[Jayce]

Today I was at an antique power show and talked to a gentleman I know who had some engine stuff and tools both on display and for sale. One one table were two radio items, one a Radiola 16 cabinet for $20 and the other a Radiola Senior regenerative radio. I didn't think the Senior was for sale until he told the another curious person the prices for the radios. Turns out he wanted $40 for it! I took the money out so fast that I can barely remember counting it out to him! It came with a still good, globe-type 30. Now, I call and tell my radio repair friend about this unit and he almost has a heart attack after hearing what I paid! He says I stole it at that price! How rare are these units? Mine appears to have been redone ages ago for a more common tube, though I guess that wasn't unsual for these units as the WD-11 tube wasnt produced long.

[Radioroslyn]

Seems like a good price! Earlier models have a wood front (top) panel and the later are bakelite. #30 toob is a good mod as they are much cheaper and won't kill your A battery like a WD-11 (250ma vs 60ma) Come to think of it I don't know if a globe toob would fit? Take a quick look it the socket does it have 3 small holes and one larger one? If so start looking for a WD-11. Check out Bill Turner site he reproduces a WD-11 using a test tube and a 5676 pencil toob.
Terry
ps Your's is the later version.

[Ron Ramirez]

Cool find, Jayce, and the price was right!

I used to have an Aeriola Senior - older version of your radio. Neat little set. The Aeriola had a paper instruction sheet under the lid instead of the metal tag yours has.

[Jayce]

Thanks! It appers this unit has been converted with a standard four pin tube socket. The type 30 tube I got with it is the older globe type and it still tests as good, about 80% life left in it. It also looks good in the radio, but I can't close the top with it in. I might set this radio up in my beddroom when I get it going. It would be fun to have some headphones on and listen to what channels I can get during the winter with this unit. I used to have a cheap Radio Shack crystal radio that I did that with. That crystal radio is what got me back into AM radio and started me on the path to collecting antique radios.

[Alan Douglas]

These work well and you'll have a lot of fun with it. A new 30 might have too much gain anyhow. With a decent antenna (height is more important than length) and a ground, it ought to pull in forty or fifty stations. It would get more, but won't tune to the upper end of the modern broadcast band.

Timing is everything. A similar thing happened to me at the MIT Flea Market a couple of years ago. One vendor was just setting up and had a Dell 19' flat-screen monitor on his table. I figured he'd want a fair amount for it (it was about a $500 monitor at the time) and I don't like to ask prices on everything just to find out, but the guy ahead of me asked and was quoted $40. He then wanted to know if it had any dead pixels. The vendor got into a huff and said for that price he didn't know or care. Luckily the guy left and I immediately pounced on it.

Turned out the reason it was so cheap, is that it didn't have its power-supply brick. The vendor had three monitors but only two bricks. But he said he had tried it and it worked properly. I had a power supply, just needed mounting in a box with a switch. I'm using it right now.

[Jayce]

I pulled my Radiola apart today and it might need a little work to get going. One wire is broken and it is that stuff that seems to have wire strands interwoven through the fabric instead of a core of strands like later wire. Also, there is a flat block between the earphone connectors that looks a little crappy with corrosion. Other than those two things, it looks good inside. One oddity, I pulled half of an Aeriola Senior tag that was crumpled in the bottom of the case. Why was that in there? The half that is intact is a help though as it shows how to properly connect the batteries. After taping it back together, I scanned the fragile piece into my computer.

[Alan Douglas]

The flexible wire to the tickler coil can be a problem. I don't remember if there's a small capacitor across the headphone terminals. The paper may have been supplied with the set as an instruction sheet.

[Jayce]

I just lucked into an NOS UX-199 tube today. Actually, just marked as a type 99 on the top. In a bit of irony, it is a Philco tube! Now to get this radio checked out and set up for service. My last question is: what type headphones do I use for this unit and where to get some?

p.s. The guy I bought the tube from had a very early looking Philco console collecting dust in his backroom radio collection. Not sure on exact model, but it was definitely the early console look. Far different from my oldest Philco consoles like my model 87.

[Arran]

I don't know if a 199 will fit, I seem to remember that they had a smaller base then either a 30 or a WD11. One tube that can be made to work is something like a 1A5 or 1Q5 wired up as a triode, with adapter, if you get an earlier version they even have a similar envelope to a WD11.
Best Regards
Arran

[Alan Douglas]

Any high-impedance phones (anything made before 1940) will work. Or you can try a step-down transformer and a modern pair of phones. An output transformer from any cheap radio would do.