The PHILCO Phorum

hello i thought i would post my philco project ...hope is right place....

i took a philco console......radio did not work and cabinet was rough so here is what i decided to do....

gutted it....
cut out face and put in a 9" lcd touch screen...
put in a small computer with 80gig hdd
put on a touchscreen jukebox program
hooked up a 250 watt amp and placed 5 piece speaker set inside the bottom
mounted led accent lights on top and front with sound activated motion
mounted a plasma disc motion light on the front
and under glow neon light that lights up the floor....
and painted the case gloss black...4 coats.....
also is connected to internet via wifi and can run an internet radio station and or mp3 jukebox........

here is a pic of the front with lights on........

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

sondowner Wrote:painted the case gloss black...4 coats

Hope you used lacquer!

actually used crylon spray paint........

before i painted it i sanded it....reglued down the seperating wood....and filled the goudges with putty then cleaned whole thing with mineral spirits.....

then sprayed it...

@Ron, I couldn't have expressed my feelings any better!

I commend your ingenuity. Very impressive.

BUT you must understand that for most of us that love and collect old radios it would have been less shocking if you had simply restored the old gal.

i too would have restored it.....but unfortunately.....it was in a flood and the chassis was full of dirt and terrible corrosion........and the wood was very badly water damaged.......it was ether save what dignity she had left and let her live again or to the scrap heap...

sondowner Wrote:unfortunately.....it was in a flood and the chassis was full of dirt and terrible corrosion........and the wood was very badly water damaged.......

In that case, I can't fault you for doing this, and I don't have a problem with it if the radio was in extremely poor condition as you describe.

But I, and most if not all of the rest of us here, have heard of more than one instance where others have taken perfectly good, restorable radios and converted them to retro-computer-whatevers. It is when this is done to a good, restorable radio that we tend to get upset about it...because we are interested in preserving history, not destroying it.

Daniel - thanks. Until Sondowner told us that his radio was basically a wreck, the picture expressed my feelings better than words could have.

i actually have another radio i want to restore .....the case or cabinet is absolutly beautiful........not sure if radio works...was told it does but you know how that goes......

but is missing the face plate and knobs................i will post a pick maybe u can help id the model.....and where to get a face plate ,screws, and knobs....

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

ahhhhh got it............it is a 41-285

i plugged it in and nothing......par for the course......i deffinately would like to get it back to original glory......

but not bad for $30 off craigslist.....

Yes, that set is a 41-285X:
http://www.philcoradio.com/gallery/1941a.htm#af

You can get the escutcheon and knobs from Old-Time Replications, I believe. I have to say "I believe" because Old-Time Replications' proprietor has suffered from serious health issues this year.

http://www.antiqueradioknobs.com/

He won't have the screws that hold the escutcheon in place, nor the brass strip that is applied to the lower part of the escutcheon, between the pushbutton holes and knob holes. The screws can be found at a good hardware store - correct me if I'm wrong, somebody, but I think the screws are #2 (?) wood screws, about 1/8 inch long, Phillips pan head.

The brass strip will have to be obtained from a similar 1941 Philco with a bad escutcheon (and 99.9% of them are bad, as the originals were made of Tenite - a type of plastic that shrinks and warps over time).

One more thing. Do not, ever, ever plug an old radio in until it has been thoroughly checked out for signs of trouble!

Please read these pages for more info.
http://www.philcoradio.com/tech/plugin.htm
http://www.antiqueradio.org/powerup.htm

No, not bad at all. The knobs are fairly easy to get, both original and/or repop.

Additionally repop escutchions are available as well as push buttons, usually the originals are shot.

That is an attractive cabinet when restored properly.

Never turn on one of these old radios unless you use a variac or at least some kind of surge protection. Things can go south pretty quick with some of these old sets.

If you have not already done so, become familiar with the tech portions of this site. Mucho good info.

Ron your entry popped in as I was typing mine

i am unsure if i will have time to get it up and running.......but i will probably order all the knobs and push buttons etc. while still available........i am not tube electronic familiar i will see if someone near me can redo the chassis for me and get it right.......if not i may just sell it.......still contemplating it...thnx for the info.......thnk god for sites like these and you guys for keeping this stuff around.....

sondowner, if you can use a soldering iron, then you can repair it.

The parts are already all there, you just have to replace the broken ones.

Not only will you be able to contemplate a beauty from another time, but listend to it as well.

I too bought a "broken radio" not too long ago; was said to not be in working order.
Turns out I could get AM with hum and crackling sound - altough no FM. Then I found this place and they pointed me in the right direction about fixing it up.

Now its AM is more spectacular then modern-day radio, and I use the phono input like I would an amplifier. Musicians would kill for a push-pull 6V6 10W amp like that!

All it takes is the proper parts, and a few hours here and there. This fall I want to bring FM back and complete the recap job. In the meanwhile, I am constructing myself an AM transmitter.

This can not only be a fun project, but also result in a very reliable radio that would outlast you.

Not everyone who has old time radios are tube experts. I sure am not. Never touched a tube before owning the radio you see in my avatar.

About the other project; well... I like where you went, but I wouldn't have put that much flashy on it. I am in the philosophy that a little can go a long way.

BTW what software do you use? I personally like Silverjuke...