[klondike98]

Thanks for the suggestions!

[GarySP]

+1 what Chas just said. I would take it one further and re-flow the solder joints from one end of the chassis to the other. Nothing worse than trying to isolate a cold solder joint, so touch them all is my approach. Also check the tension between tube pins and socket. A little tweaking may be necessary. That's my 2 centavos. Take care and BE HEALTHY! Gary

[klondike98]

Will do...thanks!

[Arran]

I wonder if this set was even built by Westinghouse, the knobs, and copper plated chassis, remind me of a Stromberg Carlson, whom did build some sets for U.S Westinghouse.
Regards
Arran

[klondike98]

Could be Arran. Thanks for the thought.

[klondike98]

I finally got the C25 cap and replaced it, of course it turned out not to be the problem with the oscillator    I have not yet soldered all the rivet joints or reflowed all solder joints but will get to that.  I still see 480 ohms between the rotor and ground on the gang tuning capacitor at the red dot on the schematic below. 

That does not make any sense to me, am I missing something?  I've isolated the tuning cap from the rest of the radio and still see the 480 ohms between ground (stator) and rotor.  I think I have to take the tuning cap out again and strip it down to see what's going on unless someone has some other thoughts on  it. 

[Image: https://www.dropbox.com/s/z3k4f96ea4pmxn....jpg?raw=1]

[MrFixr55]

My $0.02 Worth:
-The "Rotor" of a variable Condenser on radios like this is usually at ground potential and the Stator is above ground potential. Check between the frame of the Cap and Chassis ground. If the schematic is correct, it should be 0 Ohm
-Check the mounting screws to ensure that they are not touching the stator
-Is the reading the same if the Cap is fully open as well as fully closed?
Ohm between the stator and the frame of the cap with the wires disconnected from the stator. It should be open. If a reading exists, there is an issue with the Cap such as aluminum "stalactites" or an issue with the trimmer (if part of the Cap and you removed all other connections from the Cap) leaking.

Also ohm between the Cathode connection of the 6SA7 (Pin 6) and ground. This should be a rather low value.

Captain Clock is right, they is likely an export model (the 110 / 220 transformer suggests so. Interesting, this does not use a 5Y3, it uses a 6X5, like a car radio. This is usually a Philco trick, like my 41-255 (fewer tubs to stock).

I have seen copper plated Westinghouse chassis on at least 1 radio and 1 TV from my childhood. Westinghouse and GE built almost all of the RCA radios until 1929-1930 when RCA biughet Victor and finally had a factory. It was then reversed where Westinghouse and GE sold RCA Radios till the mid 30s. In the later 30s, several manufacturers such as American Bosch and even Emerson built radios for Westinghouse. Westinghouse also built their radios by the late 30s.

Good Luck with this, it is a handsome set and rare to have a back!

[klondike98]

Yes the 480 ohm is consistent during full rotation of the rotor. I think I’ll pull the tuning cap out for a better look at it and cleaning. I should have checked for shorts etc when I had it out before Thanks Mr. F.

[klondike98]

A bit of progress today. I pulled the tuning cap out and it still showed 480 ohms between the rotor and stator so I did some vigorous cleaning with alcohol and cotton swabs and started to see the resistance increase to several hundred Kohms. More cleaning and I finally got it to show open as it should. It turns out the culprit was dirt, grime, or perhaps the aluminum "stalactites" that MrFixr55 mentioned. The place that I saw the changes ocurring is shown in the photo below:
[Image: https://www.dropbox.com/s/jf5v7xwy60a9ty....jpg?raw=1]

The weather was nice here today so I used the rest of the day to spray some cabinets and do some lawn work so I haven't actually put the tuning cap back in to see if that solves the oscillator problem or not.

The cabinet for this set is coming along. I got it stripped, toned, and a couple layers of clear on it so far.

[Image: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ykyjsjbuzbhx88....jpg?raw=1]

[GarySP]

Cabinet is looking good, Bob. Hope the dirt in the tuning cap was the culprit. Take care and BE HEALTHY! Gary

[radiorich]

Hello bob,
nice cabinet and yes dirty tuning condensers I have had that same issue.
That is where my ultrasonic cleaner comes in handy.

Sincerely Richard

[klondike98]

The tuning cap cleaning I had done in the previous post turned out to not be enough. After reinstallation in the set but before reattaching any leads I retested the resistance between the rotar and stator....yes, I was still having a problem. This time it was more like several hundred Kohms but was not consistent and obviously not satisfactory so I gave the tuning cap a complete hot water soapy scrub and then rinsed with water and isopropanol. After it all dried and relubricated, the rotar/stator showed open throughout the tuning cycle ... amen. Reinstallation in the set followed by an alignment and its now working properly! Voltage on pin 4 of the 6SA7 oscillator tube is now 75 volts, much closer to the 80 volts specified on the schematic. I'll make a final post after the cabinet if finished. Thanks for all the help on this one!

[MrFixr55]

Congrats Klondike! Nice job on the cabinet too!

[klondike98]

Here's the final post on this set showing the cabinet all back together and the backside with and without the back on it.  I did have an additional issue with the Shortwave band.  I could push through 7 to 11 MHz of modulated signal and hear it on the speaker but above 11MHz it was silent.  That was where I had to change bands on my signal generator so it could be my generator but the radio is also suspicously silent across the entire shortwave band when I just hook it up to my antena (granted, its only about 15' of antenna).  Nevertheless, that's all that's getting done on this set, at least by me. 

[Image: https://www.dropbox.com/s/km4r1fdiawllva....jpg?raw=1]
[Image: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vurj5g1e6f635t....jpg?raw=1]
[Image: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ul6t2693pu0ha1....jpg?raw=1]

[GarySP]

Looks great, Bob! The shortwave issue can be a rainy day project down the road, perhaps. Take care and BE HEALTHY! Gary