[Texasrocker]

Congrats on your fine purchase! Unplug it !!, dont take any chances until new filter caps have been installed!! Playing "russian-roulette" with a vintage original Philco power transformer in that radio could win you the 2008 "duh- award" real fast!! No disrespect intended! That would be a real shame since new filter-caps are easily replaced. A good ol 1 amp fuse inline on one side of the ac cord is also highly recommended. Enjoy your new Philco!!!

[Arran]

I "reformed" the caps by slowly ramping up the voltage over several hours, and the radio does work, but it will require a tune-up. But that should be easy, as I don't think the chassis has been messed with. Very clean! Tubes still have the dealer decals on them, that match the dealer decal pasted on the back.

That radio did not use electrolytics, all of the caps in the large metal filter can are paper. Paper caps cannot be reformed.

Watch out! Paper caps can and will fail, also, with equally disastrous results. I once had a 96 that still worked, and so I played it...until one day I turned it on, I heard a loud hum and then smoke. Yup...shorted filter which took out the power transformer.

You really, really should replace ALL of the paper caps in that radio if you plan on using it. That is a fine piece of furniture and deserves no less.

I also plan on no less for my somewhat less Grand Philco 96 lowboy, I don't trust condensers that border on 80 years of age, nor resistors either. I had the same thing happen with a Radiola 44, worked but very weakly, tried it a year later and took out the rectifier tube, transformer and chokes are still alright fortunately.
Happy Christmas
Happy New Year
Arran

[Guest]

Congrats on your fine purchase! Unplug it !!, dont take any chances until new filter caps have been installed!! Playing "russian-roulette" with a vintage original Philco power transformer in that radio could win you the 2008 "duh- award" real fast!! No disrespect intended! That would be a real shame since new filter-caps are easily replaced. A good ol 1 amp fuse inline on one side of the ac cord is also highly recommended. Enjoy your new Philco!!!

I don't plan on winning that award! I don't usually play my radios until I have gone through them. I do like to put them on a variac and ramp up the voltage slowly when I first get them, mainly to check to see what works, and what doesn't. If the chassis is in bad shape, then I don't plug it in at all. The Concert Grand will get a going-through, but I first have to finish projects that are already lined up in my work shop. NO starting any new ones, as much as I'd like to!!

As a side note regarding inline fuses, my Philco 37-690 has a large end on the power cord, which has not one, but TWO fuses contained inside. It looks original, but is it?

Brad

[Ron Ramirez]

Yes, that AC plug is apparently original. Most 37-116 sets I have seen also have that plug.

[Arran]

Brad;
That sounds like an after market TV plug from the 1950s or 60s, those were sort of flat, wide, and square shaped, maybe Philco was ahead of their time?
Happy Christmas
Happy New Year