Cardinal Red 1959 General Electric Model 861 Vacuum Tube AM Radio Sputnik Atomic Age Beauty!
DESCRIPTION: This vintage radio manufactured by General Electric in 1959 in excellent physical and very good working condition. Rare and beautiful. Embodies all the design elements of the Jetsons, atomic age, space race era. Was same model seen in Leave It to Beaver TV series and movie The Professional with Jean Reno and Natalie Portman in her debut role.
SOUND QUALITY: Picks up AM stations around the dial without need of external antenna attachment.
CABINET CONDITION: Cabinet is original factory molded red plastic back and white front in excellent condition. No cracks, chips, or major scratches anywhere on front or back pieces. Original front aluminum fascia panel is not oxidized not bubbling up which is common. The front circular tuning dial and shroud are in excellent condition no oxidization no lettering rub off which is common with this model. The atomic looking dial center symbol is in excellent condition.
KNOBS: Factory original matching knobs are factory original matching with no missing gold metal center caps. Gold metal center caps are not tarnished. Atomic symbol tuning wheel rotates when you tune stations. Sweet!
LOGO: Factory aluminum bottom edge logo plate is in excellent condition with no peeling no rub off or rust or tarnish. The right side of the aluminum front fascia was glued back down at some point.
DIAL LIGHT: Dial light works and lights up brightly. Replaced with modern LED for brightness and long life.
INTERNAL ELECTRONICS: All paper and wax capacitors have been replaced with modern equivalents so this radio has another 50+ years or more of playing time! Both Intermediate Frequency Transformers (IFTs) have been rebuilt to ensure static free performance in the future. The tubes are working fine. All out-of-spec resistors have been replaced with modern correct value and voltage equivalents. There is no loud or pervasive hum. There is no loud or pervasive static between stations. The set has been aligned according to factory specifications. All wiring has been thoroughly checked for possible bridging and weak solder connection. The radio has been thoroughly cleaned and inspected.
POWER CORD: The original red power cord and plug are in excellent condition with no cracks, or splits. No exposed wiring.
BACKING BOARD: No backing board. Not designed with one. No melted heat vanes.
FACTORY LABELS AND STICKERS: Bottom factory labels are missing.
DIMENSIONS: Approximately 13" x 5" x 7" (l x w x h)
COLOR: red and white
YOUTUBE VIDEO here
ADD BLUETOOTH: See pricing and info here
ADD Smart Speaker: See pricing and info here
ADD DIAL LIGHT: See pricing and info here
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Product: antique radio, vintage radio, retro radio, vacuum tube radio, AM radio, art deco, mid-century product.
Category: radio
Cabinet construction: plastic
Period: 1950s
Country of manufacture: USA
Electronics: Mounted circuit board or chassis. Vacuum tube circuit.
Vacuum tubes: tested and working. Amplifier, converter, detector, pre-amplifier, rectifier