The PHILCO Phorum

Picked up this radio last Saturday at a lawn sale. Cabinet is in very good shape but the radio is missing the dial glass and the dial pointer is slightly bent and missing some paint. Any gotchas to look out for in this battery set? What is the correct battery voltages for this set? The Philco yearbook just gives the model number of the battery but no voltages.

The battery voltages are 1.5 volts DC and probably 90 volts DC, if it uses tubes like a 1A7, 1N5, 1H5, 1C5, or the loctal versions like a ILN5. You can probably cross reference the battery model numbers someplace, although the schematic will likely have the voltage shown like on the screen and plate of the power output tube, or tubes. That being said these battery sets still suffer from the rotting rubber/gutta percha covered wire that most early 1940s Philcos suffer from, but it will not be as bad as an AC set usually, the battery cables will be the worst and should be looked at. You should let Ron add the picture to the gallery, I noticed that there is only a B&W photo from a book or sales brochure.
Regards
Arran

Thanks for the reply Arran. Actually the battery cable and plug are not in that bad of shape but I'll most likely replace the wires anyway. Ron, if your reading this you most certainly can use the photo if you wish.

Jim, if 90/1.5V there are some nice schematics for a small A/C supply that can be built and put in a faux battery enclosure. I have built a couple and there are threads on either here or ARF, one at least containing pictures of one I built. Try searching "farm radio battery". Here is a related link I have found but not the one where the schematic was posted (ARF?).
http://philcoradio.com/phorum/showthread...farm+radio
Best, Jerry

Nice set, Jim!!!

A battery pack using 9V and 1.5V dry cells is easy to build. Just be careful when handling the 90V side, as this much DC can bite you!!!

Jim - thank you! It won't appear right away, but I will eventually get it posted. I really appreciate it!

And that is a really neat and unusual Philco battery set!

Finally decided to check out this radio and I am disappointed. The oscillator coil has an open secondary, antenna coil has an open secondary and the output transformer is open.

Not sure whether to try and resurrect this radio or bail on it. The speaker does check good but does have a repair to it so I don't know how good it will sound. Decisions, decisions.

Hi Jim
If you do want to get it going there are universal to replace the BC band coils. The output trans is going to be a little harder to come by because the plate resistance of the output tube are pretty high like 12K each. So youll need a 24K primary w/a ct. I would suspect that it would be a common problem as it's got to have a bunch very fine wire on the primary. Alot of the Philco 1939-42 portables use 67.5 v b batteries. Not that it matter a bunch.
Gud Lk
Terry

Jim
Give it a go
Terry is great at battery sets 
Sam 

Grrrrr
Ur such a help!!!
Terry
ps his is going to be a bit of a job to fix. The original coils would be difficult to rewind, not like earlier sets. And then there is opt. Don't know if it is worth fixing.

terry
mr Philco  said and i quote   that is a really neat and unusual Philco battery set!

so that means it`s worth it  
and they can`t put it on the Internet if it wasn`t true
sam

Well  good news is I went back thru the chassis and all the coils check OK, except for the OPT. Bad news is all the wiring needs to be replaced as its all crumbling rubber. Still not sure if I want to tackle this.

You should send it to Sam he loves replacing rubber wire!! Ha Ha
Terry
Some of those smaller chassis can be a real pita to work on. A friend
gave me a little PT-61 to get work and he told me that he had
recapped it. Thinking this would be a quick job I got it home had
a look at it What didn't tell me is that in doing so he had knocked
off about half of the rubber insulation. It's a kwel set but a pita none
the less.
http://philcoradio.com/gallery/1940b.htm#u
Gud Lk w/ your's

hey
i would take it 
hmm first thing i would do is
terry
Some day, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me. But until that day, accept this justice as a gift
umm time to collect 8) 
mafiamen2

Well...I sent Jim a PM offering to buy if he decides not to pursue it. It is a really neat-looking set, unlike many of the Philco AM-only farm sets. This one has SW, a stylish cabinet, and pushbuttons.