Emerson BY-233 Bakelite Tombstone Radio (1939)
This mini-tombstone AC/DC
receiver from Emerson has 6
tubes (Including ballast) and
covers the standard
broadcast band from
540-1730kc. The tube line-
up is 6A7 (LO/mixer), 6D6
(IF), 6Q7G (detector/avc/1st
af), 25L6G (audio output),
25Z5 (rectifier) and L49BG
(ballast tube). The ballast
tube drops 49V at 0.3 A for
a power dissipation of almost
15W. It replaces the
curtain-burner line-cords
used in numerous Emerson
models from earlier years.
This model is often confused
with the Emerson 108 (U5A)
from 1935. Although the
case is the same, the
chassis, dial face, grille cloth
and knobs differ.
receiver from Emerson has 6
tubes (Including ballast) and
covers the standard
broadcast band from
540-1730kc. The tube line-
up is 6A7 (LO/mixer), 6D6
(IF), 6Q7G (detector/avc/1st
af), 25L6G (audio output),
25Z5 (rectifier) and L49BG
(ballast tube). The ballast
tube drops 49V at 0.3 A for
a power dissipation of almost
15W. It replaces the
curtain-burner line-cords
used in numerous Emerson
models from earlier years.
This model is often confused
with the Emerson 108 (U5A)
from 1935. Although the
case is the same, the
chassis, dial face, grille cloth
and knobs differ.
My model BY-233 features a
moulded plastic back like
that used for the 108 (U5A).
I've heard however that the
BY-233 also originally came
with a cardboard back.
It's amazing to me that the
Emerson engineers were
able to fit a full 5-tube
superheterodyne receiver
plus ballast tube into such a
small cabinet. However, by
this time they had become
masters at doing just that,
providing the radio buying
public with compact
functional receivers at
extremely competitive prices.
moulded plastic back like
that used for the 108 (U5A).
I've heard however that the
BY-233 also originally came
with a cardboard back.
It's amazing to me that the
Emerson engineers were
able to fit a full 5-tube
superheterodyne receiver
plus ballast tube into such a
small cabinet. However, by
this time they had become
masters at doing just that,
providing the radio buying
public with compact
functional receivers at
extremely competitive prices.
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