02-05-2015, 01:21 AM
Hi;
The 38-116 was the near top of the line set in terms of the 1938 Philco lineup, whilst they are not rare as hens teeth they are also not exactly a run of the mill set. These sets were among the best sounding radios of that era, even though they were AM they had a feature known as varaible IF bandwidth, they also have automatic frequency control circuitry which Philco called "Magnetic Tuning". They also have five bands, a shadowgraph tuning indicator, a push pull power output stage using a pair of 6L6s, and 15 tubes, so it's like having a communications set with a high fidelity audio output stage attached. From what I can see from the back it looks fairly complete, the speaker and acoustical resonators are in place, and the chassis looks rust free with most if not all of the tube shields intact. I don't know if you have the knobs but those can be found, the finish on the cabinet is bad but the veneer looks reasonably sound other then a few places where it is lifting. I've never restored a 38-116 myself but many other on here have and can tell you what needs to be dealt with, they are not the easiest radios to work on but usually well worth it.
I should add that if you still want a console cabinet to put some modern Chinese consumer electronic junk in there are plenty of empty cabinets to be found, at one of the swap meets they even have a bonfire at the end to dispose of the really ratty ones. If you want one I'm sure someone on here could supply you with one at little or no cost, but a 38-116 is just too good of a radio to act as a donor for that purpose.
Regards
Arran
The 38-116 was the near top of the line set in terms of the 1938 Philco lineup, whilst they are not rare as hens teeth they are also not exactly a run of the mill set. These sets were among the best sounding radios of that era, even though they were AM they had a feature known as varaible IF bandwidth, they also have automatic frequency control circuitry which Philco called "Magnetic Tuning". They also have five bands, a shadowgraph tuning indicator, a push pull power output stage using a pair of 6L6s, and 15 tubes, so it's like having a communications set with a high fidelity audio output stage attached. From what I can see from the back it looks fairly complete, the speaker and acoustical resonators are in place, and the chassis looks rust free with most if not all of the tube shields intact. I don't know if you have the knobs but those can be found, the finish on the cabinet is bad but the veneer looks reasonably sound other then a few places where it is lifting. I've never restored a 38-116 myself but many other on here have and can tell you what needs to be dealt with, they are not the easiest radios to work on but usually well worth it.
I should add that if you still want a console cabinet to put some modern Chinese consumer electronic junk in there are plenty of empty cabinets to be found, at one of the swap meets they even have a bonfire at the end to dispose of the really ratty ones. If you want one I'm sure someone on here could supply you with one at little or no cost, but a 38-116 is just too good of a radio to act as a donor for that purpose.
Regards
Arran
