Northern Electric 5116

Manufacturer: Northern Electric, Montreal, Canada
Model: 5116
Approximate Date Of Manufacture: 1947-1948
Type: 5-tube Superheterodyne AM/SW radio
Tube lineup: 12SA7, 12SK7, 12SQ7, 50L6GT, 35Z5GT (octal)
Status: working, restored
Where purchased: eBay, February 2007

Description

This is a Northern Electric table radio, electrically similar to some other models but with a larger wooden case and grille clothe. As well as the AM broadcast band it has a shortwave band running from approximately 6.0 to 15.0 MHz. With a single shortwave band with a small dial and no bandspread it is difficult to tune shortwave stations. There is no loop antenna, just a length of wire.

Restoration was pretty standard and included cleaning, replacing all wax paper caps, restuffing the electrolytic filter cap, and replacing a resistor that broke while being worked on. Alignment appeared fine and was not changed.

Sound quality is very good, likely due to the wooden case, and it is quite sensitive, even on shortwave. This is quite amazing for a radio with only 5 tubes.