Valve Radio and Audio Repair Handbook

Chapter 27

Oddities

One of the many strange facets of vintage radio collecting is that one of the most sought-after sets which commands prices of up to £500 should happen to be what was just about the cheapest set on the market when it appeared in 1936. This was the Philco Model 444 ‘People’s Set’ (Figure 27.1), and the resemblance of its Bakelite cabinet to the front of the German Volkswagen or ‘People’s Car’ may or may not have been fortuitous. It cost 6 guineas, then about two weeks’ wages for a manual worker and half the price of many contemporary four valve mains sets. Its performance was adequate on the long aerials used in those days and the fact that large numbers of them are still in working order more than sixty years later attests to ...