03-14-2013, 01:54 PM
If you've never restored a radio before, I'd recommend this site for how to go about it. http://www.antiqueradio.org/welcome.htm. You won't learn everything there, but it's a good start on the basics of what to do and what not to do. Also some interesting features on radio restoration.
Another site to peruse, dedicated to old Philcos, is this one: http://www.philcorepairbench.com/ You can probably buy a very fine original Philco repair package for your radio from Chuck Schwark, who runs the site. I recommend that you do so, because Philco's service packages are better and more thorough than anything you can get for free. Chuck supplies these at a small cost, and they are well worth it.
You can find probably find a free schematic for your radio here: http://www.nostalgiaair.org. Schematics are absolutely necessary for restoring old radios. Most of these free schematics are worth downloading, but some of are of poor quality and are minimally helpful.
First, though, since this is an AC radio, don't even plug it in before you've replaced the electrolytic capacitors in the power supply. You might have already turned it on and gotten away with it, but those types of capacitors have a short life, fail gradually, and will destroy other irreplaceable components when they fail. Because they fail gradually, they can already be causing damage while still appearing to work. On these older Philcos it might not be obvious which parts they are, so thoroughly research your specific radio before you replace anything.
I'd wait until you'd thoroughly read the two web sites above before you do anything to restore yours. Just my 2 cents, but reading this material in advance made restoration easier and more interesting to me, and helped me not create extra work to get the job done.
Ron's site, here, has much information specific to these earlier Philcos, so once you have read these other sites and are familiar with the basics, dive in and refer to Ron's advice as necessary. It's fun, so I hope you enjoy it.
Another site to peruse, dedicated to old Philcos, is this one: http://www.philcorepairbench.com/ You can probably buy a very fine original Philco repair package for your radio from Chuck Schwark, who runs the site. I recommend that you do so, because Philco's service packages are better and more thorough than anything you can get for free. Chuck supplies these at a small cost, and they are well worth it.
You can find probably find a free schematic for your radio here: http://www.nostalgiaair.org. Schematics are absolutely necessary for restoring old radios. Most of these free schematics are worth downloading, but some of are of poor quality and are minimally helpful.
First, though, since this is an AC radio, don't even plug it in before you've replaced the electrolytic capacitors in the power supply. You might have already turned it on and gotten away with it, but those types of capacitors have a short life, fail gradually, and will destroy other irreplaceable components when they fail. Because they fail gradually, they can already be causing damage while still appearing to work. On these older Philcos it might not be obvious which parts they are, so thoroughly research your specific radio before you replace anything.
I'd wait until you'd thoroughly read the two web sites above before you do anything to restore yours. Just my 2 cents, but reading this material in advance made restoration easier and more interesting to me, and helped me not create extra work to get the job done.
Ron's site, here, has much information specific to these earlier Philcos, so once you have read these other sites and are familiar with the basics, dive in and refer to Ron's advice as necessary. It's fun, so I hope you enjoy it.
John Honeycutt
