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Philco 54C restoration - Printable Version

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Philco 54C restoration - Greggshere - 03-13-2019

I started working on a nice little 54C that I got from Ron a couple of months ago. I'm resting it for my daughter. Man, talk about 5 pounds of potatoes stuffed into a 2 pound bag! This baby is TIGHT!
Anyway, unfortunately it appears it had been previously worked on probably 50 years ago or more, so I'm going to have to try and get it back to the way it was. I got my schematic package from Chuck last week, so I'm good there. I'm very excited about it, because once it is working and the cabinet is done it will be a gorgeous little counter top radio she can enjoy long after I'm gone. Thanks Ron!

RE: Philco 54C restoration - bambuter - 04-01-2019

Hi Gregg,

I am also working on a Model 54, and totally agree that it is stuffed.  I have few questions that you might have run into. 

1)  Shield removal.  The are two shields for tubes 75 & 78.  They appear to be rusted on to the shield base, much like old steam pipes.  Any ideas as to how to remove them without damaging either the tubes or the shield mounting base?  It appears that I cannot remove the tubes until the shields have been also removed.

2)  Capacitor values.  I am using the schematics from both Rider Volume 3 and most often needed 1926-1938 radios.  The parts list indicates part #41 as containing two 12 uf 200 Volt electrolytic,   and Part #15 as being 3 uf.  This does not match the schematic which shows two separate part #15  one being 3 uf and the second part #15 being 12 uf.  Part #41 shows only one of the two 12 uf sections being used.  While I can make a good guess as to what the capacitors connections should be, I would rather see a schematic that shows proper electrolytic wiring.  I would appreciate  if I could get an accurate schematic. 
Secondly, removing the electrolytics seem a difficult task, at this point leaning toward just cutting the wires to them and replacing with modern smaller electrolytic

3)  Does your radio have about a 5/8" hole about 1/2"  under the shield can on the back of the radio.  It appears like there could have been something mounted there, but the pictorial I have does not show it?

4)  Are you going to restuff the block capacitors.  They appear to be more difficult to access than previous Philcos such as the model 90 and 91 I have worked on.

Thanks for whatever information you might have.

Bruce  KB1ORG  508 759 3700

RE: Philco 54C restoration - mikethedruid - 04-01-2019

Bruce, I use PB Blaster to break free rust. It is a powerful penetrating lubricant that breaks down rust and will allow you to free these pieces without damaging either the mounts or the shields or the tubes inside. Be careful spraying it, don't spray it directly onto the radio, it might go where you don't want it and cause problems. Instead spray it into a little cup and use a brush to apply it just to the bases of the shields where they are inserted into the base clips. Hope this helps.

RE: Philco 54C restoration - Greggshere - 04-02-2019

Hey Bruce, it has been slow going on the 54C. I have it mostly disassembled right now, and have been splitting time between it and an old Silvertone 6074 reel to reel I'm restoring for a friend. I also purchased a 10L ultrasonic cleaner, and used it to clean the tuner capacitor and a few other parts.

Saturday I put the whole chassis in it and it did an awesome job on it, getting into all the nooks and crannies. It also cleaned the wiring so I can actually see some color now.When it was done I blew it out with compressed air and then baked it it the oven at 170 degrees for about 45 minutes. It will be much easier work on it now.

I also built a rotisserie type of stand to hold my chassis when I'm working on them which will make it easier as well. I was missing one electrolytic can, but found one of the right physical size. I am going to testify them. One is a 12uf and the other is a 12uf and a 3uf. I just got a big cap order from Sal and hope to start that this weekend.
That hole is for a special switch device that would kill the power to the radio if the back was removed. I took mine out and plan to install a fuse holder in that hole. If you want the one I took out you can have it. I don't know if it works or not, but I'm not putting it back.
You can get a nice 11x17 schematic and package from Chuck that will help. That's what I did. I've been taking lots of photos along the way, as I hope you have too. Mine was highly modified and I may need to see some of your photos to help me sort mine out. Yes I am testifying the bakelite caps.

RE: Philco 54C restoration - bambuter - 04-02-2019

Hi Gregg,

Thanks for the quick response.  It aapears that you are a bit ahead of me in repairing the model 54.  It sounds like you have strip[ed the entire radio and doing a "frame off" restoration.  Not quite sure whether I am that ambitious right now, given all the other projects I need to attend to.

A couple questions,
   1)  How do I get in touch with Chuck.  I am new to this group.

    2)  With respect to the electrolytic caps, does the larger one have two 12uf sections or one 12 uf and one 3 uf section.  Also the smaller capacitor is that 3 uf or 12 uf?

Off to the hardware store to find some PB blaster.

Thanks for your help.  By the way I have boxes and boxes of new parts, a couple thousand NO stock tubes and a lot of stuff I would enjoy trading or selling in an attempt to declutter my house.  Let me know what you might need and I will take a look.

Bruce

RE: Philco 54C restoration - Greggshere - 04-02-2019

Actually I haven't removed the wiring, sockets, resistors, etc. I wanted that to be cleaned. I did remove antenna coil, speaker and coil, filter can, a few other parts, switches, etc.
You can get Chuck at www.philcorepairbench.com.
The outermost electrolytic is the single 12uf, the other innermost is the 12uf + 3uf combo.
Yes I actually have a tube list that I will send your way. What's your email address? Send me a private message if you want.