It has an additional FM band, yet looks authentic. FM broadcasting came to Australia very late -- only in about 1975, when transistors already swept the tubes out of the market. Therefore, FM tube radios of Australian make do not exist.
At the same time, there are less and less AM stations around, and soon all the AM collectable radios will turn into sad dust collecting items. Besides, AM sound (even though considered "retro" or "mellow") is not so good by the modern standards.
So to defy this unfortunate situation, an FM band was added to this radio. It uses a special FM module (a small PCB shown on some photos) tuned from the main conventional dial.
To activate FM reception, a listener must do the following;
- set the radio to MW broadcast band (not to short waves);
- pull out a tone control knob (as shown in one of the photos). This will switch the radio to FM mode;
- use the "normal" tuning knob for tuning to different FM stations. Though there are no FM frequencies graduations, 87 - 108 MHz FM band roughly corresponds to the space from the left hand side of the dial to about "2SM" station mark.
It is recommended to turn the tone control clockwise to enjoy full audio bandwidth of FM reception.
Controls:
- top left -- power ON/OFF and volume;
- bottom left -- tone control (narrow-wide) and AM/FM push-pull switch;
- top right -- tuning;
- bottom right -- band switch and "phono".
To learn more about the FM module, you can search "valveradio dot net" website and find an article about adding FM to AM radio. In short, a push-pulls witch activates a relay (under the chassis) which in turn switches audio from a conventional AM detector to this FM module. Also, audio amplifier is slightly improved for better sound quality -- unreliable valve 6M5 changed to EL84 (6BQ5) and ECC83 (12AX7) is used as a first stage (with feedback). A large 6x9 inch oval speaker ensures powerful clear sound.
An internal surrogate FM antenna is fitted inside the cabinet. It is more than sufficient for receiving of the local FM stations and, not being visible, does not compromise the authentic look of the radio. For AM reception you need a piece of wire connected to the red "antenna" terminal (or a long outdoor antenna for SW), but who would listen to AM if you have FM?!
A fuse is fitted for safety (as well as 3-core earthed power cord), old capacitors replaced, so the radio is optimised and ready for listening, not just an art-deco item.
Cosmetic condition is almost perfect -- maybe just some dust here and there.
Pick-up from Parramatta area is preferred and encouraged, as postage may be expensive due to "cubed weight" considering the need for safe packaging and lot of cushioning for the radio.