Has anyone ever gone the route of requesting a custom transformer design from Hammond? The transformer on my 46-480 looks to be in horrible condition. It’s heavily rusted, which has me worried about eddy currents in the laminated core. The holes for rivets are also all broken off, except for one. I’ve used their online request form to reach out with details of what I am needing.
Per the available Philco parts catalogs the Philco 32-8243 transformer is a 117V, 60Hz primary to 640V @ 85mA secondary. It’s got a 6.4V @ 3.45A rectifier output and a 6.4V @ 0.3A center tapped filament output. This is obviously very uncommon, and I can’t find a readily available replacement.
If anyone has gone this route, I’m curious about the turnaround time and pricing. I’m also entertaining a rewind, but I understand that this isn’t really any cheaper.
Just because it is ugly, doesn't mean it's bad. I would pull the rectifier and turn it on, check voltages and make sure it does not overheat. If it passes the test, clean it up and repaint it.
For the transformer itself, I would (provided, I even consider dealing with a set like that) try to clean the surfaces and the bells (remove, de-rust, paint).
The rust on top of the core does not necessarily mean it is all the way inside.
By removing the bells, you will be able to see the conditions inside and judge as to whether the moisture/rust has penetrated deeper.
You could, after that, test the transformer and see if it functions, or it does not.
As for Hammond....considering the prices of their off-the-shelf products, I suspect their custom products of larger sizes will be not cheap at all.
I used to order custom from Heyboer; they had very reasonable prices, but they since stopped with custom ones.
People who do not drink, do not smoke, do not eat red meat will one day feel really stupid lying there and dying from nothing.
—Edited because I now see that the quote is confidential.—
Fair enough. You’re right, it’s worth the try!
No sooner than I sent this message, I received a response from Hammond. Definitely a prohibitive price for this restoration, but it was a fair price given the investment involved in a custom design. The lead time would be six weeks, which isn’t too bad either.
Joseph
Philco 46-480
Philco 49-906
(This post was last modified: 1 hour ago by jrblasde.)
The saying in Russian is, "the hide ain't worth the dressing", roughly the same as "the game is not worth the candles".
Unless this is a very, very valuable radio, or a family heirloom (guess not, judging by the condition of it), or any such special item, it is certainly worth of trying to do things by oneself, but paying about $400 for the transformer for this radio, that during a good market day would not sell for $50 even in better shape, to me is unreasonable.
Of course, it is not my money, so if you are willing to pay it, sure.
People who do not drink, do not smoke, do not eat red meat will one day feel really stupid lying there and dying from nothing.
![[-]](https://philcoradio.com/phorum/images/bootbb/collapse.png "[-]")
