Hello Philco Phorum - Printable Version

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+--- Thread: Hello Philco Phorum (/showthread.php?tid=8642)

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Hello Philco Phorum - RadioDave - 01-30-2014

New member here.

A good friend offered me a model 90 Lowboy that was taking up room in his garage. Price? $0.00 . I jumped on it like a flea on a cat! The cabinet is in good shape but the chassis will need some TLC to get going again and I'll need to source a speaker and some chassis mounting screws, but it sure looks good and is on display.

I did some searching on the net and found what seems to be the greatest place for restoration tips on this old girl, so here I am!

Looking forward to chatting Philco with you!

Dave

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RE: Hello Philco Phorum - OldRestorer - 01-30-2014

Stop! turn around and run away never looking back.

I did not listen to this advice when I joined and now I have just bought my 6th Philco (floor model) and 12th radio.

P.S. I have only been a member since November.

If you can handle the radio itch, then welcome. You will have a lot of good people to help answer every question.

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RE: Hello Philco Phorum - skyscraper - 01-30-2014

Welcome to the phorum!

+1 what OR said, I'm on my ninth in a couple months


Will

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RE: Hello Philco Phorum - TA Forbes - 01-30-2014

Hello, Dave, and welcome!!

Yes, this IS the place for all things Philco, but the best thing about this site is the people.

Nice catch with the model 90. I may have a speaker you can use, unsure of condition, will check.
If you are interested in it please PM me and we will go from there.

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RE: Hello Philco Phorum - RadioDave - 01-30-2014

Thanks for the advice OldRestorer but it's too late. I caught the bug years ago and I don't think you can have many radios!

My first one was an old GE am/fm shortwave that I got for Christmas back in the 60's. I got back into the antique/vintage radio phase several years ago and have collected some modern ones like the Sangean 803A and it's step brother the Realistic DX-440, a bit older ones like the Zenith G-500's and H500's, and a monster Hallicrafters SX-28A to name a few. I can definitely see myself going overboard here!

But this one is the oldest and coolest (SX-28A being a close second) and is more like a fine piece of furniture than a radio. When I brought it home I actually snuck it around back and into the basement so the Mrs wouldn't see it. When she finally noticed it she said, "Oh, looks nice". Took me five minutes to wipe the smile off my face.

Thanks for the welcome TA Forbes and skyscraper!

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RE: Hello Philco Phorum - morzh - 01-30-2014

Dave

Several people here including myself have restored a 90 (or even a few) here so will be glad to share knowledge (in fact I have just finished a 90, a cathedral).

Welcome.

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RE: Hello Philco Phorum - klondike98 - 01-30-2014

Welcome to the Phorum. Lots of good folks to help you here! Chassis mounting screws can be had here: http://www.renovatedradios.com/parts.html (scroll down the page quite a bit to get to them) and the hardware store may be just as good. Others can comment on the speaker but here's a good page to bookmark for sourcing and services: http://www.philcoradio.com/resourceb.htm

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RE: Hello Philco Phorum - RadioDave - 01-30-2014

Wow, like TA Forbes said, you guys on this Phorum are great! Thanks for the help offers and links morzh and klondike98.

I can see this is going to be a fun journey getting this old girl to sing again. Only problem I can think of is my limited knowledge of electronics, but I'm pretty good at swapping out parts and slopping on the solder. Good thing is there ain't no IC's or tiny transistors for my clumsy fingers to worry about.

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RE: Hello Philco Phorum - morzh - 01-30-2014

First jolt from plate voltage will probably change your opinion about the goodness of having tubes and not transistors but in the end (provided you survive) it's all worth it.
Sure it does.
So I keep telling myself.


Anyways, the rumours of the importance of knowledge of electronics are greatly overexaggerated
It'll sing, no worries. We'll make it. Even if one of us has to crawl inside and sing from there.

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RE: Hello Philco Phorum - RadioDave - 01-31-2014

Plate voltage...????... I've never been shocked by any of our melamine plates.

But that little 5" battery powered B&W tv set I swore was fully discharged after removing all 8 D cells and letting it sit for a month sure got my attention when I reached in the back.

No worries morzh, I have an isolation transformer. Just have to figure out how to use it! Come to think of it, I have a couple of isolation transformers. Would two in series make it double safe? Or should that be parallel........

Did I mention I'm not good with electronics?

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RE: Hello Philco Phorum - skyscraper - 01-31-2014

An isolation transformer isn't going to help you any when you touch 300v and inevitably have the other hand on something metal.

The radio already has a transformer inside, so an isolator won't do much good anyway.

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RE: Hello Philco Phorum - RadioDave - 01-31-2014

I can smell the flesh burning already! Thanks for the warning. I'll be careful.

All kidding aside, I am particularly cautious when working on these things. I try not to make adjustments on a hot set unless absolutely necessary.

Now, to find some smaller insulated fingers............

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RE: Hello Philco Phorum - OldRestorer - 01-31-2014

Quote"
RE: Hello Philco Phorum
Wow, like TA Forbes said, you guys on this Phorum are great! "

I think that was Tony the tiger who said that.

And no slopping on solder. These old guys will not like it.

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RE: Hello Philco Phorum - PhilcoJohn - 02-01-2014

Wish We all had nice friends like you have..How about introducing him to me...LOL

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RE: Hello Philco Phorum - RadioDave - 02-01-2014

Sorry PhilcoJohn, all he has left are a 70's Corvette and a Harley.

But they both have radios!

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