05-24-2006, 02:39 AM
Tony, hi again. Good advice from Terry. I just got into this about two months ago myself. Going to the various sites including PhilcoRepairBench.com will give you a lot of information. So will this forum. Go through the previous months and drop in to see the problems presented and the solutions offered. Another good site is NostalgiaAir.net.
Electrolytics are most often capacitors (condensors) with a value over 1MFD. You will find that most capacitors used in the radio are below 1MFD, in fact usually tenths or hundreths of a MFD. They get their name from the fact that they use an electrolytic (fluid through which electricity can pass) which is the primary reason they fail, they dry up. They also have another unique feature which is they are polorized, that is they pass electricity in one direction and not the other. They are contained in those large aluminium tubes you see on the chassis. Note that some of the can type structures are not electrolytics but contain, usually, IF (intermidiate frequency [don't worry about this right now you don't have to know until you run into problems] transformers which have to do with the operation of the radio. If you want a more detailed description I suggest you visit faradnet.com and check in "about". That site will go so far as to inform you of the chemical /electrical reactions that take place in the caps.
I would suggest that you check out PhilcoRepairBench and order the schematic for your set from Chuck Schwark. You will get good quality, easy to read schemtic and other information (parts list, service bulletins and voltage chart) for a small cost. When I started out I paid for one that I down loaded and it was bearly readable, Chuck's look like he printed them for you. I bounce in and out of this site all the time. You will find that everyone is helpful and encouraging. On my set, a 37-650 Philco, it was not working when I got it and now after re-capping and re-resistoring, its still not working. But don't dispair, your was working when you started. If you take it slow, fix those electrolytics (that is a must) you may decide to replace the other caps which also go but thats because the technology back then wasn't as good as now and they do fail with age though not with the same devastating effects as the electrolytics. I've gone on too long. Keep me up to date, I'll give you what ever advice I can if it's within my knowledge (I'm pretty good at the mechanical aspects but not to hot on the theory of operation). Pat
Electrolytics are most often capacitors (condensors) with a value over 1MFD. You will find that most capacitors used in the radio are below 1MFD, in fact usually tenths or hundreths of a MFD. They get their name from the fact that they use an electrolytic (fluid through which electricity can pass) which is the primary reason they fail, they dry up. They also have another unique feature which is they are polorized, that is they pass electricity in one direction and not the other. They are contained in those large aluminium tubes you see on the chassis. Note that some of the can type structures are not electrolytics but contain, usually, IF (intermidiate frequency [don't worry about this right now you don't have to know until you run into problems] transformers which have to do with the operation of the radio. If you want a more detailed description I suggest you visit faradnet.com and check in "about". That site will go so far as to inform you of the chemical /electrical reactions that take place in the caps.
I would suggest that you check out PhilcoRepairBench and order the schematic for your set from Chuck Schwark. You will get good quality, easy to read schemtic and other information (parts list, service bulletins and voltage chart) for a small cost. When I started out I paid for one that I down loaded and it was bearly readable, Chuck's look like he printed them for you. I bounce in and out of this site all the time. You will find that everyone is helpful and encouraging. On my set, a 37-650 Philco, it was not working when I got it and now after re-capping and re-resistoring, its still not working. But don't dispair, your was working when you started. If you take it slow, fix those electrolytics (that is a must) you may decide to replace the other caps which also go but thats because the technology back then wasn't as good as now and they do fail with age though not with the same devastating effects as the electrolytics. I've gone on too long. Keep me up to date, I'll give you what ever advice I can if it's within my knowledge (I'm pretty good at the mechanical aspects but not to hot on the theory of operation). Pat
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