Re: Marconi 4816 1590 survivor!
Agh! Yes the 1580 chassis model 3805. This must be the rarest Thorn ever produced other than the 'Transvista' an all transistor model produced in 1961.
As Glyn has posted, not many external clues. The front label says just says COURIER. The 1590 has 'Mains Battery'. The loudspeaker slots are vertical as mentioned on the 1580. The ring aerial is 'V' shaped on the 1580 and of course, no battery socket.
The odd thing is the battery socket is marked on the back but not punched through making me think this was an interim model before the release of the 1590. It must have been a very expensive retooling job for such a low production run.
The chassis is interesting, almost a cross between the 980 and a 1500. The sound output valve is a PCF80 but sounds more like an ECL80. It has good sound and superbly designed as are all Thorn chassis.
I took these pics this evening but had to change the phone camera for the off screen shot to monochrome due to the very high contrast picture causing flattening of the whites. Regards, John.
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