What is this/what's it worth? - Videokarma.org TV - Video

danrulz98 · #1 06-24-2010, 02:58 PM

Ran across something interesting, I was wondering if this would be worth anything.
http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/atq/1808779744.html

bandersen · #2 06-24-2010, 05:21 PM

I'm not sure what it's worth or the make and model, but I'd go for it. I really like tombstone radios and that's a nice one

Too bad it's missing a couple knobs though. They can be a pain to track down.

Keep in mind that it is a battery (AKA farm) set. You'd need to rig up a battery eliminator or some reproduction batteries to power it. Forum member 'batterymaker' can help you out with that.

danrulz98 · #3 06-25-2010, 11:47 AM

The owner says its a Silvertone 4405

So, I found something similar looks wise going for a pretty good price on Ebay, but something similar electronics wise (battery powered) not doing so hot...

The owner said he's gotten some pretty dismal offers ($35) and was told that the battery powered ones aren't as popular among collectors.

*sigh*

leadlike · #4 06-25-2010, 01:08 PM

That is about what it would go for at a swap meet. Maybe, maybe it will sell for that price, but that is pretty much as high as you can get with a battery set. I personally wouldn't bother with it, but on your coast, finding any nice-looking deco set is quite difficult.

bandersen · #5 06-25-2010, 02:19 PM

They're hard to find in Chicago too for some reason. There are loads of consoles on craigslist, but I rarely see a tombstone or cathedral. The only one in my collection is a battery set too.

Reece · #6 06-25-2010, 09:35 PM

The battery sets are often in good condition because they weren't used that long. When the power line came through to the farm, they bought a 110-volt set and put the battery set in the closet. Some would restore these sets to their original condition electrically, i.e., to run off batteries, but depending on the set it would be possible to whip up a 120V power supply and build it into the cabinet. Often there's plenty of room because of space provided for the batteries.

radiotvnut · #7 06-26-2010, 01:21 AM

If the cabinet looked nice and all the internal parts were there, I MIGHT be willing to pay $65 if I had some money to burn. The fact is that battery sets are often less desireable because of the work involved to make them play in today's world. There were many battery sets from the '30's that ran on a 6V, or 32V DC source. And, others required many voltages such as a filament supply, two high voltage B+ supplies, and one or two C voltages. By the early '40's, things got a little less complicated as most farm radios required only 1.5 volts for the filament and 90 V for the B+.

danrulz98 · #8 06-26-2010, 02:28 AM

Ah, so you couldn't just make a big 6 volt power supply?

RitchieMars · #9 06-26-2010, 04:43 AM

I have a very plain late-40's Silvertone 6220 that a friend gave me to tinker with. It's also battery-powered and that fact is probably the only thing keeping me from getting it running as easily as I have some other things. Since these types of radios were sometimes marginal in performance and very often rather plain, I suppose I can understand why some would pass them by. But...I have to say, that model 4405 (1936) has a really good look for a battery set. I've run across several sets of similar vintage that I would have bought to restore, but so many folks expect antique store prices for the distraught piles of garbage they dug out of their grandpa's barn. I'd rather not contribute to that insanity anymore than I already have in the past.

It's a neat little radio, but being a battery set with missing knobs and who knows what else, I'd have to haggle it down a good bit. Who knows, it might look even better in person?

Reece · #10 06-26-2010, 07:42 AM

Ah, so you couldn't just make a big 6 volt power supply?

Yes, you could, but as the set is now, the high voltage is obtained from 6v through a vibrator-type step-up circuit, like those used in cars up through the late '50's. These are noisy and temperamental. You'd be going from 120VAC to a hefty 6VDC, hefty enough to supply the heaters, and then in the B+ section of the set from 6VDC to pulsating DC then rectified back up to 100 volts or more DC. Lots of voltage ups and downs that could be avoided. Simpler to do the following: if the set has 6 volt heaters throughout, that's easily taken care of by a filament transformer. Then a small 1/1 isolation transformer with silicon diode and a resistor and a couple of electrolytics can supply the high voltage. If you have 1 volt filaments, a simple DC supply has to be cooked up for that.

For history's sake, the vibrator supply can be left on the chassis and the new supply outboarded inside the cabinet. A page detailing the changes made and how to change back to the original if wanted can be left inside the cabinet. Unless you're restoring a set for a museum, or per your personal philosophy, I think it makes sense to make the set work as trouble-free as possible for use today, while preserving the original radio circuits, just my dos centavos.