Manufacturer: Northern Electric, Montreal, Canada
Model: 1554
Approximate Date Of Manufacture: 1941-42
Type: 5-tube Superheterodyne AM/SW band radio
Tube lineup: 35Z5GT, 35L6GT, 12SA7, 12SK7, 12SQ7
Status: working, restored
Where purchased: eBay, September 2004
It uses octal tubes with various brand names, probably having been replaced over the years. I have a schematic from the RCC manual. There is no internal antenna but a wire antenna is included which can be rolled up when not in use using the provided winding bobbin. The speaker, despite its small size, is not a PM type, but has a field coil.
The line cord, with cloth insulation, was badly frayed and broken. The radio worked after the line cord was replaced. The soldering in this radio appears to be the worst workmanship I have ever seen. It is also extremely cramped and hard to work on due to the small size of the chassis. Replacing the capacitors with modern ones which are much smaller freed up some space. With the 5 octal tubes in a small wooden case with only a little ventilation in the back, I expect this radio would get quite hot inside when operated for any period of time.
No bad parts were found, but the wax paper caps were replaced. I left the case as is other than some cleaning. The lettering on the front panel for the BC SW band selection has worn off and the Northern Electric lettering is partially worn.