Broadcast Reciever
Manufacture Period: 1941/42
Brand: Philco, Philadelphia Stg. Batt. Co.
Model: 42-390
The Philadelphia Battery Company, otherwise known as Philco, was founded in 1892 as the Helios Electric Company. Initially they manufactured carbon-arc lamps, switching to creating batteries for electric vehicles in 1906. They later supplied home charging batteries for radios. In 1928, they became a part of the radio business. Philo Farnsworth worked for Philco from 1931 to 1933 and was credited for inventing the first electronic vacuum tube television system. They were a pioneer in producing batteries, radios and television. They were later purchased by Ford in 1961 and then Phillips in 1981.
Produced in 1941 to 1942, the Philco 42-390 was a standard broadcast, short-wave and frequency modulation reception radio. It featured electric push-button tuning, eight-tube superheterodynes, XXL tubes and a XXFM tube for A.C. supply line. It provided 540 to 1720 kilocycles for broadcast reception, 9 to 15.5 megacycle for American and Foreign short-wave stations and 42 to 50 megacycles for F.M. stations.
On loan from Prof. Allan Thompson
Close-up of Philco Radio
Monday, February 13, 2023 in Media Museum
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