Posted 3 years ago
Mcg1973
(1 item)
I know it's a 1941 Victrola RCA 55x radio tube radio, but I have a couple of questions, what size radio tubes does it use or need, where can I get them, can I just use new speakers in it, and lastly - do they make a kit to convert it to a modern set up or maybe just add Bluetooth to it? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
MCG1973, there are definitely answers to all your questions but I'm going to try to offer a bit of advice that might not really require most of them... :-)
If your goal for this radio is ultimately to make it usable via Bluetooth, (or any modern electronic music format) that would certainly be possible but not necessarily using *any* of its extant components, in fact would likely require destroying many of same. This, IMHO, would definitely NOT be a good thing.
Your 1941 radio appears to be complete and intact as it is. (whether it currently works or not, likely not, that doesn't even matter) AS SUCH, it retains a certain amount of extra value simply because of that fact -- also would thus be an excellent candidate for a thorough and proper restoration to its original condition and functionality.
IF you are not interested in this course of action for it (which admittedly can be costly, if hired done) you would still have options to get sound out of it -- the simplest and most effective, probably, being to just find a modern Bluetooth speaker unit/setup small enough to tuck inside the radio's cabinet next to its existing innards (looks like there's plenty of potential room beside its chassis already?) or maybe even discreetly hiding on your shelf behind it or somewhere close. Its wooden cabinet does look like it is in need of exterior refinishing but the knobs are there and dial and grille cloth look OK, the wood finish could certainly be restored rather easily once internal parts are carefully removed to be put back afterward. Though it might seem logical to simply remove all the old parts and leave them out (safely stored, hopefully) to provide more room for a different speaker system inside the box, you'd likely end up discovering that most of the radio's dial is physically part of the chassis thus would come out with it kinda killing the 'look' -- to try to separate the dial from the chassis for display would bring us right back to the "permanent destruction" part of my whole thought process here which I (and probably a bunch of other CW folks) would REALLY, REALLY HOPE to DISCOURAGE you from doing... :-) :-) :-)
If you plan on restoring this radio to the point of being able to have it play, the first thing that needs to be done is replace the capacitors. Generally if that is done and the radio is aligned then it should play pretty good. These are the tubes your radio uses
12Sa7
12SK7
12SAQ7
50L6
35Z5
\These tubes can be bought quite readily from'' tubes and more'' , and many other suppliers.
Rather than buying new or used tubes you might know someone who has a tubes tester. They are probably still good as the parts inside are in a vacuum.
Dan Walker