Well looky here what Google turned up! Tonight I pulled out an old radio that my son-in-law found for me at an estate sale last year to give it a once-over. So I decided to do a little research on this thing and guess who pops up? It's an old thread from none other than our good old uncle Sandy! (For those of you that don't frequent AudioKarma, I roam the halls there quite a bit and Sandy is one of my favorite people there -- just don't tell him I said so!)
I was feeling like it might be worth a chance to power up slowly with a variac so I gave it a shot -- and son of a gun if it doesn't work! It obviously needs some work but it pulled in a couple of stations nice and clear and there isn't even any hum. It is otherwise in great condition. I am looking forward to seeing what it will look like after I clean it up. The aluminum is in surprisingly good condition. There are a few small scratches that I think will come out with a little bit of work although I am a bit concerned about removing the scratch and leaving a bigger blemish behind. The fine brushed aluminum finish seems pretty delicate. If anyone has some good ideas or a direction to point me in about that I sure will apppreciate it.
Anyway, here are a few pictures of the radio as it was found.
By the way, what is that little spring-return switch to the right of the filter cap? If that is the AC/Battery switch, how is it used? I don't see any way to activate it unless I am missing some piece that gets inserted into the slot.
Edit: never mind, I figured it out. It's the AC plug itself. Clever rascals back then, eh?