[Buzz]

1929 Philco Model 86 Restore Part 12

now uploaded, if anybody is interested. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_NCNYSgAcY

[Eliot Ness]

Thanks Buzz.  Cooking lessons, humor, and radio repair

[Buzz]

thanks elliot,,its fun to do them..
Buzz

[Buzz]

1929 Philco Model 86 Restore Part 13
now uploaded, if anybody is interested.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZkgJDu_sRA

[Buzz]

1929 Philco Model 86 Restore Part 14
HELP IDENTIFY THE MYSTERY RADIO AT THE BEGINNING!!!
now uploaded, if anybody is interested.
Thank you all for your support.........Buzz 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ4PrF1uxK4

[Buzz]

The FINAL of the series Part 15 is now uploaded for anyone interested 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCMZ3A2al4Q

Thanks to all for your support.
Buzz

[NostalgiaRadioTime]

Have to tell you, Buzz, I've enjoyed the entire series immensely. I can't get over the tremendous amount of editing you had to do...finding and editing in all of the music and sound bites must've taken an enormous amount of time! The radio looks great and sounds great and should bring you much enjoyment for years to come. Bravo!  

[Buzz]

Thanks Greg:
  The first few videos were not the greatest, but I think I overcame some technical issues after that. They are time consuming to edit, but I enjoyed doing them, I love that radio and hope it will around long after I'm gone...
Regards, Buzz

[Eliot Ness]

Very informative and enjoyable series Buzz, and a nice ending!

[sam]

buzz
great vid`s
sam

[ducretet]

Hello,
The other day I saw an 86 on ebay. I happened to see all 15 Buzz videos. Fantastic !!!.
I won the auction. What surprised me is the price: $ 60. The cabinet is in perfect condition. As for the chassis, it will possibly need a major restoration. What I don't understand is that a radio from 1929 is so cheap. Are they not collectibles in the USA? Anyway, better !!!!. Too bad I live 6,000 km away. The price of transport is something else.

[Radioroslyn]

For those of us in the US that's about 3700 miles away.

Seems like the sets from the later '20s especially w/legs have fallen out of favor over the later few yrs. They are big, heavy, and require more space than a cute little brite colored table top sets. The features are minimal in that most don't have avc or any sw coverage. Another thing to consider is that the technology was in it's infancy back then sets that were designed/built 5 or 10yrs later they were a whole lot better from an electronic standpoint, generally speaking.

There ok to show the history of the development of radio I have two '29 Philcos I listen to from time to time an 87 and a 77. Are they daily players not is much. I'd rather play one of the 16's, 116's, 660, or 41-300. Those sets are fun sets!

I took a quick look at the diagram and it looks to be about the same as the 87 except for the output tubes and the 86 has a phono jack.

Do keep us abreast of your progress.

I'll mention something in passing. Check the dial cables for fraying. It's a common problem. There's one in the front and one in the back. If it looks ok put a little oil them. One by one take the bearing caps off the tuning and put a drop of oil each. Reassemble before you remove the next one. The object is that you want the make the tuning cap turn nice and freely. This will reduce the load on the dial cord as it is a bit of a pain to replace. If it isn't starting to come apart then a little oil will make it last.

GL

[ducretet]

Yes, I totally agree. Homes are getting smaller and smaller and consoles take up a lot of space. Possibly this is the reason why these types of radios have dropped in price. I am particularly happy to have achieved an 86. I will keep you informed of how the restoration is going. But the radio hasn't reached me yet. It will take a few days.
Thank you very much for your advice.

Ferran

[morzh]

Most Philco consoles are not expensive save for those that are sought after, especially the top of the line of 1937-1938.
The rest can be had for $50-150 depending on the condition and the willingness of the seller to ship.

[Arran]

I don't think it has as much to do with the size of people's houses, if anything the average house in North America is substantially larger then it was 40 years ago. I think it has to do with nostalgia, the generations of people whom had a sentimental connection with 1920s and 30s radios are either in nursing homes or long gone. When you figure that the average WW2 vet is in his 90s, and Korean war vet in his 80s, it explains a lot. The same story goes with gramophones, telephones, furniture, and mechanical clocks. I saw someone trying to get $350 each from some 1940s and 50s floor lamps on Craigslist, they won't get it, the last floor lamp I got I paid nothing for, and there were no others cued up to get it.
  Late 1920s, early 30s AC radios, and even battery ones, have their own problems inside the one I just mentioned, they only cover up to 1500 kc, as a rule, they are usually TRF (though they should not be condemned for that) and many are difficult to work on compared to a later radio because of the design. One favorite trick from then was to put most of the bypass capacitors in a tar filled can, some put the filter capacitors (paper ones) in the same, I.E the Philco model 86, or an RCA Radiola 18. There is also the problems many have due to age, Majestic and Atwater Kents used miles of rubber/gutta percha wire in certain years, and even cloth wiring that old can be rotted and need replacement.
 Quite often these sets will have failed audio interstage transformers, and or audio output transformers, those can get expensive, there is a solid state substitute for the prior, if it's a class A push pull, but not the audio output transformer. There are some whom are brave enough to rewind these transformers, I have never tried, RF transformers are another matter and the large ones found in older AC sets can often be rewound by hand.
Regards
Arran