Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

A Model 16X story
#46

Thanks morz,

That is exactly what I thought. Anything that was obviously a flagship product, and has survived (mostly) intact deserves attention. The sheer number and size of components on the chassis tell you this was a serious product in its day.

Next steps are to do an R.F. alignment, although broadcast band was working very well already. The shadow meter worked wonderfully - worth rewinding the coil! It was hard to judge sound quality with the speaker face down on the bench, resting on a couple of wooden blocks (So I could test the wiring one last time), but I could hear good highs and lows, and response to the tone control switch. And my goodness, this thing will go loud!

Ed

I don't hold with furniture that talks.
#47

usually even on the bench you could judge the quality potential, as the highs / lows will be heard.
When I heard the 37-116 while still on the table I immediately knew that once in the cabinet, it will blow the rest of my consoles away.
Same was with Zenith Spinet: the bass it had on the table immediately told me that once in the cabinet it will be booming, and so it was, to the point of me having to suppress it - too much.

People who do not drink, do not smoke, do not eat red meat will one day feel really stupid lying there and dying from nothing.
#48

Well, this project was all the excuse I needed to buy a signal generator. Not sure how I have managed without, but this and the next radio in the queue will benefit Icon_smile

I don't hold with furniture that talks.
#49

OK - my signal generator is in. I had a quick play last night and it seems decent - certainly good enough for the job at hand. One nice feature is simultaneous outputs at two frequencies - it is then easy to switch between them, which will be good for the upper and lower band adjustments.

Off to the Hardware store tomorrow to find the nylon socket cap screw I need to make a trimming tool.

I don't hold with furniture that talks.
#50

No suitable screws at the hardware store. I molded the barrel of a ballpoint pen (an idea from the technical section) around a 1/4 hex drive from a ratchet screwdriver set. On the other end, I press fitted a round wooden knob from the box of random things on the garage shelves. In a box of bits from ebay, there is a trimmer, so the tool could be tested out. Hopefully a chance tomorrow to have some fun adjusting.

I don't hold with furniture that talks.
#51

Ed, what model and brand of SG with dual frequency outputs did you get?

Ron

Bendix 0626.      RCA 8BX5.   RCA T64
Philco 41-250.    Philco49-500
GE 201.             Philco 39-25
Motorola 61X13. Philco 46-42        Crosley 52TQ
Philco 37-116.    Philco 70
AK 35                Philco 46-350
Philco 620B.       Zenith Transoceanic B-600
Philco 60B.         Majestic 50
Philco 52-944.    AK 84
#52

Ron, It is the "KKMoon" brand that can be purchased on Amazon for around $60. I used it today to align the 16X, and it made a good job of that, once I had become familiar with the controls. It is a bit noisy - creating a bit of out of band "hash" that could be heard when tuned away from the generator frequencies. For this work, it doesn't matter. O/P voltage can be adjusted from 5mV to 20 V over two ranges - this is a separate setting.

Anyway, the 16X has seen a first pass at alignment. It was pretty close, but did benefit from the procedure to get the dial reading accurately, and get the last ounce of signal. It also verified that all the bands are working. Reattaching the dial beforehand, I realised there was no procedure for how to set the dial to the tuning cap, so chose to set the cap at full mesh and align dial so the lower limit line coincided with the shadow pointer. That seems to be a good method.

I left the set on for a good while during and after the alignment and it was working beautifully. With the speaker turned right side up on the bench and facing me, music had very good depth and presence, and voice programmes were very clear. We almost forgot we were listening to AM!

Next: make a reproduction "Echo absorbing screen" back and reassemble into the cabinet.

I don't hold with furniture that talks.
#53

Thanks Ed. Looks like a nice unit. Never heard of a dual frequency output generator, I'm old school. Should be a handy feature. I like that it has a digital readout! I use an old Heathkit that my dad used in the late 50s along with a frequency counter to keep it accurate!

Ron

Bendix 0626.      RCA 8BX5.   RCA T64
Philco 41-250.    Philco49-500
GE 201.             Philco 39-25
Motorola 61X13. Philco 46-42        Crosley 52TQ
Philco 37-116.    Philco 70
AK 35                Philco 46-350
Philco 620B.       Zenith Transoceanic B-600
Philco 60B.         Majestic 50
Philco 52-944.    AK 84
#54

I thought a few pictures were appropriate, now that I have the chassis back in the cabinet, and the newly made back in place:

Please excuse the (resized) image quality.

   

   

   

I am very happy with how this turned out, not least because she receives and plays wonderfully after a desperate and very involved rescue bid!

Ed

I don't hold with furniture that talks.
#55

Love it Ed, Looks great!

Greg B




Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)
[-]
Recent Posts
Philco 39-116 radio and remote
Hi Brad, Thanks so much for the info!  Do you happen to have the specs for the PT-86 transformer?  I did not find a lis...RichG — 04:32 PM
Philco 269 - 444 FIVE VALVE VERSION?
Thanks Arran; If your set has five tubes/valves then it could be an A537, V537, or a U527, then again it looks like s...ChasL0001 — 11:07 AM
Philco 29 or 45
29 chassis has a shadow meter while 45 chassis does not. Shadow meter is part no. 27 in the 29 schematic. compare it t...klondike98 — 10:32 AM
Philco 269 - 444 FIVE VALVE VERSION?
Sorry, Chas. Re the burns, I broke my first TV at the age of 3.  Between my electrical experiments :yikes: (My mom wa...MrFixr55 — 09:07 AM
Philco 41-221 Restored
Thanks for the compliment Richard. The tenite grille is original. A few of the horizontal slats were slightly warped so ...RodB — 08:44 AM
Philco 29 or 45
Hello, I have just received a Philco lowboy where the tube layout label in the cabinet says 29 or 45. There is no label ...dconant — 08:29 AM
Philco 41-221 Restored
Mr fixr, That is great news I would love to see repo grille !! I too have a very similar Philco but my cabinet has fab...radiorich — 08:22 AM
Philco 41-221 Restored
Hi Rod, I always tell people that my scars give me character.  :wink:   Great job on the radio.  Is the grille origi...MrFixr55 — 08:00 AM
Philco 269 - 444 FIVE VALVE VERSION?
It looks like the PENDD61 valve/tube must have failed, so someone replaced it with the EBC33, which is a double diode-tr...Arran — 04:29 AM
Philco 269 - 444 FIVE VALVE VERSION?
Hello Chas. Radiomuseum has information on both sets.  Thanks Gary, lots of good info there. Perhaps we'll ha...ChasL0001 — 02:23 AM

[-]
Who's Online
There are currently 3213 online users. [Complete List]
» 3 Member(s) | 3210 Guest(s)
AvatarAvatarAvatar

>