10-26-2015, 10:03 AM
My first recollection of radio in my life accured when I was about 4 years of age. I can vividly recall standing in front of my parents Philco floor model radio and listening to the music that was being broadcast from WMEX Boston. My parents had this radio in their home until the end of the 1940's when we got our first TV. Many years later having retired and a lot of free time, I decided to locate the exact model radio and restore it to use for "old time sake." Over time I found several being offered on ebay, but they were located far away and I was reluctant to have such a radio shipped to me. Some were closer but the cabinets were a disaster. Fortunately I found one 10 miles from my home and the cabinet was in excellent condition. The only thing missing from the radio were the correct Philco rosette knobs (which I can get). The radio still has the original Philco tubes! When I was in the business of restoring antique auto radios I worked on numerous Philco auto radios from the 1930's and in doing so I used the Rider manuals and diagrams as my guide. They weren't always easy to use, but they served their purpose. I am quite familiar with the Philco radio characteristics and thus was looking foward to a memorable experience with my newly gotten Philco console. However that joyous anticipation quickly came to a halt once I immersed myself into my endeavor. The radio I am hoping to restore is a Philco Model 89L Code 123 from 1933, a year in which I have discovered Philco made a number of changes during their production runs. The chassis shares some general similarities with Philco auto radios of the 1930's, but not in all areas. Household radios it appears are more of a nightmare in some instances! I have also learned that some consider this model to be the Philco radio from H***! (I haven't gone but a little ways in my efforts and have learned why this radio has that reputation!) I have the Riders volumes on CD and searching thru them have been able to print some diagrams. Alas! All but one of the diagrams that I have been able to attain agree with the chassis configuration that I have, (I got that from the internet) and that diagram along with the pictoral layout drawings are of poor quality due to "fuzziness" and blurring of printed information or images. My hope is that there exists somewhere in Philco Land a source for schematics and layout data that can be more readily understood by two very aging eyes! Any suggestions (or hints) would be much appreciated. BTW, I'm sure that this model radio has been discussed before on this forum and if so I am reluctant to bring back and old chestnut, but I find this forum to be my best resource for info. Thanx, Hal (Ex W1DRW).
