07-29-2013, 10:53 AM
Katie, Welcome to the Phorum. I think what Jerry meant was that since vacuum tubes typically get hot when they are turned on, any dust that is on them would start heat up and may be causing the smell. So yes its normal that they get hot. If you unplug the stereo, and then carefully pull the tube from the chassis (wiggle it a little as you pull it), clean the tube off, and then place it back into the socket you may get rid of the smell when you turn the stereo back on. You can find places to buy new tubes if you look here: http://www.philcoradio.com/resourceb.htm#w . As far as other parts and repair of the components in the chassis you would need a schematic. I think you probably have an M-1537 seen here: http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/philco_m_1537m153.html and there happens to be a Sams photofact for sale on ebay for that model which would include the schematic at: http://www.ebay.com/itm/PHILCO-L-1532-M-...1018688661 . I'd suggest reading this http://www.antiqueradio.org/begin.htm first. While yours is not a radio the concepts for repair/restoration of the chassis are similar. Others on this Phorum have restored phonographs and can advise you on specifics.