Re: Philips BX281U20 valve radio
I don't think that dropper looks too bad at all- compared to some that keep on functioning. You'd be lucky to find a NOS one anyway. Provided that it's electrically OK and it and the ceramic sleeves are not cracked, it'll soldier on. As they run seriously hot, the dust that collects on the rough surface tends to carbonise and make them look grimy over time, but it's only a cosmetic thing.
It's possible that that odd valve socket has some sort of packing plate that adapts Loctal to International Octal-based valves- the pin layout and spacing is the same and the International Octal types have longer, fatter pins that the plate would cater for. It's difficult to tell, but it may be that that socket contact design accommodates both thicknesses of pin type. The late '30s/early '40s saw a variety of valve base types jostling for dominance (not to mention nation states....), Philips radios would have gone from side contact through Loctal and International Octal to miniatures in just a few years and it wouldn't be surprising if some valve types were changed over the production run of a particular set.
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