The PHILCO Phorum

Yes, I do plan on using an AC supply to create the necessary DC voltages.

The cabinet and escutcheon are in good shape other than a hole someone drilled in the side! I plan on refinishing it very soon. I have all the toner lacquer, grain filler, etc on hand.
I hope it turns out as well as Ron's 650B

The one item I do need is a speaker. It uses an early style PM speaker I believe. I don't know what the impedance should be though.


Philco 643B front and top by bandersen, on Flickr

I took some time to strip the cabinet down this weekend. I have some minor repairs to make then I'll do a little grain filling.


Philco 643: Cabinet stripped by bandersen, on Flickr

Good luck...I am sure it will turn out as well as my 650B did...maybe even better.

bandersen Wrote:Yes, I do plan on using an AC supply to create the necessary DC voltages.

The cabinet and escutcheon are in good shape other than a hole someone drilled in the side! I plan on refinishing it very soon. I have all the toner lacquer, grain filler, etc on hand.
I hope it turns out as well as Ron's 650B

The one item I do need is a speaker. It uses an early style PM speaker I believe. I don't know what the impedance should be though.


Philco 643B front and top by bandersen, on Flickr

Bob;
Are you sure that someone added that hole in the side, some high end battery sets had a push button mounted through the side that was used to activate the dial light while pressed.
Regards
Arran

If Bob's 643B cabinet has a hole in the side, it was added by someone after it left the factory - it did not come out with a hole originally.

I used to own a 643B, and it did not have any holes in its sides.

Ron Ramirez Wrote:If Bob's 643B cabinet has a hole in the side, it was added by someone after it left the factory - it did not come out with a hole originally.

I used to own a 643B, and it did not have any holes in its sides.

So since it is not supposed to be there for a pushbutton how does the dial light operate on these sets? Is there some sort of spring loaded switch elsewhere to preserve battery life, it can't be on continously?
Regards
Arran

The pilot lamp is on continuously while the 643 is in operation.

It uses a 2 volt, 60 mA bulb which consumes far less current than bulbs used in AC radios. The typical bulb in an AC set with 6 volt tubes will draw 150 to 250 mA.

Sears (Silvertone) did somthing interesting with respect to the pilot light on their model 1923 battery radio. Behind the chassis is a mount for 2 D cell batteries that are exclusively for the pilot light. The switch to turn it on is ganged with the on/volume control. You either pull or push the knob to turn the light on, if memory serves me rightly.

I hadn't even thought about the pilot lamp until you guys mentioned it. Yes, it is on all the time. I just wish there was a mask that only illuminated the active band rather than the whole dial.

Ron Ramirez Wrote:Good luck...I am sure it will turn out as well as my 650B did...maybe even better.

We'll see

The sides and top are pretty tight grained so I did a few rounds of shellac and sanding rather than use grain filler.

Then on to the front panel where I used Constantine's walnut paste filler. I diluted it about 50/50 with mineral spirits and worked it in well with a small brush.

Once it thickened up and got hazy, I wiped the excess off going across the grain with burlap.

So far so good

Yup...that set's going to look nice when finished...

Bob, you had asked about the speaker. The original speaker was a KR-7 permanent magnet speaker (the type with the huge magnet in back with sort of a horseshoe shape), 1.25 ohm voice coil impedance.

The original output transformer (32-7472) has a 15,000 ohm primary impedance, push-pull; 1.11 ohm secondary impedance.

Thanks for the info. I found one from a Philco 624 that I think will work

The grain on the face of the 1936 cabinets can be a booger to get smooth, I feel your pain. The 630 that I have been working on since last winter is still not acceptable. I am almost to the point that I am considering just installing it in a 623 console cabinet. But that would involve orphaning a nice 623 chassis. Decisions, decisions........

BUT that is some nice grain patterns on your 643. Your hard work will pay off with an extra nice looking set.

That face veneer certainly is wavy. After the grain filler dried for a couple days, I sanded it down with some 400 grit and it's smooth enough for me. Very tedious since it's recessed and the grain orientation changes.

I sprayed on a couple light coats of Mohawk Medium brown Walnut and clear gloss. Once that cures, I'll mask it off and spray the rest with Mohawk Extra Dark Walnut.

Looks good so far...