Hello everyone today I was going through one of my favorite antique malls and I came across a Philco 46-350 AM Only AC/DC/Battery Set that I got for basically free (I was working on an old Rebadged JVC AM/FM Phono mini-console for the guy that this radio berlonged to and he said I could have the radio if I knocked $10 off the price I was going to charge him for repairing the record player), and the radio does work but it needs a little work done to the cabine and to the chassis like a new cord properly installed and some chassis mounting nuts replaced and or tighted down and a new leather carrying strap.
Anything I need to know about this radio in regards to fixing it up?
Thanks for your help!
The service literature is pretty complete. Would clean it up, rebuild the multisection filter cap and if it has any foil/paper caps they have to go too. That Atoms caps is from the 70's or old and is more than likely spent.
Something that is critical is the power supply voltages mostly the 8.5v. If the 8.5v is too low then the performance will suck. If it's to high it will burn out the filament in the tubes. It powers the filament string when it's operating from AC. Since the filaments have to have dc on them the 8.5v is derived from the B+ line. So the B+ has to be on target with no leaky caps or weak rectifier tube. That's why I mention all the caps. Check out section 1 in the service info for the p/s readings. One odd thing I noticed the IF frequency is 265KC. It's not a problem or anything just different.
https://philcoradio.com/library/download...6-1947.pdf
"Anything I need to know about this radio in regards to fixing it up?" Yes, DON'T ! Looking at what little of the line cord I can see in the pictures that ALONE poses a fire as well as an electrocution hazard. Beyond that, with any radio of that age, it will need a thorough going through before you "fire it up." You will need to replace all the paper and electrolytic condensers. In Philco radios of that vintage, the wire is rubber insulated, and by now will have deteriorated into either dry, hard, cracking insulation quickly turning to powder, or into a kind of sticky goo, depending under what conditions it was stored. All the wiring will also need to be replaced. Welcome to the world of antique radio collecting and restoration. You will find a lot of folks here with knowledge who will help you with your restoration of this set. It will take some work, but it will be well worth it in the end.
Pretty sure the post war Philco sets are free of the blight of rubber wire under the chassis. It's just the US built sets from '39-'42.
Yes Mike I have not fired it up with the cord in that condition, the cord was spliced and covered with old masking tape when I got it, and I was checking to see how it was spliced. So I could repair it properly.
Anyways thanks for the heads up on the wiring.
Thanks for the info Terry, I'll check those things out!
Levi,
Everything under the chassis is pretty tight, so restuffing the electrolytics is probably easier and be cautious with component placement. When I did mine I added a 9 volt zener to the filament supply as a precaution. I also removed the 117 volt ps tube and replaced it with silicon (much less heat). The leather handle on mine was in good shape but the stitching was gone. I sewed it with some heavy nylon thread and used several coats of neetsfoot oil. Good as new. It's a fun restore. GL
Thanks Rod, I'll take that into advisement.
Captain, I just finished doing one of those sets and they are a good performer. One thing though, the electrolytic can in my set was super fragile to the touch. When I grabbed a hold of it, it crumbled in my hand like an egg shell. I was lucky enough to find a parts set at Kutztown for $2, but when I gingerly went to remove that can, I noticed it was bulging and the can had a crack. I did manage to restuff it but one of the mounting studs broke off. Those cans are very brittle and fragile. Other than that, the electronic restoration went well and I didn’t see any problems with the wiring used in my set. Now to find or make a new carrying handle! Good luck with yours.
Ron
>I also removed the 117 volt ps tube and replaced it with silicon
And I'll bet it's instant on!
Hi Ron, AFAIK the can on mine is still in good shape yet, as for the handle, it's still intact, but it's broken off on one side. So I might see if I can remove the old handle when i get it apart and go to Hobby Lobby and get some cowhide leather and take apart the original handle trace it out on the new piece of leather and cut it out and put it together like the original was.
Hey Terry, how did you go about doing the silicon diode mod? What type of diode(s) did you use? Would a 1N4007 diode work?
Thanks!
Levi
I'd ask Ron as he's the one that did it.
I've done it on other sets. So it goes like this. Would wait until the set had been serviced and is working properly. Use a si diode (1N4007 is fine to replace the tube but add a resistor to equal the voltage drop that the tube had. This way the high voltage won't blow out the filaments in the tubes.
Hi Terry, the handle on my radio is missing its spring metal piece that went into the middle of the handle, the leather handle on mine while its still intact is definitely seen better days, almost all of the stitching along the edges is gone (which is how the spring metal insert disappeared) and the leather is pretty much dry-rotted. there's enough of it there that I could still get a piece of leather from Hobby Lobby or some place like that and trace the outline of the original handle out onto the new piece of leather and cut out the pieces needed to make a new handle and locate a piece of spring metal (or similar material) at the hardware store, and sew the handle together like the original one was and install it and it would be as good as new.
On the diode PS I put in a 1N4007 and a high value resistor, maybe 120 ohms, then monitored the filament voltage while bringing it up on a variac. Make adjustments to the resistor then apply power again.
Terry- Yes, it came up immediately with the 1 volt tubes.