The PHILCO Phorum

Full Version: Got a 39-6 today
You're currently viewing a stripped down version of our content. View the full version with proper formatting.
Pages: 1 2 3
Yesterday saw this ad, the 39-6 being sold for 20 bucks.
Got it this morning (25 minutes from me).

The catch - yes I went for a 20 dollar radio, but we met on a farmer's market parking lot, and there was an old cars show, and the market is wonderful (and they have their own u-pick gardens) and I left $100 having bought bunch of cheeses we do not have in our supermarkets, and bunch of local produce, like the weirdest heirloom tomatoes and such.

Oh well, I had some fun buying it.

The radio has some damage to the cabinet, but is otherwise clean and restorable, and for $20....I did not even bargain. Plus I met a real nice guy who sold it to me, a retired military, living on the base with his wife who's still active duty.

Here it is.
So the two damages are in those creases both sides of the cabinet.
Otherwise, the veneer is good, and the chassis is clean.

[attachment=5546]

In fact he says it is working and they were using it until very recently and he said he forgot his inverter, so I said I had one in my car, and he was eager to demo it to me, but I said that I'd rather inspect it at home first before plugging it in.

Hey, I do not need it to work, and for 20 bucks in this condition I do not care if it does, I will recap etc no matter what.
umm so it`s a 100.00 radio Icon_think wait for it Icon_wtf Icon_eek
kirk can fix that
Congrats, Mike! Those are neat little sets. You will have the usual rubber-covered wiring headaches (including the wire leads from the power transformer Icon_eek ), but it will be a surprisingly good performer when you are finished with it.
Ron,

They are not like 38-12/15? I did not encounter any rubber there.
I thought they are virtually the same set.

Though I dealt with it in Transitones (Kirks and mine). Doable. The ones I did not touch were the wires coming out of IF coils, I just threw some insulation over, did not fancy disassembling the IF transformer.
The 39-6 is very similar to the 38-12. Lower B+, so the 75 tube does not need the shield (nor does it have one).

But, yes, the 39-6 is full of rubber-covered wires. Including the power transformer leads.

I've opened many an IF can to replace, or resleeve, those rubber leads. It is not difficult at all. Now, putting new color-coded heat shrink tubing over power transformer leads can be a challenge. It isn't really difficult, either, just a bit time-consuming. You must do this. Otherwise, when you least expect it, ka-boom - the power transformer could short out from bad rubber insulation.
I have plenty of black one....will put that over Icon_smile
Although....I might have some color too.

But...this will not be too soon, I have just put another 20 on my table (the one Kirk refinished Delux cabinet for), and then I want to eventually get to that AK I bought exactly a year ago.
Poor fellow has been waiting.


But before the New Years I hope I get to it.
Very nice! Icon_biggrin
I also have a spare 39-7 chassis...,which is the same.
Nice find and sounds like a fun day. I like those small table top radios, they just look nice in lots of different places in the house.
Yep, especially those in wood cabinets, I like them better.
Very nice set some of those 5 tubers work great!
I have one, 38-15, working, it does work quite well.

There is so much one could expect from a 5-tuber, but it is a god little radio.

And I do like them little ones with transformers.
I have a battery set with a very similar cabinet, but the band of marquetry in the dial area is different. The chassis is much smaller though, very similar to a Transitone TH4 chassis, but with four battery octals instead of five series string tubes.
Regards
Arran
"And I do like them little ones with transformers."

ME TOO!   Icon_thumbup
Pages: 1 2 3