The PHILCO Phorum

Some of you had asked in this thread about whether or not I had ever done any restoration work to my UK Philco 282 Empire Five.

The fact is, I did most of the restoration work around the beginning of this year, starting around Christmas 2012 and stopping in January 2013 once I had it about 90 to 95% complete.

I chronicled its restoration on the Facebook group Philco Radio Enthusiasts, a group I had started in late 2012. I wrote about its restoration there as a way to get the new Facebook group going.

Unfortunately, the way Facebook is set up, it is very time-consuming to find old posts. Plus, Facebook does not keep posts in chronological order, but orders them based on replies. So, I have decided to repeat the information here, where I believe it will be easier to find.

So here goes...

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A FACEBOOK EXCLUSIVE:
I'm going to show you my progress in rebuilding a Philco (UK) 282 Empire Five tombstone.

I won this 1936 UK-built Philco set on eBay UK, and had it shipped over here to the USA.

It did not have its original power transformer. Instead, it had a replacement which was barely held on with tiny screws, and (naturally) came off in shipment. Fortunately, no damage was done save for one of the aluminum electrolytic capacitors taking a few direct hits from it.

In this photo, you can see that the transformer has been removed.

Here's how things looked under the chassis before I started working on it.



As you can see, someone had worked on this set prior to my purchasing it, and in fact it was sold to me as a working set. Before the power transformer fell off, it probably did work.

The 282 Empire Five is a 5-valve (tube) set, with a shadowmeter.

Since the original power transformer was long gone, and the replacement was designed for use on 220 volt AC, I decided to install a transformer designed for operation on our 120 volt AC standard.

An old transformer from a Philco 60 should work perfectly.



I replaced the transformer's old, rotten wiring with new cloth-covered wires prior to installation in the radio.

And, here's how things look as of right now. I've rebuilt all six bakelite blocks - something the previous repair person did not do - and made things look neater under the chassis.



I still need to connect the power transformer wires, and rebuild and install the electrolytic capacitors. Then, hopefully, the 282 will be up and running again.

I'll have to install another dial lamp socket, and figure out what to do about the lamp for the shadowmeter that was inexplicably cut off.

Six bakelite block capacitors are used in the 282. Notice how the part number is embossed into the side of this block, similar to the USA Philco bakelite blocks, only the type is much smaller.

The 282 Empire Five is up and running!

Problems:
1. The shadowmeter lamp socket was cut off by someone.
2. Probably the same someone attached a long bracket with a lamp socket at the end, which is now serving as the dial lamp.
3. Alignment is way off.
4. Sound is low.
5. Dial scale is warped.

But here's how it looks now:

Bottom view of the Philco 282 Empire Five after I finished working on the chassis. Compare this photo to the first under-chassis photo I posted...I think you will see the difference.

(before)



(after)

As you can see, the Philco 60 power transformer is smaller than the original transformer's footprint...

Kind of an understated, noble looking set. I like the nice and neat wire connector/receptacles on the backside! WOW! That wiring job down below looks GREAT!!!

The 282's speaker had quite a few tears in its cone, which I fixed with some fabric glue. Sounds much better now. Not perfect as the voice coil starts rubbing at higher volume levels, causing distortion.

Here is the reassembled 282 on the bench, playing AM 740 from Toronto, loud and mostly clear (as long as I do not turn the volume up too much).



I still have some final clean-up items to take care of on this set, including addressing the pilot lamp issues, but it will do for the time being.

Here's a back view of the 282 chassis.

I found the proper type of dial lamp socket in my stash o'stuff. Unfortunately it was broken and had to be glued back together. Now that the glue is dry, it is ready to be installed in my Philco 282:

This photo shows where a previous owner cut off the piece of metal that once held the lamp socket for the shadowmeter, and added a different type of lamp socket for use as a makeshift dial lamp holder.

Another view of the makeshift dial lamp holder in my Philco 282 Empire Five.