Other radios based on the same chassis:
5-valve miniature mantle radio - The Mullard model 515 Meteor (or Mullardette)
The first midget radio from Mullard (well, from Philips as most Mullard radios were just rebadged with a different cabinet in some cases). The Philips version has horizontal grill bars and was known as the model 540 Philette.
2 chassis versions, one which uses American octal valves and the other which uses English valves (540E version)
2 dial versions, MK1 has the low frequency at the left hand side of the dial while the MK2 has the opposite arrangement.
Intermediate Frequency: 455kc/s
Frequency Bands: 1
General Construction Notes for Philips Electrical Industries of N.Z. Ltd:
Model codes are explained on the Philips brand page. Philips early-mid century were probably the Google of their time - they had branches in many countries and a global brand that everyone knew - and were apparently happy to let engineers come up with new ideas and implement them. Construction is often overly complex but very well engineered - although repairs can also take a complex path. They used time-in-motion studies to find the most cost effective way to asemble sets and sometimes this means repairs can be nightmarish (if you've ever worked on a V7A Theaterette this will be all too aparent). U suffix model numbers are transformerless (hot chassis) sets and great care should be taken, or the sets avoided altogether.
YEAR | MODEL NAME |
---|---|
1945 | Philips model 540 'Philette' |