[VntgRads]

I purchased a Philco 16B cathedral radio a couple of weeks ago at an antique store.  They were having a sale so I couldn't pass it up.  Just needs a speaker which I believe has been located.  The chassis was sitting loose in the cabinet and had 2 push-on knobs (inner & outer) on the tuning shaft. There was a plastic bag laying on top of the chassis with more knobs enclosed.  Chassis has 5 bands, a Type 80 rectifier tube, and inter-station noise suppression switch which mounts on side of cabinet.  I thought this was a Type 121 chassis but now I'm having second thoughts. The ID sticker on the rear is missing most of the necessary information as half is torn off.  What puzzles me is the tuning shaft which is designed to utilize 2 knobs for operation of the 2 different methods of tuning (slow & fast).  My research indicates that a 121 chassis would use a single knob w/set screw for tuning.  Tuning method could be changed by pulling out the knob.  I have attached pictures of the tuning shaft(s) on my chassis along with pics of the front of the cabinet and the knobs that came in the plastic bag.  To utilize the tuning method found on my chassis it appears that I would have to enlarge the tuning shaft hole in the cabinet to accommodate the rear tuning knob. Maybe this chassis was not original to this cabinet.  Just what chassis do I have here?

Craig R

[Ron Ramirez]

Looks to me like someone did some creative re-engineering on that chassis. What does the tuning condenser look like? Four gangs or three?

More pictures of the chassis, from several angles front and back, would be a big help.

[VntgRads]

Thanks, Ron, for the quick response.  Tuning condenser is four gang.  Here are more pics.  I will send them in 2 posts.

Craig R

[VntgRads]

^^ here are top and underside views.

Craig R

[PhilcoPhan1936]

Looks like a 1933-34 Model 16 from the chassis tube layout and your description of a switch on the side of the cabinet, according to Ron's book. As to what type chassis, Ron is the expert . (Did I get it correct Ron )

[PhilcoPhan1936]

Oh, wait Is it possible this is a 116 Same chassis layout, except the tube compliment, but it has the dual tuning knob. And, yes, I'd say it's in the wrong cabinet. I have a 37-61 chassis that someone put in a 37-60 cathedral cabinet. I had to enlarge the hole, due to the dual tuning knob set-up. I also have a 37-620 that had a toggle switch added to the front. It turns out the on-off switch had died, and they opted for a creative repair.

[Nathan Slingerland]

That sure looks like the bottom of a 16 code 121 chassis to me. For comparison, here is a the photo I took during restoration of my 16B:

   

The OP thought the tuning mechanism doesn't match what is expected.

Here is a 'before' picture of the tuning mechanism after removing the dial on mine (note the deteriorated rubber on the drive wheels):

   

What does your look like if you remove the dial?

[VntgRads]

^^^
Hello Nathan,

My tuning requires the use of 2 knobs, one for the outer shaft and one for the inner brass sleeve/shaft.  I believe yours is a single shaft that utilizes a single knob attached with a set screw.  Yours is tuned by either leaving the knob in its natural resting position and turning or pulling it out and then turning for a different "speed".

Craig R

[Nathan Slingerland]

Yes - that is correct.

Interesting - it sounds like yours has been adapted to use a mechanism more like the later (mid 30s) models.

[TA Forbes]

Definitely an early 5-band model 16 chassis, but the dual drive tuning is interesting. Would love to see some detailed photos of the dial drive mechanism. You would have to remove the dial in order to do so....

[VntgRads]

My friend is working on the chassis now.  I'll see if he can send me a couple of pictures with the dial removed.

Craig R.

[VntgRads]

Definitely an early 5-band model 16 chassis, but the dual drive tuning is interesting. Would love to see some detailed photos of the dial drive mechanism. You would have to remove the dial in order to do so....

Here are some pictures.

Craig R

[TA Forbes]

If that don't beat all. Appears to be a sanitary, maybe even a (ahem) factory installation. Correct down to the slotted screw used on the upper left base of the sliding band light assy. 

I'm at a loss to explain this one. If someone modified a five-band set to have dual drive, they did a ______ (thing that holds back flow of a moving body of water) fine job of it. 

Could this be some kind of very late production run set, or even a prototype?  

[VntgRads]

This chassis, at least with this tuning mechanism present, was never installed in the cabinet that was purchased with the radio (shown in 1st pictures).  This is based on the fact that the cabinet needs to have the larger diameter hole to accommodate the dual tuning knobs.  It's also interesting to note that the speaker wiring coming from the chassis has a connector at the end (seen in post #3).  This will not work with the correct speaker as the leads are soldered to the connectors under the speaker plate.

Craig R

[TA Forbes]

But there are many K17 speakers out there that do have the jack versus the hard wired installation. ALSO... the early five band chassis that went in the consoles did utilize the jack vice the permanent installation of the speaker leads. 

I'm at a loss on this one, but it IS pretty neat!