1935 Gilfillan 43-A - Printable Version

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+--- Thread: 1935 Gilfillan 43-A (/showthread.php?tid=26553)

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462ron - 462ron - 07-27-2026

Bob I hear you on the question of over spending on a radio and is it worth it. In the last year I restored, both cabinet and chassis, a Philco 39-25. It’s a beautiful set but I think I spent well over $320+ on it after buying all the cabinet lacquer and finishing supplies, dial glass, output transformer and so forth, way more than I intended. Luckily my wife is supportive of my hobby. My only concern is, it’s just a basic AA5 with a power transformer. I can understand a manufacturer putting a basic chassis like that into a plain or drab square box cabinet but this set has a rather nice stylish looking cabinet with a slopped front, certainly deserving of a more upscale chassis instead of an AA5! On the other hand, my somewhat similarly styled 41-250 log cabin, has I think an 8 tube chassis more befitting that cabinet and so is a much better performer!

Ron

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RE: 1935 Gilfillan 43-A - klondike98 - 07-28-2026

Yes, I also went overboard on a 39-25 restoration...
   

It was in tought shape when I got it:

   

My son asked if he could have it and I was pleased he liked it, so he took it to his condo in Michigan. When he moved up to Toronto he put it in a storage locker in Michigan and just last week when he visited the locker found that it had been broken into and a number of items were stolen including the 39-25 Interestingly, he also had the 48-482 that I had given him for Christmas one year in the locker but they didn't take that, probably too heavy.

   

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RE: 1935 Gilfillan 43-A - morzh - 07-28-2026

Yeah...Michigan and storage lockers do not make good combination.

It sucks, this is a really nice looking radio.

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RE: 1935 Gilfillan 43-A - Arran - 07-28-2026

I really don't know what they thought that they were going to do with something like a 39-25? An antique dealer wouldn't have paid them $50 for it, and fleabay, fakebook, etc, are too obvious. I'm surprised that there were no video cameras in that storage depo, the ones here have them everywhere.
Regards
Arran

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462ron - 462ron - 07-29-2026

Wow Bob that had to hurt losing that beautiful set to some lowlife.  Your radio came out beautifully. I have my 39-25 back on the bench for some tweaking as the reception isn’t the greatest but then I’ve noticed in the last couple of weeks AM reception is bad on several of my radios around here on both new and old radios. It’s been my experience that long wire antenna sets like the 39-25 aren’t near as good as those with built in loops. This 39-25 could have used an RF stage.

Ron        

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RE: 1935 Gilfillan 43-A - klondike98 - 07-29-2026

Very nice, that turned out looking lovely!

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