Newest acquisition - a 37-670B - Printable Version

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+--- Thread: Newest acquisition - a 37-670B (/showthread.php?tid=4758)

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Newest acquisition - a 37-670B - Ron Ramirez - 05-17-2012

I have a little over a C note (including shipping) in this set:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/Phorum_Stuff/2012-05-16_00001.jpg]

Not too bad, eh? Look closer:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/Phorum_Stuff/2012-05-16_00004.jpg]

Small piece of veneer missing from left front corner.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/Phorum_Stuff/2012-05-16_00002.jpg]

Someone must have tried their hand at wood carving on the right side. A closer look:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/Phorum_Stuff/2012-05-16_00003.jpg]



There is a reason eBay sellers use dark, blurry photos to sell something.

http://cgi.ebay.com/200752257055



Oh, well, with those photos I wasn't expecting it to be in mint condition. At least it wasn't damaged in shipping.

Should be a challenging restoration...

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RE: Newest acquisition - a 37-670B - Bob Andersen - 05-18-2012

Those sure are some bad photos but I think you did OK How are the insides ?

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RE: Newest acquisition - a 37-670B - Steve Davis - 05-18-2012

Those pictures remind me of a Philco 90 I bought on Ebay a few years ago. The pictures were dark and out of focus. Well, when I received the radio, it looked like someone had removed the veneer with a disc sander. This person had totally destroyed the cabinet. He had even bumped the knobs a few times with the sander. Anyway I still have it and someday soon at will have a new reproduction cabinet.

Steve

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RE: Newest acquisition - a 37-670B - Ron Ramirez - 05-18-2012

Good deal, Steve

Bob: Here are some photos of the back of the set:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/Phorum_Stuff/2012-05-18_00002.jpg]

Dirty, but more or less complete. The 6F6G output tubes and the rectifier are missing. Some tube shields are also missing.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/Phorum_Stuff/2012-05-18_00005.jpg]

It has its original speaker!

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/Phorum_Stuff/2012-05-18_00003.jpg]

It has an export 110/220 power transformer. I have noticed many 37-670/2670/38-2670 sets use this transformer, but I don't know if all of them do.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/Phorum_Stuff/2012-05-18_00004.jpg]

Some creative modifications. I do not yet know what the two toggle switches and the two prongs are for.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/Phorum_Stuff/2012-05-18_00006.jpg]

Not a good photo, but it shows the original audio interstage transformer has been replaced at some point.

While I was trying to take these photos, I had a supervisor who kept trying to get into the pictures:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum/Phorum_Stuff/2012-05-18_00001.jpg]

Debbie's cat Nixy, who adopted me about three years ago.

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RE: Newest acquisition - a 37-670B - Arran - 05-18-2012

That looks like a nice little girl cat, like many cats do she seems to be investigating what's going on. I'm just taking a guess here but I'm sure that the plug and two switches are some sort of phonograph input, or at least an input to the audio amp, either that or someone was stealing power from the power supply to operate some sort of accessory like an external BFO unit.
Regards
Arran

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RE: Newest acquisition - a 37-670B - TA Forbes - 05-19-2012

Cats often "supervise" what you are doing. If they approve of it, they rub on whatever it is you are paying attention to. If they do not approve, they sit on whatever you are doing so that you must stop.

My 37-670 does not have the export power transformer. My 38-650 does have it.

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RE: Newest acquisition - a 37-670B - Tom Hamilton - 05-19-2012

I saw this radio on E Bay. I'm glad you got it. My 37-670 console does not have the export transformer either. You should consider yourself lucky your kitty allows you to work on any radios in her house :-).
Ron, how would you compare the operation of this radio when it's working properly to other Philco radios with about as many tubes? Tom

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RE: Newest acquisition - a 37-670B - thirtiesradio - 05-19-2012

Nice find Ron
I saw that on Ebay and it was really hard to make out the condition. Nice radio and cat supervisor. I have 5 similar supervisors of my own which is the reason a couple of my consoles have holes in the grill cloth.
But.....they were here before the radios so it's OK with me Just wish they were still selling grill cloth.

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RE: Newest acquisition - a 37-670B - codefox1 - 05-19-2012

Sometimes, but not always, you can remove the bottom molding an harvest bits of veneer to use for patches. Same as tucked in tolux on old amps and tube testers. I knoq I'm a scrounge, but whatever works.

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RE: Newest acquisition - a 37-670B - TA Forbes - 05-19-2012

Either way it's a good set when right. I think the only shortcoming of the 37-670 tombstone was the small speaker.

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RE: Newest acquisition - a 37-670B - Michael Dennis - 05-19-2012

Beautiful kittycat.

Mike

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RE: Newest acquisition - a 37-670B - Ron Ramirez - 05-20-2012

A shortcoming, I think, of the 37-670 is that it dropped a stage of IF amplification compared to the radio it replaced, the 1936 model 116B. It wastes a 6J5 as a dual diode detector/AVC diode (the grid is used as a second "plate"). Philco could have used a 6Q7 as a 1st audio tube and used the diode plates as second detector and AVC diode, freeing up that tube socket (and adding another IF transformer) so it, too, could have had two stages of IF amplification. But you can tell in 1937 models that Philco was beginning to cheapen their products, something that seemed to snowball after Jim Skinner left the company in 1939.

Of course, mine isn't working at present but I would probably compare it to something like the high-end 1940 Philco 40-195, 40-200 or 40-201, which have similar circuitry, especially the audio sections.

The 670 has a lot of tubes dedicated to the audio portion of the circuitry, mostly 6J5 triodes. The aforementioned 6J5 used as a dual diode detector/AVC, a 6J5 1st audio amp, a 6J5 phase inverter, two 6J5 drivers, two 6F6G outputs.

Thank you, Tom (TA) and Tom (Hamilton) for letting me know your 37-670 sets have the conventional (110 only) transformers. I used to own another 37-670B years ago, and I am 90% positive that it, too, used the conventional 110-only transformer.

Mike - I thought you might appreciate the photo of Nixy!

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RE: Newest acquisition - a 37-670B - Michael Dennis - 05-20-2012

Thanks Boss, I've loved cats all my life. They're my fave.

Mike

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RE: Newest acquisition - a 37-670B - Tom Hamilton - 05-20-2012

Ron, Thank you for the detailed reply. That is good information to know. Tom

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RE: Newest acquisition - a 37-670B - Gene Pederson - 10-15-2012

Hi Ron,
What would you consider a fair price for this model if the cabinet was in very nice condition. It is a playing unit, but from my knowledge of the seller only the electrolytics will have been replaced.

Thanks for any info you can provide.

Gene

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