Well, here it is, probably the king of my small Silvertone collection! Radio is complete other than the celluloid or clear plastic that went over the dial. I can see under the chassis and there is no sign of melted tar, but I get now power when I try to bring this radio up. It appears the Off-On volume control is damaged and the space is too tight around it for me to try a jumper. (I can see it, just can't quite reach it!) With 14 tubes, two speakers, and motor tuning, this Silvertone is quite a beast and should sound good when redone. Any pointers on this radio to watch out for? I know the tuner barely moves when I turn the knob and the gears are clunking in there. It appears I am the third owner of this radio as I bought it off the granddaughter of the original owner. She was actually concerned about the fate of the radio as she has been seeing what the 'hipsters' are doing to them.
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very cool looking radio good luck
That is very cool styling, do you know the house that made it for Sears? I almost bit on a small size Silvertone console this weekend, of course I had no room for it so I am surprised I did not buy it!
Good luck, that set is a looker.
Paul
Hmm, not sure who made it for Sears, but it is a nice design for sure. Got some very good news. After cursing and swearing for a bit tonight, I was finally able to use a jumper to bypass that off-on switch and we had power! The radio passed the transformer test my late friend taught me and then I brought it up slowly, actually getting our local station in fairly loud and clear. Both speakers seem to work, the motor tuner is still alive, though slips in spots like the manual tuning. I'm getting excited as this radio is showing very good signs and it already has a nice sound to it. Might become my daily driver once rebuilt.
I am really looking forward to following your progress with this radio. Please post often as you work on it with pictures to illustrate important steps or details. Best of luck, that is a marvelous radio !
Just found out that Colonial built this unit for Sears. Seems they built the lion's share of the radios for Sears before the war and it seems Crescent took over in the late 40's for a bit. I basically have the top of the line prewar Silvertone now and the top of the line Postwar Silvertone.
I believe the model you have there is a 4788. Jim Z is correct as this is a Stewart Warner manufacture. Notice the difference in the cabinet you have versus the 4688. I would say the cabinet is a step up from the 4688. Quite a find.
John
Stewart Warner is even better! My friend might have gotten confused. Hmm, a 4788? I think mine has 4688 stamped into the back of the cabinet. Now I will have to go check. Pulled the chassis and.. broke a dial cord! Managed to replace it using some string from a cat litter bag of all things! I did find out something though, dial cords are a pain! Pictures and more info to come soon.
Edit: Yep, it IS a 4788! Need to download another schematic and change the title of this thread.
Looked at my schematic again. Seems mine is right smack in the middle. There was a 4688, a 4788, and 4799 listed on the schematic I found.
Stewart Warner, nice....................
Paul
It might be a little bit before the unit is going. For one thing, the power-volume control is totally shot. That will need replacing. Luckily all the gearing on the tuner is intact and looks better built than the RCA and GE variants. Probably good as everything, including the manual tuning drives through the motor and the gears. I did find what my tuning issue is though, a rubber cone on the end of the motor shaft. Of course, it's burried in there! Any ideas how to repair this issue? Even the manual tuning needs this:
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And, here are a couple more pictures of the chassis removed:
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