[ches2195]

    Hello all,  I am new to the group.  My name is Scott.  My wife's grandmother had a Philco 37-620 Radio console. I looked at photos and it looks exactly like 37-620J from 1937.   The wood itself is in good shape.  I believe the parts are original, but the unit doesn't work.  The decorative foil is still attached but badly ripped.  Missing knobs.  For sentimental reasons would like to get it restored for my wife as a gift.  Would appreciate greatly some direction.                    

[klondike98]

Welcome to the Phorum!


We have some very knowledgeable folks here who can help you work through the restoration. If you want to do it yourself it will be helpful to know if you have any electronics background or skills. The schematic and service info for this set is found in our library.

If it has not been previously restored then you will need, at a minimum, to replace all the paper capacitors, the electrolytic capacitors and any out of spec resistors. This set is not the easiest set to work on if you have never restored a radio. Read through some of the restoration threads to start to get a feel for what folks do. Soom of the threads in the restoration section might be helpful to get an idea of what is needed. I also point folks to Phil's Old Radio beginners section for some basic info.

You can continue to ask questions about your set and its restoration in this thread by clicking on the "New Reply" button. That will keep all the discussion within this thread and make it easier for all to follow.

[ches2195]

Thank you, Bob for the quick reply.  I did work in an electronic store in college (a long time ago).. Sold all types of parts.  That being said, this is a gift for my wife.  I would like to get it restored as close as possible to original condition.  I would consider trying to restore one myself down the road.. for this though, I'd like to find a professional or expert that could restore both the components and the cabinet.  We live on Long Island, not far from NYC.  Any ideas?  Thank you, again

[klondike98]

We do have some Phorum members in the Long Island area so perhaps they will have more info than I do. There is one fellow, Jim Koehler, listed in our “Resources “ section of the library who lives in Freeport NY who repairs radios. See the “Radio Repair and Restoration “ category on https://philcoradio.com/library/index.ph...tegorized/

I have not used his services but his email comes up when you click on his listing.

{note: I also edited your original post to remove the duplicate photos}

[Paul Philco322]

Maybe contact the New Jersey Antique Radio Club, they have members in your area, maybe somebody would take it on for you. They have some very skilled and bright folks.

Paul B.

[MrFixr55]

Hi Scott,

Unfortunately, I can't take on fixing this radio at this point in time. However, I and others will be glad to help on this website. Are you comfortable reading schematics? Do you know how to solder? Are you looking to repair the chassis or do a museum quality restoration?

Repairing an antique radio requires at a minimum:
-Replacing the electrolytic capacitors (those long metal cans, #62 and 60 on the schematic). Disconnect
the wires from the old ones before connecting to replacements. the new ones are much smaller than the
old ones. An expert restorer, doing a museum quality restoration will hollow out the original "cap"
(capacitor) and install the new ones inside. These caps (especially this variety) short when they get old.
Failure to replace them would cause a short in the "B+ supply, destroying the rectifier and power
transformer.

-Replace the 2 caps marked 67 on the schematic with "safety caps" or just remove them for now if you
don't have replacements. They provide noise suppression. However, if they short and old caps short), this
will make the chassis electrically "hot".

-Replace all of the "paper" capacitors. These may be in Bakelite blocks. The blocks have to be removed
and hollowed out. There are many threads in the Phorum on how to do this. you can use the blocks as
terminals and tack the new ones on the terminals, but the connection must be broken to the original caps
inside the block. A drill bit passed through the rivet should break the wire connecting the innards to the
terminals. Make sure that if the block contains more than one cap or contains a resistor, that these parts
are also replaced.

-Replace any resistor whose measured value is more than 20% different than the specified value.

-Replace the power cord. Add a fuse on the switched side of the cord. Fuse for 1.5 X the rated current
with a fast (AGC) fuse.

-Replace any wiring whose insulation has deteriorated. This usually occurs to rubber wire, and your radio
may contain rubber insulated wire.

Based on the pix you posted:
-The speaker needs to be repaired and likely re-coned.
-The "grille cloth" must be replaced
-The power cord must be replaced.

Getting to the tuner sub-chassis may be difficult.

Also note that your rectifier is the uncommon 5Y4, not the more common 5Y3. They are not directly interchangeable die to different pin connections for the plates. rewiring is necessary to replace a 5Y4 with a 5Y3.

If you don't do this yourself or get a hobbyist friend to do this for you, a pro job is going to be expensive, but this is an heirloom and a good performing, rather sensitive radio.

[radiorich]

Hello Scott,
Well Yes as Mrfixr said there many members here to help you and Finding your local club would be a great help .
In my small town I am the lone wolf So everyone comes to me .

Sincerely Richard

[morzh]

Hi Scott,


It probably would not hurt to elaborate on what you mean by "original condition".

For most folks who are not avid collectors that simply means, it should look good and play right. The latter part, believe it or not, is not all that bad to achieve.

However there are different grades.

One is, some folks will make the chassis look like it has just come from the factory. Or even better. this requires time, patiens and possible work with chemicals. Yours look like it has developed some rust on it. It does not look like that crystalline "wet basement" rust, but it is oxydation nevertheless. If you want it gone, and then whether or not you want the chassis to look nice, bright and uniform, this will add to the effort.

Another thing is, some of us restuff the capacitors when doing the re-capping. As you might know, every single capacitor, sans mica ones, has to go and to be replaced with the new one. Most folks will simply do exactly that. Cut, toss, replace with a new nice yellow shiny film cap or with axial electrolytic.
Some will restuff the electrolytic. Some will go firther and preserve the shells from the old paper caps, stuffing them with the new caps, and the backelite caps, also gutting them and restuffing them with new ones. This makes the inside of the chassis look more authentic.
Then some utterly crazy folks will replace the resistors (that need replacement) with overmolded copies of them made of the modern resistors. This make the inside of the chhasssis look totally auithentic.

Now this takes way more time than a simple restoration (in fact simply a repair).

So you need to decide which one you want. Some of us here would take on one byt shy away from the other.

[MrFixr55]

Hi Scott,

How are you making out with this radio?

In a couple of months I may have time to help you.

I do not have the facilities to repair the speaker, rewind transformers or refinish either the chassis or the cabinet, but I can electronically repair the radio, or at least evaluate how much work it will take to repair to a level or reliability.