The Philco Repair Bench – Very useful site for the Philco collector and restorer.
Brief History of Philco – Very interesting read, some great pictures, but a slow download if you have a dial-up Internet connection.
Early Television Museum – Philco Predicta Tandem
Gary Breaux’s Vintage Philco Radios – a collector’s site.
J.A. Radios Antigos – Philco – pictures and specifications of a few Philco models. Brazilian site, in Portuguese.
Michele’s Mystery Control Demystifier – A Web page showing seven different videos of the Philco Mystery Control in action.
OldRadioZone.com – Philco – Photo gallery of several Philco sets.
Philco Bill’s Web Pages – Includes several photo albums of Philco sets.
Philco Factory, Sandusky, Ohio – former Simplex Radio/Philco Radio sites.
Philco Predicta Restoration – The story of how one collector brought his Predicta TV back to life.
Philco/Simplex Model UA52P Radio – Detailed article, with photos, about this particular model.
Philco 38-62 – a collector’s restoration of this model.
Restoration of a Philco Model 38-9 – See how this particular set was restored, step by step.
Tales of Future Past – Philco-Ford – An interesting story of how the company saw the then-future 1999 home.
Television History – 1946-49 Philco – Pictures and information on older Philco TV models.
Television History – 1950-59 Philco – Featuring the Philco Predicta sets, but also including pictures and information on older Philco TV models.
Restoration Helps
Please look on our Resources pages for these.
Philco Around The World
In 1989, the Philco name was acquired from Ford Motor Company by Brazilian computer company Itautec’s Itausa group for the Brazilian market. In July 1994, Itautec Philco S.A. was formed, which is a producer of consumer electronics not only for Brazil, but also for export to North America, Latin America, Asia and Europe.
Philco (Brazil) – (site is in Portuguese)
Other Philco Links
Philco Appliances – A division of Electrolux International.
Polyconcept USA – Company which formerly sold Philco-branded music systems (radio/cassette/turntable/CD players).
More on Radiobar
Radiobar History – Excellent page written by Robert W. Baumbach, author of books on Victor and Columbia phonographs. Follow the links at this site for much more information on Radiobar products.
Other Radio Links
Across The Dial – Vintage Radios & Clocks – Neat site with lots of great photos.
Antique Radio Classified – The popular magazine’s Web site.
Antique Radio Forums – Another online radio forum.
Audiophool.com – Lots of interesting information for those interested in electronics including vintage tech articles, Philco Service Bulletins, and much more.
Australian Vintage Radios – An online photo gallery of several Australian radios.
Bill’s Antique Radios – Restoration and troubleshooting tips, articles, restoration projects and more.
CBS Radio Mystery Theater – An excellent website devoted to the program broadcast over CBS Radio from 1974 to 1982. Includes an extensive episode guide as well as downloadable programs.
Dave’s Hobby – Antique Radios and TVs – Includes photos and an extensive list of Radio Restoration Logs describing in detail how this gentleman restored many sets, including several Philco models.
Franz Chvatal, The Shortwave Listener – Information and times of radio stations which broadcast in German on shortwave. Also includes a photo gallery of radios. (Site is in German.)
Jeremy’s Antique Radios – Great site with pictures of radios, test equipment and other items; articles on the restoration of many radios including Philco models; and free downloads of service information, books, catalogs, etc.
John & Jean, Antique Radio Collectors – Experienced radio chassis and cabinet restorers, their site also has lots of radio photos with an emphasis on Zenith sets.
KevinChant.com – Kevin’s collection of Australian vintage wireless information, parts, items for sale, and wanted items.
National Capital Radio & Television Museum – Located in Bowie, Maryland.
NJ7P Tube Database Search – Find essential data on just about any radio tube here.
N7RK Web Page – Dave’s Amateur Radio Resources and Fun Page
Nostalgia Air – Many vintage radio references including online schematics.
Old Time Radio Catalog – What goes great with old radios? Old radio programs, of course! You can find a large variety of vintage radio programs here.
Paul’s Tube Radio Restoration – Photos, articles and more including some Philco sets.
Phil’s Old Radios – Phil Nelson’s excellent website with lots of useful information for vintage radio collectors.
Radio Attic – Radios for sale by individuals. Don’t miss their extensive Photo Archives.
Radio mAd House – Radio Related Advertising Art and Other Stuff.
Radiomuseum – Based in Switzerland, this site has archived information on many thousands of radio models. Note – much of their information is only accessible by paying a fee, or otherwise donating info to their site!
Radiotiques – Featuring a large photo gallery of radios, Radiotiques also offers radios for sale, schematic diagrams, free dial cord stringing diagrams, and sells Glayzit bakelite cleaner and polish.
Reverse Time Page – Radios, tubes, electric clocks and more.
Sal’s Antique Radios – Several different radios plus capacitor sales.
Sarah’s Transistor Radios – Featuring pictures and descriptions of many transistor radios including Philco models.
Sparkbench – “Exray” has a unique talent of restoring the cabinets most people think are unrestorable. You will find many radio photos here as well as “homebrew” projects.
TDSL Tube Data Search – Another online resource for researching radio tube data.
Texas Vintage Audio – Quality restoration of vintage radio and audio equipment.
Tom’s Radio Collection – Photo gallery, projects and more.
Transistor Radio Design – Excellent website featuring early transistor radios, including this page on Philco’s first shirt pocket radio, the “VeeP”
Tube Radio Forum – Another online radio forum.
TubeRadioLand.com – Paul Turney’s wonderful site featuring a large number of Philco and other radios.
And don’t forget the rec.antiques.radio+phono newsgroup. You can participate in this newsgroup via Google Groups.
Antique Radio Clubs
There are a large number of antique radio clubs scattered across the country (and around the world). Here are links to just a few:
Antique Radio Club of Illinois (Chicago area) – hosts “Radiofest” each August
Central Ohio Antique Radio Association, Columbus, OH
Cincinnati Antique Radio Society, Cincinnati, OH – hosts of the annual “Radiorama”
Delaware Valley Historic Radio Club – Hosts the large biannual Kutztown swap meet at Renninger’s Antiques and Farmer’s Market in Kutztown, PA
Indiana Historical Radio Society
Michigan Antique Radio Club – hosts the large “Extravaganza” swap meet every summer
Mid-Atlantic Antique Radio Club – based in Maryland, has members across the USA
Museum of Radio & Technology, Huntington, WV – host three meets & auctions per year, they also have a great museum.
Music City Vintage Radio Club, Nashville, TN
Southeastern Antique Radio Society, Atlanta, GA
A comprehensive list of antique radio clubs may be found here at Antique Radio Classified’s website.
Non-Philco Links
V-M Audio Enthusiasts offers needles and cartridges for all brands of record changers as well as idler wheels/rebuilding service and belts for all brands including Philco/V-M tape recorders and Philco-Ford/V-M record changers. Service literature and Owner’s Manuals for V-M products, record care and accessories. V-M Factory Replacement service parts for V-M products. It is THE premier site for V-M information and help.
History of WLS – Remember the Big 89, the Rock of Chicago, WLS Musicradio? WLS was my favorite radio station when I was a teenager, even though I was living in Kentucky at the time and could mostly listen only at night unless I had a really good vintage radio up and running. This site covers not only the 1970s, but the entire history of the station.