Philco for 1946 (introduced January 1946)

Overview

Some months after the end of the Sec­ond World War, Philco returned to civil­ian radio production.

The com­pa­ny ini­tial­ly planned a large num­ber of new radio mod­els. How­ev­er, many of the pro­posed new sets nev­er made it to pro­duc­tion (see the Lost 1946 Mod­els page).

Philco no longer used their Beam of Light record chang­ers in its radio-phono­graphs. Instead, they intro­duced com­plete­ly new chang­ers; the cheap­er mod­els used crys­tal car­tridges, as before; while more expen­sive mod­els used a new mag­net­ic car­tridge which Philco called its "Dynam­ic" cartridge.

Model Index

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

Bat­tery-oper­at­ed Farm Sets

46-131 46-132 46-142

Philco Tran­si­tone Models

46-200 46-200-I 46-250 46-250-I

Portable

46-350

Elec­tric (AC & AC-DC) Models

46-420 46-420-I 46-421 46-421-I 46-427 46-431 46-451
46-480

Philco Trop­ic Models

46-806 46-816, 46-817 & 46-818 46-860 46-888

Radio-Phono­graph Models

46-1201 46-1203 46-1209 46-1213 46-1226

Models

Battery-operated Farm Sets


Model 46-131

Model 46-131 - Image courtesy of Clifford R. Huff.
Model 46-131 Model 46-131

Philco's new entry lev­el farm set for 1946 was housed in an all-new, brown bake­lite cab­i­net. It used four tubes and cov­ered the AM band only.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $27.60

Num­ber made: 46,539

Model 46-132

Model 46-132 - Image courtesy of Shane Russom.
Model 46-132

The chas­sis uses five tubes and receives the AM band.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $39.95

Num­ber made: 45,130

Model 46-142

Model 46-142
Model 46-142

The 46-142 cab­i­net is an ivory paint­ed Bake­lite ver­sion of the 46-131 cab­i­net. How­ev­er, the chas­sis uses five tubes and fea­tures push-pull out­put. It also receives the AM band only.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: Unknown

Num­ber made: Unknown

Philco Transitone Models


Model 46-200

Model 46-200

Philco con­tin­ued to offer a low-priced line of Tran­si­tone mod­els in 1946. How­ev­er, these now car­ried mod­el num­bers sim­i­lar to the rest of the Philco line.

This Mod­el uses a brown Bake­lite cab­i­net and is iden­ti­cal in appear­ance to the 1942 Mod­el 42-PT91.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $19.70

Num­ber made: 179,451

Model 46-200-I

Model 46-200-I

The 46-200-I fea­tures an ivory paint­ed Bake­lite cab­i­net. The set is iden­ti­cal in appear­ance to the 1942 mod­el 42-PT92.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $19.70

Num­ber made: 55,694

Model 46-250

Model 46-250

Iden­ti­cal in appear­ance to the 1942 mod­el 42-PT2, the new 46-250 uses five tubes and receives the AM band.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $22.35

Num­ber made: 149,757

Model 46-250-I

Model 46-250-I

This set looks just like the 1942 mod­el 42-PT4, but the chas­sis is slight­ly improved over the 1942 mod­el. One major improve­ment in all 1946 mod­els is the elim­i­na­tion of rub­ber-cov­ered wiring. Philco switched to an improved plas­tic insu­la­tion for its chas­sis wiring begin­ning with the 1946 models.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $23

Num­ber made: 48,602

Portable


Model 46-350

Model 46-350 - Image courtesy of Bill Hutchinson.
Model 46-350 - Model 46-350, tambour door closed. Model 46-350 - Model 46-350, tambour door open.

A major sell­er for Philco, this mod­el is very easy to find today. It oper­ates on 115 volts, AC or DC cur­rent, or on batteries.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $45.95

Num­ber made: 220,503

Electric (AC & AC-DC) Models


Model 46-420

Model 46-420
Model 46-420 Model 46-420 - Image courtesy of Clifford R. Huff.

The first in a series of Philco sets which col­lec­tors have named "The Hip­po." This mod­el has a brown Bake­lite cab­i­net, uses six tubes, and cov­ers the AM band only.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $28.85

Num­ber made: 150,062

Model 46-420-I

Model 46-420-I

This "Hip­po" set is iden­ti­cal to the 46-420 except for the ivory paint­ed Bake­lite cabinet.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $29.95

Num­ber made: 51,696

Model 46-421

Model 46-421 - Image courtesy of Bill Thompson.

Anoth­er Philco cab­i­net that uses "Philcote" photofin­ish. Exam­ples may now be found with the photofin­ish bad­ly flak­ing, reveal­ing the cheap white wood under­neath. This set's orig­i­nal photofin­ish has been pre­served quite well overall.

The 46-421 also receives the AM band only, and it uses six tubes.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $34.95

Num­ber made: 13,059

Model 46-421-I

Model 46-421-I

This mod­el is iden­ti­cal to Mod­el 46-421 above, except for its ivory trim around the dial scale, and the ivory knobs.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $34.95

Num­ber made: 12,959

Model 46-427

Model 46-427

This Philco receives AM as well as short­wave from 9.5 to 15 mc. A sur­pris­ing­ly good per­former for its small size. It oper­ates on 115 volts, AC or DC current.

The cab­i­net of this set also uses photofin­ish - beware if you feel you must refin­ish one!

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $42.50

Num­ber made: 16,925

Model 46-431

Model 46-431
Model 46-431

Anoth­er table mod­el Philco which receives stan­dard AM plus one short­wave band (9.3 to 15.5 mc). It uses six tubes and oper­ates on AC only.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: Unknown

Num­ber made: 10,879

Model 46-451

Model 46-451 - Image courtesy of Tom San Jose.
Model 46-451 - Image courtesy of Tom San Jose.

The appear­ance of this Mod­el is rem­i­nis­cent of the 1942 Mod­el 42-350. How­ev­er, there is no FM in this set; it receives the AM band plus short­wave from 9.3 to 15 mc. It oper­ates on 115 volts, AC only.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: Unknown

Num­ber made: Unknown

Model 46-480

Model 46-480 - Image courtesy of Joanne Colli.
Model 46-480

Philco's only con­sole radio for the 1946 sea­son used sev­en tubes and received stan­dard AM, short­wave from 9.3 to 15.5 mc, and the new FM band (88-108 mc). It oper­at­ed on 115 volts, AC only.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $129.95

Num­ber made: 34,855

Philco Tropic Models


Model 46-806

Model 46-806
Model 46-806

This mod­el is iden­ti­cal in appear­ance to the 1942 Philco Trop­ic mod­el 42-706. It receives stan­dard AM plus two short­wave bands (2.3 to 7 mc & 7 to 24 mc). It uses six tubes and oper­ates on 115 or 230 volts, AC or DC.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: Unknown

Num­ber made: Unknown

Models 46-816, 46-817 & 46-818

Models 46-816, 46-817 & 46-818

These three Trop­ic mod­els are iden­ti­cal in appear­ance and in fre­quen­cy cov­er­age. All three received the AM band plus three short­wave bands: 3.0 to 9.8 mc, 9.3 to 12.0 mc, and 11.8 to 22.0 mc.

The dif­fer­ence was in the type of pow­er used. Mod­el 46-816 oper­at­ed on 120 or 240 volts, AC only. Mod­el 46-817 could use 120 or 240 volts, AC or DC cur­rent. And Mod­el 46-818 requires a 6 volt stor­age bat­tery for operation.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: Unknown

Num­ber made: Unknown

Model 46-860

Model 46-860 - Image courtesy of Gareth Muller.

This Trop­ic was elec­tron­i­cal­ly sim­i­lar to the 1942 Mod­el 42-760. It had the same fre­quen­cy cov­er­age, used eight tubes, and oper­at­ed on 120 or 240 volts, AC only.

The fre­quen­cies cov­ered were: AM (540 to 1750 kc), short­wave (2.3 to 7.3 and 7.0 to 22.0 mc), plus five "spread" bands - 9.4 to 9.9 mc, 11.4 to 12.0 mc, 14.8 to 15.6 mc, 17.3 to 18.2 mc & 20.9 to 21.9 mc.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: Unknown

Num­ber made: Unknown

Model 46-888

Model 46-888 - Image courtesy of Charles Truscott.

Like the 1942 mod­el 42-788, the new 46-888 used eleven tubes and cov­ered AM, three reg­u­lar short­wave bands (1.5-2.6 mc, 2.3 to 7.3 mc & 7.2 to 22.0 mc) plus five "spread" bands (9.4 to 9.9 mc, 11.4 to 12.0 mc, 14.8 to 15.6 mc, 17.4 to 18.2 mc & 21.2 to 21.8 mc).

It oper­at­ed on 115 or 230 volts, AC only.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: Unknown

Num­ber made: Unknown

Radio-Phonograph Models


Model 46-1201

Model 46-1201 - Model 46-1201, closed. Image courtesy of Clifford R. Huff.
Model 46-1201 - Model 46-1201, open. Image courtesy of Clifford R. Huff. Model 46-1201 Model 46-1201 Model 46-1201 - Bing Crosby and his Philco 46-1201. Image courtesy of NostalgiaRadioTime (Greg V.).

Known to col­lec­tors as the "Bing Cros­by Spe­cial" because of Philco adver­tis­ing fea­tur­ing Cros­by with the set, this five tube mod­el fea­tured a unique method of play­ing records.

You open the front lid (it flips down), insert a 10 or 12 inch 78 rpm record, close the lid and the record begins to play. It also shuts off auto­mat­i­cal­ly when the song is finished.

This was a very pop­u­lar mod­el in its time. So much so, in fact, that it remained in pro­duc­tion through the 1948 sea­son. Exam­ples are easy to find today.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $59.95

Num­ber made: 238,723

Model 46-1203

Model 46-1203
Model 46-1203

This set is notable because it was Philco's first table mod­el radio-phono­graph to use a record chang­er instead of a sin­gle-play phono­graph. The radio receives the AM band only and uses six tubes.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $114.90

Num­ber made: 35,880

Model 46-1209

Model 46-1209 - Model 46-1209, closed.
Model 46-1209 - Model 46-1209, open.

The 46-1209 uses eight tubes and receives the AM band and short­wave from 9.3 to 15.5 mc.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $205.00

Num­ber made: 74,662 (Note: Fig­ure includes pro­duc­tion of Jan­u­ary 1947 Mod­el 47-1230)

Model 46-1213

Model 46-1213 - Model 46-1213, closed. June 1947 model 48-1270 shown. Model 46-1213 is identical in appearance.
Model 46-1213 - Model 46-1213, open. Model 46-1213

A fanci­er radio-phono­graph con­sole, this cab­i­net was avail­able in either a wal­nut, mahogany, or bleached mahogany fin­ish. The radio used eleven tubes and received AM, the new FM band (88-108 mc) and short­wave from 9.3 to 15.5 mc). Push­but­tons were used to not only select pre­set AM sta­tions, but also to select any of the three bands, select phono­graph mode, or to turn the set on and off.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: Unknown

Num­ber made: Unknown

Model 46-1226

Model 46-1226 - Image courtesy of Larry Goodknight.
Model 46-1226 - Image courtesy of Michael Gerber. Model 46-1226

This con­sole used eight tubes and received the AM band plus short­wave from 9.3 to 15.5 mc.

Orig­i­nal sell­ing price: $193.85

Num­ber made: 40,621 (Note: Fig­ure includes pro­duc­tion of Jan­u­ary 1947 Mod­el 47-1227)

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