[doctormap]

I realize this is really late, but about 2 years ago I got a 37-620 cabinet radio and restored it to working condition by replacing all the old capacitors with new ones and replacing the missing tubes with new ones.  I thought I had it all fixed, but could never pick up any radio stations, but just a very few, and only very faintly.
Now, I know there are a lot of experienced radio people out there who will roll their eyes and groan to read this, but I was so frustrated at this poor result that I basically just forgot about the radio for about a year.
We moved about 9 months ago and I had a bunch of aluminum wire from another project sitting around.  The thought came to me, why not?  So, I connected a 50 foot length of the bare aluminum wire to terminal 1 on the antenna terminals, and, WOW!
Now, I am able to pick up literally hundreds of radio stations.  I have been having a blast finding stations all over the place and recording their locations and call signs.  I have the antenna wire stretched across the living room, tucked in behind the furniture so it's not visible.  Someday I may try running the wire outdoors to see if that helps me pick up more shortwave stations.
So, for those of you amateur radio people who are in the process of restoring, or thinking of restoring an old Philco, hang in there, and don't forget to connect some antenna wire to the antenna terminal when you are done!

[DeckApe]

So, for those of you amateur radio people who are in the process of restoring, or thinking of restoring an old Philco, hang in there, and don't forget to connect some antenna wire to the antenna terminal when you are done!

I can honestly say that, after dragging in a respectable amount of stations with my 40-190 (more than my portable solid-state radio, at the very least), I haven't thought about hooking up an antenna wire to it in years.  Which is a shame, because there's actually a long wire running across my attic and a port for it in the living room.  Across the room from the Philco, of course.