Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Just bought this 42-380
#1

OK, I just bought this radio after seeing it on CL and brought it home. The man I got it from was a very nice gentleman and even gave me a coffee can full of tubes.

The cabinet seems to be in really good shape- no damage to the veneer or serious cracks. There are some scratches on the top and the normal amount of vacuum cleaner bruises on the bottom. The faceplate is warped. All the buttons are there and in good condition, but two knobs are missing. The chassis is rust free, antenna is good, and the speaker is in excellent shape.

[Image: http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r233/...5310-1.jpg]

[Image: http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r233/...195323.jpg]

You can see the scratches here:
[Image: http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r233/...195340.jpg]

[Image: http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r233/...195410.jpg]

[Image: http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r233/...195445.jpg]

It's not how bad you mess up, it's how well you can recover.
#2

Excellent radio. Looks nice. And I am sure (I see many of these around) you will be able to score a faceplate or maybe someone makes repros. Or you could find a repousse/chasing artist and ask him to straighten out the plate.
#3

http://www.renovatedradios.com/ makes the repop knobs, faceplate, and push buttons for your set.

They are a nice set with good reception and sound. The internal antenna works well and gives you more options as to where to display your set. From my experience they tend to do better when placed against a wall that faces the outside of your dwelling.

IF you refinish it be aware that the dark strips above and on either side of the grillework are photo-finish.
#4

I'm willing to bet that a good cleaning will do wonders for this cabinet, along with a little touch-up here and there. I have no plans to refinish it. The cabinet is in really good shape overall, including the photo-finish. I just highlighted the flaws in the pictures.

I've located a reproduction escutcheon and knobs. Those will have to wait for next payday. The first thing to do is going to be ordering literature from Chuck Schwark. The schematics on Nostalgia Air for this one look like they were received on a 1990's fax machine.

It's not how bad you mess up, it's how well you can recover.
#5

Score!

The rectifier tube is a 6X5GT, not the notorious 6X5. Icon_thumbup 8)

It's not how bad you mess up, it's how well you can recover.
#6

Actually Old Time Replications makes the reproduction plastic escutcheons for 1941 and 42 Philcos like that one.

http://www.antiqueradioknobs.com/

Regards
Arran
#7

You have a nice foundation there to make a VERY nice addition to your collection. Looking forward to seeing photos of your finished product!!!!

Icon_thumbupIcon_clapIcon_wave
#8

Finally home from work Friday night after a super busy week of interstate travel, job interviews, and 10-16 hour work-days. Icon_crazy Icon_wtf

Got my 39-45 warmed up and have some great surf guitar music from Pandora running through the transmitter. (Is there anything cooler than a twangy Telecaster reverberating through a tube amplifier?) 8)

Gonna crack open a bottle of Shiner and get started removing the chassis to see what I'm in store for on this thing. Icon_confused:

Wish me luck...

It's not how bad you mess up, it's how well you can recover.
#9

The chassis is covered in a ton of dust:

[Image: http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r233/...191959.jpg]

But underneath is in pretty good condition, with no obvious aftermarket amateur tinkering aside from the extra On-Off switch added to the back:

[Image: http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r233/...192021.jpg]

There is a bit of rubber insulated wires, especially in this knot on the switch deck. Surprisingly, even the rubber is in OK shape (I'm still going to replace that stuff):

[Image: http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r233/...192118.jpg]

And this pair of 41 output tubes isn't exactly a matched set:

[Image: http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r233/...193736.jpg]

It's not how bad you mess up, it's how well you can recover.
#10

Advice on how to clean up the octagonal push-buttons on a Philco 41-280? They don't appear cracked, but are "gunked up" from having sat outside (I didn't do that to it, some other unthinking person did!). Thanks!
#11

Hi Debra, Welcome to the Phorum!
Icon_wave

If you poke around on the Phorum there are some threads discussing techniques for cleaning knobs and buttons. I use the warm water and Dawn with a toothbrush approach. If they are really grungy I'll use some GoJo (the type without pumice in it) on them as well. I'm not sure about the buttons on the 41-280 but many of those pushbuttons have degraded over time because the material they were made from was not as durable as the plastics made today. You can buy reproduction pushbuttons from the fellow at Renovated Radios. Scroll down a bit on this page http://www.renovatedradios.com/parts.html and you'll see some 1941 pushbutton reproductions.




Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)
[-]
Recent Posts
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
Philco 16B Parts
Hi Dan, Mike is correct, there's a lot of painted stuff on the chassis but it looks pretty good. The sm is all there,sp...Radioroslyn — 03:50 PM
1930s Stromberg-Carlson Tombstone Radio need help identifying model number
Hi Cap'n Clock, Unfortunately, I do not have this radio.  This is a shame because this should be a good performer.  2A...captainclock1988 — 03:43 PM
Philco 42-390, code 121 speaker
Using a 5W  1.5k  ceramic resistor in place of the field coil and using a 4 ohm PM speaker, I was able to bring the radi...Stevelog — 02:57 PM
Philco 60 Squealing
I have taken out the 2nd IF and found a problem or not. I believe the coils are litz wire. There is a very small strand ...dconant — 02:13 PM
Philco 6K7
I am restoring a Philco 37-60. The am reception is very good, but the shortwave is very weak. Run 6 Philco removes the g...bobbyd1200 — 01:35 PM
1930s Stromberg-Carlson Tombstone Radio need help identifying model number
Hi Cap'n Clock, Unfortunately, I do not have this radio.  This is a shame because this should be a good performer.  2A5...MrFixr55 — 06:48 AM
American Bosch Model 802 auto radio
I think it would come under either American Bosch or United American Bosch. American Bosch made sets for the American We...Arran — 05:53 AM
trying to identify this wire type
Thanks to all for the feedback. As Arran said, it is probably an older replacement and yes it has a grid cap so I will ...georgetownjohn — 09:32 PM
trying to identify this wire type
It's possible that the red wire, actually a grid cap lead, is a very old replacement, I can't remember seeing a pre 1939...Arran — 09:18 PM

[-]
Who's Online
There are currently 6007 online users. [Complete List]
» 1 Member(s) | 6006 Guest(s)
Avatar

>