[Jayce]

My 807's have different grills. The 'A' models have the perforated, gold grille whereas the later models have a gold fabric over the grille area. It's easy to see which version holds up the best!

[35Z5]

I dunno which is best, tramping across the net I've seen several examples of 807A & 808A that have black splotches on grille(be careful how and what you use to clean yours). Of course it's almost a sure bet the later models with brassy cloth grilles will turn green, or at least wear thin. Coating on those seems to tarnish. When I tried to clean my 807J, it wound up with bare cloth... Luckily the gold Sharpie treatment is a close match to orig.

My interest is mainly with the A series... Going by production dates(stamp on model label) there seems to be approx five months of 807 & 808A builds, a down time, then production of the B series. The 805A & 806A enjoy approx nine months, though there is a large gap between earliest that used the P755 chassis(only seen one of these) and later that used same chassis as 807A. Also yet to see a 805A or 806A built in same time period as 807 & 808A, though I've seen a 805 built the week prior to first 807. Of course I have accumulated only a small sample, no doubt I'm missing data(whaddya 'spect for free? ).

BTW. It's a sure bet any of these that use the white Nashville/IEI caps will require replacement.  I believe the 807A/808A & maybe late 805A/806A used Sprague caps, though my 41st week 1959 806A had Nashville. Most of the 807 & 808A were built early in '60.

[jcassity]

toss a recharge battery string in ,, then a small flip up solar panel and sell them with the word "sustainable" or "doomsday" in the description, then they would ebay for 100$ each... especially if any of them had FM.

toss in a wifi extender and the tots would go banana's for some "retro" tunes.

personally i think anything that can be done to get this kind of tech out there in the hands of younger people is a win win,,as all this is the foundation of all things electrical engineering and stem technology.

look at what all you guys had to learn and already know in order to even fix this kinda tech,, its amazing actually when you stop and think about it.

whats even more interesting is the fact that nothing has really changed all that much,, a box is a box with parts in it and the box still plays by the same old technology rules.

[35Z5]

Here's my collection of mostly unloved P-755A/P-80x radios. I didn't have a display so I repurposed this shelf wife tossed out in garage. 

GE introduced revised models through at least J series(each more cheaply built)at approx nine month intervals. All have five transistors and use class A audio. Large 9v battery required as current draw is around 20 ma. GE did offer a rarely seen adapter to fit six AA in place of 9v.

Top row P-755A & P-805A

In sleuthing the net I'm yet to find a P-755A that wasn't built in 1958, this one is from 36th week or 1st week Sept '58. No doubt these were advertised as 1959 models. P-805A & P-806A were built in early & late versions, so were around for 1959 & 1960. Mine are late, built Nov & Dec '59 but have seen these built as early as March '59. Apparently replaced the P-755A.

EDIT-- After additional net exploring, I've now seen a P-806A built 51st week 1958 & a second March 1959 built P-805A. Still there's a huge gap(approx 6 months) between early and late versions. Guessing GE built up stock for most of year, then started production again for the '59 holiday season. No doubt these would have been plentiful early in '60.

Second row P-806A & P-807A

P-807A & P-808A(not pictured) replaced the 805 & 806, are no doubt 1960 models, ones I've seen were built from Dec '59 to May 1960. All A series use conventional dynamic speaker and are only versions to do so. B versions replaced these in middish 1960.

Third row  P-808E & P-809C

The E-series are 1962 models with production beginning late 1961, while C-series is early/mid 1961. Both use reed type speakers & a imitation gold grille(incl B) that's prone to wear and/or turn green. The G & H versions used mini modules soldered to main board, while J returned to conventional chassis. PCB traces on  J are so cheap they all but jump from board at sight of soldering iron.

   

[sam]

tom
very nice collection

sam

[35Z5]

Thank You!

I'm workin' on something else to post in this thread, probably be a couple weeks...

[Jayce]

Oh my! Now I am drooling!

[35Z5]

LOL

Yeah I kinda went on a buying binge, though I found some good deals... That P-807A sold for $6.50, the P-806A $14.99, paid most for P-755 but was local so I didn't have to pay shipping.

Except for P-755 all work just fine.. Needs total E-recap but I've decided to leave as found. One cap replaced in the 805(like 45-50 years ago), others untouched. The 805 has most wear, no doubt enjoyed life... The others apparently spent most of their days languishing in someones dresser drawer..

[Jayce]

That is what I find kinda ironic about these GE radios. Basically, they were (and still often are) seen as technically inferior to other offerings of the time. Especially the stripped down J models. Yet, it seems these are more often found in working condition than their 'superior' Japanese and other US counterparts. Not saying they don't need a capacitor or two, but there seems to be a good chance that they can be coaxed to play even before any repairs take place.

[35Z5]

Most issues in any of these radios whether US or Japanese are due to dried out electrolytic capacitors. More there are, higher the odds there will be issues. The A series have five, that's fairly high odds. Later models used less so odds are improved(I believe B, C & E series have only three). The aluminum cased 500 mfd @ 12v used in those was anything but miniature. 

Mostly it boils down to the fact technology to build miniature, low voltage but fairly high value electrolytic caps was still being developed. Early epoxy sealed, ceramic capacitors are very failure prone. Cases split and/or epoxy sealant cracks, allowing air to enter. Somewhere in late '59 IEI/Nashville & Sprague began supplying plastic cased caps that have mostly stood the test of time. The J series wasn't introduced till '63/'64, by then the technology was far more matured(as was cutting corners).

[35Z5]

 GE did offer a rarely seen adapter to fit six AA in place of 9v.

I found one of the illusive little critters..

Was in poor condition, had to replace or rebuild all the battery contacts, but it works. Without the outer shell, batteries would easily dislodge from the holder.