Here is a couple of pictures of a RCA Radiola 60 ?? I saw this in a antique store up by me .. Looked in great condition.. Does anyone know anything about this.. I didn't get it yet due to not knowing what to offer Any clues on what its worth.. How difficult to work on Problems ETC...
It's probably worth getting for the table/speaker that comes with it, although having all ST style tubes in it is a bit of a let down. It's a superheterodyne believe it or not, so it's performance is actually pretty good for a late 1920s radio, servicing procedures are very well documented, the only issue is that you need to remove the tuning condenser assembly to perform an IF alignment.
Regards
Arran
The Radiola 60 is a very interesting set, as it is a superhet using all type 27 triode tubes in the RF and IF stages. Really the first superheterodyne designed from the ground up as an AC powered radio.As Arran mentioned, it performs amazingly well for a 1920's radio.
I would not be surprised if you gradually powered up this radio and it worked as is. I have a 60 which sat in a damp barn for 80 years and worked after replacing one open resistor. Mine is presently running fine on all its original parts other than that one resistor. The original paper filter caps seem to be of a better quality than those of later sets.
It will probably need a good alignment as the triode IF amps need neutralization adjustments to eliminate squeals and howls due to oscillation.
If it's complete and the price is right, I don't see anything to deter you from buying that unit. The ST tubes are no big deal, in fact I consider those to be a good thing as it means the radio was used and kept serviced. I've had too many headaches with flaky globe tubes (especially 27's!) lately to be a big fan of them. It's very possible that this radio will work if brought up slowly, in fact the clean looks of the internals and the newer tubes lead me to think this set hasn't been sitting overly long. As far as the decorative feet go, I think they are still there. If you look closely at the pictures, you can just make them out sitting in the recess of the speaker table. Personally, I would have snapped that unit up as soon as I saw it, as long as the price wasn't out of range.
Ack! Definitely too high. With the way people in Ohio and PA want to buy this stuff for peanuts and then destroy it by turning it into 'art', he is dreaming at that price.
(01-05-2017, 02:50 PM)vecher Wrote: Well he wants way to much for it.. 300.00
So I told him.. Good luck..
Skip...
Yep, another dreamer, unless it actually plays well he has ZERO chance of selling that to anyone but another radio collector, who would never think of paying that. I know of some shops like that, I really wonder how they can keep the doors open since they never seem to sell much, money laundering perhaps? I think that the feet are actually still on the 60's cabinet, in one of your photos I can see some holes in the speaker-table to accommodate the feet.
Jayce may be correct from a techincal point of view about the ST style tubes verses the globe type, although I have found most problems with flakiness in globe type tubes are related to poor solder joints, globe style audio types can more easily become microphonic though. However from a collectability standpoint early battery and AC radios are always more desirable if they have at least a few globe types in them.
Regards
Arran
Well, another point I was getting at is a lot of the globe tubes I am running across now are getting weak. It's either weak tubes or shorts that I most often have issues with when I find globe tubes now. I have an AK model 20 that still has all globe type 01A's in it and yes, they do look nice. Sadly, only one is usable with the rest being nearly dead when tested. Not totally dead, but definitely so weak that it doesn't really matter.
(01-09-2017, 06:46 PM)Jayce Wrote: Well, another point I was getting at is a lot of the globe tubes I am running across now are getting weak. It's either weak tubes or shorts that I most often have issues with when I find globe tubes now. I have an AK model 20 that still has all globe type 01A's in it and yes, they do look nice. Sadly, only one is usable with the rest being nearly dead when tested. Not totally dead, but definitely so weak that it doesn't really matter.
Jayce;
The weak 01A tubes in your A.K model 20 are one example of where I will often have a go at resoldering the pins, it's a case of really having nothing to loose. When it comes to battery sets conservation of battery life was always a concern due to the expense so they were never operated day in and day out the way many ac sets were. Also the solder alloys used on those earlier tubes never was that great to begin with and age seems to cause it to break down enough that the pins either build up resistance or loose contact. What will make the biggest difference is the grid pin, no or low grid voltage results in a poor or dead testing tube. On #26s and #27s, #45, etc it's often the filament pins as well since the filaments are low voltage too.
Another thing worth checking is what filament voltages the tube tester is putting out, sometimes when it is set to 1.5 volts or 2.5 volts it isn't getting it, I found this problem on #26 tubes as well as #45s, #24s, #27s, that the current draw of the tubes loads down the voltage. This is especially true with #26 tubes, they run on 1.5 volts but unlike farm radio tubes they draw about 1.2 amps., but the engineers designing many tube testers seemed to assume that you will be testing 1Q5s.
Regards
Arran
Thanks Arran, I'll try resoldering those 01A's someday. It's not an urgent thing as the radio is mostly for show right now. I have checked the voltages on my tester several times and it is good there. I do know it seems to be ok with 01A's, but hates type 26 tubes. Of course, my late friend always said that certain testers do not like certain tubes. He said that is the reason why he and some older repair guys he knew years ago always kept another tester handy.
Take your 201As and test them at 5V on the filament - no, not what the switch says - with a volt meter on the filaments - like Arran said. While the tube tester may be designed to accommodate the voltage drop, this is still meaningful for normal operation from a 6V battery.
If they don't put out ~ 450 mho, you can run them at 5.5V - yeah with a volt meter - for a few hours. Then run them at 5V for a few hours. Then test again. You can learn some by pushing the test button at 5.5V. That is - that if the emissions go up it is possible that this process might revive the tube. If the emissions do not go up at 5.5V you are probably wasting time. This IS NOT the conventional rejuvenation process for thorium impregnated filaments but for thorium coated filaments.
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