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Seeking help to ID Philco radio - Printable Version

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Seeking help to ID Philco radio - Beerose - 08-16-2022

Please see attached photos of radio, and what may be the model number ( M 17798). Would like to know year and estimated value. Radio was mounted in a walll with a speaker.

RE: Seeking help to ID Philco radio - klondike98 - 08-16-2022

Welcome to the Phorum!
Icon_wave

Glad you were able to get through the registration, sorry about the mix up on my part.  The M 17798 is not a model number.  It looks to me like your radio was taken out of a 1948 model 48-1262 (click the highlighted link to see one in our photo gallery).  The front panel was trimmed down and then the unit was custom installed into the wall mounting you mentioned.  I've not heard of any Philco wall mount radios.  The service information for the 48-1262 is found in our library at https://philcoradio.com/library/download/service%20info/yearbooks/1948-1949/split/Part36-Philco%20Home%20Radio%20Yearbook%201948-1949.pdf

As far as value it is not worth very much as it would be useful only for the parts if someone else was restoring a 48-1262.  FYI....Radiodaze sells a reproduction version of the glass dial you have for about $40.  Used untested tubes are worth a few bucks each.  The rest of the chassis would be of value if someone needed one of the transformers, tuning condenser etc. 

Hope that helps, other folks may have other views of my comments.

RE: Seeking help to ID Philco radio - MrFixr55 - 08-16-2022

Hi Beerose and welcome to the Phorum! I don't know how "into" electronics, old radios and history that you are. I don't think that the radio is worth a lot of money but it is interesting for several reasons.

First off, this radio chassis is an early "Post-WW2" "entry level" Radio - Phonograph Console, likely one their least expensive console radio phono models. One unique aspect is that most consoles employ a chassis that uses a power transformer. However, Philco had a line of several transformerless radio - phono units into the early 1950s including a drop leaf side table model employing a somewhat similar transformerless "voltage doubler" chassis. This transformerless (no power transformer) was much cheaper to manufacture, and it is likely that raw materials such as copper may have been in short supply as the economy and industries transferred from wartime to peacetime, the building of housing developments and the demand for consumer goods to replace those pre-war goods held together with spit, bailing wire and prayers.

Second, this chassis employs a "voltage doubler" rectifier circuit. The audio output tube, a 35L6 or its close relative 50L6 was a common audio output tube in table radios, usually having an output of only 1 watt when the radio was an AC-DC "All American 5" design, a very common circuit for table radios from almost any manufacturer from the late 1930s till tubes disappeared from radios in the late 1960s. However, the higher voltage from the voltage doubler rectifier allowed the 35L6 to push about 2.5 watts, giving the radio the performance level expected of a radio - phono console. Even though there is no power transformer, the voltage doubler required AC to operate, but what the heck, so did the phono motor.

Third, the 2 stage IF Amplifier is not common. Most 6 tube chassis added an RF stage before the "1st detector" to provide a little better rejection of adjacent stations. This was very common in "broadcast band only" radios meant for rural environments. However, some engineers thought it better to "spend the gain money" on the IF Stage because lower RF frequencies (found in an IF stage) are easier to amplifier than higher RF frequencies.

Finally, the 2 Triode Oscillator / Mixer first detector is not as common as the "Pentagrid Convertor" in AM Broadcast band radios.

A BIG word or warning- This is a "Hot Chassis" Set. While a capacitor and resistor limit the current somewhat, you will get a shock touching while powered up or even just plugged in. If you want to restore the chassis, build a cabinet for it. Replace all capacitors, especially the "electrolytics" before operating.

In a lot of suburban homes in the 1960s, an intercom system was a handy accessory. My mother in law had one in her ca 1956 suburban Long Island, NY house. The radio could be played in al rooms that had an intercom speaker installed. the central station / radio was usually installed in a "hub" location of the house, usually the kitchen. The user could switch a switch and call a person in a bedroom. The user then switched to listen mode for that person's response. Of course, the user (usually Mom or Dad) could eavesdrop on the child's conversations or other goings on in the bedroom! This concept may have inspired the person who "built in" this radio into the wall to do so.

Best Regards,

John, MrFixr55

RE: Seeking help to ID Philco radio - 1969greencuda - 08-17-2022

If you wish to sell these parts let me know. I happen to have a 48-1262 that needs the very sections you have. Chassis was gutted and another kind put in that doesn’t work. I’ve got another complete 48-1262; just trying to put this second back together.

Thanks,
Mike