Tag Archives: Antique Radio

Antique Radio, Repair

Western Auto’s Truetone D-3603A Portable

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TrueTone D3603A by Western Auto

This is a swell portable, sold around 1956. My mom had one of these, in Green (D3603A) — I’ve never seen an example of the Maroon model (D3604A). That old one had a melted speaker grill grid, probably where she’d set an iron too close to it. It found it’s way to a garage-sale table and was gone, sometime in the 1980s.

Western Auto>

Truetone D3603A, Selenium Rectifier
Close-up inspection, the selenium rectifier must go.
Truetone D3603A, Cabinet Interior
Cabinet was very clean. This is a 3-Way Power radio: 110AC, 110DC and, of course, batteries.
Truetone D3603, Chassis Front
A very conventional, 4-tube portable. The AM Antenna rod is easily fixed.

The Less Common Color

Truetone D3604A, in Burgendy Red
Very faint “Truetone” logo on the cabinet front.

Updated: I finally found the Burgundy-colored model a few years later. The logo “Truetone” is very faint on the front cabinet, but otherwise it’s in grand shape.
Truetone D3604A, in Burgendy, Rear
Very few scratches on this one, and in any case, Novus Plastic #2 and #1 do wonders.

Resources

I could not find this schematic via internet. I was able to snag one via eBay for only a couple of dollars and have scanned it here.
TrueTone D3603A / D3604A Schematic
TrueTone D3603A / D3604A Sam’s

Many thanks to Mike Stute for giving me this one a couple of years ago, when I casually mentioned that my mom had had one of these.