Yup. Therein lies the problem I’m afraid. Like almost all early 1950s wirelesses it’s AM only. There are very few stations broadcasting on AM any more and the shorter wavebands are very much interfered with by modern domestic electronics (the EMI standards are not very tight and if you buy cheap kit from the Pacific rim it may well not comply with the standards in any case).
Enthusiasts get round the ‘lack of AM stations’ problem by building DIY ‘pantry’ transmitters and rebroadcasting whatever they like via those. If the transmitter is physically close to the wireless then the set will only need a minimal aerial and that will reduce the problem with interference. But the whole exercise is a labour of love.
The sad fact is that supply very much exceeds demand for sets like this. The shop will be doing well if they get anywhere near £75 for it. The British Vintage Wireless Society holds regular auctions and struggles to shift sets from the 1950’s. Looking at the latest results here Auction Results - Royal Wootton Bassett - 3rd July 2022 - British Vintage Wireless Society I can’t see a Murphy A168 but there is (item 46) a model A186 which is another 3-band set of similar age, only a bit nicer because it has a ‘magic eye’ tuning indicator. I don’t know what condition it was in, but the hammer price was £5.
The things which topped £50 included trays of valves, some 1920’s wirelesses and other gear, power triodes, unusual early tellies, odd bits of test gear and (item 220) a push-pull Sound Sales amp which had two good PX25s in it and which went for £1750. I fear it will now be languishing on a shelf somewhere, without the PX25s, which will be heading for Japan or Korea or China.
