1938 Westinghouse Console Radio – Model 258

This radio is a Westinghouse Model 258 console radio. The earliest advertisement is in Muswellbrook Chronicle (NSW) May, 1938. The cabinet in the advertisement below has a different cabinet style and the 258 model is listed and circled in red. This was a high end model with a 5 valve circuit, magic eye tuning indicator and sold for 27 Guineas. It received MW (AM) and SW (2 Short Wave bands) and was referred to as a ‘triple wave’.

During the early part of 1938 retailers were advertising the Australia vs England Cricket Ashes series commencing on June 10 at Nottingham…’listen to the ‘ball-by-ball’ descriptions of the Test matches direct from the cricket grounds in England… The test series was being broadcast short wave by the BBC

Westinghouse branded radios were distributed by Westinghouse Sales & Rosebery Ltd. and manufactures by Emmco until 1938. Westinghouse produced 13 different models in 1938 with Broadcast (MW), Dual (MW-SW) and Triple Wave (MW, 2x SW) models of Electric (AC) Battery, Aircell and Vibrator operated receivers in console and Bakelite mantle models.

Westinghouse Console Radio Model 258 Bicerey Bros Advertisement

Unrestored 1938 Westinghouse Console Radio Model 258

There was also something rattling around inside one of the square aluminium ‘cans’ on the chassis. These contain IF (intermediate frequency) transformers. These are copper wire coils wound around a natural or synthetic polymer, then covered with a layer of green wax. One of the transformers had broken from its base and required repair. This was done using modern self curing acrylic and has lasted SO FAR. These transformer re very fragile and care need to to taken moving the radio.

There were also some other burnt out components which may have been the reason for the radio going in for repair. It was common for radios of this period to go in for repair every few years as some of the parts were not as durable and reliable as they are today.

This radio came from the East Coast of Tasmania before living in a garage in Hobart for over 30 years then being passed to the current owner. It was missing its speaker and speaker board, although the original grille cloth was still present in a dilapidated state.

A circuit schematic for the radio was sourced from RadioMuseum.org, although no speaker was specified, but the size of the filed coil was given as 1700 Ohms. While trouble shooting the circuit it was found that the wiring for the valve filament was not earthed to the chassis and was inconsistently applied to the pin number of each valve. The connections from the radio circuit to the speaker were also a bit unusual both on the schematic and the actual radio

IF intermediate frequency transformer from 1938 console radio

Radios of this era also were not as electrically safe as they are today. In bringing this vintage radio back to life it has been made electrically safe with the provision of an On/Off switch, a fixed connection to Earth and a fuse. Even so, the voltages operating inside these old radios is very much higher than in modern domestic appliances so that tampering inside the radio is strictly prohibited.

The terminals on the tap of the chassis were for Earth (the metal terminal with the symbol of a garden tap), the two red terminals for medium and short wave aerials and the black terminal for electric ‘ground’ (for electric connections to the chassis).

These radios were almost always fitted with ‘Pickup’ sockets to enable a record player to the connected to the radio amplifier circuit so the records could replayed through the radio. In the Westinghouse model 258, there were sockets on the back of the radio chassis on the left hand side and a sketch of a record player arm is below to two sockets, one socket for the active audio signal (red) and the other to ground to the chassis (black)

This was designed as a ‘hot’ pickup with the radio remaining connected while the record player was also connected. The higher impedance of the radio circuit resulted in it going silent when the lower impedance record player was being used. This was not totally reliable and it was recommended that the radio be tuned to a silent part of the broadcast spectrum while using a record player.

Bluetooth has been added to enable connection to smart devices. See the instructions to enable this. In this case a small 5volt DC circuit has been added to an existing 6.3 volt AC line in the radio to produce the power to run the small Bluetooth circuit. To help balance the audio output of the Bluetooth circuit with the radio signal output a small amplifier circuit has been added to the bluetooth.

Maker of the Cabinet

The cabinet was made in the Ricketts and Thorp factory at Rockdale, Sydney. The firm operated from 1912 to 1977 and were makers of fine furniture and distinctive radio cabinets. There is a history of Ricketts and Thorp in Woodworkers Association of NSW, May June 2012 newsletter, pages 10-12.

Detail of the Cabinet

This was a new cabinet style introduced by Westinghouse in 1938. It has many classic Art deco features…

Step down of the corner timber echoing the frozen fountain motif.
Horizontal speed lines
Vertical timber sections going from dark, medium, light and medium for the central main panel.
The base trim has been divided to appear as individual bases for each side column with horizontal lines to mirror the speed lines at the top of the corner sections,
The detailing of the dial escutcheon mirror the vertical lines of the corner moulding.
The three horizontal bars in front of the speaker also pick up on the three speed lines on the corner moulding.

Art Deco speed lines: As an art deco style element that emerged in the 1930s, long horizontal lines particularly in architecture suggested the movement created by a car or train.

Frozen fountain motif: As each tier of a large public fountain froze during the northern winter, it created a step-down effect forming the basis of stylized step-down designs which can be seen in the simple arrangements of bricks as a motif on the from of a 1930s house to sky scrapers in New York.

Once the varnish was stripped off, the wood of the central front panel and side panels were of Queensland Walnut veneer, the stepped corner pieces were Queensland Maple, the flat wide strip was Queensland Birch and the strip with horizontal bands is Zebrano (Zebrawood veneer) from tropical West Africa.

This piece was a tour de force of Queensland timbers when it was designed and constructed by the cabinets maker. The dark central panel of walnut did not suit the lighter brown colour of the dial escutcheon. So the cabinet maker chose to lighten the appearance of the central panel to provide a contrast to the Bakelite, but completely hid the rich grain of the natural timber.

In refinishing the cabinet, a decision was made to retain the original appearance of the veneers. The colour of the Queenland Maple did not provide sufficient contrast in colour to the two adjacent timbers so it a coloured a vibrant green to help accentuate the shape of the moulding and the speed lines painted the original black colour in contrast.

Choosing lighter coloured timbers to provide a contrast with dark brown Bakelite may have been an impetus for the changing fashion for lighter coloured timber in the modern homes of the time… as can be seen in the cabinet design of Westinghouse in the following year.

Your vintage radio collector Malcolm Grenness is a member of the Sound Preservation Association of Tasmania, the Historical Radio Society of Australia and Radiomuseum.org. There is more information on this actual radio on the Radiomuseum.org website. This vast archive and community of radio collectors features over 120,000 radio model listings and 350,000 photos and schematics.