Hello all,
This is a long shot - documentation for this & similar models seems to be thin to non-existent - but would anyone have any info on a USA-made Philips model 513 AN?

Date: c1941 - from the dial markings & what I've read, this model post-dates the occupation of The Netherlands in WWII (1940), but pre-dates the formation of the North American Philips Co. (1942).

6 valves: mine has 2 x 6SS7, 12SA7, 6X5GT, 12SQ7, & 50L6 fitted, which looks roughly right to my inexperienced eye. All are USA-labelled Philips or RCA with the exception of the 12SA7 & 6X5; those 2 are Australian.

Superficially it appears to be closely related to the post-war 5-valve 493 AN - similar/identical cabinet, similar valve lineup (with the additional 6SS7 in the front end), & a very similar looking chassis (with the addition of a mezzanine/bracket holding an antenna matching coil/trimmer & the extra valve) - so a circuit diagram for the 493 AN might also be useful.

Failing that, does anyone know of a European or American forum which might have something on these models? I'll send an email to the Philips Museum people too.

Just for interest, I've put a few pictures of my set up at:
https://sites.google.com/site/philips513an/pics


Enjoy,
Rod.

I'm beginning to think that this radio, though US made, was intended for the Indonesian market. It may not of even been sold in the US or elsewhere. The AM broadcast stations marked on the dial are all Indonesian locations. Both of those advertisements linked in a previous post are from Indonesia (one is in Bahasa Indonesia & the other is in Dutch). Philips model codes often will give a clue to its origins or intended market.

When the Dutch were kicked out of Indonesia a lot of them came to Australia. Like a lot of migrants from the post-war period they brought their radios over here with them. A person I used to know had a Philips radio that his Dutch parents brought over from Indonesia after the war. I suspect this particular Philips, the subject of this thread, is one that came to Australia under similar circumstances.

I don't know how you would go looking for vintage radio information in Indonesia. Being US made you might find a local US version with the same or similar valve line-up.

I suspect that Mono is close to the mark with this one, for the reasons he gives.

The 493 AN has quite a different valve line-up:

http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/philips_493an493_a.html

I think you've picked a difficult one!

If you unhide your email address (via Control Panel), I'll send you contact details of a fellow originally from Holland who might be able to help source information on it.

That cabinet has a similar pattern to 132L and a Mullard using the same case. The case front is different but knobs & bars are in the same style, which is interesting in itself.

It is a pity that the Dutchman in our radio club died last year as he had quite a lot of Philips info & often went back to Holland, where he acquired, bits for his Philips Radio collection.

I somewhat doubt that the circuit is radically different from their others. They tended to use feedback from the speaker secondary & back bias. 12SA7 tends to be a cranky valve.

Marc

QUOTE: this radio, though US made, was intended for the Indonesian market. It may not of even been sold in the US or elsewhere.

As an American, it's hard to imagine consumer electronics being made in the USA here and exported to foreign markets. Didn't think that ever happened. Thought the only thing we exported was jetliners and farm stuff like wheat and corn (had heard that American farmers grow so much stuff we could feed half the world with it, sure...).

That radio may be an "off the shelf" model with a special dial made for the Indonesia market, though someone would have mentioned that "That set looks just like a Philips model xxxx made for the American market, except for the dial and dual primary voltage power transformer". I doubt there were that many people in Indonesia who could afford such a radio in its day, so there couldn't have been that many made, not enough for a complete design from scratch.

Indonesia was once a Dutch colony which may explain why Philips had a presence there.

The US was big on exports back in those times. Many of the radios that were sold here in Australia during the 1920s were from the US. Atwater Kent, King Radio, Majestic, Philco and Stewart Warner were amongst the more dominant competitors to local brands like AWA, Udisco and Astor.

With the 1930s restrictions on imports, Australian factories were able to ramp up production to the point where it became less expensive for some of them to export stuff.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

First, my apologies for not following up earlier - family & health issues kept me otherwise occupied for a while.

Thanks for the thoughts & ideas. Yes, spot on about Indonesia. Without going into the reasons, it seems that prior to 1945 Philips didn't manufacture in the US for the domestic market - but they did build (or contract out building of) sets for export markets in the Dutch colonies &, after the plants in The Netherlands, Poland, Czechoslovakia, etc were captured in WWII, for other markets like Portugal. This one's obviously for the Dutch East Indies market, as evidenced not only by all the Javanese stations on the MW dial but also the couple of pics on the net of ads for this exact model from Batavia ;)

For what it's worth, the Philips Museum people seem pretty hazy on this period too. They have little info on the sets produced.

Thanks for the tip about Mullard - I'd overlooked that link. I've also found a few possibly similar models amongst those produced behind the iron curtain by ex-Philips plants during/after WWII but, again, little detail & no schematics.

Getting technical: After removing the shield on the bottom of the chassis & having a good long stare at things until I understood them, I see that what I thought were large old can electrolytics are in fact the tuning & LO coils, the 6X5 is a ring-in, and what I assumed was the output transformer is rather obviously a 240v/6v job powering the 6X5 heater. The valve heaters are otherwise series-strung, with the original rectifier heater replaced by a 250 ohm resistor as part of the 6X5 mod.

Looking at the little info out there for this & similar Philips sets (e.g. 386AN & 493AN), my best guess is it was originally fitted with something like 2 x 12SK7, 12SA7, 12SQ7, 50L6, & a 35Z5 rectifier - basically, an "All-American Six" with shortwave bands. Those heater voltages add up to 133V; a bit over the expected 110V, but apparently that wasn't uncommon in AA6 designs. When I test out the autotransformer I'll measure its output under a reasonable load & make a more informed guess.

It also needs the usual wax paper & electrolytic cap replacements, plus at least 1 section of the candohm resistor is o/c. When I get back from a trip in a week or so I plan to draw out the circuit & check it against a representative AA6 schematic (suggestions welcome, & I'll also ask at antiqueradios.com). Once that's done I'll get it back working as-is, then make another informed guess as to the original rectifier wiring before attempting to revert the historical changes.

Again, apologies for my very late response and thank you for all of yours.