The PHILCO Phorum

Good Evening
I'm about to undertake the restoration of a nine valve Philco console from 1938. In this country (England) its model number was A938CG. I think it's very similar to the US 383XX. One of its speakers is missing. The Philco manual tells me it was part number 360-1121 and the field coil was 8,600 ohms. I guess it's not surprising that a coil of that resistance went open circuit (if that was indeed the problem) and I am wondering if this is a common problem with Philco sets of this period? The chances of getting a replacement speaker here are remote and I am wondering if I might be able to source a replacement in the US? Or perhaps you Philco experts over there have found a good substitute for this speaker type? Any and all advice will be most gratefully received. Jonathan

Hi Jonathan

Greetings from across the pond.

The Philco Model 38-3 only used one speaker, and its field coil is rated at 660 ohms. A far cry from 8,600 ohms, for sure.

Does the A938CG use more than one speaker?

You could use a 7500 or 8000 ohm, 25 to 50 watt resistor in series with a 38-3 speaker field if you have to. The 38-3 speaker is 10-1/2 inches in diameter, by the way.

Usually in USA models, the audio output transformer will burn out before the field coil does, although fields in USA Philco speakers can and do go bad; especially in the older (1929-31) speakers.