Hello,
I have an old Montgomery Wards console Radio that I need some info on...I can not find anything on the web on this Radio.I have had it for 10 years now and rescued it from an abandoned house that was up for demolition.I have not plugged it in to try it due to the fact that the cloth is deteriorated and it needs 1 wards airline made in U.S.A. 8-39 188-5 6V6GT tube...I have found some tubes but none with the same inscription.If someone could please give me some sort of info on this it would be greatly appreciated. And possibly a link to repairs/parts stores I could find a cord. Thank you all...and HAPPY HOLIDAYS. Please feel free to email me at daubz@hotmail.com with any info.

:Hello,
: I have an old Montgomery Wards console Radio that I need some info on...I can not find anything on the web on this Radio.I have had it for 10 years now and rescued it from an abandoned house that was up for demolition.I have not plugged it in to try it due to the fact that the cloth is deteriorated and it needs 1 wards airline made in U.S.A. 8-39 188-5 6V6GT tube...I have found some tubes but none with the same inscription.If someone could please give me some sort of info on this it would be greatly appreciated. And possibly a link to repairs/parts stores I could find a cord. Thank you all...and HAPPY HOLIDAYS. Please feel free to email me at daubz@hotmail.com with any info.

Hi Charles,
Links to mail order vintage radio parts stores are www.tubesandmore.com and www.radiodaze.com. There are more, available on this web site under links.
Fear not about the inscription on the 6V6GT. Any old 6V6GT will do, as long as it is a good one. A 6V6G would work, but they are more expensive and not original to the set. 6F6 and 6K6 would even work in a pinch, too.
I expect you do not have a variac. If you do not I recommend you bring the radio up first without the rectifier, that would be a 5Y3, 6X5, 80, or 84 tube. First remove the tube then look underneath the chassis for signs of problems, such as mouse nests, or burnt or ruptured compnents. If the chassis is free of obvious nasties, turn it on with the rectifier removed. See if the tubes light up when the set is turned on, then check back to the forum.

The inscription on the vacuum tube looks suspiciously like a date code, indicating a 1939 model year. Look for numbers on the radio that start 62-???, 93WG-???, or 83WG-???. This will lead to the schematic.

Best Regards,

Bill Grimm