[philcobenz]

In your opinion, dear reader, what is the best pre-1943 Philco Radio and why do you think so? Does performance matter most to you? Looks? Size? Features :

[Michael Dennis]

For nostalgic reasons alone I like the 42-1008 console because my father used to have one. That's the set with which I had my first short-wave listening experiences. The short-wave band only covers 9-15.5 MHz, (MC in those days), but it's nicely spread out and that's good. As a goofy kid, (I'm now a goofy adult), I thought some telemetry signals sounded like a noisy refirgerator, (our used not-so-good-as-new Hotpoint comes to mind), and foreign language broadcasts were fascinating! I can recall Big Ben's chimes on the BBC. Also, I heard the Detroit Tigers win the American League pennant in 1968 on that radio at age 12, & music sounded grrrreat on it! I may have a shot at getting another from one of the Phorum members, but he lives on the other side of Michigan, (I'm in Grand Rapids), and right at the present time, transportation is an insurmountable issue. Still waiting for my "economic stimulis" check. I also just accquired a nice 41-255 table radio I like but needs restoration, altho it's never been hacked or abused. Needs a recap and some cabinet restoration but, all in all it's in pretty nice shape for it's age. It has a dial somewhat similar to the 42-1008, but the frequency coverage is a bit different. I like the sloping front panels of these sets. I have a model 36-610 and a model 38-35, both tombstones, I've had awhile, so, performance-wise, these are the only Philcos I have any experience with.

A Philco model 90 cathedral is a gorgeous radio, as are other cathedrals and tombstones and such. As far as appearence I think the dial takes center stage, (sometimes it's the speaker grille), & there are a lot of pretty ones out there. I like the sight of old "ST" envelope tubes glowing. Apologies if I've been overly verbose. I'm certainly not opposed to being presented with other candidates for consideration as to what constitutes the best philco, there may be better performers than those I've related. I'd really like to hear opinions from the other members.

Mike

[Ron Ramirez]

Well, in my opinion, here are my choices for the best pre-1943 Philco radio:

Best overall: Model 116B. Great performance, all-wave coverage, can't be beat...and will kick any Walton's butt.

Best smaller Philco: Model 89 or 19. This much-maligned Philco model can be a great performer...if you do not allow yourself to be intimidated by its squirrelly autodyne mixer-oscillator circuit, and the oscillator coil that is always bad and often full of moisture. Bake and rewind the bad winding and you have a really great smaller Philco set.

Best Philco console: Model 38-690XX. There is no comparison.

Best looking Philco: I can't really answer this one at this time...there are too many to choose from.