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Want to get my Philco working again
#1

Hi all,

I have an old Philco radio that i remember fondly from my younger days. It sat out on the porch of my dad's aunt's cottage on Moonlight Bay. I remember listening to stations all over the country on it and the great mellow sound it had. We got the cabinet refinished a number of years ago, but the problem is a burned up tube and socket. How can I fix this? What would cause a tube to burn up like this? Also, would like to get the Phico decal for the caabinet and a couple of button labels.

Thanks,
Perry


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#2

See, the model, then go to www.Nostalgiaair.org, go to Philco, put the model in, open the document, locate the tube, locate it in the sch.
Then it could be theorized what it is and why it burnt.
Good radio, could be restored.

PS. OK, seems like a full-wave rectifier tube to me, possibly an 80. Could be just it, bad tube, could be bad electrolytic, but the radio need full recap anyway. And probably a new socket.
Radio is 41-295 or similar.
http://www.nostalgiaair.org/PagesByModel...013422.pdf

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.
#3

Welcome to the Phorum. The reason the tube broke is probably because of those two gold helmets on top Icon_razz
#4

Welcome to the Phorum, Perry. Your console is a 41-295X. You can access the schematic in our Philco Service found at the bottom of the page. The broken tube is probably an 80, and very easy to find. The rest of the tubes are a combination of older tubes and the latest rage, loctals. Plan on replacing all caps except mica and all out-of-tolerance resistors. The tube sockets, if needed, can be purchased. The cabinet is in great shape considering its' age. Should be fun. Take care and BE HEALTHY! Gary

"Don't pity the dead, pity the living, above all, those living without love."
Professor Albus Dumbledore
Gary - Westland Michigan
#5

I have one of those that I restored. Not a bad sounding/performing radio. Needs new socket and all new capacitors.
#6

Thank you all for the replies. I’ve gotten into old stereos too so soldering isn’t too hard. Good to hear I can get the parts I need for it. Like I said, I want to fix it because of my memories of it.

Thanks,
Perry
#7

There are actually quite the host of parts websites available! There’s Mouser, Digikey, etc. for general electronics components, but there’s also websites such as Antique Electronic Supply to shop for tube sockets and other (now deprecated) parts. And, finally, there are vendors such as Radio Daze if you ever need knobs and decals. I believe they also carry a decent assortment of electrical components.

Joseph

Philco 46-480
Philco 49-906
#8

Just one question, Perry. You do know that the NFC North is confirmed LION(s) Territory!?!?

"Don't pity the dead, pity the living, above all, those living without love."
Professor Albus Dumbledore
Gary - Westland Michigan
#9

Hi Perry and welcome,

A few notes on the 41-295/300. Probably going to need to replace some of the failing rubber coated wire. The volume and tone controls knobs are a little tricky to remove as they turn a gear on the end of the shaft of the controls. Those gears are welded on so it may make replacement a little laborious. If you have to clean the volume control be sure to use the proper cleaner. The tube sockets are phenolic wafer sockets and are not that great in terms of hv insulation hence the arcing and burning. There's abt 900vac across the two thin pins (2&3) of the 80 tube. Better choice would be a molded phenolic socket for the 80 tube.

Here's the original Philco service bulletin: https://philcoradio.com/library/download...20Book.pdf

Decal, the closest thing I could find was this: https://www.radiodaze.com/philco-10-decals-dcl-ph7/

We do have station tabs for the 1939 set here:  https://philcoradio.com/library/index.ph...n-tab-call-  letter-kit/  Obviously it's not going to have any post '39 callsigns listed. May be able to resize to fit if they don't.

When my pals were reading comic books
I was down in the basement in my dad's
workshop. Perusing his Sam's Photofoacts
Vol 1-50 admiring the old set and trying to
figure out what all those squiggly meant.
Circa 1966
Now I think I've got!

Terry
#10

Hi Perry and welcome to the Phorum. That is a very nice radio which will have a nice sound when working. The amplifier stage likely puts out at least 5 watts at rather low(for the time) distortion.

Almost all of the parts needed for your radio are available. My rough guess is that before the 80 Rectifier tube broke, that moisture got between the tube and socket, and carbon arcing occurred.

+1 on what Radio Roslyn said. Obviously, do not power up the radio. The 80 rectifier tube and the 4 pin socket are easily available form eBay or Antique Electronic Supply. The 80 is the older version of the 5Y3. The 5Y3 requires an "Octal" socket. You can replace the 80 and 5 pin socket with the 5Y3 and octal socket, but this is not necessary.

At a bare minimum, you must replace the 80 and its socket and Capacitors 81, 83, 85, 76 and 79 before attempting to power up. This is both for the safety of the radio and, in the case of capacitor 85, your safety. If cap 85 leaks, you can receive a dangerous or deadly shock. In the case of caps 81 and 83, the electrolytic filter caps, these caps either short, causing rectifier and transformer burnout, or open, causing extreme hum. However, all capacitors are suspect due to their age and that they are foil / paper / wax construction. Newer capacitors are mylar or other more permanent materials.

How much of this that you do yourself depends upon your knowledge of electronics and your mechanical and soldering skills. We are always happy to provide any help that we can!

"Do Justly, love Mercy and walk humbly with your God"- Micah 6:8
Best Regards, 

MrFixr55
#11

Rod,

I see your over in Vikings land. I have to say they've done well, but won't make it all the way. Packers wont this year either, but we're young and a few more key pieces and we'll be good for a long while.

Perry
#12

Gary,
Yes the Lions are having a great year. I'm actually happy for Lions fans. I used to get to the UP a lot. I'm not sure if they can pull it off this year though.

Perry
#13

Radioroslyn and MrFixr55, thanks much for the info and advice. I know how to solder as I have a few old receivers from the Seventies I'm working on. I've yet to tackle a re-cap though. So far, just bulbs and taking out, rehabbing, and replacing a speaker relay. I'll get at vhis one some day. Hopefully soon.

Perry
#14

Perry, The Vikings aren't a playoff team unless they get lucky. Many games this season they won in the last 2 minutes or played only half a game, scoring enough to hold on to a win. They still have to play the Lions and the Packers.

Once you get going on that re-cap it's tough to hit the pause button, especially if it improves things.
#15

I don't want to be the bearer of bad news but I would inspect the power transformer, and the filed coil on the speaker, before getting too ambitious. If the filter condensers, or the wiring, had a dead short that can cause the rectifier tube socket to burn as well. What does not make sense is that the #80 rectifier tube, other then obviously having the glass smashed, does not look like it melted down inside. I can't help but notice that one of the plate pins on the #80 is missing, so clearly the socket burned up with the tube present. As for replacing the four pin socket I would measure the diameter of the hole, and the spacing of the rivets and make a note of those for your search, they are not all the same. You could also use a 5Y4 or 5Y3 in an octal socket, but then it won't be originals, and #80s are not generally difficult to find.
Regards
Arran




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