Philco had an extensive line of radios for 1938, some including phonographs. Rather than make their own cabinet they chose to purchase them from one of their existing vendors, Radiobar Company. Philco put their radio chassis in the Radiobar cabinet along with an automatic turntable made by Capehart. They created series of seven consoles that were the top Philco offerings for the year. These radios had beautiful cabinets plus a phonograph, but no bar!
Each new radio had anywhere from five to fifteen tubes and was based on one of the many stock chassis used in the 1938 Philco line. This new grouping was called the “Phonograph with Philco” line. The top of the line unit, which our radio happens to be, was the 15-tube model 38-1-116XX which was called the “Adam”. The cabinet is clearly marked “Philco” which leads us to conclude that this system was sold by Philco, not Radiobar. This radio cost $600 in 1938 which converts to $11,641 in 2021.
The Capeheart turntable in our Philco 38-1-116XX will play a stack of 9 10” diameter or 12” records, but they cannot be mixed. Capeheart made some turntables that were able to flip a record so that it could be played on both sides. Our player does not appear to have that capability.
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References and Resources:
Philco Library, an internet-based source of Philco history.
Philco Radio 1928-1942, Ron Ramirez with Michael Prosise, revised 2nd ed., 2006.
Restoration of a Philco 38-116 chassis, Jeremy’s Antique Radios, 2009.
Radiobar History, Mulholland Press.
Instructions: Philco 38-116XX Instructions – Philco Library (philcoradio.com).
Philco Radio Gallery Index: Philco Radio Gallery
1938 Philcos with phonographs including 38-1-116XX with 15 tubes.
Antique Radios Discussion regarding 38-3-116XX , 38-1-116XX, and Capeheart changer.
Philco 38-116 Code 125 Data Sheet.
Philco Phorum discussion, restoring 38-1-116, Code 121.