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Philco Type 611 in New Zealand
#1

Hello I am new to the forum.
I have been looking to try and find out a bit more about this radio set that I recently purchased from an online auction here in New Zealand.
I understand that the model numbers for units outside the United States don't follow the same pattern as the US models.
According to radiomuseum.org it was built from 1950
http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/philco_611_2.html

It is working and picks up local AM stations.

I will come clean at this point and state my intentions with this radio:
I am not an enthusiast on old radio's or Philco in particular, the purpose of my purchase was to try and find an old style radio cabinet that I could adapt into an active loudspeaker. Essentially I want to renovate the enclosure, remove the innards and replace with a Tripath digital amp and possibly a new loud speaker.

Before I do this heinous act I wanted to gauge whether the radio was worth something to somebody. I bought it for next to nothing on an auction site, there is another identical one, in apparently better condition but costs twice as much, still not a huge amount but it was located further away (so I could make a matching left and right speaker, but I would rather have two dissimilar ones).
I don't intend holding this one to ransom, I am not looking to make money by selling it on but I wanted to make sure that I won't regret dis-assembling the piece. If it would break anybodies heart for this to happen, where should I offer the whole thing or the electronic parts and tuner that I will not use for sale or collection?

The cabinet is in need of some renovation, it looks as though somebody has begun the task of sanding the top but not got far. There are some specs and smears of white paint in places. There is still the original hardboard back although none of the screws holding it in place match. The inside is an insect cocoon hotel. It doesn't appear to have been eaten by grubs and beetles.
There is a label on the back of the enclosure that is barely legible and looks like instructions to a service electrician on removing the back.
The knobs and tuning glass need a clean.
The speaker cloth is faded but not torn.
And finally the electronics work.

I will take some pictures if anybody would be interested seeing it.
#2

Hi

Yes, please do take some pictures. If for no other reason, I would like to add photos of your set to Philcoradio.com with your permission.

Once we see photos, there may be a chance we might be able to help you positively identify the set, and to dispose of the chassis (hopefully to another collector).

--
Ron Ramirez
Ferdinand IN
#3

Here are some photos. If there are any closer details that you would like me to try and capture I would be happy to do so.

[Image: http://i1055.photobucket.com/albums/s507...c4c7cb.jpg]

[Image: http://i1055.photobucket.com/albums/s507...91ce78.jpg]

[Image: http://i1055.photobucket.com/albums/s507...42b375.jpg]

[Image: http://i1055.photobucket.com/albums/s507...e1cf37.jpg]

[Image: http://i1055.photobucket.com/albums/s507...5b6b0f.jpg]


[Image: http://i1055.photobucket.com/albums/s507...0c25ea.jpg]


[Image: http://i1055.photobucket.com/albums/s507...cd9de2.jpg]


[Image: http://i1055.photobucket.com/albums/s507...fdc362.jpg]


[Image: http://i1055.photobucket.com/albums/s507...1aca2c.jpg]


[Image: http://i1055.photobucket.com/albums/s507...492f27.jpg]
#4

I would be quite surprised if that radio is any newer than 1946, if that "new." But I don't have any sort of listings of Philco radios made in NZ by DRECO, unfortunately.

The cabinet of your set looks like a clone of a USA 41-255 without the louvered front panel of the USA model. Let's look at both for comparison.

Your 611

[Image: http://i1055.photobucket.com/albums/s507...91ce78.jpg]

USA 41-255

[Image: http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k420/...1-255T.jpg]

The overall look of your set, the tubes and components, etc., look like immediate prewar or immediate postwar to me. Loctal tubes, too...something USA Philco loved but we despise today due to their habit of developing poor connections between tube pins and socket contacts. But not being familiar with New Zealand-made Philco sets, I can't say for certain.

That should be a very well-performing radio. I see it has a three-gang tuning condenser, so it probably has an RF amplifier stage.

I like it. Icon_thumbup I think it is a very neat and unique piece. Sure, the front panel and dial is plainer than the USA 41-255, but the beauty of this set lies in its uniqueness, I think.

I would offer to buy it, but it would cost a fortune to have it shipped over here. But I invite you to send me an email and we can discuss it offline. mr.philco AT yahoo DOT com . Who knows, you just may convince me to purchase it. Icon_smile

--
Ron Ramirez
Ferdinand IN
#5

Thank you for the advice.
I have sent an email with information about the other one that was for sale.
#6

Question about the schematic:
I would be interested in being able to adapt this to act as an amplifier for another input if it were possible.
There is something that appears to read "Gramo Socket"
Does this imply that it would be possible to hook this up to be an amplifier for something else or would it be an output to send the receiver to another amplifier?
I can't see any way to switch the input.
#7

Yes: The "gramo socket" should be an audio input. In the USA we call it a "phono" input (for phonograph). In the UK, Australia and New Zealand, it's called gramophone.

But anyway...

This input was originally for the set owner to connect a phonograph, er, gramophone to that input. You can use it for any audio device needing amplification, provided that the input is isolated from the radio with a capacitor. It should have a capacitor inside providing that isolation. But only the set's schematic would tell for certain.

So, you could use your radio to amplify your iPod, myPod, yourPod, hisPod, herPod, etc. Icon_wink

More details on using a phono input for an iPod may be found here:

http://philcoradio.com/phorum/showthread...n+a+philco

While this link shows how to wire up an iPod input to a radio that did not have one originally, it will also show how to use this input for modern devices.

Oh, David, I received your email, thanks very much - I will send you a reply later on today, if that's OK.

--
Ron Ramirez
Ferdinand IN
#8

Thank you for that link.
I took some pictures of the inside of the radio while it was running in a darkened room. I love the glow of those tubes. I think it would be nice to preserve as much of the radio intact as it is. It looks simple enough to use that aux input to connect my external source - I was going to put an Apple Airport Express inside which has the same type of connector as an iPod dock.
I wasn't clear from the circuit diagram exactly the right capacitor to use. It looks as though it is either .1μf or 1μf (and my knowledge of electronics is that limited that I couldn't be sure if those values actually exist!)

I have removed the chassis and loud speaker from the cabinet now to begin cleaning and re-finishing the wood work.
The speaker has what appears to be a transformer coil on the back of it, I am assuming this is in leu of a permanent magnet and the speaker is driven at high voltage. It doesn't need replacing, just curious.

I removed the glass from the tuning dial for cleaning. The decals/paint are quite fragile on here so I am going to very carefully try to clean the glass between the paint using warm water and cue tips.
#9

I went for it an connected up an iPod to the "Gramo" connector in the chassis.
I got an old pair of earbuds and cut the left one off, stripped the ends of the wire and poked them through the top of the plug and folded them around the ends of the pins, then pushed the plug back into the socket.

It seems to mix the two inputs and I have to detune from a radio station to get just the iPod.
The volume has to be turned way up on the Philco and it is a bit distorted because the volume has to be up quite high on the iPod as well.
I expect this is because of and impedance mismatch somewhere. I have no idea how to correct this.




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