Mantola Radio

BF Goodrich Mantola Model 92-53 Table Radio

I don't know about you, but this radio's design does not appeal to me. The green color is quite nice, but I don't like the oversized dial and exposed pointer. This radio tunes the standard broadcast (AM) band only.

Performance-wise this radio is a bit disappointing. Audio quality is decent, but it doesn't have a particularly sensitive tuner. Only strong AM stations come through well. Others either don't come through or have a lot of background noise. As found, this radio would only produce an incredibly loud hum...the sign of failed filter capacitors inside.

Five tubes (35W4, 50C5, 12AT6, 12BA6 and 12BE6) are used in this radio.

This and several other radios were collected from a large quantity of trash I found at the street awaiting pickup. I figured all those radios deserved a better end than to be put into a landfill. Of all the radios, this one was in the best overall shape. Maybe the original owner wasn't overly impressed with its performance and just put it away?

I'm still not 100% clear on who built this radio, but just recently I saw I black-cased variant that had Motorola's logo on it. Perhaps Motorola built both radios.

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