RF, power & vintage · Tier D

Tube & Transistor Radios

Count transistors on the badge or look for glowing glass — pre-1963 shirt-pocket transistor radios and any working tube set are collector items; 70s+ plastic AM/FM is parts and copper.

Cu 20–40 g/lb (tube sets)Ag traceBase Alnico speaker magnets

eBay typical$20–150per lb

Refiner pays$0.15per lb

Metal in it$0.51per lb at 4 Aug 2026 spot

Confidencelowof the yield figures

How to spot it

Tube sets: wood or Catalin/Bakelite cases, octal or 7/9-pin miniature tubes, power transformer, Alnico speaker. Catalin cases alone are $200–2,000. Early transistor: Regency TR-1, Sony TR-55/63, Zenith Royal 500 — civil-defense CD marks on the dial date them. Ham/CB gear follows the tube rules with a stronger used market.

Metal content

Metal	Quantity	Notes
Copper	20–40 g/lb (tube sets)	Power and audio transformers, chassis wiring; transistor sets are plastic-light
Silver	trace	Silver-mica caps and switch contacts in tube-era chassis
Base metal	Alnico speaker magnets	Cobalt-nickel alloy — payable at specialty yards and prized by speaker builders

At 4 Aug 2026 spot prices that works out to $0.51 per lb of contained metal — Copper 30 g = $0.32, Silver 0.1 g = $0.19. A refiner paying $0.15 per lb returns about 29% of that, which is normal: refining costs money and the buyer takes a margin.

Safe removal

Working temperature: No heat needed — mechanical teardown only

Tube sets: pull tubes first (padded box — they are half the value), then transformers to copper, silver-mica caps to that stream, Alnico speakers whole. Discharge the big can capacitors with a resistor lead before touching the chassis — tube-era electrolytics hold a bite.

Hazards

⚡ Stored high voltage

NEVER short a large capacitor with a screwdriver. It welds the tip, blasts molten metal at your face, and can rupture the can.

🩹 Glass and sharps

NEVER blow on, wipe with bare fingers, or brush away cut optical fibre.

☠ Lead — dust more than fume

NEVER dry sweep or use compressed air on a scrapping bench. HEPA-vac or wet-wipe only.

Before you scrap it

Working tube radios $40–300, Catalin cases $200–2,000, early transistor sets $50–500, tubes and output transformers as parts, Alnico speakers $10–40 each to builders. Scrap only rusted gutted chassis.

The common trap

Catalin radio cases look like ordinary brown Bakelite under grime and sell for four figures — wipe a corner before judging any 1930s–40s set. And the tubes: a single 6L6/12AX7/EL34 pull is $10–40, an output transformer $20–80 to guitar-amp builders. Nothing in a radio is worth more melted than sold.

Questions

How much gold is in tube & transistor radios?

Copper: 20–40 g/lb (tube sets). Silver: trace. At current spot that is about $0.51 of contained metal per pound.

How do you identify tube & transistor radios?

Count transistors on the badge or look for glowing glass — pre-1963 shirt-pocket transistor radios and any working tube set are collector items; 70s+ plastic AM/FM is parts and copper.

How do you remove tube & transistor radios safely?

Is tube & transistor radios worth more working than as scrap?

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