Philco Model 20 Baby Grand Deluxe Cathedral Radio (1931)
This is the upgraded version of the original Philco model
20 Baby Grand, introduced in January of 1931. A fancy
arch of "quilted maple" was added to the front, along with
fluted columns at each side. The purchase price
remained at $49.50, less tubes. It has become known
amongst today's collectors as the Model 20 Deluxe.
The same 7-tube screen-grid chassis was used as for the
earlier style. It's an ac-powered Tuned Radio Frequency
(TRF) receiver covering the standard broadcast band
from 550-1500kc. The tubes used are:- 24 (1st RF), 24
(2nd RF), 24 (detector), 27 (1st AF), 71A *2 (push-pull
audio) and 80 (rectifier).
I bought this in 2002 at the NEARC show. The grille was
damaged (see photo below) but the cabinet was
otherwise in good shape. I repaired the grille by replacing
the missing wood and veneer with pieces that were a
close color match, obtained from the cabinet of a junker
radio. I then touched up the veneer using toning lacquer
so as to blend the patches to the original grille. So far I
haven't paid any attention to the wear around the right
knob but that could also be touched-up using toning
laquer, applied with an artist's brush.
I later gave the chassis a complete electrical restoration,
so that it now plays like it did when new.
20 Baby Grand, introduced in January of 1931. A fancy
arch of "quilted maple" was added to the front, along with
fluted columns at each side. The purchase price
remained at $49.50, less tubes. It has become known
amongst today's collectors as the Model 20 Deluxe.
The same 7-tube screen-grid chassis was used as for the
earlier style. It's an ac-powered Tuned Radio Frequency
(TRF) receiver covering the standard broadcast band
from 550-1500kc. The tubes used are:- 24 (1st RF), 24
(2nd RF), 24 (detector), 27 (1st AF), 71A *2 (push-pull
audio) and 80 (rectifier).
I bought this in 2002 at the NEARC show. The grille was
damaged (see photo below) but the cabinet was
otherwise in good shape. I repaired the grille by replacing
the missing wood and veneer with pieces that were a
close color match, obtained from the cabinet of a junker
radio. I then touched up the veneer using toning lacquer
so as to blend the patches to the original grille. So far I
haven't paid any attention to the wear around the right
knob but that could also be touched-up using toning
laquer, applied with an artist's brush.
I later gave the chassis a complete electrical restoration,
so that it now plays like it did when new.
..new cabinet in genuine American walnut and quilted maple in tones of honey & brown
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It's fairly common for these and the standard Philco 20
models to turn up with deteriorated grilles. The one
photographed was actually better than many I've seen.
The good news is that the grille can often be restored with
the investment of a little time and patience, as was the
case here. For real hopeless cases, reproduction panels
are available from Dick Oliver.
models to turn up with deteriorated grilles. The one
photographed was actually better than many I've seen.
The good news is that the grille can often be restored with
the investment of a little time and patience, as was the
case here. For real hopeless cases, reproduction panels
are available from Dick Oliver.