[osanders0311]

Not for certain if this will be a full restoration or repair, but after opening the unit up I would rather clean and fix what all that's needed before returning to the customer. What I have discovered so far is the power cord has a bad connection to the chassis, the manual channel dial cable is broken, the built in Antenna is missing and a couple of the wires with the rubber need to be replaced. I had already powered it up to hear what the customer mentioned and it did power up but has nothing but static. It appears that at some time in the past someone else may have worked on it as 2 wires were used for the antenna and mismatched screws on the bottom. I will post some beginning photos to this post.    

[osanders0311]

I have attached a markup of the channel selector cable upper right in the picture under the chassis, this cable is broken at the pulley. Does anyone know if the cable is supposed to be wrapped around the shaft or is there something missing? I looked at a picture of another radio but wasn't very clear and appeared to possibly had something black over the shaft.

[RodB]

I think my 42-340 is the same as your 345 without the buttons. Give me a few minutes and I'll pull the chassis and I'll also get a photo of the antenna.
   

[RodB]

As you can see, mine has a chunk of hard rubber remnant on the shaft next to the chassis. I would say the shaft was, at one time, covered with the rubber to provide appropriate friction for the string. My take on this is to clean the shaft, then put heat shrink on the shaft, shrink it and put the string back. Simple fix and it should last much longer than original.
   

Here's the antenna photo.
   

You can probably build one with 14 gauge copper wire.

[osanders0311]

Thank you very much for your help and sending the pictures, the cables must have been wrapped very tight around the spindle. I see little strands of what looks like either plastic or pieces of the cable. I will probably order a new cable for it, doubt the cable is long enough now. As for the antenna I have found one reasonable but will only get if the customer will want to replace it.

[RodB]

The string is held tight with springs. I use black 20 pound test nylon fishing line (plentiful here in MN). Take pictures of the string path before removing the old one.

[osanders0311]

Ah Ok I've taken the spring off and removed the broken piece, looks like I would lose about an inch using the current cable. Noticed your cable has about 3 loops on the spindle, I am going to try this one with 1-2 loops until I restring it.

[osanders0311]

Thanks Rodb looking at your picture of the cable I was able to reconnect the original cable just slightly shorter and able to turn the knob and see the dial moving. This will be temporary until I get another cable. Glad to see the dial moving 

[osanders0311]

Today I've been reading through the site trying to learn more about this radio. I also soldered the lose power cord cable but still going to replace it. I have powered it up and getting sound but nothing but static. Any idea if this radio will only work with the built-in loop antenna or will the wires connected to the terminals work?

[MrFixr55]

Hi OSanders,
First off, welcome to the Philco Phorum where Phine Phamily-Phriendly Pholks Phull of Philco Phacts and Phun meet (see a pattern here?).

I have the somewhat similar 41-255. Your radio should be a good performer. The radio should work with the "loop" the stiff wire antenna wound around the rear of the cabinet. Though designed for shortwave (note how few turns of this (10 gauge?) wire vs the loop antenna of a "broadcast band" only radio. Do make sure that you are connected to the antenna and ground terminals. The third screw goes to the output transformer secondary, used to connect test equipment (or another speaker, though this will mismatch the speaker impedance). The 3 pin jack on the back of the set is a connection for an external antenna. One of these pins is broadcast and lower freq SW. The other is for the highest freq SW.

One very common problem nowadays is the very poor AM reception inside many houses where Fluorescent, CFL or LED lighting, computers, digital TV and the Internet of Things (alarm system, thermostat, sprinkler system, Alexa, etc. abound. In addition, I think that the power company completely pollutes their power lines with remote meter reading. I literally have to take radios outside and away from the house. Not even my long wire helps if it runs into my office.

Do check your antenna coil and band switch. in addition, check the XXL tube socket. Loctal sockets do get dirty and intermittent. There are tiny brushes available to clean the pins. Use Caig DeOxIt D5 contact cleaner. Finally, a quick and dirty is to connect a long wire to the RF Stator of the tuning cap (make sure that your band switch is in the Broadcast, Manual Tuning (second) position.

Hope this helps.

[osanders0311]

Thank you MrFixr55 the issue with this radio is that the internal coil antenna is missing and there was a wire in its place connected to one of the terminals. I was wondering about the third screw and thank you for that information. My main concern is if the original antenna is needed in order for it to get any reception? I haven't tried it outside but did have the wires near a window which only made the static louder.

[osanders0311]

I am back to working on this radio and managed to get a couple of radio stations to come in. But can someone help me to understand how these radios are wired to receive reception? I cleaned all contacts above the chassis, replaced the wire that was being used with a heavier gauge wire to see if it would work and surprisingly, I received a signal. I also had it outdoors while testing. Going forward I'm wondering if these radios will need the original loop Antenna in order to work or will a certain gauge and length of wire work?
I mainly wanted to make sure it could receive reception before investing more time and the owner seems to have tight budget.
Personally, I am enjoying working with it and would like to get it working.

[MrFixr55]

Looking at the pic supplied by Rod B, you can duplicate the missing loop antenna. 10 gauge copper wire can be used to make the antenna. The spacing between loops is approximately 3/8 - 7/16 in. There are 4 turns to the loop. TThe loop OD is equal to the ID of the cabinet. Try to duplicate the insulators. You can use thin plastic, Zip ties, etc. Try to keep the copper from touching the wood case. Alternately, you can use insulated solid 12Gauge THHN cable. This loop connects between screw 1 and 2 of the 3 screw antenna terminal. This should improve reception, especially if you have local stations. Compare reception to another vintage radio with a built-in non-ferrite antenna. (Ferrite loopstick antennas tend to be more resistant to noise. )

Before connecting the homemade loop antenna, ohm between terminals 1 and 2 with the switch in broadcast. There should be a relatively low resistance. If open, either the antenna coil for broadcast band is open or there is an issue with the band switch.

For AM Broadcast, an external "long wire" arial can be hooked to screw 1 of the terminal. Ground the chassis.

Hope this helps.

[GarySP]

Welcome to the Phorum, osanders0311!  Regardless how far you intend to restore this set, first priority should be replacement of all foil and electrolytic capacitors, and any out-of-tolerance resistors.  The caps in that chassis look original and will surely, not possibly fail.  When they fail they also like to take other components with them for the ride!
+1 what MrFixr said about Loctal tubes and their pins.  Don't forget the socket pins as well.  I use Deoxit also with dental Proxy brushes available at most drug stores.
Take care and BE HEALTHY!   - Gary