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Of all of the radios to have ever been manufactured in Indiana, the
LePilote could probably be considered the most unique. The entire
tuning dial is a mockup of the inside of a river steamboat pilot's
cabin. There are three curved windows and a steering wheel
(tuning knob) which is partially sunken into the floorboards just like
in a real 19th century Mississippi steamboat. A light bulb, built
into the ceiling, illuminates the entire stage when the radio is on and
a handy hand rest is available in case a persons hand gets tired while
slowly tuning the AM band looking for a good station. To add to
the nautical effect, a litho print of a sailboat is mounted on the 3rd
R.F. can that is mounted closest to the center window. A larger
table model was offered that featured a slanted front panel and
compartments in either side of the cabinet to house the B+ and C-
batteries. It's assumed a console model of this radio was offered
but none are known to exist. The cabinet was manufactured by a
company located outside of Indiana, possibly in New York, but the front
panel was made by Imperial. At least one other radio
manufacturer, the Philmore Mfg. Co. used this cabinet for their radio,
a single dial, six tube set with the name "Philmore" featured on the
front panel. It's interisting that the LePilote featured such a
unique nautical theme, in it's design, when considering that Union City
is surrounded by farmland and the only bodies of water are a couple of
small streams that run past either side of the city. I acquired
this set from a collector at the 1992 IHRS Spring swap meet that was
held at the Ramada Inn, Kokomo, Indiana.
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