Here is a story on a Calstan radio I bought from eBay and fixed up.
I bought it because it was such a plain looking thing not looking like something from a large manufactuer.
It will be interesting if anybody else has one similar or the same.

Fred.

Calstan 559 Radio

A very good and well presented article.

I'm glad to see that someone else appreciates the smaller radio outfits even if their products seemed rather bland. It is all part of our radio history that is worth preserving.

The chassis is definitely of a Zenith build. The chassis has the tell-tale Zenith style model/serial number font stencilled on it. According to Radiomuseum, Zenith were around until the 1960's and were situated in West Ryde by then. Some research would be able to pinpoint when Zenith ceased operations.

The radio was manufactured post 1965 (1968 according to the article). See 3UL, Warragul, on the left hand side of the dial. 3UL changed frequency from 880 to 530 kHz sometime in 1965.

Charlie Slade passed away in 1962 & apparently Slade Radio didn't last long after his passing. Again, some research would shed some light on how long Slade Radio survived after Charlie's passing.

Fellow Vintage radio member Wa2ise from the US has a post 1965 Calstan in his collection:

http://www.wa2ise.com/radios/calstan.jpg

Vintage Radio member Robbbert's web page has the Neville Williams articles about Charlie Slade:

http://messui.the-chronicles.org/valves/NW199211.pdf

http://messui.the-chronicles.org/valves/NW199305.pdf

Nice article. The top left photo is rather blurry, but all the rest is good.

I have a different Calstan in the junk pile. (no case, no dial, main cap ruined, no speaker or transformer)

I am guessing that PRC is more like RPC which could stand for the Rankin Park Centre in Newcastle, NSW. This hospital is a small rehabilitation unit with two wards though whether this radio came from that facility and how old the facility is I cannot ascertain at this point in time.

I once worked at the former Gladesville Hospital and that facility was home to numerous examples of the Calstan model featured in Fred's article. There was a later transistorised model in a similar cabinet, though the valve version was more commonplace throughout the wards. Clearly, this was a radio for the commercial sector. The cabinet would have been inexpensive but very quick to make and I dare say the chassis was also made in a quick and dirty fashion as well. Gladesville Hospital had its own rubbish tip, located behind Ward 3 and this was home to dozens of scrapped valve radios, including these Calstans, HMV Casino valve televisions and a plethora of hospital equipment, such as Malmet bedpan flushers and Eswood dishwashers.