Philips 836A “Arbeiderskastje”(1934)

The 836A comes in a simple plywood case. Despite the nice veneer, it is a square and simple radio. It is a tuned RF receiver with two wave bands: LW and MW. It has three controls: volume, tone and tuning. The volume is controlled by setting the bias voltage of the first RF amplifier, which controls its amplification. There is a small rotating tuning dial showing the wavelenghts, without station names.

The valves are early types with gold paint and 4V heater. Unlike the pro-electron types used in the Philips 456A and the Mende 315W, these older types have a 4 and 5-pin (B4 and B5) base:

E455	tetrode as first RF amplifier,
E462	tetrode as second RF amplifier,
E499	triode as detector,
E443B	penthode as output amplifier,
1805	rectifier.

There is no tuning indicator. Being a tuned RF receiver without reaction, it is quite easy to use. But selectivity would not be great, despite the “Superinductance“ large (Hi-Q) tuning coils. But hey, this is a 1934 radio, from an era when the Superheterodyne type of radio, like the 1936 Philips 456A was only beginning to conquer the world.

I bought this radio through an Internet second-hand-goods site in november 2007. The seller told me he had bought it from another collector, who has carefully restored the radio and redone the French polish. He was not sure if the radio worked at all. To him, it had been a piece of decoration. Because the inside looked so well, I was willing to buy it.