There is only about $6 of capactors in the radio that need replacing and can be replace in about an hour or so with a soldering gun. I find the tube radio as well has a different sound than the modern transistor radios of toda, much softer, and i seem to get more radio stations. The only problem is having the tubs checked, but checking around you should be able to find a TV shop that still has a tester, just make up a diagram of the tube locations (may already be one on the inside of the back cover) and check to make sure that there is still a readable number on the tube.
