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The Best of PHILCO World: two Icons combined in one Unit, the "Boomerang" and the "Bing Crosby"
Introduction:
This unit is sold, but got a second one which is in next to mint condition too and fully restored.
Philco (abbreviation for the factory's 1906 name "Philadelphia Battery Storage Co.") from 1927 on was one of the "big three" radio manufacturers together with the Zenith Corporation in Chicago and The Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in New Jersey. Philco entered virgin soil with its innovative and pioneering inventions of the first wireless remote control, called the "Mystery Control", or their 1941/42 remote wireless record players or their "Beam-Of-Light" tonearm the same year. Famous designers like Ed Combs, Clyde Shuler and Ben Nash created Philco's unforgettable line of cathedral and tombstone radios, which still can be admired in old nostalgic movies, and which top the price range, collectors are willing to pay.
Philco came out with another innovation in 1946: a "record in slot" phono-radio Model 46-1201, known as the "Bing Crosby", because he used to advertize this combo (pict.30), as many other Philco products. The success was phenomenal, and the set was produced for years to come. In 1949 Philco again stroke the public's taste with the model 49-501, the famous and highly collectible "Boomerang" radio, succeeded one year later by Truetone's D2017. Also in 1949 the two successful Philco products were combined to result in the phono-radio combo model 49-1401, discussed here. It uses the same record-in-slot player M-7 as the Bing Crosby (sold before also as model 48-1200 portable phonograph only) and a powerful 5-tube AM-radio-amplifier with a 4" speaker. Its automatic accommodates 10" and 12" 78rpm records. Remember that on June 21, 1948 Columbia had introduced the first 12-inch 33-1/3 rpm (only) vinylite record and big rival RCA Victor only 9 month's later, on April 2, 1949 their 7-inch 45 rpm (only) vinyl disc, shelved by David Sarnoff since 1939.
Additional information:
http://www.philcorepairbench.com (owned by Chuck Schwark)
http://philcoradio.com
http://www.nostalgiaair.org
About my radiogram
The unit has been thoroughly cleaned and in-depth serviced. It is in near mint condition, the near referring to the fact, that a small piece of wood (½") at the rear left corner has been replaced and touched up. The bakelite cabinet has no cracks, chips or scratches and has been polished to a high gloss. The radio plays loud and clear, and with excellent sensitivity and selectivity, even at the higher end of the AM scale, due to its large loop antenna. The original crystal cartridge has been replaced by a dual ceramic cartridge, where the LP needle too can be used as a spare, although with higher noise. The record player plays flawlessly 10" and 12" records, with no hearable wow or flutter. Pict.28 explains better than I could do it, how the player works. Watch a 22MB!!! movie by clicking on pict.32 to see the automatic playing a 78rpm 10" Vogue picture disk and a 12" Barney Bigard record. A 16-page manual is freely available at ref.3 above.
Here are the specifications:
Technical Description of Item |
| Manufacturer |
Philco, Philadelphia, USA |
| Model |
49-1401, Code 121 |
| Type |
5-tube "Boomerang" radio with "Bing Crosby" Record-in-Slot Player |
| Production Year |
1949 |
| Serial Number |
A 31544 |
| Cabinet |
Base wood, top bakelite |
| Dials and knobs |
Illuminated glass slide rule dial, 3 bakelite knobs with gold brights |
| Frequency Range |
AM 550-1600 kc |
| Controls |
Tuning, on/off - volume, phono - radio |
| Tube line-up |
50Y6(Rect.), 12BE6(RF), 12BA6(IF), 6AQ6(Det.), 35L6(Audio) |
| Dimensions (WxDxH) |
17½" x 15" x 11" |
| Weight |
22½ lbs |
| Comment |
Near mint condition, serviced and perfectly working |
Gallery: (watch descriptive legends under pictures, when mousing over thumbnails) |
