'39 Motorola "Picnic" portable

[old_coot88]

On many battery portables, the volume by design couldn't be turned all the way down, so as to prevent the radio from being left on unintentionally.

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by old_coot88

On many battery portables, the volume by design couldn't be turned all the way down, so as to prevent the radio from being left on unintentionally.

Aha! I noticed that on some sets. Very clever. This thread is really revealing a lot about these portables!

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by decojoe67

Aha! I noticed that on some sets. Very clever. This thread is really revealing a lot about these portables!

My favorite lugables are the Emerson models 505 & 523 post-war or the pre-war FU424. These were 3 way portables That had the elegant design of having a higher power output stage for use on the AC-DC mains, 1 watt vs 250-300mw on batteries. They designed the tricky way running the battery tube filaments from the cathode of the line audio output tube. Some models used a 50B5 and 35W4 and others used a 117N7, combination penthode and rectifier
A few other firms built a variation of same.
They sounded a lot better than the others that ran the battery output tube when using it on AC or DC.

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

My favorite lugables are the Emerson models 505 & 523 post-war or the pre-war FU424. These were 3 way portables That had the elegant design of having a higher power output stage for use on the AC-DC mains, 1 watt vs 250-300mw on batteries. They designed the tricky way running the battery tube filaments from the cathode of the line audio output tube. Some models used a 50B5 and 35W4 and others used a 117N7, combination penthode and rectifier
A few other firms built a variation of same.
They sounded a lot better than the others that ran the battery output tube when using it on AC or DC.

I personally try to stay focused with these and stick to the battery-only models with the airplane-luggage covering. As time went on they lost the simplicity of the early models with busy metal and plastic grills.

[maxhifi]

This western air patrol has been in my collection for about 25 years. I really like the simplicity of the design, and the proportions of the cabinet. I ran it off 9 volt batteries in series for the B cell, and a couple of Ds for the A cell. It worked nice, I should try it again some time.

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by maxhifi

This western air patrol has been in my collection for about 25 years. I really like the simplicity of the design, and the proportions of the cabinet. I ran it off 9 volt batteries in series for the B cell, and a couple of Ds for the A cell. It worked nice, I should try it again some time.

Thanks for the pics. You have a real gem there and rather rare one, especially in that condition. The decorative grill trim was a very nice touch. If I may give you a tip for the frayed threads - put a little dab of CLEAR Elmer's glue on your finger tip and smooth the threads down. It works great and neatens-up the cabinet.

[maxhifi]

Originally Posted by decojoe67

Thanks for the pics. You have a real gem there and rather rare one, especially in that condition. The decorative grill trim was a very nice touch. If I may give you a tip for the frayed threads - put a little dab of CLEAR Elmer's glue on your finger tip and smooth the threads down. It works great and neatens-up the cabinet.

Hey that's a great tip, thank you! I don't usually go for battery radios, but this one is quite attractive looking. It's also kind of unusual to find a US market set of this age in Canada.