RE: Silvertone 1720 Information -
OldRestorer - 04-24-2015
4 45 output tubes!
Well if they are globes you hit a home run!
The tubes alone sell for $100+ each.
Non globes can go for $50.00 each so you made back your money right there.
Love to see some pics if you can get front and back
Kirk
RE: Silvertone 1720 Information -
morzh - 04-24-2015
Lisa
If you look in the very first answer to your post it contains the link to Radiomuseum that has YOUR radio. And says what it is.
RE: Silvertone 1720 Information -
LisaC2014 - 04-24-2015
(04-24-2015, 09:32 AM)morzh Wrote: Lisa
If you look in the very first answer to your post it contains the link to Radiomuseum that has YOUR radio. And says what it is.
I did see that link, thanks Morzh. The picture of the radio wasn't in color so I still wasn't sure if I had the right one. But I'm confident now. Thanks for that link, it looks really informative!
RE: Silvertone 1720 Information -
LisaC2014 - 04-24-2015
(04-24-2015, 08:55 AM)OldRestorer Wrote: 4 45 output tubes!
Well if they are globes you hit a home run!
The tubes alone sell for $100+ each.
Non globes can go for $50.00 each so you made back your money right there.
Love to see some pics if you can get front and back
Kirk
RE: Silvertone 1720 Information -
morzh - 04-24-2015
I am not sure what 4 tubes are doing driving THIS big a speaker, but I am sure the engineers had their reasons
In any case it is a nice radio and will be a good performer should it be properly taken care of (and maybe it has been).
Lisa what you can do possibly ....no, forget it. Find a guy in PA who would do this for you.
Where in PA? West or close to NJ?
A show in Kutztown is coming in 2 weeks, if you are close you could bring the chassis and someone could take a quick peak while you are enjoying the scenery (and possibly buying more radios). At least it can be confirmed if the radio has been repaired and how long ago. You only need the chassis (you will have to extract it and bring it in).
RE: Silvertone 1720 Information -
LisaC2014 - 04-24-2015
(04-24-2015, 10:24 AM)morzh Wrote: I am not sure what 4 tubes are doing driving THIS big a speaker, but I am sure the engineers had their reasons
In any case it is a nice radio and will be a good performer should it be properly taken care of (and maybe it has been).
Lisa what you can do possibly ....no, forget it. Find a guy in PA who would do this for you.
Where in PA? West or close to NJ?
A show in Kutztown is coming in 2 weeks, if you are close you could bring the chassis and someone could take a quick peak while you are enjoying the scenery (and possibly buying more radios). At least it can be confirmed if the radio has been repaired and how long ago. You only need the chassis (you will have to extract it and bring it in).
The tag at the shop said Philco radio. But I couldn't find anything that looked like it under a Philco name. I finally typed in the name Slivertone on the front and found my radio.
The tubes in the back say Philco on them so I don't know if its possible to switch the chassis....(the part with the tubes on it?) and the cabinet..(the main part of my radio?) that's why I'm not sure its a true Slivertone.
I don't live to far from Kutztown, I may take it there! Thanks Morzh.
RE: Silvertone 1720 Information -
morzh - 04-24-2015
It is a true Silvertone.
Tubes get weak over time and get replaced. In the time of yore people did not worry too much about who the manufacturer was, a 45 is a 45 whether RCA, Philco or Ratheon.
By the same token in Philcos you will find tubes from whoever.
Tube manufacturer has nothing whatsoever to do with the radio manufacturer. Save the time the radio just came from the factory when everyone tried to install their own tubes (if they made them).
RE: Silvertone 1720 Information -
Eliot Ness - 04-24-2015
(04-24-2015, 10:31 AM)LisaC2014 Wrote: The tubes in the back say Philco on them so I don't know if its possible to switch the chassis....(the part with the tubes on it?) and the cabinet..(the main part of my radio?) that's why I'm not sure its a true Slivertone.
The chassis tag has a faint 1720 stamped on it, so it is definitely a true Silvertone. Well, as true a Silvertone as it can be. Like everything Sears sells they contract out to other manufacturers to make items with the Sears name on them. In the case of your radio it was actually made by Colonial for Sears. Colonial made a lot of radio back in the day for them.
As for the Philco tubes, it was not uncommon to have tubes replaced by a service shop, and they would use whatever brand tubes they had on hand. In this case, the tubes are branded Philco.
If you go to Kutztown in the middle of the main pavilion will be the DVHRC (Delaware Valley Historic Radio Club) booth. They often have a fellow doing free repairs for folks so he would be glad to look at it for you. Or stop by our booth (#312) in the main pavilion and we'll look at it for you.
Good luck!
RE: Silvertone 1720 Information -
LisaC2014 - 04-24-2015
(04-24-2015, 10:56 AM)Eliot Ness Wrote: (04-24-2015, 10:31 AM)LisaC2014 Wrote: The tubes in the back say Philco on them so I don't know if its possible to switch the chassis....(the part with the tubes on it?) and the cabinet..(the main part of my radio?) that's why I'm not sure its a true Slivertone.
The chassis tag has a faint 1720 stamped on it, so it is definitely a true Silvertone. Well, as true a Silvertone as it can be. Like everything Sears sells they contract out to other manufacturers to make items with the Sears name on them. In the case of your radio it was actually made by Colonial for Sears. Colonial made a lot of radio back in the day for them.
As for the Philco tubes, it was not uncommon to have tubes replaced by a service shop, and they would use whatever brand tubes they had on hand. In this case, the tubes are branded Philco.
If you go to Kutztown in the middle of the main pavilion will be the DVHRC (Delaware Valley Historic Radio Club) booth. They often have a fellow doing free repairs for folks so he would be glad to look at it for you. Or stop by our booth (#312) in the main pavilion and we'll look at it for you.
Good luck!
Elliot, thank you! I will try to talk to my husband and see if we can't stop by the show. If we do I will definitely stop by your both.
RE: Silvertone 1720 Information -
palegreenthumb - 04-25-2015
I have an Airline (Montgomery Ward) with similar 1933-34 styling, and it works on older maintenance. I paid $150, so I think that's definitely in the ballpark. Honestly, some of these are the best-styled radios ever made, my opinion. But the others are right, they're not real collectible right now, so not drawing high prices. That's good for us, if we want more of them! :-)
From a technical point of view, your radio has parallel push-pull output 45-tubes. A 45 tube sells for $20-30 if it tests good. If they're all there and good, that's most of the value of the radio, just in the output tubes. Ya done good.
RE: Silvertone 1720 Information -
morzh - 04-25-2015
From what I can see two tubes will likely work just fine if all four are not good.
RE: Silvertone 1720 Information -
jerryhawthorne - 04-25-2015
Lisa, Morzh said "Lisa what you can do possibly ....no, forget it. Find a guy in PA who would do this for you.
Where in PA? West or close to NJ?" Keep in mind Mike AKA Morzh is one of the best on restoring chassis. If you spend some time on the Phorum you will discover that he and another member Kirk AKA Old restorer swap labor back and forth. Kirk does the best work on cabinets anywhere but his electronics are what we might call a work in progress. On the other hand, Mike does not care much for cabinet restoration. If Morzh is going to the PA event and would meet up with you and your hubby, who knows? In order to properly restore your radio electronically the person would also need the speaker which is part of the power supply. Things were different back in the old days!
A very nice radio and it needs to be brought back to life. A soft spot in my heart for those 6 legged consoles.
Nothing more attractive then those.
[Image:
http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn129/JerryHawthorne/FADA46002.jpg]
RE: Silvertone 1720 Information -
Radioroslyn - 04-25-2015
Hi and Welcome !
Here's a link to the service info for your set:
http://www.nostalgiaair.org/PagesByModel/728/M0016728.pdf
I'm in Pa too but about a hour and a half from Mt Joy. Is that where Creation is held?? Sound familiar somehow.
Would be great if you and husband could make it over to Ktown. Always like to meeting new folks joining the hobby. I'm in Roslyn it's near Willow Grove.
Terry
RE: Silvertone 1720 Information -
Jayce - 04-25-2015
Cone rub is when the speaker cone or the 'spider' gets out of alignment causing the center of the cone to rub. Silvertone speakers (and a lot of others) have a rod that the center of the speaker is formed around. Usually there is some space there, but it get a little off the center will rub and get stuck on that rod and rattle.
RE: Silvertone 1720 Information -
OldRestorer - 04-26-2015
Too funny,
Kirk is not the best with cabinets. He is still learning but he is much better at cabinets than electronics, lol
Beware Lisa, Kutztown is a whole new world and it can turn simple ordinary people into radio hoarders. I had 3 radios in 2013........ I have 160 or so right now
Kirk