Philco for 1940 (introduced August 1939)

Overview

All 1940 (June 1939) mod­els con­tin­ued in the Philco line­up, except for the fol­low­ing which were dis­con­tin­ued: A52CK, A52CK1, TH-4, TP-4, TP-4-I, TH-5, TP-5, TP-5-I, TH-9, TP-10, TP-11, TP-12, TH-14, TH-15, TH-16, TH-17, TH-18, TP-20, TP-21, TH-22, UA-52P (TP-52).

Two months into the new 1940 sea­son, Philco added a portable, a chair­side set and a con­sole radio-phono­graph to its reg­u­lar line­up. But they also com­plete­ly revamped their low­er-priced Tran­si­tone mod­els by elim­i­nat­ing every June 1939 Tran­si­tone and intro­duc­ing 21 new mod­els, which now car­ried the PHILCO trade­mark as well as the TRANSITONE name. Many of the new Tran­si­tones were sim­ply old­er mod­els with new dial scales and the new Philco-Tran­si­tone des­ig­na­tions, but sev­er­al new mod­els were also added to the line at this time.

All of the new Tran­si­tones (except the portable PT-63) used the same basic five-tube, AC.DC chas­sis; there were vari­a­tions in fre­quen­cy cov­er­age through the var­i­ous models.

Model Index

The fol­low­ing mod­els con­tin­ued in the Philco line­up: 39-711T (as 40-715T), RP-1, RP-2, RP-3, RP-4, TH-4, TP-4-I, TH-5, TP-5-I, TP-10, TP-11, TP-12, TH-14, TH-15. All oth­er 1939 Philco mod­els were discontinued.

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

Portable Radios

40-82T PT-63

Elec­tric (AC) Models

40-170CS Phono­graph with Philco - 40-525P

Philco Tran­si­tone Models

PT-25 PT-27 PT-29 PT-31 PT-33 PT-35 PT-37
PT-39 PT-41 PT-43 PT-45 PT-47 PT-51 PT-55
PT-57 PT-59 PT-61 PT-65 PT-67 PT-69

Models

Portable Radios


Model 40-82T

Model 40-82T

Essen­tial­ly a 40-81T with a hinged lid to cov­er the front pan­el when the set was not in use. Four tubes, AM only.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $19.95

Num­ber made: 5,025

Model PT-63

Model PT-63
Model PT-63

A new Tran­si­tone designed for portable use, it uses four tubes and runs on bat­ter­ies. It receives 540 to 1550 kc (AM) and has a built-in loop antenna.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $19.95

Num­ber made: 7,025

Electric (AC) Models


Model 40-170CS

Model 40-170CS
Model 40-170CS - Model 40-170CS, closeup.

This new chair­side mod­el used a chas­sis sim­i­lar to Mod­el 40-135. It had six tubes and cov­ered AM and short­wave from 1.5 to 3.3 mc.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $59.95

Num­ber made: 3,500

Phonograph with Philco - Model 40-525P

Phonograph with Philco - Model 40-525P

Anoth­er new Philco to use the six-tube 40-135 chassis.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $100

Num­ber made: 6,500 (Note: Fig­ure includes pro­duc­tion of Jan­u­ary 1940 Mod­el 40-526P)

Philco Transitone Models


Model PT-25

Model PT-25

Suc­ces­sor to the Jan­u­ary 1939 TH-4, the only dif­fer­ence between the PT-25 and the TH-4 was the new dial scale. It received the AM band (540-1720 kc), used five tubes, and oper­at­ed from 115 volts, AC or DC current.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $9.95

Num­ber made: 114,160 (Note: Fig­ure includes pro­duc­tion of Mod­els PT-27, PT-29, PT-31 & PT-37)

Model PT-27

Model PT-27

Iden­ti­cal to the PT-25 except for the ivory paint­ed Bake­lite cabinet.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $10.95

Num­ber made: 114,160 (Note: Fig­ure includes pro­duc­tion of Mod­els PT-25, PT-29, PT-31 & PT-37)

Model PT-29

Model PT-29

This mod­el replaced the June 1939 TP-4 and is iden­ti­cal with it except for the new dial scale. In addi­tion to AM, the PT-29 also received the "police" band (2.3 to 2.5 mc).

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $11.95

Num­ber made: 114,160 (Note: Fig­ure includes pro­duc­tion of Mod­els PT-25, PT-27, PT-31 & PT-37)

Model PT-31

Model PT-31

And this mod­el was iden­ti­cal with the June 1939 TP-4-I which it replaced. Like the PT-29 above, it also received AM and 2.3 to 2.5 mc shortwave.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $12.95

Num­ber made: 114,160 (Note: Fig­ure includes pro­duc­tion of Mod­els PT-25, PT-27, PT-29 & PT-37)

Model PT-33

Model PT-33 - Image courtesy of Paul Turney.

This mod­el replaced the June 1939 TH-16. It receives the AM band (540-1580 kc).

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $13.50

Num­ber made: 3,000

Model PT-35

Model PT-35 - Model PT-35, two-tone brown. Image courtesy of Tom Fiori.
Model PT-35 - Model PT-35, brown/ivory.

A replace­ment for Mod­el TP-10, the only thing new about the PT-35 was the "PHILCO Tran­si­tone" decal on the front of the cab­i­net. As with the TP-10, there are col­or vari­a­tions in the PT-35 cab­i­nets; one such vari­a­tion is shown in the low­er pho­to above. It received AM from 540 to 1720 kc and the "police" band from 2.3 to 2.5 mc.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $17.95

Num­ber made: 8,383

Model PT-37

Model PT-37 - Model PT-29 shown. Model PT-37 is identical in appearance except for the dial scale.

This set replaced Mod­el TH-18, and was capa­ble of receiv­ing short­wave from 5.5 to 19 mc as well as AM from 540 to 1720 kc.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $14.95

Num­ber made: 114,160 (Note: Fig­ure includes pro­duc­tion of Mod­els PT-25, PT-27, PT-29 & PT-31)

Model PT-39

Model PT-39

This mod­el (and the PT-41 below) fea­tured a com­plete­ly new cab­i­net. The chas­sis is iden­ti­cal to the PT-25/TH-4. It received the AM band (540-1720 kc).

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $15.95

Num­ber made: 27,142 (Note: Fig­ure includes pro­duc­tion of Mod­el PT-41)

Model PT-41

Model PT-41 - Image courtesy of Jeremy Schotter.
Model PT-41 - Image courtesy of Doug Burdic.

The dif­fer­ence between this mod­el and the PT-39 above is the small­er cov­er­age of the AM band - this mod­el only received 540 to 1580 kc.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $15.95

Num­ber made: 27,142 (Note: Fig­ure includes pro­duc­tion of Mod­el PT-41)

Model PT-43

Model PT-43 - Model PT-43-A, ivory trim.
Model PT-43 - Model PT-43-C, red trim. Image used with permission. Model PT-43 - PT-43-F, brown trim. Image courtesy of Cheryle Starkweather.

Anoth­er all-new cab­i­net for this Tran­si­tone mod­el. It was capa­ble of receiv­ing AM from 540 to 1580 kc and short­wave up to 2.5 mc.

It was made in five versions:

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $16.95

Num­ber made: Unknown

Model PT-45

Model PT-45

This set was the suc­ces­sor to the Jan­u­ary 1939 looka­like TH-5. It receives the AM band from 540 to 1720 kc and fea­tures push­but­ton tuning.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $16.95

Num­ber made: 3,920 (Note: Fig­ure includes pro­duc­tion of Mod­els PT-47 & PT-51)

Model PT-47

Model PT-47

Sim­i­lar to the PT-45 above, its cab­i­net was ivory paint­ed Bakelite.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $17.95

Num­ber made: 3,920 (Note: Fig­ure includes pro­duc­tion of Mod­els PT-45 & PT-51)

Model PT-51

Model PT-51

This mod­el was the replace­ment for the old­er TP-5-I (Jan­u­ary 1939). It received AM from 540 to 1720 kc and the "police" band from 2.3 to 2.5 mc. The cab­i­net is iden­ti­cal in appear­ancfe to Mod­el PT-47.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $18.95

Num­ber made: 3,920 (Note: Fig­ure includes pro­duc­tion of Mod­els PT-45 & PT-47)

Model PT-55

Model PT-55 - Model PT-55, black/green. Image courtesy of Dave Mitchell.
Model PT-55 - Model PT-55, brown/ivory.

The new PT-55 replaced the looka­like TP-20. It was avail­able in sev­er­al dif­fer­ent col­ors besides the stan­dard brown Bake­lite with ivory Ten­ite trim; one col­or vari­a­tion is shown above.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $13.95

Num­ber made: Unknown

Model PT-57

Model PT-57

This new Tran­si­tone was iden­ti­cal to the June 1939 mod­el TH-17 which it replaced except for the dial scale. Like the TH-17, it received the AM band from 540 to 1580 kc and also had elec­tron­ic push­but­ton tun­ing and a built-in loop antenna.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $18.95

Num­ber made: Unknown

Model PT-59

Model PT-59

The fre­quen­cy cov­er­age of this Mod­el is 540 to 1720 kc (AM) and 2.3 to 2.5 mc. It replaced the Jan­u­ary 1939 TP-11. The case is brown Bake­lite with swirled ivory Ten­ite trim.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $19.95

Num­ber made: Unknown

Model PT-61

Model PT-61

Also known among col­lec­tors as the "Jew­el Case," this Tran­si­tone has become very desir­able in recent years because of its unique cab­i­net. It receives the AM band from 540 to 1580 kc.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $19.95

Num­ber made: 12,510

Model PT-65

Model PT-65 - Image courtesy of snoopyradios.

Elec­tron­ic push­but­ton tun­ing and a fre­quen­cy cov­er­age from 540 to 1580 kc are the fea­tures of this all-new Tran­si­tone model.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $22.50

Num­ber made: 10,000

Model PT-67

Model PT-67 - Image used with permission.
Model PT-67

This mod­el replaces the June 1939 Mod­el TP-21. It receives the AM band (540-1580 kc) and the "police" band (2.3-2.5 mc).

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $22.50

Num­ber made: Unknown

Model PT-69

Model PT-69

This mod­el, which replaced the June 1939 A52CK and A52CK1, includ­ed a Ses­sions elec­tric clock with a five-tube Tran­si­tone chas­sis. AM only.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $24.95

Num­ber made: 11,010

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