Purchased in 1994 for $25 at one of my favourite flea markets at Clappisons Corners, Ontario Canada. I looked past the ugly Mactac wood covering and silver paint and saw a potentially incredible glass dial. And of course I couldn’t resist buying a radio that had a “magic eye” tuning indicator.

I restored this radio on and off during the period of December 2018 to December 2019

As found, there was some loose and missing veneer. The AC cord looked like it was salvaged from a kettle or toaster. Chassis had some green corrosion and there was evidence this radio was owned by a chain smoker.

Under the chassis was just a bit crowded but fairly clean. Evidence of butchery by a “serviceman” of the past.

Restoration of the chassis and re-capping was relatively uneventful. The existing 6U5 eye tube was very dim, and since I had a 6E5 in stock, I used that one rather than purchase a too-expensive 6U5. I adjusted the value of a resistor to account for the different characteristics of a 6E5 and the result was very satisfactory.

As can be seen, after stripping the cabinet, repairing veneer, toning and clear coating, the beautiful wood grain under that ugly silver paint just shone!

New grille cloth was ordered from Richmond Designs and applied.  I had 3 matching knobs in stock salvaged from a Philco parts radio a few years ago. I think they work well with this cabinet.

I think one of the nicest attributes of this radio is the design of the glass dial. Being surface mounted on top of the face of the cabinet and back-lit, the light shines through the glass to the edges with a beautiful green glow.