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#1
08-17-2004, 11:31 PM
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I finished my Silvertone!
I'll admit I have a weakness for these curious old battery-powered tube portables. By the time I came along in life, they had already left the scene, and I just assumed that transistor radios were the first truly portable radios. I wasn't even aware that it was possible, let alone practical, to power a tube radio with batteries, and still be able carry it around with one hand.
The radio featured here is a Silvertone model 210, a four-tube portable manufactured for Sears by Arvin in 1950. It is unique in that its plastic case is designed such that the chassis installs from the bottom, giving it a very clean and streamlined look, and I love the "Oriental Jade" finish! It came with its four, original Arvin tubes, though one of them needed to be replaced. The battery requirement is (2) "D"-size flashlight cells, and a 67.5-volt B battery. Quite a heavy little package with batteries on board! The radio was in pretty good shape when I acquired it. I wet-sanded the outside, and followed up with Novus polish and paste wax. This had to be done with extreme caution since the plastic in this radio, after fifty-some years, is very fragile, and makes a very faint "crackling" sound whenever it is flexed slightly. It wouldn't take much to completely pulverize it! All I did electronically, besides replacing the bad tube, was to replace the one electrolytic capacitor, and all of the paper ones. It's not a really strong performer, especially in this fringe area, but it picks up the signal from my home transmitter with ease. It's surprising how little heat these radios generate, even after an hour or so of playing, with their low-voltage tubes. I really like this nifty little radio! Paula 
Last edited by Paula; 05-11-2006 at 04:25 PM. 
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#3
08-17-2004, 11:48 PM
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Ummmm...Wow!! Hella nice job!!
Love the Jade green...
__________________
In battle, in forest, at the precipice in the mountains, On the dark great sea, in the midst of javelins and arrows, In sleep, in confusion, in the depths of shame, The good deeds a man has done before defend him. --Bhagavad-Gita
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#4
08-17-2004, 11:57 PM
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WOW! Thats one good looking set! Fantastic job Paula! Actually i never seen that particular model before but am sure now that several of us will be keeping a look out for one. I love how you restore your sets as they are just as beautiful inside as they are outside. The cool thing about these little gems is you can have alot of wow value in such a little radio and not break the bank either. Thanks for sharing Paula!
-Tony
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#5
08-18-2004, 12:02 AM
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That's a really beautiful and distinctive radio, Paula. Well worth the effort, I'd say.
My theory on tube portables like that is that the batteries were so expensive and short lived that most folks who bought them probably never went through more than a few batteries before they shelved the radio....Hence, most of them are in excellent condition. Set the stage for the popularity of transistor radios. Congratulations on a great find, I've never seen that one! Lee
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#7
08-18-2004, 01:24 PM
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Very nice piece of retro sculpture, and a fine eye for detail in your process of reviving it. Makes me wanna put on my pork-pie hat and go scrounging for treasures like that..........
__________________
"If evil exists, it's a pair of train tracks, And the Devil is a railroad car." -Josh Ritter-
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#8
08-18-2004, 06:48 PM
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Paula, that really is a beauty, congratulations. It's the same color styrene (I think) of a Fada that I redid for a friend about a year ago. That one was badly scratched and worn on top, and I had to go through all the grades of wet sanding and finally machine and hand polishing with compound, but it came out new-looking like yours.
It looks like you bit the bullet and bought a B=battery. When that one goes, you can substitute seven or eight 9-volt batteries snapped together in series. They might even fit inside the gutted cardboard container of the B-battery. You can get packs of them cheap at places like Big Lots and they last quite a while. I recently bought 4 D cells, 4 AA cells, and 10 9-volts to power my Radiola III, and I think the total was around $7.00. Love that translucent green! Reece
__________________
Reece Perfection is hard to reach with a screwdriver.
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#9
08-20-2004, 03:18 PM
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In one word: coooooooooooolllllllllllll!!!
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#10
08-20-2004, 08:18 PM
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turned out nice.
i just fixed an emerson portable that you lift the lid to turn on. did the 5 9v thing but used lithium batts. bet the owner will go through a few d cells before the lithiums go.
__________________
i collect and restore vintage radio's,tv's,and ham gear. email for more info
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#12
08-20-2004, 10:22 PM
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Paula, where did you find that 67.5 volt battery. I need one for a wood moisture tester. Does it look like a big nine volt on top?
Also, to hook up 9 volts in parallel, which way is that? + to - to + to -, or is it all the +'s together and all the -'s together? I know, rookie question, but it's been a long day and I am feeling too dang lazy to look it up And can I add some D cells to make it closer to the actual voltage, or will it matter?
__________________
_______________________________ All there is to life is beer and music.... Well, family too, but they are where the beer and music is. Work? That's just to get me to the weekend.... where the beer, music and family are. Like I said, those are the important things.
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#13
08-20-2004, 11:15 PM
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B Battery Conversion
Great job Paula. That is a very cool radio.
VinylHanger, Here's one approach to a B battery conversion with 7 - 9V batteries. - Pete http://www.techlib.com/electronics/B-battery.htm
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#15
08-21-2004, 06:51 AM
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i save the dead b batts and load them with small nicad/nimh cells to make a rechrgeable b batt.
i put a 1/4 amp fuse in the pack since nicads can produce lots of current and we are also at a dangerous voltage level. so dont toss the b batt when it dies.
__________________
i collect and restore vintage radio's,tv's,and ham gear. email for more info
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