459
Item nr.


Philips B0X19U/00L Mini Radio

Mini for spare or bedroom.


Data for Philips B0X19U/00L
ProductionThe Netherlands, 1961.
Price was fl 88.
BandsMW (185-580m); IF is 452kHz.
TubesUCH81, UBF80, UCL82, UY89.
CabinetMoulded. Size 26x14x14cm. Weight 1.5kg.
PowerAC/DC 127/220V, 43W.
DocumentsFlyer.

The Design

The B0X line had the cheapest Philips radios. The B0X19U is similar to the B0X15U, but has a linear dial. Available colors were orange (this one), green, and black. In 1961 this may sound a little early, but orange and green became the hype colors of everything in the seventies. These small AC/DC sets are notorious for their high sensitivity.

Philips officially called the color of this set orange, as witnessed by the flyer. My set had a small chip, and my attic had an old can of Ral 3016 (Coral Red) wall paint. I decided to give it a shot, considering that a reddish chip would always look better than a dark brown one. After applying the paint, I found almost no color difference to be visible! The logical conclusion would be that the radio would hardly be visible when placed against my Ral 3016 living wall, a conclusion you can test yourself with the top photo.


Obtained5/2017 from Retired collegue; SN=A37612.
Condition8.
DisposedSold 5/2021.

This Object

The art of making cheap radio's was virtually perfected around the nineteen sixties, and very little had to be done to this radio. I took the set apart and preventively replaced C11 (HF screen grid), C19 (rattle), C17 (coupling cap), C18 (Boucherot), and C10 (AVC). I measured the tubes, which were all fine. Then I started the radio with a series bulb, it worked fine immediately, and played it for about an hour. I measured all resistors and found they were all within tolerance. I measured all tube pin voltages and found everything OK. A healty patient!

A comparison

I obtained a B0X19U with serial number A70003 in February 2015, and a B0X19U with serial number A37612 in May 2017. Both were easy to start up, they play equally well and give similar sound.

The second set, bottom on photo, is a little bit older (lower sequence number), but looks better than the first one, top on photo, which is dull and has paint spots, and misses the back panel. The first one had a dial coded B A379286, which is marked in meters of wavelength and has the names of 13 (mainly Dutch, Belgium, French, and German) stations. The second radio has a dial marked OV A396954, which is marked in meters and kilocycles, and has no station names. I think the B stands for Benelux and this dial was the standard in Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The OV on the other dial could stand for OVerig, or other, or alternatively for OVerzee, or overseas. This dial could be standard for exported units. However, the radio was sold by Electronica De Boer in Zutphen, and I have no indication that the unit actually was purchased with emigration in mind.


Part of Gerard's Radio Corner.
Generated by SiteBuilder on 26/2/2024 by Gerard (g.tel@uu.nl)