Philco Predicta

[Adam]

Got this Predicta tonight. It looks like I'm going to have to repaint the cabinet, the antenna is broken, missing all the knobs. I think that's a Zenith UHF knob on the volume control, and a Magnavox knob on the tuner. Some extra knobs came with the set, but I don't think any of them actually go with it. Antenna is broken. But the clock is interesting, I don't think I've seen one with a clock before, I think there must have originally been some kind of glass covering it that is now missing though. The inside is full of lint, dead spiders and other gunk, I even pulled a VHS tape out from back in there. A few tubes missing, but otherwise the chassis looks original. Here's some pics...

[Aage]

Interesting find. Those sets are like THE cartoon of what TVs looked like in the '50s, and yet to my mind, they weren't really that popular when they were a current model. I don't know the numbers on sales, but I can tell you that I personally never saw one until it became interesting to me as a collectible.

What do you think, Adam, could it be a motel version, with the clock and all? With two buttons they could probably have offered some kind of alarm function...

[jpdylon]

Great find Adam. The predicta is probably the tech's worst nightmare because of the absolutely cramped chassis, but the "Mr Wizard" styling always catches the eye.

The wannabe integrated circuit packs will need to be fabricated in order for the set to work right. These are the reddish looking flat packs in the vertical section. They have a few caps and resistors inside, and will cause no end of vertical troubles if not replaced. The schematic will tell you what's inside them. Usually the best way to sub them out is to get some breadboard and make a module yourself.

[KentTeffeteller]

Hi,

Those Predictas sold poorly due to reliability issues. The CRT tubes failed a lot in them and Philco ate many during warranty. This eventually sank the company and led to Ford Motor Company purchasing Philco in 1961. Many of the leftover Predictas became motel sets. Predictas were also popular in bars. I restored one and it's the most difficult monochrome set I ever worked on. They were really tight inside and ran hot. Very crowded to repair.

[MRX37]

I've heard horror stories of the Predicta long before I knew what its name was. I just knew it as "The Philco". Sometimes I'd hear about how banging on it with your fist would miraculously fix it, probably cos of loose conections.

[jpdylon]

The last one I repaired I mounted a waffle fan on rubber grommets on the back cover to keep it cool. They get really toasty. If you do decide to paint the cabinet, use primer and hi-temp paint. I have seen sloppy cosmetic restorations where the paint bubbles up if the guy uses the set daily.

[Don Lindsly]

I worked at Philco in the 50s and early 60s. There are a lot of misperceptions about the Predictas that have been embellished over time.

1. Poor sales resulted more from deviation from conventional design than reliability. While they did have a high service call rate, no one realized that when they were new. The things that have aged over 50 years were not a problem at the time. There were plenty of parts and technicians available.

2. Today's collectible Predicta was only a minor piece of the product line. Philco had many portables and consoles that were good performers, but because of their contemporary designs are less collectible today.

3. The Predicta did not put Philco out of the TV business. Philco was in so many businesses at that time that a single model of one product line could not have enough financial impact to seriously affect its business. Philco manufactured computers, stereo, home radio, microwave communications, full line appliances, market leader in room air conditioners, government services, space communications, vacuum tubes, semiconductors, auto radios and central air. Philco made TVs in the Philadelphia plant through 1975, a full 15 years after the last Predicta.

4. Ford did not buy Philco as a result of a defective product. The pending buy out was in the rumor loop as early as 1957. On the contrary, if Philco were not profitable, Ford would not have completed the transaction.

5. True, many Predictas were sold to motels through the Telesound division. It was not because they were left over. Telesound was in the hotel-hospital business. Supplies were often short. Most of today's table top Predictas are old motel takeouts. A much smaller proportion ended up in consumer homes.

6. The briefcase portables were market leaders and made Philco and the dealers a lot of money. They were the highest volume TVs. It is not like everyone was hand-wringing over Predictas.

7. Quality certainly could have been better. The low end models were made up of the prior year portable chassis jammed into the cabinets the stylists gave them. They were more or less rushed together. Factory yields were better for most other products. I don’t recall excessive CRT failures. The same picture tubes were used in the briefcase portables with excellent reliability. Today, the 50 year old motel TVs are more likely to have bad picture tubes since they saw hard use and 50 years have passed.

8. When Ford executive, Phillip Caldwell, took over as Philco President, he placed strong emphasis on quality and cost control. By that time the Predicta was already phased out. TVs changed every year or two. The Predicta’s lasted for two model years, ’59 and ’60. Part of the Lansdale Tube plant was converted to auto radio production. Big surprise. The Appliance Division was sold to White in the late 70s.

I just want to share some business history based on my experience. Today, the Predictas look controversial. By the late 50s, manufacturers were trying all kinds of innovations to extend the B&W TV business. Second sets were the primary market. Several manufacturers had their share of misguided products. You never know until they are in the field for a few months.

Ironically, more Predictas survive, at much higher prices, than other models of any manufacturer. Although it was not seen as the Mustang of its time, it certainly did not put Philco out of the TV business. That was the result of numerous other market factors having little to do with product.

[KentTeffeteller]

Hi Don,

Thanks for the perspectives and facts on Philco history. The wife and I have a Philco roundie color TV, my grandmother has a Philco-Ford Stereo Console and both are superbly made products and well engineered too. We love Philco! Both items are still in use today. Our Predicta has performed fine since a full restoration and has a fine picture. It's used quite regularly. It appears to be an old motel used set. The CRT was actually still good.

[Adam]

Lots of interesting information about Philco.

My Magnavox combo had a few of those early integrated circuit things as well, I think I remember having to replace one of them.

The CRT tests OK, but not great, 200/1000 on my B&K 440.

To add to the list of the things it's missing, it's also missing the wire harness which goes to the crt. Here's a picture I pulled off of ebay showing the knobs and the piece which goes over the clock, in case anybody was wondering what it's supposed to look like. It'll probably be a while before I get to working on this set though, I have a few others I want to do first.

[peverett]

I have several of the Philco "Seventeener" briefcase TVs. I had heard that the run rate on these at one time was 5000/month. From what Don's postinc says, this could be true.

Also have a Philco 37-61 cathedral radio that I have received BBC London on a few times using the shortwave band.

[Carmine]

Good posting Don, I feel your frustration. . . Reminds me of working in the auto industry and everybody has a theory about how we are conspiring to hide a 100 Mpg carb. Either way, thanks for the inside view.

[Don Lindsly]

The Briefcase Seventeener Portable line rate was running at 5000/week. The line had some advanced, for its time, automation.

I always marveled at the mechanical guys who built the material handling and automatic testing. Little was available commercially so it all had to be designed and built in-house.

[bgadow]

Don, always good to get your take on things & learn about Philco history. Much of the non-radio/tv side gets forgotten. My own Predicta is one of the motel models, very basic. It works okay, but with a weak crt. Overall I haven't noticed other Philco tubes being any better/worse than the industry average. I have a couple of the Seventeener series sets & I'd rather tinker with them than the Predicta. I don't think many realize that the name was used on some rather ordinary looking consoles as well. Some probably figure that all Philcos in 59/60 were this style of Predicta. Remember that in the late 50s sales of typical bw consoles or table models had really taken a hit. The market was saturated (everyone who was going to buy a tv had done so already) and there was a lot of competition for replacement sets. The industry needed something NEW. Color was still half-baked; portables helped. If a spage-age cabinet might sell some additional sets, why not try it? Philco had long been an innovator in cabinet design-a real trendsetter in the thirties-but I always thought their postwar offererings were rather boring.

One note: mention was made of Ford selling the major appliance line to White in the late 60s; I have seen print ads for Philco refrigerators from around '77 (after GTE bought the consumer electronics division) and they give an address of Aeroneutronic Ford Corporation in PA. So maybe it was the late 70s that they sold out? And while I'm pondering, did GTE operate any former Philco plants or did it just basically buy the name?

[Phil Nelson]

Adam, my Predicta article has some restoration notes that you may find useful:

http://antiqueradio.org/philc12.htm

Don, thanks for that history lesson. I have heard a number of people blame the Predicta for killing Philco. It's nice to know that wasn't really the case. I revised my article to indicate that this was an urban legend.

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

[Dan Starnes]

Yes, very interesting thread here.
Dan