[JGerhardt]

I am new to Philco Radios and would like more info on a radio I bought. First off, its a 37-623 battery operated unit but I don't have the battery. What kind of battery do I use? Should I try to fire it up or have it cleaned first? Should I restore the cabinet or leave it as is? Is a battery operated unit unusual? Is it valuable? Any info you can provide would be awesome!

I bought this in the hopes of turning it around for a quick buck. After finding out how old it is and thought about what it may have experienced in the last 70 years, I think it's too neat to let go and want to bring it back to life. This radio could have announced Pearl Harbor to an American family! Green Lantern saga's. The Shadow. How cool is that?

[Chuck Schwark]

Welcome to the world of Philco radios. :-)

DO NOT plug in a 74 year old un-restored radio!!!
You can do irreparable and permanent damage to major components.

Battery sets were common in that era from many radio manufacturers. They were
primarily meant for the rural and farm markets before the Rural Electrification Act of 1936
was enacted to bring commercial a/c power to outlying areas of the country.

See my website (below) for my schematic and service info photocopy service
for your 1937 Philco. Click on the Schematic Info link there.

Regards,
Chuck

[TA Forbes]

Welcome to the Phorum! IIf your radio is a tombstone model, it is a fairly common set. If it is a console (floor model) it's a little less common. BUT they are good sets when working properly. The set has standard broadcast (AM) band and two shortwave bands, and with a good antenna you should be able to pick up many distant stations, especially at night.

Am not sure of the specific requirements for your set, but my Philco 623 model, which was made a year before your's, must have an A battery (2V), a B battery (135V, 67.5V), and a C battery (-3V, -7.5V).

You should ensure that your radio is electrically sound before attempting to power it up. With the old battery sets, the combination of battery clamps and connectors can be in rough shape. Additionally, many if not most of your capacitors should be replaced.

[Radioroslyn]

Welcome to the Phorum!
What you need is:

[Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOM5N3omefI]

Should replace the caps as it could kill your batteries quick.
Terry

[Ron Ramirez]

I welcome you also, JGerhardt.

You have already received excellent advice here; all I can add at this point is that even a battery set will need to have its paper and electrolytic (yes, battery sets sometimes have at least one electrolytic) capacitors replaced before you even think about applying power.

You can clean it with an old, unused bristle brush and/or a can of compressed air; just be sure and do your cleaning in the garage or someplace away from areas you want to keep clean.

For your battery power, once the unit is ready for power you can either use a battery eliminator which is available from a few sources, or use a reproduction battery. Bill Morris custom builds replica batteries that look original on the outside, but use modern batteries inside. Contact him at batterymaker AT gmail DOT com.

Battery-operated radios are somewhat less common than AC-operated sets, but they are also not as desirable as AC radios since most collectors want to be able to plug their radios into the wall socket and listen to them. You can't do that with a battery operated radio unless you use a battery eliminator.

[Music in a bottle]

So I'm just curious guys..... If you got a radio that works fine, is there a wayu to determine that everything is fine in terms of the enternals, or is it a must to just go ahead and replace everything as far as the caps go......

[Arran]

Good thing the set actaully was $10 and not $100, $100 is a lot to pay for any console set, as is, let alone a farm battery radio. While some have mentioned that it will need the capacitors replaced, it may at some point but my experience has been that farm battery sets will often still work when they are powered up for the first time. That being said I would not have recommended a battery radio for a first project, however so long as you hook up the voltages properly there shouldn't be a problem, start with the "A" voltage first and then the "B" with batteries, but you may have to strip the wires back as the ends are usually knackered.
Regards
Arran

[BDM]

So I'm just curious guys..... If you got a radio that works fine, is there a way to determine that everything is fine in terms of the enternals, or is it a must to just go ahead and replace everything as far as the caps go......

Personally not matter how well a set works, I refuse to play/use it with the original caps/electrolytics. I even go as far as to replace the micas you find in these sets. I leave no cap unturned I then move on to resistors and check any that carry sizable voltage and/or load. You never know how many hours they've played and how many parts were out of tolerance, causing undo load and heat. If the set played fairly well I leave tube checking for last. After a good couple hours of warm up, I then hit them on the tube tester.

[codefox1]

Agree with all. Wholesale recap is best, along with the dozen or less small wattage resistors while you are at it. You'll need a proper A B power supply store bought or not that hard to make. C can be supplied with a few AA batteries that will last their shelf lives, or in most cases grid leak resistors. Can also siphon some out of battery replacement to get your needed minus voltage.

[Arran]

I would reccomend leaving the micas alone unless there is obviously a problem as they tend to be in RF circuits and you can cause more harm then good by replacing them. Deterioration isn't as much of a problem in a battery radio as there is negligable tube heat, but even so the paper caps do age and old carbon composition resistors do drift, on occasion these sets have electrolytic caps usually a single small one. So the ones to replace are paper capacitors/condensers, the electrolytic capapacitor (if it has one), any resistors that have burned or drifted more then 20%.
Regards
Arran

[BDM]

I should add when I replace any so called mica's in the RF section, I do use silver mica's for replacement.