[NostalgiaRadioTime]

Just completed restoration on this set. I like it....a good performer, and a nice cabinet design with the brass escutcheon around the push-buttons. The finish is all original, too!

   

   

   

   

[VntgRads]

Very, Very nice!  Did you have to do much on the original finish?  It came out looking great!  Nice job.

Craig R.

[NostalgiaRadioTime]

Thanks. Just gave it the "Goop" treatment and the cabinet came to life again. I was really amazed!

[tab10672]

I just bought one of those that is missing the 1232 tube which I don't have, I have been told the 7g7 and 7a7 will substitute.

Does yours have an original 1232 tube? If not, which tube was it substituted with or which of the two above would you use?

Thanks, Todd

[Ron Ramirez]

7G7 is the same as 1232. 7AG7 is a "preferred" substitute (lower heater current). The NJ7P site lists 7AH7, 7H7 and 7L7 as substitutes although the 7H7 is a semiremote-cutoff pentode instead of a sharp-cutoff pentode like the 1232.

The 7A7 is a remote-cutoff pentode.

I would stick with the 1232 or use a 7G7.

[NostalgiaRadioTime]

I'm not sure you have the same model, Todd. This set uses 7 tubes:
two XXL's, two 7B7's, 7C6, 7B5, 7Y4

[NostalgiaRadioTime]

7A4's can be used in place of the XXL's.

[Paul Philco322]

Oddly enough Greg that is the set I have upstairs this weekend, mine lost the photo finish though so I am not as original. I love that internal antenna, and it is a good receiver. Hope to chill later today, some music, maybe a frosty, put on the fan and hope I get no Thunderstorms.

Paul

[Jayce]

Nice looking set indeed. I have seen one myself at a place partically sitting on the floor in a guy's back room. Still in good shape and I've been tempted a few times to make an offer on it.

[Paul Philco322]

Do you have the xxl tubes in yours or the subs?

Paul

[NostalgiaRadioTime]

Jayce, You should make an offer. I don't think you'd be disappointed. It's a fairly straight forward set, and doesn't seem to have too much of the crumbling wire syndrome. At least not in my set. I only had to replace one or two wires. Caps are relatively easy to replace, save for two .05's buried against the side of the chassis under a coil. You'll have to install new rubber bushings for the push button assembly, which will most likely be loose and flopping around. The off/on push-button can be a little wonky and either stick on or not stay on. Contact cleaner will dry it out so I had to follow up with a squirt of WD-40.

Paul, I have the original XXL's in mine. They tested good and perform as they should.

[tab10672]

   

Sorry, I also got a 40-140 at the same auction and got confused as to which one was missing the tube.

Todd

[Arran]

7A4's can be used in place of the XXL's.

 A 7A4 is the same tube as an XXL, except that was how Sylvania and others chose to label them. The XXL, XXD, XXB, XXFM, is just a load of B.S from Philco's marketing department, every one of those has a normal RMA standard number equivalent. Philco was on this kick back in the 1940s of using triode tubes for both mixers and oscillators, in the case of the XXD/14AF7 and XXB/3C6 they had the two triodes under one glass, the XXL/7A4 was single triode under one glass so they used at least two in every radio that used them. Why did they make two a dual section whilst the third a single section? Tube stuffing the chassis I guess, why make a six tube set when you can make it seven and sell it to people as a higher end product? This is much like the use of 6H6 tubes along with a 6J5 rather then a 6Q7, it's a racket.
By the way, because they used a triode as a mixer or first detector, they lost some front end gain, so to make up for it they usually added an extra IF amplifier stage, which was cheaper to add then a tuned RF amplifier stage although they could have used an untuned one. Then again they could have used a seperate triode and used a heptode as an oscilator and mixer combo, and avoided having to add that extra IF amp stage, or left it in and ended up with a better set, but I suspect that Philco did a lot of these things either for marketing purposes or for patent royalty avoidance. One thing that I have noticed about engineers of all sorts is that sometimes the designs they come up with really have no underlying reason other then personal prerogative.
Regards
Arran