Excellent, Working Wireless Specialty IP-501A Radio RCA

You're looking at a legendary IP-501A receiver, manufactured for RCA by the Wireless Specialty Apparatus Co.  The last iteration of the IP-500 series, it combines the IP-501 receiver with the Triode B Two-Stage amplifier and may be the most elusive of all the Wireless Specialty sets, as it was never sold to the public, unlike the IP-500 and IP-501, both of which were offered in RCA's consumer catalog, Radio Enters The Home.  The IP-501A and its predecessors, the IP-501 and IP-500, were commercial versions of WWI ship radios, and all three sets are distinguished by superior, mil-spec build quality and a tuning mechanism that's second to none in terms of cost and sophistication.  Though its tuning circuit was created in 1918, the IP-501A was so advanced that it was used on board commercial vessels until well into the 1930's, years after the end of the battery radio era -- an unparalleled testament to its capabilities.

This is an excellent example of the IP-501A, with an original, copper shielded cabinet, good AF transformers, tuning coils that are practically spotless, metal parts that are super clean, original working voltmeter, original chassis wiring and a panel that is free of cracks, gouges or other damage.  In terms of looks and functionality, this scarce receiver's "cool factor" is off the charts.  Among the things that distinguish it from other Wireless Specialty sets are the fact that its original tags remain intact on the side of the cabinet (most tags were removed when the sets were sold as surplus) and the fact that it still works -- the detector output and both amp stages.  The cabinet has plenty of marks on all sides and some nicks here and there (remember, this set was pulled from a ship, not a living room), but the finish is original, and as early commercial wireless gear goes, its condition is quite nice indeed.  Binding post nuts are all there, dials are still beautifully plated, geared verniers work properly, buzzer is still present, all panel screws are original, and all are present, knobs are in excellent condition, etc. 

As noted above, this is a working set -- somewhat of an anomoly in the world of ship radios, most of which were, as the expression goes, "rode hard and left out wet."  I hooked the set up to an ARBEIII power supply and a longwire antenna, and within about an hour I was tuning in stations all over the east coast.  I'll admit the radio is fairly complicated, and I probably spent the better part of that hour trying to tune in a single station, but once I'd tuned in a station clearly, it was only a matter of minutes before I'd tuned in a dozen more.  I'm sure that if I'd had an operator's manual or otherwise knew what I was doing, I could have pulled in stations far beyond my neck of the woods.  Once stations were properly tuned, audio output into both headphones and a loudspeaker was clear and undistorted.  The radio comes with a set of good 01a tubes and a working pair of Western Electric 509W headphones, so it will be ready to display or play as soon as it arrives.  Please note:  this is a fairly elaborate battery set.  If you plan to operate it, you'll need -- at the very least -- a good regulated power supply, a longwire outdoor antenna, a good ground connnection, and some past experience with similar radios.

I discovered today that a copy of the operator's manual for this set (in simple text version) is available for free on the internet.  Just go to Google and type

wireless specialty ip-501a

into the search field.  The link to the manual is about 2/3 way down the first page.