[JGatewood]

I have a Chance to get one of these for hopefully less than 50 bucks. Not working and speaker needs reconed. Any Thoughts? I have a 41-280, is there any possible interchangeable parts?

[greg denney]

Saw the pics of what I think is the radio your talking about.......That thing looks nice......I would be more than willing to pay that money for it!!!!!!!!!!................Greg

[Ron Ramirez]

http://www.philcoradio.com/gallery/1936b.htm#ah

Now that's a nice one to add to your collection! Grab it!

The 655 will be easier to repair than the 41-280, since it does not have any rubber-covered wiring. It also has a lot more character...in my opinion.

No interchangeable parts that I can think of.

[Radioroslyn]

Agree with Ron it's a nice one. P/P triode connected 42 with a 42 driver. Same set up that they use in the higher end Philco's. Also has a RF amp stage which will give you good sensitive.
I'd jump on it!!
Terry

[Glenn Roberts]

LOL, I saw the same. Too far for and have too many consoles already. It looks good!! Go for it.

[Ron Ramirez]

Better go get it quick, Jerry...like today...the guys over at the alternative forum have discovered it.

http://antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=153961

If I lived in or near Columbus, I'd have bought it already, no question on the price...and I have no room for any more consoles.

[bigron]

hi to all!i got that philco 655mx from craigslist.cabinet was restored approx ten years ago.very nice shape with a 9 out of ten.chassis was polished to a high gloss and all tubes were spotless.the set was sitting ina basement for the past several years and the owner is a radio restorer himself.humidity was around 45 percent so all is nice!this is a great piece and i picked it up for my friend who wanted it.the flip top is a fine feature and so far,the only one ive seen in my 60 plus years.

[Ron Ramirez]

Hello and welcome...and congratulations on your acquisition!

[Glenn Roberts]

Good going, That looked like a nice unit.

Glenn

[bigron]

update on philco.my friend came and picked up early this week.he took it home and after close inspection found out that it had been totally recapped.cabinet was even stainted on the inside!after cleaning bandswitch,it works.the speaker needs refoamed but this is a solid working unit.i am a zenith man myself,so i had to pass this one along.beatiful set that will go good in his collection.

[greg denney]

Thanks to Bigron I now have this radio in my collection....It's now setting proudly with 5 of it's Philco brothers!! .....Other than the speaker needing the new foam ring and the band switch needing a better cleaning(which looks like an almost imposible job the way it appears to be made) this radio plays very good.....If anyone can give me some sugestions on how to give this band switch a good cleaning i'd be very thankful!!!!...Also the dial door doesnt want to open when the button is pushed,,,Anyone ever have any dealings with these????? thanks in advance.......Greg

[Ron Ramirez]

If anyone can give me some suggestions on how to give this band switch a good cleaning i'd be very thankful!!!!

Here, Caig DeoxIT is your friend. Use it sparingly...and let it dry completely before applying power.

Also the dial door doesn't want to open when the button is pushed,,,Anyone ever have any dealings with these?????

I used to own a 650RX chairside with separate speaker...another one of the sets I should not have ever gotten rid of. Anyway, it also had a flip-open lid that opened with the push of a button. At least it was supposed to. Like yours, Greg, the lid on my 650RX did not want to open when I pushed the button. I never did figure it out, so I too would be interested in any suggestions. My Magnavox Regency Symphony has the same problem, only the door opens out, not up. And it won't open when the button is pushed, without my pulling out on the door as I push the button.

[greg denney]

Thanks Ron for the reply and the help.....I tried some CRC contact cleaner on the switch but it didn't seem to help much, you have to kind of play with it between clicks to get it to work...I will try to find some of this stuff you recomended and try it.....As for the door, it seems when it closes the spring and lever breaks over center not allowing it to pull (or push) the door back up out of the closed position....it has a few small chips in the veneer from years of being pryed up so this HAS to be fixed....Maybe a different position on the spring or something,,,,I'm sure it must have worked when new!!!!....................Waiting on tax time to get the speaker fixed and order caps for the 1276 .........................Thanks again.............Greg

[Ron Ramirez]

CRC (and its equivalents) is only good on switches and contacts that are just "a little" dirty. For the really bad contacts, only DeoxIT will have a chance of cleaning them enough so that they will work again. Believe me, I have learned this the hard way. A stubborn, "thrifty" old man (me) was finally made to realize that CRC isn't good enough by a demonstration of DeoxIT's superiority by a friend of mine some time back.

Heck, I even had a light switch in a ceiling fan that CRC "fixed" for about a week, only for it to stop working again. Gave it a shot of DeoxIT...good as new.

Of course, DeoxIT won't fix every switch or control, heal the sick, or raise the dead. But I have found it to be the very best contact cleaner on the market.

[greg denney]

I will be on the hunt for it....Is this something I might buy locally or do you order it from somewhere????.........Thanks again for the help.................Greg