My grandfather died a couple of months ago and we have been sorting through his stuff. He was one of those people who always collected every receipt and kept every box for everthing he ever bought.

One of the gems that we found was a 1956 Pye P114BQ AM Jewel case radio. What a wonderful bit of kit, with a stunning chrome interior and gorgeous blue box.



If only it didn't need a 90V battery (that's not a typo, it really takes a 90 volt supply, for the valve grid bias I think). Mind you, there is nothing that I want to listen to on AM anyway.

When we found it I had assumed it was worth some money, but it appears that even though it looks like it was bought yesterday (it really is spotless) it is worth about $40.

I'm considering converting it to FM (and wondering if I could fit one of those tiny PC motherboards into it).

Here are the rest of the pictures:

http://www.norman.cx/photos/default.asp?ShowThumbs=true&Filter=20020921+Grandad%27s+camera+and+radio