Philco 39-116 radio and remote - Printable Version
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Philco 39-116 radio and remote - RichG - 07-17-2024
Hi all,
I've just finished a restore and alignment on my current project, so now I'm allowed to start on the Philco radio. I wanted to start with the remote.
The remote is the one that came with the radio as the transmitter/receiver frequency are paired and the remote has several what would have been local radio stations programmed in. I've taken the mechanism apart, cleaned all the contacts for the pulsing wiper, and cleaned the wiper for the filament. The filament wiper varied between 15-19 ohms. I figured this is not good for a 3 V filament. A good cleaning got it down below 1 ohm. Everything else was cleaned and sparingly lubricated. Mechanically, it appears to be working fine. As with other Tenite dials, mine will have to be flattened. So, it's off to the boiling water/clamping solution. Unless there is another way to flatten the dial. I suspect I may have to replace the wax cap in the remote.
This remote did not come with a battery pack, so I'm making a new one. I'm looking for a way to replicate the 4 prong female jack that was in the original battery box. The rubber insulated wire in the remote appears to be in good shape, still very flexible. I'm not a total purist, so I guess a modern plug would be just fine as it will never be seen.
On another note, I'm expecting some/all of the rubber insulated wire in the chassis to be in bad shape. I noticed that TubeDepot has cloth covered 20 ga stranded wire in stock. Would this be a reasonable replacement? Does anyone have any other suggestions?
When I get into looking at the chassis, I'm sure I'll run into the need for some guidance. I haven't removed it from the cabinet yet but visually, it appears to be in good shape. Just lots of dust. I don't see any rust or nests!
Thanks,
Rich
RE: Philco 39-116 radio and remote - GarySP - 07-17-2024
Welcome to the Phorum, RichG! As a standard restoration, all paper and electrolytic caps should be replaced including the one in the remote. Resistors should be checked for drift and replaced as needed. Others will chime in with other concerns to watch for as well. please keep documenting your progress, and enjoy the hobby! Take care and BE HEALTHY! Gary
RE: Philco 39-116 radio and remote - Brad Winder - 07-17-2024
Welcome!
I bought a "reproduction" battery housing from Batterymaker a few years ago for my 39-3116 . It uses modern batteries inside, but looks like the original remote battery including using the plug. I'm not sure if he is still making them...
RE: Philco 39-116 radio and remote - RichG - 07-17-2024
Hi Gary,
I figured on replacing all the electrolytics and paper/wax caps. I noted one cap was actually leaking at some point and another has a slight bulge in the can. I usually check the resistors to make sure they are still in tolerance. I pretty much always end up replacing some. I couldn't help myself! Removed the chassis from the cabinet. There's going to be a fair amount of work cleaning it up, more than I thought. The rubber insulated wires that come from the stepper relay to the station lamps will need replacing, they are all broken with bare wire showing. I have a YouTube video saved that does a good job of showing how to rebuild those lamp sockets. The rubber on mine appears to be fairly flexible so I might be able to save that part. There is one odd bulb that is labeled Philco 44 6-8V. It is frosted and has a black dot painted over the end. It has a grounded holder but it was not inserted anywhere. I really, really, really, don't want to, but I think I'm going to have to remove the tuning cap to clean it. If anyone has some pointers on cleaning it, let me know. I peeked underneath the chassis and there is still a fair amount of cloth covered wire, but also some rubber insulated wire that will need replacing. I will have to check the transformers to make sure they all have cloth covered wire. I've attached a couple of pictures of the top. Tubes and shields have already been removed.
I was really amazed when I removed the cover to the stepper relay, I found it was foam insulated! Even back in 1938 they wanted quiet!
Thanks,
Rich
RE: Philco 39-116 radio and remote - RichG - 07-17-2024
Hi Brad,
Radiola Guy has some info on building a battery box, but I don't think he offers them for sale. But I seem to remember that he offers a reproduction paper cover for the battery box to make it look authentic. I was just planning on using a couple of D cells and 5 9v batteries for my battery box.
Rich
RE: Philco 39-116 radio and remote - RichG - 07-18-2024
Hello,
I took a peek under the hood and found that all the transformers appear to have cloth covered wire. The wires look to be in good shape. Yipee! I don't have to remove the transformers! I can see that electrically and cosmetically restoring this chassis is going to take quite a bit of patience.
Rich
RE: Philco 39-116 radio and remote - RichG - 07-21-2024
Hi all! Just a quick up date. Since my Tenite dial was warped enough to cause fairly significant binding, it needed to be flattened. I tried Dan Robinson's boiling water method. I clamped the dial between two metal plates and brought the assembly up to a low boil. I was surprised at how quickly the Tenite softened enough to tighten the C clamps. After I tightened the clamps to what I thought was enough, I let the assembly cool down for 10-15 minutes. Ended up with a very nearly flat dial. Although the boiling water does have an effect on the finish of the Tenite. It left a white haze over parts of the dial. I used some Meguiars PlastX polish to remove the haze. It doesn't bring back the original shine but it's close. So now I'm a happy camper, the dial no longer binds on the brass dial plate.
Rich
RE: Philco 39-116 radio and remote - RichG - 08-10-2024
Hello,
Just another update on my Philco remote control. I did flatten the Tenite dial and it's no longer binding. I figured the best way to see if the remote was actually sending out a signal was to wrap a few turns of wire around the antenna and connect a scope. I set the remote to put out a constant signal by holding the button down. I had to tweak the variable capacitor just a bit to get the remote to generate a 383KHz signal (that's what the receiver is set to). I attached a picture of the signal. Nice clean sine wave! I also just turned the dial all the way to the stop and took a video of the output which shows the remote pulses. I'm not sure I'm allowed to post a video, it's about 100Mb. If a moderator could let me know if it's okay, I would appreciate it. I still need to replace the wax capacitor, but it is still working for the time being. Now I can start on the chassis.
Thanks!
Rich
RE: Philco 39-116 radio and remote - jrblasde - 08-10-2024
I am curious as well as to whether we can upload videos. I had one the other day which I wanted to upload as proof of concept, and it never did successfully upload. I received a dialog saying "invalid file format".
RE: Philco 39-116 radio and remote - RichG - 08-17-2024
Hello,
Seems like this thread might be better located in the electronic restoration bucket, but I have no idea how to move it there. I did not post a video of the remote control pulsing output. It still has the original paper capacitor. Since that capacitor is sitting directly across the 45 volt battery, if it has any leakage at all, it will slowly deplete that battery, so it will be replaced even though it appears to be working fine.
I do have one wire that was disconnected from the channel lights (or at least I think that's where it was, as it looks to be supplying the common 6 volts for the lights). I was trying to figure out where it should be connected. In checking the schematic, I ran into what I think is the safety capacitor connected to the primary of the power transformer before the on/off switch. The parts list shows it as a Bypass condenser .05 mfd. Since that capacitor is connected from line to neutral, I'm thinking I should replace it with a Class X safety capacitor. Is that correct?
I'm sure to have lots more questions. I do have 5 tubes that test dead. Two of them are the 42 output tubes. I'm hoping it's just the filaments and not the output transformer. So, I will be checking that transformer to make sure the windings are correct. One of the other tubes testing bad is the 80 rectifier, so there will be some checking of the power transformer windings. I will not be testing the chassis with my Adjust-A-Volt unit until I replace the electrolytics and paper/wax capacitors, and all of the deteriorated rubber insulated wires. Does anyone know if the 42 and 80 tubes are still available, or are they unobtainium?
Thanks,
Rich
RE: Philco 39-116 radio and remote - RodB - 08-17-2024
Use Y safety capacitors for power transformer primaries and I always rewire it to be after the on/off switch. For tubes I use Bob Dobush at findatube.com, very reasonable and speedy.
RE: Philco 39-116 radio and remote - RichG - 08-18-2024
Hi Rod,
Thanks for the info on finding replacement tubes. Regarding the safety capacitor, I thought the type X went from line to neutral and type Y went from line to chassis ground. This safety capacitor is directly across the line. I was also wondering about moving the safety cap after the on/off switch. As it is now, with the radio plugged in the capacitor has line voltage across it 100% of the time. I like your idea of moving the cap after the on/off switch.
Thanks again for your help!
Rich
RE: Philco 39-116 radio and remote - MrFixr55 - 08-18-2024
Hi Rich,
Welcome to the Phorum!
Type 80 tubes are very commonly available on both eBay and from suppliers that experts like RodB trust. 42s are slightly less common but are quite available. If the supply ever runs out, 42s can be replaced by octal based 6F6s with a socket change. Other than the base, these are the same tubes. If one looks up a 42 in the 1940 RCA receiving tube manual, it will state to refer to type 6F6 for specifications. Same for the type 80. 80s can be replaced by octal based 5Y3s with a socket change. However, I would not worry about this, as these tubes are in good supply. In fact, I have found or bought several RCA branded 80s (red lettering) that are indistinguishable from 5Y3s except for the 4 pin base. For "daily drivers", I prefer these tubes. For show and occasional play sets, use a globe or ST style tube depending on vintage.
The 42 and 80s first came out as globe tubes, which I find to be very cool. However, your set calls for STs.
Interesting that your set uses octal tubes for several stages such as the RF, convertor, detector- 1st AF, and the remote receiver. Apparently, Philco either had an abundance of 42s and 80s in stock or had either a hard to break contractor a great deal from their supplier (Sylvania?). Also, interesting that Philco used a 6K7 for the RF Amp but stuck with the 78 for the IF Amp. The 6K7 was the octal base replacement to the 78, but the interelectrode capacitances are different. Guess they did not want to change their IF transformers yet. Also, the 37 is a real old tube; the 6V filament version of the 27, the first heater-cathode tube, introduced in 1927!
No doubt about it, this is a cool set and with a thoroughly modern 5 watt Push Pull audio with cathodyne phase inverter, this should fill the room with great sound. When you get all working, consider adding an input jack for phone, aux, CD, MP3, etc. and enjoy that "great tube sound" from cleaner audio than you can get from an AM station.
Good luck with the restoration.
RE: Philco 39-116 radio and remote - RodB - 08-18-2024
I think the reactive factor with the primary winding is the reason for using a Y cap.
Your thinking regarding the connection of the cap after the switch is correct. I've had many chassis with a blown line filter cap. It's a mess, especially when it's a bumble bee cap.
RE: Philco 39-116 radio and remote - morzh - 08-18-2024
I think the videos here are allowed as long as they are located on some other website or a server, and you post a link to it.