232
Item nr.
Multiband receiver
| Production | The Netherlands, 1948.
Price was 260 guilders. |
|---|---|
| Bands | LW (715-2000m), MW (185-580m), 4xSW (32-50.5m, 21.5-32m, 17-26m, 13.5-20m). |
| Tubes | ECH21 (Converter), EAF42 (IF), EAF42 (AF), EBL21 (Output), AZ1 (Rectifier), EM84 (Magic eye, not original). |
| Cabinet | Bakelite. Size 45x30x22 cm. |
| Power | AC (110/125/145/200/220/245V, 50W). |
Around the end of the forties there was a large series of Philips radios with a lot of spread short wave bands. I sometimes think that in those days just after the second world war, a lot of people were interested in hearing overseas news and culture. (Left: French flier, ca 1950.) 
This BX480A, the later BX490, and the BX591A, and BX594A all shared this same dial (and thus, the band coverage!). This picture shows how the dial, illuminated by little bulbs from aside, is uniformly lit and nicely appears to shine in the dark.
| Obtained | 12/2003 from Jan. |
|---|---|
| Condition | 6. |
| Disposed | Sold 3/2007. |
| Sound sample | PLAY SOUND The factory in which this radio was produced, was managed by Frits Philips, grandson of the founder of the Philips company. Frits Philips, or Mister Frits as he was called, died on December 5, 2005, at the age of 100. |
due to a broken plug, which I replaced. I used the radio for some time, but the sound was a bit shrill and the volume and tone control cracked a lot. In November 2006 I decided to look after the radio more thoroughly.
Somebody added a magic eye to the radio (left). Originally, the BX480A came without such a tuning help, but during the fifties one could buy add-on kits for radios. One simply had to mount the tube somewhere in the front, and connect it to the circuitry with four wires. It was not done very neatly (with wires much too long running all through the inside) and I replaced all four wires to the EM84. The wiring is: Blue is ground, connects to pins 3 and 4. Gray is heater voltage, runs to pin 5. Green is signal, runs to pin 1. White is plate voltage, runs to pin 6. (Further, a 470k resistor runs from pin 6 to 7, 7 and 9 are connected, and there is a capacitor between 1 and 3.)
What bothered me more was the cracking volume control. It could not be replaced by a modern component, because it has the mains wires in the front instead of on its back. And the space behind it was extremely narrow for moving with a soldering iron. A dug in my parts box produced a new, unused Philips potmeter of the necessary type; according to its date code (week plus year) it is exactly as old as a person very precious to me. With the expected difficulties I managed to implant the new part, working miracles to the sound quality and ease of volume control. (The sound fragment about Frits Philips was recorded before the replacement, and the radio sounds a lot better after.)
The radio and its knobs used to be lined with greyish paint in the grooves, but this was gone in many parts. I removed the remaining bladders with a screw driver tip and applied fresh off-white paint.
The picture left shows the inside of the radio. Notice the wiring to the tuning eye, that you will not find in other radios of the same model. The AD3800 loudspeaker is not original. The radio has a back plate, but this one looks so good that it must be a replica. Well done, but a bit too small! Compare the location of the holes, especially the left and right one, to the metal clips in which it is supposed to be fitted.
What I got after my effords was a radio that was not completely original, but fully operational, good sound quality, and very sensitive in all ranges including short wave. I exchanged it for an artwork, a painting as shown on the right. We painted the wall where it hangs with the same paint as used in the grooves of the radio.