10-31-2009, 05:52 PM
I used #44 bulbs in my 40-150. They use 250mA. I tried #47 type that use 150mA, but they didn't seem bright enough. I'm pretty sure the #44 type were in my radio when I got it, and also in the similar 41-280, 41-250, and 41-255. You'll probably need the brighter bulbs to shine through those push buttons.
My dial glass used U-channel, though I didn't know where to find a replacement until I had already put it back together with a piece of bicycle inner tube as a substitute. The original U-channel was hardened and was stuck pretty firmly to the glass. When I removed it it took some chips out of the edge of the glass. It would have been smarter, I think, to cut it loose very carefully with an exacto blade rather than trying to pull it off by hand. You can't soak it with water because of the decal, and I don't know what else to try to get it loose.
I just measured the dial glass, and it is just over .100" thick. The .100" U-channel is probably what you need.
Don't try to wash the dial glass with water. It's OK on the glass side if you are careful not to get any on the decal side, but almost any amount of water on the decal side will damage the decal, at least a little bit. (I thought I could get away with just a little water on the decal side on another Philco, but it put little pin holes in the decal here and there. Not fatal, but a little noticeable.) It seems to me I cleaned the 40-150 dial by just breathing on the decal side to make a little mist, and then wiped carefully with a soft cloth. I've heard of some people using mineral spirits on some older Philco dials that are printed with water-soluble ink, but I wouldn't try it on the decal.
My dial glass used U-channel, though I didn't know where to find a replacement until I had already put it back together with a piece of bicycle inner tube as a substitute. The original U-channel was hardened and was stuck pretty firmly to the glass. When I removed it it took some chips out of the edge of the glass. It would have been smarter, I think, to cut it loose very carefully with an exacto blade rather than trying to pull it off by hand. You can't soak it with water because of the decal, and I don't know what else to try to get it loose.
I just measured the dial glass, and it is just over .100" thick. The .100" U-channel is probably what you need.
Don't try to wash the dial glass with water. It's OK on the glass side if you are careful not to get any on the decal side, but almost any amount of water on the decal side will damage the decal, at least a little bit. (I thought I could get away with just a little water on the decal side on another Philco, but it put little pin holes in the decal here and there. Not fatal, but a little noticeable.) It seems to me I cleaned the 40-150 dial by just breathing on the decal side to make a little mist, and then wiped carefully with a soft cloth. I've heard of some people using mineral spirits on some older Philco dials that are printed with water-soluble ink, but I wouldn't try it on the decal.
John Honeycutt