[Bob Andersen]

I've wanted one of these odd sets for a while.  I have to ask - were these really meant to be placed under a desk and foot operated ?  Seems to be the sound would be muffled and that rocker control couldn't take the abuse ?

http://philcoradio.com/gallery2/1949a/#Model_49-901

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A few weeks ago I finally got one cheap on ebay   Just one catch - the cabinet is a disaster.  Looks like it was tied to a bumper and dragged around the block a few times    I figure it will be good practice on bakelite repair and it will get painted anyway.
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[Nathan Slingerland]

Awesome! I've been curious about these odd little guys too.

[Bob Andersen]

Now for the good part - the chassis and tubes appear to be 100% original and in good condition.

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After a little fiddling, I got the latching station preset selection mechanism working. The power switch and volume control appear to be working, but the paddle wheel has come loose and spins freely.

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Here's a closer look at the preset indicator color wheel
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[Ron Ramirez]

I have to ask - were these really meant to be placed under a desk and foot operated ?

No. That's become quite the "urban legend". I've seen vintage ads for these which show the unit on a table and the woman in the ad touching the volume control/preset switch with her hand, not her foot.

Oh, I see your 49-901 had the usual great eBay seller packing. I'll bet it was sent via USPS, too. It's a wonder it wasn't in worse shape when you received it.

[Bob Andersen]

Thank you for confirming what I suspected.  A foot operated radio seemed rather silly.  

As much as I 'd like to blame shipping, it was like this when I bid on it.  Not surprising I was the only bidder.  It may have been the victim of poor packing and was returned and relisted or perhaps the damage happened a long time ago.  I'm really not sure. 

I find it very strange how chipped up the edges of the bottom piece are.  As if someone tried to open it with a crowbar

[Bob Andersen]

All the tubes appear to be the originals and test very good
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There does appear to be one old repair. The 0.1uF in series with a coil that connects the chassis to B- appears to have been replaced with a 0.2uF Philco branded cap.

You can see it in the background here. The big bakelite looking cap in the foreground is right across the AC line. I clipped it out and will replace with a cap rated for across the AC line operation (X series).
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I also clipped out the three section electrolytic cap and tacked in temporary replacements and powered it up.

B+ came right up and it actually works! One of the presets is set close to WGN and I was able to hear it clearly. Now it's not perfect, but not bad for old, leaky caps. Now I'll go ahead and replace all the paper caps and mount the new electrolytics more c=securely and safely. The line cord needs to be replaced too.
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[Bob Andersen]

I did a little work last night on the control wheel which was spinning freely on the shaft. I had to loosen the volume control locking clip and pop the other end of the shaft out of the frame and it slid right off.

Now I can see that the brass shaft is knurled on the right side. Inside the plastic wheel the corresponding knurled plastic has broken out and is rattling around inside.

It appears that this made be made from two pieces of plastic bonded together but I wary of trying to break it apart. Instead I'll try fishing out the broken plastic. Then I'll insert a plastic or brass cylinder so it grips the knurled shaft tightly.
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While it is out of the way I did some cleaning and applied fresh grease. The stepper mechanism is working better now.
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[Arran]

My guess is that the set either got abused more then used, which isn't surprising since it doesn't really look like a radio, maybe a space heater, or a pencil sharpener, or a dictation machine.
Regards
Arran

[Bob Andersen]

I finished with the recap and the radio is playing very well. I opted not to restuff the old caps. I'll hang on to them in case I change my mind (or a future owner does).

I need to get a new strain relief and a line cord installed. I'll add a fuse too and maybe a thermistor too.

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[Electrothaumaturgist]

Hey Bob,
Where would you cut that thermistor in on the circuit? Could you rig it up to trigger a strategically placed silent brushless motor (such as those fans mounted to block heat-sinks) to cool hot components down a bit without causing rf interference? I've been kicking around an idea kind of like that now for awhile for my hot running candohms (as they are running with 123v as opposed to 115v). Thanks
Jim

[Bob Andersen]

Probably right after the AC switch. I'll add a fuse there too. It doesn't really matter though as long as it's somewhere in the series filament string

It's there to reduce surge current on startup and pretty much stays a constant temperature while the radio is on. You couldn't use it control a fan. I'll use an Ametherm SL12-22101 or equivalent. It's about 220 ohms at room temperature and drops to around 8 ohms with half an amp running through it.