11-02-2014, 12:54 PM
Thanks so much for the information and clarification, Ron. Yes, that is indeed the radio I purchased. Yeah a hundred smackers is on the high end...and was actually my maximum bid (could it be a shill at work to bid it up to exactly that amount?). But I've never seen one with such a beautiful original photo finish before, and I know once restored I could easily recover my investment (not that I have intentions of selling it, just to justify the cost). Plus I was always kind of curious about these little pee-wee / cigar box sets. This one was also desirable to me because it has a dial light. The 1933 models, while having a very similar cabinet, seem too much of a plain Jane to me without the photo finish and dial light.
Well, silly me, I did a dumb thing. I actually assumed an eBay seller knew what they were talking about, as the model number seemed like it was correct (based on what I saw in the gallery here). So I went ahead and ordered a schematic from Chuck Schwark upon realizing I won the auction. My theory being, the schematic and radio should arrive around the same time, and I'd cut down on the waiting time. Lo and behold, once it arrived, I found out this had 4 tubes instead of 5.
Gulp.
So I then realized this probably was a 58 C because of the 4 tubes and photo finish, using the photo gallery portion of this website (one of my favorite places to visit here, and one of the most useful I might add). Now, thanks to your kind help, I realize because it has no band switch, it's actually a 59 C.
Poor Chuck. I've been bothering him the last 2 days and keep changing the model number on him. He kindly offered to send another envelope with schematics for the 57 / 58 C's at no charge, but now that I have to change it again, for sure he will be getting another $7.00 check in the mail. I guess half the battle is trying to figure out exactly what you have. I pulled out the schematic Chuck sent me for my model 84 because I recognized the tubes used for both are the same and was surprised to find it is VERY close to the one for the model 57 I linked to above.
So now on to the OSC coil. Chuck also agrees that the green wire was more than likely redone, as the solder lugs look touched at either end of the dogbone and cap as well. Now the fun will be trying to figure out how many winds, what gauge of wire, and which direction it was originally and supposed to be wound. And which lugs the ends were supposed to be soldered to. I’ve learned long ago never assume that any obvious and visible repairs done to a radio are done correctly. Especially if the set isn’t working!
It seems the cans around the Antenna & OSC coils are spot welded together. You can't just remove the OSC can and leave the ANT can attached to the chassis. So it looks like some major unsoldering needs to be done to remove just the OSC coil. Once they are both unscrewed from the chassis, you can't tilt it up enough to get to the little screw that attaches the coil to the can.
That said, I would think, based solely on how similar the schematics are, that the OSC coil for the model 84 and this model 59C should be very close as far as windings, number of turns, direction, etc. goes. So, if no one has rewound an OSC coil for a 54, 57, 58, or 59 C, has anyone done so for a model 84 and saved their notes?
I got lucky on my 84. The coils were all fine. Thinking out loud, I'm not sure if this would work, but I guess I could pull the chassis on mine and see if I can tell which lugs the winding ends are soldered to. But that still won't answer which direction it's wound. I might be able to carefully count the number of turns, but it sure would save a lot of work if someone may have rewound one of these and documented what they did.
Sorry about the small type. I was writing to Chuck and posting here simultaneously and did a cut & paste from the e-mail to here. I didn't notice the font was different, but in hindsight, should've.
One more question...
There is a little stub of a wire hanging off of the plate of the #42 tube:
It almost looks, based on the schematic for the 57C, that it would be connected to bakelite block #31. I'm holding it over to where I think it broke off of here:
OR is this one of those gimmick capacitors? I'm thinking not, as ususally those are two wires wound together.
I'm having flashbacks with this set to my model 89 and having to bake the coil, and all of the trouble I had winding that OSC coil. Hopefully this one won't be as bad
Well, silly me, I did a dumb thing. I actually assumed an eBay seller knew what they were talking about, as the model number seemed like it was correct (based on what I saw in the gallery here). So I went ahead and ordered a schematic from Chuck Schwark upon realizing I won the auction. My theory being, the schematic and radio should arrive around the same time, and I'd cut down on the waiting time. Lo and behold, once it arrived, I found out this had 4 tubes instead of 5.
Gulp.
So I then realized this probably was a 58 C because of the 4 tubes and photo finish, using the photo gallery portion of this website (one of my favorite places to visit here, and one of the most useful I might add). Now, thanks to your kind help, I realize because it has no band switch, it's actually a 59 C.
Poor Chuck. I've been bothering him the last 2 days and keep changing the model number on him. He kindly offered to send another envelope with schematics for the 57 / 58 C's at no charge, but now that I have to change it again, for sure he will be getting another $7.00 check in the mail. I guess half the battle is trying to figure out exactly what you have. I pulled out the schematic Chuck sent me for my model 84 because I recognized the tubes used for both are the same and was surprised to find it is VERY close to the one for the model 57 I linked to above.
So now on to the OSC coil. Chuck also agrees that the green wire was more than likely redone, as the solder lugs look touched at either end of the dogbone and cap as well. Now the fun will be trying to figure out how many winds, what gauge of wire, and which direction it was originally and supposed to be wound. And which lugs the ends were supposed to be soldered to. I’ve learned long ago never assume that any obvious and visible repairs done to a radio are done correctly. Especially if the set isn’t working!
It seems the cans around the Antenna & OSC coils are spot welded together. You can't just remove the OSC can and leave the ANT can attached to the chassis. So it looks like some major unsoldering needs to be done to remove just the OSC coil. Once they are both unscrewed from the chassis, you can't tilt it up enough to get to the little screw that attaches the coil to the can.
That said, I would think, based solely on how similar the schematics are, that the OSC coil for the model 84 and this model 59C should be very close as far as windings, number of turns, direction, etc. goes. So, if no one has rewound an OSC coil for a 54, 57, 58, or 59 C, has anyone done so for a model 84 and saved their notes?
I got lucky on my 84. The coils were all fine. Thinking out loud, I'm not sure if this would work, but I guess I could pull the chassis on mine and see if I can tell which lugs the winding ends are soldered to. But that still won't answer which direction it's wound. I might be able to carefully count the number of turns, but it sure would save a lot of work if someone may have rewound one of these and documented what they did.
Sorry about the small type. I was writing to Chuck and posting here simultaneously and did a cut & paste from the e-mail to here. I didn't notice the font was different, but in hindsight, should've.
One more question...
There is a little stub of a wire hanging off of the plate of the #42 tube:
It almost looks, based on the schematic for the 57C, that it would be connected to bakelite block #31. I'm holding it over to where I think it broke off of here:
OR is this one of those gimmick capacitors? I'm thinking not, as ususally those are two wires wound together.
I'm having flashbacks with this set to my model 89 and having to bake the coil, and all of the trouble I had winding that OSC coil. Hopefully this one won't be as bad
Greg V.
West Bend, WI
Member WARCI.org
