Guys I have to ask, I am able to purchase a Philco 37-650 console. I would love to hear everyones thoughts to weather it would be a radio to purchase or one to pass up on. The cabinet on the radio is in great shape. It is only missing one knob, the grill cloth is ok just a little stain on it. Let me know what you guys think, Thanks John
They are pretty nice radios and perform very well. But, as with all 1937 Philcos, watch out for the infamous Unit Construction and the possibility of one or more coils being bad.
Ron as you stated why do the coils end up being bad on the 1937 Philcos? Were they made badly or something?
I understand that Philco used a sealing wax that had a high sulphur content and over the years/decades, moisture incursion along with the sulphur compounds creates weak sulphuric acid and that eats up copper very nicely. The "Greenies" is the blue-green copper sulphate leftover.
This is not an indictment of Philco. These sets were not expected to last 60-70 yrs after they left the factory.
Chuck
The other theory I heard of was that some used a strip of celluloid plastic, with a high nitric acid content, and that damaged the coils, at least in the RF coils in the model 90s.
Regards
Arran
That's what I haqve always heard about the Philco coils - the nitric acid in the celluloid damages the coils. It's usually the primaries (outer windings) that suffer the damage, but in advanced cases the inner (secondary) windings can also get the "greenies" as well.
Sulphur in the wax makes sense also. And a combination of these plus moisture equals trouble at some point for the coils.
As Chuck said, these radios were not intended to last 3/4 of a century or more. That many have is a testament to how well products were once made. To say more would mean going political, so let's leave it at that.