This little unit has been listed locally for some time. I don't have any mono units! It looks like the most expensive (should one need replaced) tube is the 6SN7GT splitter. I don't think I'm up to the challenge of taking on the changer just refurbishing the cab and using as a radio. It's not something I would usually pursue but it keeps showing up on my FBM feed. I don't know much about Bendix other than from automotive and the output transistors in my germanium laced early Rotel receiver.
A little research suggests this might be from 1954. Do these units typically need a lot of rewiring in addition to caps and resistors? Is it a worthy candidate for some restoration? Should I save my mono curiosity for a nice blonde Pilot, PT-1030D to be exact, that's closer than 2 hours one way and is less than 2 Benjamins? Maybe with some patience a more worth candidate will show up.
Thanks
Mark
1960 Philco H-1916
1962 Montgomery Wards
1963 Pilot 6B500
It is a nice-looking unit, Mark and with a little work it could be both beautiful and sound good and the price is definitely right. I am not familiar enough with Bendix to know their quality back in the day, but the fact it has a separate amp would tell me it was an upper end model. I also know there are a lot of them still around. As far as the Pilot goes, definitely a more TOTL unit.
Thanks for the links, Mr. Mogul. Here's a photo of the Pilot that is enticing me. The EL84 integrated is a definite plus. Easy to hook up a mono tuner. A 4 hour round trip might not be in the cards until after the holidays, but it's almost all Interstate travel. A bonus is the original paperwork! It would be my 2nd Pilot and puts my homely 63 to shame. The Bendix is no more than 15 minutes away.
If the Bendix is close and cheap, why not get both? Bendix made good stuff, up there with S-C, Zenith, RCA, Wells-Gardner. Bendix is rather an orphan brand, although the company was involved in government contracts and made some of the military-spec tubes so sought by collectors. You could use a stereo changer bridged for mono in the Bendix and have a nice, unusual rig. Replace the 6K6 output tubes with 6V6 and give the amp a bit more oomph. The Bendix would be a lot more uncommon than the Pilot, and, it doesn't have a blonde cabinet, but that is just me. I have grandma's old Bendix radio that sat on her refrigerator for YEARS that I redid the cabinet on. Other than tubes and the speaker, it is largely original. Even the caps are all original.
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