 39-31XK

A new cab­i­net for Mod­el 39-31, a six tube set with received AM and short­wave from 4.9 to 18 mc and oper­at­ed from 115 volts AC.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $79.95

Num­ber made: 129,076 (Note: Fig­ure includes pro­duc­tion of June 1939 Mod­el 40-180XF)



Model 39-72T

This new portable was some­what sim­i­lar to the 39-71 that it replaced, except that it had indi­vid­ual brass trim rings sur­round­ing each of the knobs.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $29.95

Num­ber made: 5,000



Models 39-117T, 39-118T & 39-175T

These new mod­els replaced the 39-17, 39-18 and 39-75, respec­tive­ly. They now used elec­tron­ic push­but­ton tun­ing instead of the mechan­i­cal push­but­tons used ear­li­er in the season.

Mod­el 39-117 used five tubes and oper­at­ed from 115 volts AC; Mod­el 39-118 also used five tubes but could oper­ate on either AC or DC cur­rent; Mod­el 39-175 used four tubes and oper­at­ed on bat­ter­ies. All three received the AM band only.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: Unknown

Num­ber made: 40,305 (Note: Fig­ure includes pro­duc­tion of Mod­els 39-117T, 39-118T, 39-119T & 39-175T as well as June 1938 mod­els 39-17T, 39-18T, 39-19T & 39-75T)



Model 39-119T

As with the looka­like mod­els not­ed above, the new 39-119 was sim­i­lar to the 39-19 that it replaced, except for the new elec­tron­ic push­but­ton tun­ing which it now used.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: Unknown

Num­ber made: 40,305 (Note: Fig­ure includes pro­duc­tion of Mod­els 39-117T, 39-118T & 39-175T as well as June 1938 mod­els 39-17T, 39-18T, 39-19T & 39-75T)



Models 39-117F, 39-118F, 39-119F & 39-175F

The con­sole ver­sions of these mod­els now also had elec­tron­ic push­but­ton tuning.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: Unknown

Num­ber made: 28,938 (Note: Fig­ure includes pro­duc­tion of Mod­els 39-117F, 39-118F, 39-119F & 39-175F as well as June 1938 mod­els 39-17F, 39-18F, 39-19F, 39-70F & 39-75F)

January 1939 Transitone Models


Model TH-4

Model TH-4

The new basic five-tube Tran­si­tone was very small in size, yet sur­pris­ing­ly sen­si­tive for such a small radio. It received the AM band only and, along with the remain­der of the Tran­si­tone mod­els on this page, oper­at­ed from 115 volts, AC or DC current.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $9.95

Num­ber made: 91,948 (Note: Fig­ure includes pro­duc­tion of June 1939 Mod­els TP-4 & TH-18)



Model TP-4-I

An ivory paint­ed Bake­lite ver­sion of Mod­el TH-4, the TP-4-I also received 2.3 to 2.5 mc short­wave in addi­tion to the AM band.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $12.95

Num­ber made: 5,136



Model TH-5

Basi­cal­ly, this is a TH-4 with the addi­tion of elec­tron­ic push­but­ton tun­ing, in a slight­ly larg­er cab­i­net to accom­mo­date the push­but­ton assembly.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $15.95

Num­ber made: 18,093



Model TP-5-I

Near­ly iden­ti­cal to the TH-5 except for the ivory paint­ed Bake­lite cab­i­net and the addi­tion of a 2.3 to 2.5 mc "police" band.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $18.50

Num­ber made: 4,466



Model TP-10

One of sev­er­al Tran­si­tone mod­els that is now high­ly sought after by col­lec­tors because of its unusu­al styling. It also receives the AM band and 2.3 to 2.5 mc short­wave with its five tubes.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $13.95

Num­ber made: 5,610



Model TP-11

Anoth­er desir­able mod­el, the TP-11 is much like the TP-10, with the addi­tion of push­but­ton tuning.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $19.95

Num­ber made: 5,445



Model TP-12

A TP-4 in a wood­en cabinet.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $15

Num­ber made: 9,020



Model TH-14

This mod­el, while it has a car­ry­ing han­dle, is not a true portable since it requires 115 volts, AC or DC, to oper­ate. The chas­sis is sim­i­lar to Mod­el TH-4.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $17.50

Num­ber made: 9,020



Model TH-15

Anoth­er "portable" Philco that needs 115 volts AC or DC to oper­ate. This set uses a chas­sis that is sim­i­lar to Mod­el TH-5. This was the most expen­sive Tran­si­tone of the 1939 sea­son, yet it out­sold all Tran­si­tone mod­els except Mod­els TH-4 & TH-5.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $22.50

Num­ber made: 10,000


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