The PHILCO Phorum

Hello, I am still new to the forum and restoration in general with radios. I have a Philco 41-295, and when listening to the radio sometimes the volume fades, and seems to cut out, and with a soft tap on the volume dial it comes back in usually with a loud crackle then it subsides and stays in for a while. Also while adjusting the volume it frequently crackles and goes silent and doesnt seem to have a very good volume range, loud, louder, and deafening, mute.... Does this mean I have a bad pot, or could it just mean a dirty pot? Is this something that a novice can repair? Or is it more involved and not suggested for a beginner? I would love to get it back to where it should be but have never done anything beyond tube replacement and I do not want to damage it any further by trying something I am not able to fix rather simply.

On a side question when I push the auto tune buttons, nothing tunes in, does that mean that they are no longer tuned to a working station or that they are not working right? Thanks in advance. -Steve

OK, try this. Unplug the radio Remove the volume knob and put a drop or two of WD40 where the shaft goes into the volume control. Next , rotate the volume control back and forth a few times. Replace the knob. Sometime this bushing gets gummed up and prevents proper contact.

If this does not work, you will probably have to purchase a can of deoxit to clean the control. You can also use this to spray the contacts and mechanism of the push button assembly to get that going again. After spraying, let the whole thing dry out overnight before firing it up again.

Let's hear from you in a couple of days.

I have found that it takes DeOxit to get the contacts of those pushbuttons working properly again. In my 41-226 "Sled," I tried using contact cleaner on the pushbutton contacts and they still did not work right. But after spraying the contacts with DeOxit, problem solved.

Thanks, I will give both a try, will let you know how it turns out! -Steve