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Philco 95 Lowboy
#16

Ok, It's out! I see now why I couldn't lift the lid much. The insides had cooked a long time ago. Already short leads were melted together in the tar. Was barely able to snip away at the bundle, strands at a time, with a tiny pair of wire cutters. The whole block was wrapped in that wax paper. A few slices with a 1" putty knife and I was able to pull it out by the burned mass of wire using my linesman pliers.
Now that the dirty work is done it's time to start studying all this great info Chuck sent me and learn some radio theory. Thanks to everyone here, so far. I guess I should be moving this to the repair section. I was reading a few messages Ron has posted last night. Apparently, there may be a few techknuckleheads like me already driving him nuts. Don't want to upset the master of this great place!

Sal
#17

(01-15-2015, 10:12 AM)Sal T Wrote:  I guess I should be moving this to the repair section.

Done. Icon_smile

Sal Wrote:I was reading a few messages Ron has posted last night.  Apparently, there may be a few techknuckleheads like me already driving him nuts.

I apologize, I know that I sometimes come off that way to some folks who do not know me. I assure you it is unintentional.

--
Ron Ramirez
Ferdinand IN
#18

Thanks everyone. I don't know where my reply went. I must be clicking on the wrong reply or something. I was barely able to cut the leads with a tiny pair of wire cutters as they were all burned together and stuck in the melted tar. A few slices around the sides with a 1" putty knife and I was able to grab the wires with my pliers and pull the block right out. All dried out now, this must have smelled really bad at one time. Now that the dirty work is done I'll be studying all this great info received from Chuck and learning some radio theory as well.
Thought of a crazy idea as I was cleaning up last night. Thinking about the day I get this beauty working, wouldn't it be cool to hear some "period" music coming out of it? I wonder if I could construct some kind of AM transmitter to plug my turntable into? Any of you already doing this or am I really "out there"?

Sal
#19

There is a good am transmitter alot of people use here called "sstran". You can do a search to find it.
#20

Great job Sal, I guess you won't need my 6" lag bolt! Use a small drill to clean out the feed through brass grommets and you will be set to install new caps. I too use a sstran to broadcast CDs, FM or an MP3 throughout the house for reception on the AM band. I doubt the transmitter would work well directly off a phono as the output is probably a little low.
Jerry

A friend in need is a pest!  Bill Slee ca 1970.
#21

Had some trouble replying last night. I think Ron steered me back on course now. I was able to get the condenser can off
despite only being able to lift the lid about 1/4". My smallest pair of wire cutters barely squeezed under there and I nibbled away at the bundle of wires until I got them all. It turns out, the insides must have burned up years ago. All the wires were melted together, eliminating any slack they may have had. A few slices around the sides of the box with a 1" putty knife and I was able to grab the mass of wires with my pliers and pull the whole block out. The dirty work is done. Now for the fun. I'll be studying all this great info Chuck sent me as well as trying to learn some radio theory.
Don't want to get ahead of myself but I got this crazy idea this morning. While thinking about getting this beauty working again I wondered, wouldn't it be cool to hear"period" music coming out of it? I wonder if I could rig up an AM
transmitter that I could plug my turntable into?? Am I really "out there" with this or are some of you already doing this?
Thanks for all the help so far.

Sal
#22

Sal, are you seeing the replies to your posts? You already asked about the AM transmitter (post #18 ), and Warren (in post #19, above, scroll up to see it) recommended the SSTRAN which a majority of collectors, including myself, use to broadcast music to their working radios in their homes. Icon_thumbup Icon_thumbup

--
Ron Ramirez
Ferdinand IN
#23

+1 on the SSTRAN AMT3000 
#24

(01-16-2015, 08:55 AM)klondike98 Wrote:  +1 on the SSTRAN AMT3000 

OK, I think I figured out why I couldn't see my replies. Just noticed there's a "page 2". Duh! (would have included a googly eyed smiley but I only get words). Resistance "is" futile, must learn this stuff.
Thanks to all for the advice. Got some pics on my phone. Will visit my sister this week and have my niece get me set up on photobucket and show me how to post here. In the meantime, I've got the cap can done, terminals cleaned up and holes drilled like Jerry's picture showed. Starting to study the service manual and schematics and I noticed a couple resistors are not connected like the picture. They all look original. Also, one of the leads of the silver resistor, connected to the #227 rectifier tube socket must have been pushed down by the wiring harness and welded itself to another terminal on the same socket. Coincidently, this is the socket that had a #327 tube in it with a very old sticker from a repair shop on it. Is this even a compatible replacement or was someone trying to compensate for the problem caused by the shorted resistor lead that they didn't know about? Does anyone know what the wattage is for these resistors? I think you guys call them dog bones. Can these, and all of the different condensers, including the flat brown ones (Andes candies), be opened and used to hide the replacements?

Sal
#25

Sal, the 327 or 227, just from different manufactures. No problem. Most of the dog bones, 1 watt is just fine. A picture of your resistor problem might help once you have mastered posting No, the dog bones cannot be restuffed but some people have made "new ones" that look the same. Good luck.
Jerry

A friend in need is a pest!  Bill Slee ca 1970.
#26

Sal, welcome to the forum. Here is a link to a post of mine in the section called "Old Ron's Bar & Grill." It is a link to collection of very useful old radio and electronics books. You may find them helpful as I do. http://www.philcoradio.com/phorum/showth...?tid=11437
#27

I am getting ready to go thru the same recap excercise on my 95. I hope I have as much luck as you have. Mine is still working and have not noticed any over heating issues, but do see that something has leaked from the filter cap. box.   Not sure what it is, but can't be good.

Chris H
N9WHH
#28

(01-19-2015, 01:17 PM)Chris h Wrote:  I am getting ready to go thru the same recap excercise on my 95. I hope I have as much luck as you have. Mine is still working and have not noticed any over heating issues, but do see that something has leaked from the filter cap. box.   Not sure what it is, but can't be good.

Chris,

Look back at post #10, page 1. Jerry included a picture of what it looks like after removal. Notice the little stubs next to each rivet? They used to be tabs that each wire was soldered to. Mine were all burned so I had no choice but to cut them off. Be careful while prying or lifting the can to cut the wires. That brown, thin bakelite could easily break. Good luck!

Sal
#29

Thanks Sal. I have looked at those posts and it looks like a textbook that covers the entire project I have ahead of me. Wish there was some way of saving it all, short of printing it all, which I may do.  This radio plays so well I hate to risk screwing it up, but it must be done. I have another 95, a high boy, which I will also have to tackle, so hopefully I will get good at it. Unfortunately it has an open interstage audio transformer. Will need to come up with one of those. Good luck with your project.

Chris H
N9WHH
#30

Finally, some pictures, I hope!
[Image: http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag14...2f3d-1.jpg]
[Image: http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag14...29cbb5.jpg]
[Image: http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag14...a24b0c.jpg]

Ok, assuming I did this right, the picture above shows a battleship grey (500,000 ohms) resistor connected to 2 different terminals on the 4th RF transformer. However, in the service manual it shows the lower resistor lead connected to the compensating condenser right below it. Is that right? It all looks original.

Sal




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