Sentinel 63B Farm Radio
Front and rear views of the radio, as acquired.
Front and rear views of the radio, as acquired.
This is a 1936 table model Farm Radio, designed to run off a 6V battery (from the farm's tractor, commonly). It's a modest four-tube set -- two 15s (expensive to replace nowadays) for mixer/oscillator and IF amp, a 75 detector/AVC/1st audio, and a 41 audio output. The power supply is a synchronous vibrator (self-rectifying) type, all enlosed in a metal box on top of the chassis (on the left, as seen from the back).
The cabinet has been restored at some point (a little crudely), and still needs some veneer repair at the top of the speaker cut-outs, and of course a new grill cloth. Fragmentary remains of the original cloth are still under the speaker screws. The PM speaker looks like new but is scratchy sounding.
The chassis is very rusty and dirty and the tone control and on/off switch are frozen (rusted). It looks like it spent the latter part of its life in a barn rather than the farmhouse. However, inside the power supply box and below the chassis it looks almost like new! The manufacturer's tag on the inside of the cabinet has the model number written in pencil, as "63B1385."
Below is a photo of someone else's much more presentable Sentinel 63B, swiped from an eBay auction. It seems to be in (nearly) original condition, so it will serve as a model for restoration of mine.
Updated May 19, 2004