Philco console help!
 

My wife and I bought a very nice 1946 philco console off craigslist for $75. It works, but I can't get any stations, only static, which changes pitch and intensity as you go down the dial. Has a large built in antenna that is movable, and it hooks to terminals 1 and 2, and terminal 3 has nothing hooked to that one. How do I get this to tune some stations?

Well, probably its going to need a rebuild in order to operate properly. Many of the capacitors will have dried up and won't be working properly anymore. Most of the time an old radio will come back to life with new caps and little else, but sometimes you'll find something else wrong. Caps are a good place to start though.

http://www.antiqueradio.org/recap.htm

Ah shucks! I wanted to listen to some vintage am so badly. My philco model 70 works very well, but scares me until I have it checked out. Guess I better have a look at this console too!

Playing a radio of this vintage without changing the electrolytic caps and paper caps is asking for trouble! Even on a radio that plays, all of a sudden one of the caps can short and blow and depending on where it is in the circuit, it can take out the rectifier tube and, heaven forbid, the power transformer! Time to put its feet in the air and give it some transplants. Another thing to do: clean the tube pins and sockets. Sometimes dirty contacts keep a set from working. Pull tube, spray pins with CRC Electronics Cleaner (auto parts store) and plug in and out of the socket several times. Put your computer onto Live 365 and pick out a big band station while you're working! :yes:

Reece

He speaks the truth!!! At this very moment, there's a nice '48 Zenith AM/FM in my hands with a fried power transformer. I have not torn into it yet; but, I bet it got fried by a shorted capacitor in the B+ circuit. It probably happened when the flea market vendor plugged it in and didn't unplug it until the smoke came out. So, it would be much better for you to replace a few dollars in caps now than to chase down an expensive transformer or other part later on. You can buy caps at www.tubesandmore.com, www.justradios.com, www.mouser.com, or www.radiodaze.com. You can probably download a free schematic for your radio at www.nostalgiaair.org.

Awesome! I'm on it. These old radios are sooo cool!

But be warned they are extermely addictive, soon you will have enough consoles to build a small bungalow :D I have 3 highboy's from the 30's, a 41 Emerson console, a philco low boy, an airline console, 3 phonographs, a philco tv and numerous table tops, there is even a jukebox in the mix. all in a one bedroom apartment, so be warned :D

They are addictive. I keep thinking about buying this 1947 Motorola console on Craigslist. I can't think of a spot to put it, but darn it I want it.

Hear ya! I already want to tear into them to rebuild. Bad! Don't know much about them, but they sure look awesome! I already took the cathedrals apart and lubricated the controls and blew the dust out with compressed air. The one cathedral looks like new in terms of the underside and speaker. Blown away! I have already down loaded a bunch of crap relating to these units. All, very very fascinating. My dad, also a member here at audio karma, laughs at my interest, but I think that's because my radios are the same age as he is, and that's just damn old! Uh oh, here comes my dad!:nono::nono:

I have some Philco service bulletins on my web page - take a look. http://www.audiophool.cjb.net/Philco.html

I have 70 myself, waiting for restoration eventually - needs a speaker and cabinet work (sound familiar?).

You'll soon find out that compressed air cost way to much and you'll use one can per radio. I bought a cheap shopvac with the blower port and use a stiff paint brush. I also notice the electrical cleaner bought at the autoparts store will work great to clean sockets and controls, never use w-40.

(Cringe) I actually have a 6.5 H.P. 80 gallon air compressor in the basement with a dehumidifier.:sigh:

The speakers are sure expensive! I had been watching e bay, and quickly realized, that My parts rig was gonna stay a parts rig! I saw one speaker go for $177!!! That's smokin' crack in my opinion.

There are ways around expensive exact replacement speakers. Old ones can be reconed (also somewhat expensive) or new or used ones of the same diameter can be substituted. If the old speaker had a field coil those can be subsituted for, too, with chokes and resistors. Unless the radio is a rare jewel, subbing a speaker may not be a sin. Purists may now come back down from the ceiling! :yes:

Reece