[Greg]

I noticed that my 37-690 has two different styles of station call letter tabs. One has a single copy of the call letters and the other has two smaller copies one upside down from the other. I presume this is for those who have good vision but can't easily read upside down text

Would the 37-690 have shipped with the two styles (seems tacky)?

I know they sold packages of the tabs but where there "regional" assortments with big, nation wide stations thrown in?

My 38-2 has the dual call letter tab version but they are filthy and darkened to the point of being useless.

I have some dial material and plan to make some new ones by printing on clear decal sheets and lacquering over top after application. I'm leaning toward making the single call letter version. They are easier to make and to read... Any opinions?


versions

[Ron Ramirez]

Early production 1937 Philco models with Automatic Tuning used the tabs with two sets of call letters per tab, one upside down from the other.

Sometime during production of 1937 models, Philco switched to the tabs with a single set of call letters per tab.

I've seen 1937 Philco models both ways, more with single call letters than dual.

As far as I know, no 1938 Philco models had tabs with two sets of call letters per tab - just one per tab.

[Electrothaumaturgist]

All of the tabs (save for 4 of them which were broken out and I had single letters left over from the 42-400 which I used in place of) on my 38-1 have two sets of call letters per tab. Would these have been changed out at some point in time, or this being first(?) production run for 1938, being manufactured in 1937 with the automatic tuning, could these tabs be original? There is actually one station on the tab that matches a Phoenix station on the dial, although with the old call letters that they used to use.

[Ron Ramirez]

Ah, an exception to the rule!

If I'm not mistaken, I believe the call letter tabs were inserted by the dealer, not by the factory. How would they know at the factory which radios would be going to what cities/towns? So I really believe the tabs were installed by the original dealers. So the dealer which originally sold your 38-1 may very well have used an early 1937 (made in summer-fall 1936) call letter tab kit? The tabs are otherwise the same. So, technically...yes, original.

[Electrothaumaturgist]

Was the 38-2 production run begun in 1937 also, as the 38-1?

[Ron Ramirez]

All of the first 1938 models (including the 38-1) began to be built in May-June 1937. More models were added to the 1938 lineup in December 1937-January 1938, and others deleted from the line.

This was common practice by Philco and other radio manufacturers. Beginning in May 1934, Philco went to a "model year" in which the new models were introduced to the dealers in May of the previous calendar year, and to the public in June of the previous calendar year.

In other words, the new 1935 line was shown to dealers in May 1934, and introduced to the public in June 1934. This practice continued for decades afterward.

I don't know about others, but at mid-season (December-January), Philco would add new models and delete others from the lineup. This, too, continued until WWII and for a few years afterward as well.

It's in the same manner that new cars used to be introduced to the public in September of the previous calendar year.

[LarryFS]

The station call letter tabs on the 38-3 I recently finished working on have the double lettering (see photo).  The ones I can make out are/were stations in the northeast, best I can tell.

WEAF - New York City
WLW - Cincinnati
WOR - New Jersey
WJZ - New York
WABC - New York City
KDKA? - Pittsburgh

Would dealers in a multi-state area all use the same station call letter kit?  This particular radio has probably spent all its life in PA.

Larry