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1936 Philco 89 Baby Grand Cathedral Radio - one of only 7000 made, Restored, Serviced and Working
In a Nutshell
The rare fifth and last version of Philco's longest-lived model series 89 from 1936
Introduction:
The first Philco 89 Baby Grand appeared in January 1933, together with electronically identical (except shadow meter) sister model 19. The Philco Model 89 was produced for three and a half years (January 1933 through April 1936), with a number of cabinet and circuit changes.
Ron Ramirez in ref.2 lists not less than five different cabinets for the cathedral version alone, and ten different schematics for the radio. In addition three console and chairside versions with again different cabinets and schematics have been made. Here we have the last version of 1936, with two bands, four-point tone control and a cabinet looking very similar to the other two models from 1936, 38B and 60B. The 89 has the same knobs and speaker cloth, but has a lower tuning knob and more expensive walnut butt veneer, than the other two models. There were only 7000 sets made of this last 89 version, compared to 55000 for the other two.
Additional information:
ref.1: http://www.philcoradio.com/
ref.2: http://www.philcoradio.com/tech/89evol.htm
About my radio:
The radio is in near mint condition. "Near" refers to the fact that the cabinet has been refinished (water based stain and high gloss laquer, new decal). The cabinet has no cracks, hairlines, chips, scratches or heat burns. The chassis is in perfect condition too (pict.s 19-23), with a mains transformer looking like new (pict.25). The speaker (pict.s 27,28) has no repairs, the speaker grille cloth is original and in excellent condition. The four bakelite knobs are original and in perfect condition (pict.26). The radio comes with all ST shaped tubes (pict.24). The filter capacitors have been replaced underfloor (pict.23). The radio plays nicely (see movie by clicking on thumbnail 31), with good sensitivity and selectivity, when attaching a long wire antenna to the antenna plug (pict.29). Please
e-mail
me (Kris) for any questions, ich spreche Deutsch, je parle Français.
Here are the specifications:
| Technical Description of Item |
| Manufacturer |
Philco Radio, Philadelphia, PA., USA |
| Model |
89 (89B) "Baby Grand" |
| Type |
6-tube AM - Police superheterodyne receiver |
| Production Year |
1936 |
| Serial Number |
M 67022 |
| Cabinet |
Cathedral shape walnut (arch) and walnut butt (front) cabinet |
| Dial |
Reverse lit celluloid dial under bakelite escutcheon |
| Knobs |
4 original hexagonal black bakelite knobs |
| Speaker |
8" field coil speaker |
| Frequency Range |
AM/BC 550 - 1500 kHz, SW Police 1.5 - 3.2 MHz, IF = 260 kHz! |
| Controls |
Tuning, 4-point tone control, band select, on/off - volume |
| Tube line-up |
44 (RF), 77 [36] (Autodyne), 44 (IF), 75 (2.Det.AVF), 42 (AF), 80 (Rect.) |
| Size (WxDxH) |
13½" x 9½" (with knobs) x 16" |
| Weight |
19 pounds = 9 kg
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| Comment |
All original (except finish) and complete, serviced and perfectly working |
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