[Arran]

 Battery operated tube radios are something that has interested me almost since I entered this hobby in the mid 1980s. What got me into them was the fact that I could pick up a pre war radio for what was a bargain price, and the most interesting part is that if I applied power to one I could usually get it to work without overhauling the chassis. Most of these sets, even when they were in regular use, never saw the high hours that a typical AC radio would, and many were retired as AC mains started working it's way into rural areas after the war even though there were battery eliminators available. Some of the ones they sold in Canada were quite elaborate featuring up to eight tubes,  tuned RF amplifier stages, extra If amplifier stages, push pull power output, and three or more bands. I think the fact that electrification took longer to reach some areas meant that the radio manufactures in Canada took battery set design more seriously then in the U.S, the Eaton's Catalog had non portable battery operated radios available up until 1957-58.
Regards
Arran