A modification to an AR88D

[Yorkie]

The one you saw on e-bay with handles on the top had of course been 'got at' by a previous owner who'd added the non-standard handles. If it went for a 'good' price (as in 'silly' price), then the fitting of those handles seems not to have detracted from the value of the set, of which countless thousands were made from 1941 onwards, mainly for use by the UK and Russia.

I don't think the handles would look out of place, but really it's a two-person job to lift an AR88, and I doubt that you'd bother to use the handles to do so. Neither, I think, are you likely to be moving it about a lot once you've found a 'home' for it, so I'm not sure the handles would have much practical use.

As to whether you'd get an ear bashing from certain quarters, it's the height of impertinance for self-styled aficianados to lecture you on what you should do with your own property. To restore an AR88 to perform to its original spec calls for extensive work, and whether an owner wishes to undertake such a project or has the time and competence, or simply to keep the radio as a museum piece in its original state, but not to use it, is a personal choice.

The AR88 is a very advanced design for its day, and in an entirely different league from more basic radios such as the R1155, which is little different from a basic domestic superhet radio design, suitably adapted and constructed for its purpose, including DF, but because of its associations with Lancaster bombers etc, has a certain cachet which some romanticise about.

What militates against owning an AR88 (or HRO+coil packs, CR100, B40 etc) is its sheer size, weight, and complexity.

There's an excellent very comprehensive website devoted to AR88s, including lots of useful info about restoration, at this link:

http://www.radioblvd.com/ar88.htm

Just my thoughts on the subject.

Hope that helps a bit Al.