Hey guys
I just purchased a 1936/37 Westinghouse shell off ebay and managed to find out that there is a 856 but it only has 3 switches on the front and the shell I bought has 4 holes so I am assuming that I need a 858 chassis. If anyone knows anything about this to confirm my suspicion or has a chassis that they are interested in selling please let me know.
Thanks Stephen

I have the schematic for the 858 if that will help you.

It's a bit hard to read, but I guess being a dual wave set the knobs would cover:

Tuning
Volume
Tone
Band Switch

I can email you a copy of what I have if you "unhide' your email address in your member profile via Control Panel at the top of your screen.

Hey GTC
My email shows not hidden on my control panel but what I really need to know is does the shell I have belong to a 858 and I am assuming that the 858 is the model up from the 856 radio. I found pictures on a 856 and it looks exactly the same as mine but it only has 3 switches and mine has 4.

I confess I didn't even look -- just assumed it was hidden as most are and inserted my standard paragraph about how to unhide it.

Anyhoo, I've sent you what I have.

I can't answer your question about 3 holes vs 4 holes as both 856 and 858 are dual wave according to my data.

Three holes tends to suggest a broadcast band only receiver (i.e. no bandswitch).

I just found out this from a friend who owns a 856

The knobs for my 856 are volume, tuning and wave change. It does not have a tone control. If you look carefully at the circuit diagrams for the 856 and 858 you will see they are very similar. So similar that my 856 differed from the 856 schematic to include some of the features on the 858 schematic. But, you will see one feature in the upper right hand corner of the 858 diagram not present on the 856 and that is a tone rheostat.

The other theory is is that it was drilled in to the cabinet as a modification to add an on/off switch.

After a few hours of searching managed to find this confirming my suspicion.
http://avrs.org.au/displayJune12.htm, showing the 858 made in 1938.

1930's Westinghouse model numbers uses a system as follows:

1st digit, type of radio; AC, Battery, AC/DC, Consoles, Mantles, etc.

2nd, number of valves, including the rectifier (but not magic-eyes).

3rd, year of model.

So a 856 is a five valve 1936 model & the 858 is a five valver from 1938.

This system appeared to have ended in 1939 when they started using AWA chassis'.