1935 Airline Model 62-177





This is 1935 Airline Standard Broadcast AM and Shortwave radio sold by Montgomery Ward. It is a 7 tube superheterodyne radio. The radio has a "stationized" dial that lists major AM Broadcast radio stations that were broadcasting at that time. The call letters of the stations are printed around the top portion of the dial in three arcs, one arc each for East, Central, and West areas of the United States. When you align the dial pointer over the call letters, the station should be heard, presuming you are located with the broadcast coverage area of the station. The dial lists the 50-kW AM broadcast station, WPTF, @ 680 kHz, in Ralieigh, NC where I once worked as a transmetter engeneer. The dial is shown below.



A closeup of the stationized dial portion is shown below.



Below is a picture of the dial with the radio on.



The dial on the chassis when removed from the cabinet is shown below.



The call letters of the stations are printed around the top circumference of the dial in three arcs, one arc each for East Central, and West.

When recieved,the radio was in good shape but a little dusty. The pictures below show the radio as received.





Below is a picture of the top of the chassis removed from the cabinet. Note how dusty it is.



Below is picture of the front of the chassis.



Below is a picture of the bottom of the chassis as received.



As expected, the electrolytic cacacitors in the power supply were bad and the radio had severe hum in the audio. I replaced those capacitors with modern ones. I added a terminal strip to facilite mounting them while leaving the original ones in place to maintain the original appearance.

Although the radio performed well, I replaced all of the other wac paper capacitors. Several of the original "dogbone" resistors were significantly out of tolerance - much higher in their correct value. I replaced all of them. One resisotr was not a "dogbone" type - it had the color rings and perhaps it had been replaced in the past. One capacitor was not a wax paper; perhaps it was replaced in the past. The original components that were replaced are shown below.



The restored chasis is shown below.



Below is a picture of the rear of the restored radio.



The vacuum tubes in the radio had various manufacturer names including Kenrad, Wards Super Airline, Wards Airline, and Sylvania.

The radio performs well and is quite sensitive. The radio can receive WWV at 10 MHz with only a short wire antenna. I stripped off the old varnish from the cabinet, painted the trim with black ebony stain, and and finished the wood with tung oil. The finished result is the first picture above and at the end of this page.

The electrical schematic in Rider's radio schematic book does not list the correct vacuum tubes. The electrical schematic layout is correct for the tubes in place, but some of the tube numbers listed in the schematic are incorrect. The 6D6 listed for the RF amplifier, first detector, and IF amplifier are actually 6K7. The AF output tube is listed as a number 42 tube, but a 6F6 tube is actually used. None of the tubes can be used as substitutes - the electrical circuit is different for the different tubes. The design must have evolved over time and Riders was not updated. The table below reflest the correct tube lineup for this radio.


Tube Compliment
Rectifier
RF
Osc
1st Detector
IF
1st Audio & 2nd Det/AVC
Audio Output
Rider's Manual Page #
80
6K7
76
6K7
6K7
6B7
42
6-23 thru 26