[Phlogiston]

Oh, Russ would like to have one but I think that Jim would like to have one too (now).

Russ was even thinking of taking a long ride but it is too early in the year.

[NostalgiaRadioTime]

I have the model 10K console version and I can vouch for it's excellent performance. The console has the added "magic voice" feature...the "pipe organs" inside the enclosed speaker compartment. Then there's the "magic brain" enclosed RF section and the "magic eye" green eye tube.... RCA had a lot of magic tricks up their sleeves in 1936. Whomever gets this table model won't be disappointed.

   

   

   

[Electrothaumaturgist]

WOW! That's a cool console! And yes, Jim ALWAYS like an RCA, but alas, not this one, because of the major (to me) cabinet damage. My cabinet "repair" days are over until I get the proper facilities. Which will be never. At any rate, I was not able to make it there today, as I wound up taking my brother to the hospital again (41st time since last February) I usually wind up staying there about 12 hours, before they even admit him. I stayed 2 hrs. tonight. Told them to call me if he's coming back home tonight or staying. You never know. Anyhoo, I want one of you guys to get it, if possible. Maybe I can pick it up and ship it greyhound or something. One slight problem, though. Here it is: I rebuilt this 38-1 and gave it to my brother. He liked it, and accepted it. But now I know it's not exactly his cup of tea, as he only worked the knobs once or twice since it got put back together. I showed him a pic. of the RCA from the net the other night before I posted here. He LOVED it. I had him pretty much convinced about buying it. (HE would have to buy it, for I have $0. I quit my job to take care of him. I get no compensation for what I do, though my basic needs are met. It took a couple months to cough up the $ for the components for the 38-1). OK. Since I saw the crack, I don't want it, so it will be easy enough to "unconvince" him, that he doesn't want it, also. He does want an old tabletop, though. So, now I have to re-re-convince him to get it, for this purpose. A'int no big deal, though. I'll see what I can do.

[Electrothaumaturgist]

Maybe if I pick it up and hang onto it for awhile, maybe Russ could take a trip at some point and make a trade for a tabletop of equal value??? (Although, I'm not sure if I could resist keeping my grubby little fingers out of the chassis.    But if I did, fear not. It won't be debaucherized too badly. After all, the 38-1 has WELL over 1,000 trouble free playing hours on it since December, and I bake and re-stuff!!! Even made a few dogbones in my day). All kidding aside, I wouldn't touch it if it was for someone else, though!  

[Phlogiston]

That would work for me. Maybe in about a month. I could PayPal you what it costs (get it cheap ).

[Phlogiston]

Do you think your brother would like one of these?

https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/admiral_55_a7.html

All restored, refinished, restuffed AND rubber re-wired BUT STILL needs knobs. Should not be expensive, just hard to find.

   

For some reason I cant find a "finished" picture. Will have to get one. But mine does not have the over-polished bezel.

[Electrothaumaturgist]

Well, here still she sits in front of the 38-1. The speaker vibrates as if though it were plugged in (it's not) whenever I crank up the Philco. She still has all of the dust in the backside of it in the exact same position as when I picked it up. It has been a challenge to keep my grubby little fingers off it, and will continue to be, I much fear. I've done NOTHING to it so far. Had to bring my brother back to the hospital again yesterday, 2nd time in 4 days, and he will be there for a couple more, so I still haven't got a good handle of what kind of radio he's into. I know what I like, but that is besides the point. This radio has a wonderful aura and I feel that it has lived a very full and rich life until it was put into dry but crowded storage, causing the damage to the speaker et al. (Although myself, I think some stupid kid poked their finger into the speaker cloth and cone). Looking for info on this, I did stumble across an old sales listing for a 10T- 5 years ago- that sold (on the radio attic, I think) for $950!!! The cabinet was restored beautifully, but there was zero doubt that the set had seen water in the past, as the lower left rear bottom of the cabinet was clearly disintegrated to a goodly degree, and the chassis had a lot of rust on it AFTER restoration. I guess this model IS quite desirable after all!!!

[Ron Ramirez]

Well, youse guys have me interested in acquiring a 10T for myself, now.

But until that happens...I have an RCA big dog C15-3 coming my way from Kutztown that will serve as a substitute.

[PhilcoJohn]

Your a VERY lucky guy to find one of those 10t RCA's a great radio indeed! Don't let that one go! I wish I had one!

[Electrothaumaturgist]

Yes. They wanted $175 as it sat. I guess it was there for some time before it was put on the half-price table. Then I bargained it down to $78. Not bad. I still am contemplating trading it to a fellow member, as he is a professional restorer, and I am not. Things are still in flux here, as my brother spent 11 days in the hospital out of 14, and I have been packing and cleaning so we can move from this small apartment. So its' disposition is still unclear at this point. When things settle down here, I will be able to make a better decision.

[Brad Winder]

Ron...question out of the blue: does your new RCA C15-3 have a shielded rectifier tube?

Reason I ask is- I was removing parts from a donor GE chassis, and I noticed it has a shield on the rectifier. I then looked at a few other RCA sets around that time frame, one being a C15-2...and it also has a shield.

[Phlogiston]

Be careful with those first run (1932) RCA rectifiers that look like a metal tube with holes in it. They are almost always bad. I have an RCA console that uses a 82, mercury vapor rectifier. It has a shield on the glass tube (because it is an 82).

Electrothaumaturgist, I hope your brother is feeling better. Don't hurry with the radio - maybe you will decide to keep it. If not let me know. Maybe we can find a finished one that your brother likes.
(I seem to have messed up the font) (fixed by admin)

Russ

[Ron Ramirez]

Brad

Both my C15-3 and my T7-5 have metal shields over the rectifier tubes. Both are 1936 models.

[Brad Winder]

Ok! Myself and a couple other collectors were having a discussion the other day, about the "shields" used on some rectifier tubes. Since the consensus was that, other than mercury rectifiers, the rectifier tubes don't make RF, and aren't subject to interference. So we think the shields were more of a chimney, to keep heat from affecting various components around the tube. 

Ant insight or thoughts?

[Ron Ramirez]

I have no insights on this. If Doug Houston were still around, he could tell you all about it.

As for me, this is the first time I've owned RCA sets since the early-mid 1980s. And I've never owned a radio with a shield over the rectifier tube before, let alone two (the T7-5 and the C15-3).