Picked up this Zenith H503Y AC/DC/battery operated AM portable from '51 at a flea market for $20. I still need to clean and polish the case; but, it looks very well to be 58 years old. It still has all of the old paper caps, someone placed a silicon diode across the selenium rectifier, someone replaced the line cord by attaching a new cord with wire nuts to the old wire stubs under the chassis, and the dial cord slips. Despite all of this, the radio plays very well and is sensitive. I'd first thought about selling this; but, it picks up an oldies station about 100 miles away. That in itself is reason enough to keep it since everyting else is either talk, southern gospel, or African-American gospel on AM. Depending on what's on, I can sometimes listen to the southern gospel station; but, the oldies station is more suited to my taste in music. I'm sure it will work better after a proper restoration. BTW, this radio uses one of those expensive 1L6's and has a tuned RF stage. I might even build a battery pack so I can use the radio as a true portable.
