The PHILCO Phorum

I happened to mention to a friend that I had acquired an old Philco radio (a 39-45) and was planning on restoring it. He said "hey, I've got a old radio of some kind in the barn. Do you want it?". To make a long story short, in the space of a week I am now the owner of two old Philco radios - the 39-45 and now a 41-285. The new radio is complete with cabinet, no back(did they have backs?), and a speaker that has been "repaired" with what looks like masking tape.



More images can be seen at http://public.fotki.com/mikesloane/philco-radio/

I think this one is going to be about the same amount of work as the first one, but at least all the push buttons are there.

Any thoughts?

Mike

Well, congratulations! After all, what's better than one Philco radio in the house - TWO Philco radios!

The 41-285 never had a back; neither did the 39-45.

Too bad about the speaker. The original cone might be salvageable, if you were to remove the masking tape very carefully.

My friend Syl posted a how-to on repairing speaker cones here in the Phorum:

http://www.philcoradio.com/phorum/showth...p?tid=1003

Hey I'd jump on it for free! Looks like it could be brought back to life with some time and that green stuff.
Here's the diagram: http://www.nostalgiaair.org/PagesByModel...013413.pdf
Terry
ps I think I'll like the first one a bit better. It's a nicer set.

Thanks for the link to the schematic, but that one is for the 21-265. But I backtracked and found the ones for the 41-285. There are two files for that model, one with a "121" behind it. The latter one has the rigging for the dial cord, which I needed because it looks like the mice chewed through the old one. Thankfully, I have a supply of dial cord from when I resurrected my dad's old Sherwood S-2000 FM tuner, whose dial cord had suffered a similar fate.

And I have to agree that the older (39-45) *looks" a little better.

On both of the radios, the original woodwork is most impressive. I hope that my neighbor's refinishing skills are up to the challenge. I will go up to her place in the next couple of days to take a look at the cabinet on the 39-45 and remove the speaker.

I will keep in mind the need to avoid the brackets around the URL's.

Thanks,

Mike

I meant to write that the first link was to a schematic for a 41-265 (not 21-265). But you probably realized that.

Mike

OK, there's Good News and Bad News. The good news is that the cabinet label is intact and tells me that my radio is a "code 121, which is useful in determining what parts I need. The rubber corner bumpers are not all that bad. The same neighbor who volunteered to restore the cabinet on the 39-45 has offered to work on the cabinet for the 41-285, but she can't get to it until Spring (which is OK, because I don't think that I will be ready to mount either of the radios before then).

The bad news is that the radio is a mess. The speaker had been taped with masking tape. When I removed the masking tape, there were two gaping (one inch) holes and several small (about 1/2") in the paper. I cannot imagine what I am going to do about that - it if was just a tear or two, I would use the glue method of restoration.

Then there is the chassis. When I removed the chassis from the cabinet, the inside of the chassis was packed solid with an old mouse nest. After I removed the mess (ugh!), I was greeted by the sight of insulation chewed away and even some of the wires chewed away. If I really intend to restore this radio, I will likely have to re-wire a fair portion of the chassis, as well as replacing most of the capacitors and resistors. It would remind me of a badly wired Heathkit that needed to be taken down and started all over again. I hope the service information that I ordered from Chuck Schwark includes an image of the wiring. I will also take your previous advice and install an in-line fuse when I place a new line cord (the rubber on the old one just crumbled in my fingers, so I cut it off in case someone had the bright idea of plugging it in).

Also, both dial cords (one for the slide rule dial and the one that raises and lowers the light that shows which band is being activated) were chewed, and I think one of the little pulleys is missing from its mounting stub.

Some images can be seen at http://public.fotki.com/mikesloane/philco-radio/

As usual, any thoughts/advice you might have would be greatly appreciated,

Mike

Well, I have good news and bad news for you...

The bad news is that that chassis looks like it is beyond salvaging. What a mess! The rodent urine has corroded the chassis to the point that, going by your photos, part of it has almost rusted all the way through.

Now the good news: There are enough 41-280/285/287/290/296 chassis out there that you should have no trouble finding a replacement chassis that is in better shape. I don't have a spare (else I would offer one to you), but these come up frequently on eBay.

The speaker cone could be repaired with used dryer sheets or new coffee filters and fabric glue if you don't want to have it reconed. Where the cone is only torn, you don't need any patches; but when it has holes...

Hmmm. Used dryer sheets - we have plenty of them. I use them for cleaning computer screens (they help to keep the static down). What do you use for support - just a smear of the same kind of clear glue that is recommended for fixing tears? I am going to pursue this because I have everything to gain in the experience and nothing to lose. There are also holes in the grille cloth, so I am guessing that some brat was poking at the speaker area with a pencil or similar. Replacing the speaker cloth is easy enough, fortunately, and on the 285 you can't even see much of the cloth (and I am not real concerned about the "correct police").

As for the chassis, I am going to put a wire wheel on my Dremel (or my dental drill, which goes a little slower for control purposes) and see what is underneath the black areas. Being a model railroader, I have a lot of tools available for doing work in small areas. If there is enough material, I will likely clean it up down to shiny metal and cover it with some galvanizing paint that is used for restoring old galvanized material by the old car nuts (as compared to old tractor nuts and old radio nuts). You can see this and similar paints at the Eastwood website http://www.eastwoodco.com/ or more specifically http://www.eastwood.com/ew-silver-cad-ae...12-oz.html

Again, the cost of experimenting with this will be near zero. Then, if all goes well with the speaker and the chassis, I will start on the rebuilding exercise - replacing the wiring that is damaged (I obtained a couple of milk crates of different color and gauge hookup wired from an estate) and replacing resistors & caps. I am the "measure twice, cut once" type, so I will attack the process as methodically as I can, working from the area closest to the chassis and doing the pieces/wires one by one. Where the mice ate the insulation, I will have to just guess at the colors (unless you guys have a color image of a "good" chassis that I can use for a guide). Since the cabinets won't be refinished for another several months, this isn't something that needs to be rushed, and God knows I have enough other projects to keep me busy. I thought that retirement would give me all the time in the world, but there never seems to be enough time to do all the things I want to do!

I have a feeling that the most difficult task (for me) will be the re-rigging of the two dial cords, but that is mostly a matter of time and patience, not expense or physical effort. I have done that work before on other tuners/radios, but this one looks to be a challenge. I also haven't figured out how to get at the pilot lamps to check out the lamps (which HAS to be done). And I want to see if my Heathkit tube checker has the sockets to test the tubes, as well as the switch settings (I fear not, but you never know).

Thanks again for the helpful ideas,

Mike

Hi Mike,
Bottom side doesn't look too bad but to the top does. I did an old 1949 Admiral Consolette TV a while back that was pretty rusty. I did what you suggested cleaned it up with a wire wheel and then shot it with some grey hammertone paint. It was a lot of work. As Ron said that chassis is a popular one, might be easier to find a replacement.
Terry

Note from site admin: Sorry, but the photos which were attached to this post are no longer available.

Here's the last picture. Only does 3 at a time.
Terry

Note from site admin: Sorry, but the photo which was attached to this post is no longer available.

I spent some time yesterday cleaning up the chassis with a wire wheel and flat scraper. I removed the dial assembly (fortunately an easy job since the dial strings were all mouse chewed) and the tubes and went to town. The only part remaining to be done is the area between the tuning capacitor and a couple of the IF cans. There was some slight etching of the surface in one small area, but nothing serious.

The next step is to finish the cleaning and then select an appropriate paint to cover the bare metal.

Then I will start on the underside - replacing the passive components and replacing chewed wires, etc. That should keep me busy for a couple of weeks, at least. I will also tackle the torn speaker in the next few weeks.

Thanks for all the help. I am attaching an image, but if it doesn't work out, you can see it at: http://public.fotki.com/mikesloane/philc...a**-3.html

Well, I have to say, that turned out a LOT better than I thought it would. From the pics in the link you provided, it looked like part of the chassis was just about rusted through.

I've worked on rusty chassis before, and I know how much fun they can be -

http://www.philcoradio.com/notebook/super71.htm

http://www.philcoradio.com/notebook/super89.htm



Congratulations! Good luck with the remainder of your work on this chassis.

OK - Gray primer followed by Krylon Satin Nickel for the chassis - that definitely sounds like a plan!

I am VERY impressed with the quality of your electronic, sheet metal, and woodworking skills. You set a standard that I will have a tough time living up to.

Mike

Thanks, I appreciate that.

I am not very good at refinishing, but I'm trying to learn. I much prefer working on the electronics of vintage radios, and I have 36 years' experience doing that.

Administration note:

Since the discussion about 6A7/6SB7 tubes was a different subject from this topic, I have split that into a new thread which may be found here:

http://www.philcoradio.com/phorum/showth...p?tid=2667