[Jayce]

Last thurday I did a little running and decided to make what is probably my final stop at an antique mall I've been visiting for the past 5 to six years. (Nothing personal, just changing interests is all.) This radio has been there the whole time sitting with a $180 price tag on it. On Thursday it was sitting in a clearance area with a $50 price tag on it. I've always thought this radio interesting due to using a type 53 output tube and it basically represents the end of the Grisby-Grunow Majestic line. So, it came home with me this time. Looks like someone subbed a 2S tube for one of the 4S tubes, but I guess that was considered a suitable tube substitute. The tag said the radio worked, but all it does is hum. Still, I have audio and the transformer seemed to test good. So, might be an interesting project.

   

   

[mikethedruid]

  Cool radio ! I look forward to hearing more about it. It looks like they used the kind of tubes with the shield coating on the glass.

[KCMike]

Nice radio Jayce. Let us know how it turns out.
It's funny how a seller will sit on an item for that long before finally lowering the price to where it has a chance to sell.
There was an majestic console radio here in a antique shop that sat there for about 2 years way over priced.
Then the last time I saw it they had lowered the price to $50.00 and it sold that week. Good luck.

[Arran]

 That Majestic looks like it may be around 1932-33 vintage, so not quite at the end of the line for Grigsby-Grunow, believe it or not they actually did live long enough to switch over to using 6.3 volt tubes. Other then the pair of 4-S tubes, which look like they are double diodes, most of them are just metal spray shield versions of the second generation 2.5 volt type tubes as denoted by things like 58S or 2A7S.

http://www.nostalgiaair.org/pagesbymodel...008791.pdf

I'm not sure why they would have used two of those 4-S tubes, they use one diode in one tube for the AVC diode, and one diode in the other for a second detector, the plate on the second diode inside each tube is grounded. Although unlike something like a 6H6 both diodes in each tube share a common cathode, still this didn't stop manufacturers from using both diodes in a 75/6Q7. What I am wondering about is what could be used as a substitute for the 4-S tubes in on of these? A type 56 wired as a diode? I have a Sylvania tube manual from 1937 that has a section on Majestic tubes so I will have to see what the specs are and what may be subbed for one.
Regards
Arran