Best birthday present I've gotten in years. - Videokarma.org TV - Video

Electronic M · #1 10-28-2014, 11:59 PM

Well my birthday was earlier today, and despite late classes and homework truncating the occasion it still was special. This is perhaps the first time I've gotten a tube radio for my birthday.

It's a Philco model 60 (if I'm reading the remains of the tag right), and it seems surprisingly close to working. There is no hum, and I'm getting changes in static trying to tune it. I'd guess the block caps are bad. This is going to be a fun project once I get to it!

Kevin Kuehn · #2 10-29-2014, 01:27 AM

Pretty nice B-day gift.

***Kamakiri*** · #3 10-29-2014, 08:01 AM

Geeze, better than what I got. After giving a list of what I really wanted, I got clothes and a Sheldon Cooper bobblehead

Sandy G · #4 10-29-2014, 10:27 AM

I've got its double-first cousin. They must have made a blue gazillion of these during the Thirties. Give it a decently-long antenna wire, & it'll pleasantly surprise you...

Electronic M · #5 10-29-2014, 11:47 AM

Ouch! I feel for ya capitan.

I would not be very suprized if it worked well with a recap and a long wire. I have a Stepped Philco tombstone, and an older cathedral in the "prized possessions" room. The tombstone was expertly restored by the guy that got me started fixin' radios, and the cathedral had it's block caps restored by yours truely. They will do rather nice with even 6-10' of wire mostly wound on a spool (which is how I tested it) when working right.
Zenith dominates my TV collection, but Philco dominates my collection of radios especially in the pre-1950 section.

wa2ise · #6 10-29-2014, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electronic M

Well my birthday was earlier today, and despite late classes and homework truncating the occasion ...

I used to feel lucky in that my birthday was on a date that school could never touch, ie, Aug 1st. Not even summer school touched it. Especially after my 2nd grade teacher gave a lot of crap to a classmate on his birthday. Teacher was a b****...

Be sure to do a full recap, and check the resistors too. And give the radio a prominent place in your place so the giver feels appreciated.

Jon A. · #7 10-29-2014, 03:48 PM

That's one big problem for those of us with arcane interests; good luck to us getting gifts we really like.

dieseljeep · #8 10-29-2014, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electronic M

Ouch! I feel for ya capitan.

I would not be very suprized if it worked well with a recap and a long wire. I have a Stepped Philco tombstone, and an older cathedral in the "prized possessions" room. The tombstone was expertly restored by the guy that got me started fixin' radios, and the cathedral had it's block caps restored by yours truely. They will do rather nice with even 6-10' of wire mostly wound on a spool (which is how I tested it) when working right.
Zenith dominates my TV collection, but Philco dominates my collection of radios especially in the pre-1950 section.

The radio is a little later design. AVC and a pentagrid converter tube. It least, it doesn't use the autodyne converter, like the earlier Philco models. With a long wire antenna, it's a great DXing machine. The 42 is a better output tube, than some of the others.

DavGoodlin · #9 10-31-2014, 01:48 PM

Thats in pretty good shape. It does not need knobs or other parts that can really add up when you restore one. I hope your speaker is OK.
Im restoring a 38-3 that has 8 condenser blocks (!!!) i shoulda looked under the chassis before I gave an estimate.

As many Philcos as Ive seen, restored and own, model 60 and similar cathedral sets are small enough to remain in eclectic collections of antiques and do not seem to circulate much.

That cord can even be bought at lamp stores but cats like chewing on those more than any other cord

Electronic M · #10 10-31-2014, 04:10 PM

It has audio. The type 78 tests weak (though I seem to recall my tester giving seemingly false readings on just that type on a previous set). The 75 detector/1st AF(?) is untested since the top cap came off with it's connector (which the glue on top suggests is not the first time for that tube).

Block caps are my favorite to restuff as I can quickly pry the tar out with a screwdriver and not replace it since the way they are mounted nobody will ever see that the tar cavity is empty save for the new caps...

Ya random anti-Qey folks seem to like owning one a deese kinda sets...Theres sompthin bout they way they look what speaks ta people.

The not-so-local ACE hardware stocks cloth cord. I want to examine the original a bit more before I condemn it. Our cat has been a subterainian for over a year now so no worries about cat damage until I can convince mom to let me have another...When our cat was alive the only things she seemed to like messing up were upholstered furniture (especially the dinning-room chairs), and she only had a brief phase of cord chewing.