07-16-2017, 04:46 PM
The cat is my "assistant" who likes to steal my paperwork and breakfast sausage when I'm not looking.
The seller's story: he was driving through a poor neighborhood here in Chicago 25 years ago and a guy was sitting out on the street trying to sell the radio. He brought it home, plugged it in and it didn't turn on so he just had it as a nostalgia piece. He said he had a bunch of other old radios for sale too... I got out of there to save my wallet!
Yes, eight tubes. One of them was missing and one of the tubes in the set wasn't correct. Three tubes of the seven extant were shorted or tested bad, one is marginal, three are good (7C6, a 7H7, and 5Y3G). The turntable is original and filthy, but all there. Unfortunately, at some point someone twisted the arm and it's cracked back near the base... I'll need to find a replacement or somehow massage the existing one back into shape.
The grille cloth is perfect in it and the speaker looks intact too. I pulled the chassis out and sure enough, period-correct Philco and Sprague caps, etc. The wiring inside is soft and pliable and not crumbling, but everything outside of the chassis is shot.
The big metal loop antenna is there.
The cabinet isn't too bad. Some wear and dings, and a couple spots of chipped veneer on the top at the back.
The seller's story: he was driving through a poor neighborhood here in Chicago 25 years ago and a guy was sitting out on the street trying to sell the radio. He brought it home, plugged it in and it didn't turn on so he just had it as a nostalgia piece. He said he had a bunch of other old radios for sale too... I got out of there to save my wallet!
Yes, eight tubes. One of them was missing and one of the tubes in the set wasn't correct. Three tubes of the seven extant were shorted or tested bad, one is marginal, three are good (7C6, a 7H7, and 5Y3G). The turntable is original and filthy, but all there. Unfortunately, at some point someone twisted the arm and it's cracked back near the base... I'll need to find a replacement or somehow massage the existing one back into shape.
The grille cloth is perfect in it and the speaker looks intact too. I pulled the chassis out and sure enough, period-correct Philco and Sprague caps, etc. The wiring inside is soft and pliable and not crumbling, but everything outside of the chassis is shot.
The big metal loop antenna is there.
The cabinet isn't too bad. Some wear and dings, and a couple spots of chipped veneer on the top at the back.
Greg
"We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us."