I bought a Philco 37-650 today..
Posts: 761
Threads: 56
Joined: Jul 2013
City: Kentucky
I picked up a couple of new projects today. I found a Philco 37-650 and a GE GD-63 at a local antique mall. Got them both for a pretty good price. I really like the looks of the 650. Are they known as nice sets? Sound pretty good?
The chassis looks pretty clean and original. Of course, I haven't gotten inside it yet.
The artist formerly known as Puhpow! 8)
(This post was last modified: 08-18-2013, 03:55 PM by Jamie.)
Posts: 2,128
Threads: 18
Joined: Oct 2008
City: Merrick, Long Island, NY
Looks really good! Best of luck with it.
Posts: 2,118
Threads: 112
Joined: Jun 2010
City: Medford OR (OR what?)
That crack in the veneer running down the radius of the curve on the right side (picture left) will be a problem.
"I just might turn into smoke, but I feel fine"
http://www.russoldradios.com/
(This post was last modified: 08-18-2013, 07:30 PM by Phlogiston.)
Posts: 1,475
Threads: 69
Joined: Nov 2012
City: Kansas city, MO.
Good find "PuhPow". Is that your line up of radios in background?
Mike
Posts: 481
Threads: 18
Joined: Jan 2013
City: Mesa, AZ
Is that switch on the backside original?
Posts: 11
Threads: 1
Joined: Aug 2013
City: Huntsville, AL
congrats, always like the looks of that console, pretty good radio, and yours looks very clean
Posts: 761
Threads: 56
Joined: Jul 2013
City: Kentucky
Thanks guys. Yeah, that crack in the veneer will be an issue for sure. It's not too bad as far as peeling away from the cabinet, but it is dried out and cracked. I don't know about that switch either, It didn't appear to be connected to anything, but we will see. 1930's Philcos are hard to come by in my area, so I'm not too picky.
I never did properly introduce myself here, so here goes..
I'm 52 years old, and I reside in Kentucky. I used to be a partner in a company that installed and serviced computer networks, so I have some electronics in my background. I'm also a sports agent, and have been in that business for 30 years. I've been messing with radios for about 6 months..
There are three cabinets behind the 37-650. Those radios all there because of my very first attempt to restore a radio. About six months ago, we found a Philco 46-1226 at a yard sale for $20. It looked great and the cabinet was almost perfect. At the time, I had zero experience repairing radios. Little did I know that the black sticky stuff on the chassis was the remnants of the transformer. So, we had a very nice cabinet with no working radio and I couldn't fix it. A month later, I find a 46-1209 (the cabinet was totally shot) for $10. I bought it hoping to do a transformer swap. That's when I earned my nickname ... "Puhpow" ..lol.. Since then, I've been looking for another 42-1226, and I finally saw one on Craigslist. Picked it up for $20. The cabinet is shot, but the chassis looks good. I hope to get it up and running and swap it into my original 1226 cabinet. The 46-1226 isn't a rare radio, but it got me into this hobby, so I owe it a good repair job. Since I bought it, I've learned a lot, mostly from reading posts here, but I've also read several books. I've now successfully repaired about 30 radios and sold several to some very nice collectors. I've got a tube tester and a signal generator, and I'm looking for a variac.
I've done a lot of things in my life.. I rode rodeo when I was younger, did a stint as a jockey, raced motorcycles, restored Corvettes and Mustangs... but I tell you this - There is no other hobby that has nicer people involved than antique radio. I can say that I genuinely like everyone I've met and been involved with. This forum is a great example of that attitude, and I really appreciate the way everyone jumps in to help out a newbie who is stuck. Thanks to you all, and to Ron for creating such a cool website.
The artist formerly known as Puhpow! 8)
(This post was last modified: 08-19-2013, 07:21 AM by Jamie.)
Posts: 1,703
Threads: 55
Joined: Sep 2005
City: Evanston, IL
Electrothaumaturgist wrote:
RE: I bought a Philco 37-650 today..
Is that switch on the backside original?
**************************************
I believe so. It appears to be a Philco after market antenna switch module.
Chuck
Posts: 13,776
Threads: 580
Joined: Sep 2005
City: Ferdinand
State, Province, Country: Indiana
So, PuhPow, what part of Kentucky? Central, east, west?
--
Ron Ramirez
Ferdinand IN
Posts: 13,776
Threads: 580
Joined: Sep 2005
City: Ferdinand
State, Province, Country: Indiana
By the way, guys, that switch in back, mounted on the metal flange...that sure looks like a radio-phono switch to me. Notice the RCA jack also on the flange, and the shielded cable going from it to inside the radio chassis. It was added by someone, not original.
--
Ron Ramirez
Ferdinand IN
Posts: 1,703
Threads: 55
Joined: Sep 2005
City: Evanston, IL
Ah, you're right. Didn't get a chance to blowup pic.
Chuck
Posts: 761
Threads: 56
Joined: Jul 2013
City: Kentucky
Ron, good info on the switch. Maybe I can use it to run an MP3 player to the radio?... I'm up in Northern Ky, about 20 miles south of Cincinnati.
The artist formerly known as Puhpow! 8)
Posts: 201
Threads: 26
Joined: Dec 2005
City: Morris Plains, NJ
The cracking of the veneer on the radius is not a major issue. I've had the identical cracking/splitting on several Philco's over the decades and fixed them in just minutes! It's just a matter of using a 3-4" strip of fabric backed sandpaper, 220 to 400 grit works fine. Pulling the strip back and forth with the grain will quickly make that problem go away. Don't apply and extra pressure to the sandpaper. At this moment I'm looking at my Philco 37-670 that I got for a song since the cabinet had the same terrible splitting; in five minutes the splitting was gone. The resulting finish is smooth as glass with no evidence of splitting.
Just try it. You have nothing to loose.
Pete AI2V
Posts: 2,118
Threads: 112
Joined: Jun 2010
City: Medford OR (OR what?)
That is correct, but over time the split will return unless the veneer is replaced.
"I just might turn into smoke, but I feel fine"
http://www.russoldradios.com/
Posts: 201
Threads: 26
Joined: Dec 2005
City: Morris Plains, NJ
Phlog-
Interesting. I haven't had that problem yet. Perhaps there's something I do in the finishing process that retards future splitting. It' been over ten years on some of my radius sanding projects and so far they have held up. Tnx for the input.
Pete AI2V
Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)
|
|
Recent Posts
|
|
Philco 60 Squealing
|
|
Wondering if I did it backwards.
If a coil was wound backwards, the oscillator would not work at all.
Old school...Chas — 07:23 PM |
|
Philco 38-7 Speaker
|
| 4-ohm speaker. Black, Green leads.tludka — 07:00 PM |
|
Philco 42-390, code 121 speaker
|
| #87 on the schematic.
This radio had a 8" Zenith speaker attached to it when I got it. I do don't know the hist...Stevelog — 06:39 PM |
|
Philco 60 Squealing
|
| I'm pretty sure I now have the litz wire soldered. This did not make any difference. Back in April I rewound the seconda...dconant — 06:25 PM |
|
Philco 38-7 Speaker
|
| Just to make sure, you chose either 4 ohm into 5K or into 10K? (blk-org or blk-grn)morzh — 06:23 PM |
|
Philco 38-7 Speaker
|
| I have let this one sit because of other duties. Now I am back, and I have a couple of questions. I hooked up a Hammond ...tludka — 05:34 PM |
|
Philco 42-390, code 121 speaker
|
| >>A closer examination of the very small print schematic indicates that the speaker is a PM type.
This shows a ...morzh — 05:18 PM |
|
Philco 60 Squealing
|
| Litz is typically tinned by simply rubbing it with the soldering iron tip while immersed in solder (and a bit of rosin f...morzh — 05:14 PM |
|
Philco 6K7
|
| The suppressor grid (if by G3 you mean the S) is usually at the Cathode potential, which in this caes is GND.
I am not ...morzh — 05:10 PM |
|
Philco 16B Parts
|
| Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately the radio was removed before bidding was over so I didn't get a chance to bid.dconant — 04:10 PM |
|
Who's Online
|
There are currently 4996 online users. [Complete List]
» 1 Member(s) | 4995 Guest(s)
|
|
|
|
 
|
![[-]](https://philcoradio.com/phorum/images/bootbb/collapse.png "[-]")
