General Electric Model HJ-624
Feather-Touch Tuning Radio

by Richard Arnold

Web Edition

A 6-tube, AC/DC set was bound to interest Richard Arnold. Once again, he shares his find with our readers -- a General Electric "Feather-Touch" set. (Editor)

The radio in Figure 1 caught my attention with its good looks (at least, in my opinion). It is a 1939/40 model. Rider says that the set was made pre-June 1940. On the bottom of the radio, a paper says that it is an H-624, the "H" meaning that it was made in 1939. The company blacked this marking out a bit and replaced it with a stamping that says HJ-624, indicating that it was made in 1940. I suppose that this is an early 1940 set that spanned parts of both 1939 and 1940.

For those of you that have other General Electric radios, a letter E in front of the model number means that the set was made in 1936. The letter F means 1937 and the letter G means it was made in 1938.

The Model HJ-624

This set is another push-button radio in my collection. It has six plastic tuning keys. The push-button tuning mechanism is mechanical, not electrical. Each button has an adjusting screw behind it that you can set to the station you desire. When depressed, the buttons move the dial scale pointer to the desired number on the face of the dial scale. General Electric has given the radio the designation: "Built-in Beam-a-Scope Six ­ Feather-Touch Tuning Key."

The radio is classified as a compact radio with the cabinet size being 8 ³/4" x 16" x 7 ³/4". It is a 6-tube superheterodyne radio that can use either glass or metal tubes. The normal tube lineup is the following: a 6SA7GT converter-oscillator; a 6SK7GT IF amplifier; a 6Q7GT detector, audio and AVC; a 6J5GT 2nd audio amplifier, a 25L6GT power output; and finally, a 25Z6GT rectifier. The dial lamp used is a No. 44.

The GE Model HJ-624 Feather-Touch Tuning Radio.

The instructions say that the tubes can all be replaced with equivalent metal tubes. However, when changing the detector or IF tubes to metal tubes, the receiver should be realigned.

The radio will operate on 115v AC or DC and 25-60 cycles. The IF is 455 Kc.

Another feature of the General Electric Model HJ-624 is its 6¹/2-inch Dynapower speaker with 2 watts of undistorted power with 2.5 watts of maximum power. The tuning range is 550 to 1600 Kc on a broadcast band only. You will notice that the radio not only has the six tuning keys but also features two thumb wheels protruding through on either side of the dial escutcheon. The one on the left is the off/on and volume control, while the one on the right side is for manual tuning. The cabinet has been restored, but the grille cloth you see pictured is the original cloth.

Well, there has been a vast improvement to the looks of the radio. When I found it, the finish was really bad. I had to take it down to the wood and completely refinish it. I think it turned out pretty well. Now if only I could get it to work. Working or not, I think that it is a very handsome radio that looks great up there on the shelf.

References:

General Electric Service Notes, Models HJ-624 and HJ-628.

McAllister, Brian. Senior member of the Antique Radio Forum.

Rider, John F. Perpetual Trouble Shooters Manual, Vol. 11, pages 11-62, 63, 64 and 66.

(Richard Arnold, P.O. Box 275, Lone Grove, OK 73443. E-mail: arnold@brightok.net)

Richard Arnold, a frequent contributor to A.R.C., has been collecting radios since 1985. His interest is primarily in cathedrals and 1920s battery sets, and his collection ranges from crystal sets to a 1928 American Bosch in a Pooley cabinet. His prize is the 1932 Jackson Bell Peter Pan featured in the June 1991 A.R.C.