Met a guy this week end that has a model 37-650 and a Stromberg Carlson 61W and wants to sell them both would sell both to me for $120.00. Neither is working as far as he knows, the Philco was his Dads, he picked up the S-C someplace. Any thoughts. How bad is a 37-650 to repair, any particular querks on this model or things to look out for
:
No rubber-covered wiring in the 37-650, but beware the "unit construction" used in most 1937 Philco models as well as many 1938 Philco sets. In other words, these models have an RF unit floated in the center of the chassis, resting on three rubber pieces. There will be some capacitors hidden deep within the band switch wafers of that 37-650. These are not easy to work on.
Properly restored, however, the 37-650 is a very good performer.
You can get proper reproduction rubber mounts for the 37-650 and other Philcos using the unit construction from Renovated Radios.
JJ, The 37-650 is a great radio. I recapped/re-resistered/rewired mine, I love it! The unit construction chassis was daunting, but with patience and a label maker (to mark the connections) it wasn't as bad as it looked. Get the schematic from Chuck. Keep us posted if you do buy it; lots of encouragement and practical advise to be had on the Phorum!
The 37-650 should be a decent set with 8 tubes and push-pull output. Hopefully they have not removed too many tube shield bases on the chassis. As with all these sets with this dial do not use water and other liquids to clean it. Also don't break the dial as this seems easy to do! The Stromberg Carlson is 6 tube set and is built well. If a console it is a small one. Tuning on shortwave is a bit of a challange as the tuner has no fine tuning like the Philco.