I'm hoping an Admiral expert out there can help on an ID for this Saturday local auction item. I'm think about it for my living room, but can't match description to collectors guides.
It's a floor standing Admiral console, (medium size for such things), all walnut veneer, rounded upper front, with oval metal escutcheon containing 5 inch round two-handed black backlited dial, (flanked on left by eye-tube and on right by on-off light). Below are five wood knobs, four in a row and one centered a little lower. The lower cloth grill has three vertical bars, the center one being heavier.
Upper gold painted chassis has about eight metal octals (plus eye) covering 3? bands (BC, SW (x2) to 17 MHz). I remember a short 6H6.
Two heavy looking 10 inch speakers are mounted on a diaginal.
Lower gold painted chassis (power supply and audio amp?) has about eight glass tubes including a pair of 2A3 for the output. That's about 17 tubes for anyone counting...
The only numbers found are "89-100179" stenciled on the upper rear of cabinet.
I welcome any guesses on model number or comments on Admiral consoles, desireability, ease of restoration, worth (it appears complete, good quality, and in very nice condition), etc. Thanks.
Greg
It is probably an AM889 model.
Usually they do not take too much to get working again. Most often just a matter of caps. The 2A3 push-pull output is desirable, and you will want to watch that they do not grow feet during the auction.
If you like the appearance, value is a relative thing. Otherwise if the cabinet is in very good condition, as well as the chassis, etc-, Antique Radios fifth edition puts that in the $190 to $220 bracket.
:Hi,
:
: I'm hoping an Admiral expert out there can help on an ID for this Saturday local auction item. I'm think about it for my living room, but can't match description to collectors guides.
:
: It's a floor standing Admiral console, (medium size for such things), all walnut veneer, rounded upper front, with oval metal escutcheon containing 5 inch round two-handed black backlited dial, (flanked on left by eye-tube and on right by on-off light). Below are five wood knobs, four in a row and one centered a little lower. The lower cloth grill has three vertical bars, the center one being heavier.
:
: Upper gold painted chassis has about eight metal octals (plus eye) covering 3? bands (BC, SW (x2) to 17 MHz). I remember a short 6H6.
:
: Two heavy looking 10 inch speakers are mounted on a diaginal.
:
: Lower gold painted chassis (power supply and audio amp?) has about eight glass tubes including a pair of 2A3 for the output. That's about 17 tubes for anyone counting...
:
: The only numbers found are "89-100179" stenciled on the upper rear of cabinet.
:
: I welcome any guesses on model number or comments on Admiral consoles, desireability, ease of restoration, worth (it appears complete, good quality, and in very nice condition), etc. Thanks.
:
:Greg
Thanks for the comments..... I have the 5th ed. also and the AM889 description comes the closest.... and I did rather model my wording after it.
A couple points: my tube count is only a guess, this radio has 5 knobs (book could be wrong), and I only saw 3 bands. The dial was twisted upside down, so I may have missed the LW.
What's with the TWO long dial pointers? Is this like a Zenith with a fast moving fine tune pointer or just a setable index to remember a station dial location? None of the knobs moved either pointer (needs work), and I remember a 0 to 100 log scale on the outside of the dial.
Greg
Does the radio have two sets of tuning condenser gangs? If so, the one pointer might be attached to the other unit, or it might have been intended as a bandspread tuner instead of using a vernier drive on the main tuning condenser.
If the unit is vertically oriented, rather than the wide pieces of furniture that consoles became in the flate forties on through the seventies/eighties when they put the record player beside the radio portion, it would likely be worthwhile to acquire it, even if it turns out to be a different model. 2A3's make for a nice sound.
:John,
:
: Thanks for the comments..... I have the 5th ed. also and the AM889 description comes the closest.... and I did rather model my wording after it.
:
: A couple points: my tube count is only a guess, this radio has 5 knobs (book could be wrong), and I only saw 3 bands. The dial was twisted upside down, so I may have missed the LW.
:
: What's with the TWO long dial pointers? Is this like a Zenith with a fast moving fine tune pointer or just a setable index to remember a station dial location? None of the knobs moved either pointer (needs work), and I remember a 0 to 100 log scale on the outside of the dial.
:
:Greg