Видео

Thank you for that idea. I’ll keep this in mind for other radios that may come my way. The speaker I have works. I hooked it up to my ‘48 Philco and it sounds great. The problem, I think, is the lack of power or a signal getting to the speaker. I’m going to test all the plate and grid voltages next. But thank you again for your idea. Steve

Thank you for all the information. I will check these out again. I’m going to check the voltages to all the tubes first. Then go backwards from each speaker connector wire to the tube to the tube it’s connected to. Then still backwards from there. Maybe that will lead to the problem. I hope. Steve

Yes I use a digital multimeter. When this was made everything was analog. If the values are a little off, high or low, I’ll let it pass. Some are off just a few volts. Some readings are way off…then I look for a problem. Steve

@@My1925World They could be way off. The intended meter could be something like 5 k ohms per volt whereas even a cheap DMM is usually 11 M ohms or more. In a circuit where resistors are in the 100 k range the effect is very significant.

@@NiallWardropI’ll have to check what the repair literature said they tested with. An analog meter may be on the wishlist. Thank you for telling me this…could make a huge difference. Steve

@@My1925World It's been a while but I think the way it works is for example if the data says measure with a meter of 10 k ohms per volt sensitivity on the 3 volt range then the meter resistance will be 3 x 10k = 30k so if you put a 30k resistor across the input to a DMM it will be about right. If the circuit is very sensitive the data will say to use a Vacuum Tube Voltmeter (VTVM) which is the vintage equivalent of a DMM so the readings will be right without a shunt resistor.

@@NiallWardropI’ll have to look that up and give the resistor fix a try. Thank you. Steve

Sounds like I’m going to have to do that. I’ll put those on my Kutztown wishlist along with another Philco 1227 chassis. Maybe I’ll get lucky and figure out the radio’s problem. This is a real challenge. Steve

The oscillator coil tests fine. I’ll probably start with rechecking the IF cans. Someone just posted that suggestion…I’ll look there first and do voltage readings. I’m determined to get this playing again. Thank you for any suggestions. Steve

I don’t have the proper equipment to do a really good alignment. The IF cans will probably be the first think I take a look at. I don’t believe these type suffer from silver mica issues. I could be wrong on that…I’ll mostly look for a broken wire or bad capacitor. Thanks for the info on the band switch pops. I was hoping that was a good sign. You can tell it wants to play. Steve

We stayed at a house on Sunset Beach…that’s far south on the NC coast. I don’t have any signal generating kind of equipment. That’s on my Kutztown list. But I have some clues you can help me with. When you change the band selection the speaker pops with each change…that’s clue 1. Clue 2 is when the center post on the volume control is touched the speaker hums. Are those positive signs that one section of the radio works? Steve

Right now I have a folder stuffed with marked up schematics and notes. I like your idea of using two schematics and marking one with what has been tested. I’m going to do better voltage testing than I have in the past. There is just one little piece of the puzzle that’s not working. You can tell the radio wants to play. That’s what makes it fun and maddening all at the same time. Thank you as always for the advice. Steve

Hey Steve, it’s Steve…I checked the voltages on the cable going to the speaker. I disconnected the speaker from the socket and took the measurements from the socket. 5 openings..4 are used. 1. Red wire -202 volts 2. White wire 0 volts 4. Green wire 6 mvolts 5. Orange wire 468 volts To me that looks like a problem. Thoughts/ideas on these voltage readings? I’m starting from the speaker and working backwards. The speaker is the only part that I know works. Steve

I use a multimeter to test the continuity and ohms of the coils and transformers. I replaced all the capacitors and most of the resistors. Everything tests good but yet it won’t play. I don’t have any fancy test equipment, I’m just a self-taught hobbyist. But it’s a fun challenge. I just need to find a mistake I made or something broken to get it working again. Steve

No asbestos. This radio was kinda picked over….parts were missing. The bottom plate and the plate over the tuner and transformer were gone. But I got it to work. Steve

@@My1925World great work with it! Mine had a huge chunk of asbestos. Glad you dodged that.

Yes. Having the correct combination makes all the difference. Steve

Honestly I never tested it at night. I need to do that. The frequency range seems the same. My AM broadcaster is around 1300…so I know it goes up at least that far. The dial goes from 0 to 100. Steve

Thank you. I believe that this model was produced in the first year Philco made radios. I’m not sure you can call Philcos high end, but it probably wasn’t cheap. Radios in the 1920’s were a big expense. I’m glad I got this one working again. Steve

I would try fixing it first. It’s only original once. But you’ll have to judge if it’s worth the time and effort for what you want to use it for. There is always a market for old parts. To fix mine I bought an entire chassis just for the dial pointer. Steve

Thank you for the tuning advice. I was doing it all wrong. No wonder it was blasting loud. Much appreciated. Steve.

@@My1925World Glad you got it working properly. Those "oldies" needed antennas of good length outside the house. 10 up to 30meter! (multiply by about 3 to calculate in feet) As high as possible. If you don't have that option, you could use your attic to mount your "long-wire" antenna. I'm doing that using old (recuperated) UTP-cable. What would be nice also is to use your own LPAM-transmitter. Those are quite easy to find in the USA. With such a transmitter plus some (old) tablet, laptop or mobile phone you could stream and transmit AM to all you old radios. But as I can hear, there is still some "life" in the AM-band in your country. (probably a lot of "talking-radio's" but less "music-radio's" ) In Europe a lot of countries closed down their AM-transmitters. Even FM is doomed.

@@joostderidder for my ‘20’s and ‘30’s sets I have 20 foot wire antenna close to the ceiling in my repair room. I also have a wire connected to the earth ground of the house. The AM band is alive but it’s all political talk or sports. You may find some country music or news talk. I use my little AM broadcaster most of the time. Steve

I’ll get the bathtub gin🥳 This radio was a fun challenge. I learned a lot about 1920’s radios. It never thought about automatic volume control. Good point. I’d hate to be wearing headphones with this radio. 😆 Steve

Thank you. I already have. The hard part now is where do I put it? 😂 It was a fun radio to work on, I’m very happy it plays again. Steve

You’re correct having the chassis pulled out makes repairs a lot easier. I’m glad the repair was the broken wire. I’ll play it again soon with the RCA speaker for a final test. Steve.

I’m going to play it with the RCA speaker. I think it will sound great. Then it’s more or less done. I’ll do a short video of that. Steve

Each radio teaches me something. This one was like a college course 😂. I’m hoping to get to the Kutztown next year. The 511 needs a Philco speaker. This radio was lots of fun for the $20 I paid. I’m really happy it’s back to playing condition again. Steve

I thought about replacing it but it’s all in one piece and original. So I’ll keep it as is for now. Thank you for the website. I always need clothe for other radios. Steve

Thanks the radio cleaned up better than I thought it would. Lately volume controls have been my biggest problem. It’s a good way to learn something new, but I would rather not 🤣 I need to go to Kutztown next year and get a speaker for it. Steve

I totally agree. Nothing made in 2024 will be working in 2120. Steve

Picks up a lot of stations. I’m really happy with the way it’s come back around.

Thank you. It’s been fun to work on.

Wow that would be great. That is very generous of you. Here is the channel’s email address. My1925world@yahoo.com. Send me an email and I’ll reply to you with my address. Thank you so much. Steve

Hahahaha. Thank you. I’m really enjoying working on it and getting it to play again. It was never going to be a museum piece. The top is the wrong one and it may have been a parts donor. For $25 I’m having a lot of fun with it. Steve

@@My1925World That's all that matters!

Yes it is. When I originally worked on this radio I didn’t have a tube tester. I was just happy it played. Steve

Look on Philcoradio.com. I believe that’s where I found the schematic. Under service info….early Philco schematics…511 series. Tons of useful information on that site as well. Hope that helps. Steve

@@My1925World Thanks Steve, that was it. The Philco site was the first place I visited but I gathered the schematic from the "Philco 1928-1936 Wiring Diagrams" section rather than the "Early Philco Schematics" as you suggested. Thanks again.

I still have to pull the chassis from the ‘48 Philco to test the tubes. It’s a real chore and I’m dragging my feet on that one. The Philco 511 is really making me think. I don’t have all the “correct” replacement part but I’ll use what I have to hopefully make it play again. I’m glad you got one already in working condition. Thanks for watching my videos. I hope to have a new one this weekend. Steve

Agreed. My house voltage is about 122. I use a Variac when I play my radios. I keep the voltage between 100 and 110. I still need to take readings on the 5-part resistor. I’ll replace what I need to with 5 watts. My tube tester doesn’t take the older tubes. I checked the filaments. All the filaments are good so we’ll go from there. You never know, this radio may play again. Steve

Thank you Steve. In the next video I have a resistor wattage question you may be able to help me with. Thanks for watching and helping. Steve in NC

@@My1925World Study the circle that Ohm's Law derives P i.e. Power in Watts. I guess I shouldn't have mention I went to IIT in Chicago decades ago for electrical engineering.

@@hestheMasterI’ve always benefited a great deal from your help in the past. Keep the suggestions coming. I’m always interested in learning more about how these great old radios work. My past career was in TV news editing…no math or engineering required. 😆 Steve

The capacitors inside of that block are actually standard non-polarized caps- not electrolytics.

I’m hoping the power transformer is ok. I’m going to check the capacitors. If there is any life left in them, I may try a quick power up to see if the set works. Then replace all the old parts that need changing. I believe, just by looking, it has 3 capacitor blocks. I still need to study and figure the best plan of attack. Learning as I go…if you have any suggestions please share. Thanks for watching and the comments. Steve

@@My1925World Use a light bulb in series and a variable transformer if you got one. That radio and your others look great. Good luck!

If all the coils, capacitors and the power transformer check out ok , I’m going to try it. Steve

That’s great, thank you. I hope you enjoy it. Steve

@@My1925World just sold my shop downtown. I worked on all sorts of electronics for 39 years there. I loved the old radios and two way radio. No CB's

I did the work on the Philco before I had a tube tester, so I hope that’s the problem. I remember going to the hardware store with my dad and a box of TV tubes to test. I use a AM broadcaster and play the old radio shows through the radio. Lots of fun. The old radios are time machines in their own way. You switch it on and it’s 1926 or 1948. Steve

It may still play with all the original parts. I wish I would have purchased it’s rusty twin. It probably had the parts mine are missing. Steve

Coming from you that means a lot. Thank you. Just trying my best. Some problems are just beyond my knowledge….for now. Take care, Steve

Thank you for saving the old Philco. I keep things simple when it comes to power cords. I’ve used lamp or extension cords as replacements. But I’ll replace the plug with an original style plug….two narrow blades. Replacing the cord is fairly easy. The chassis is really packed with parts. Removing the chassis is a lot easier than putting it back…just a warning. Since you’ll have the chassis out to replace the he power cord, you may want to replace the electrolytic capacitors as well. If they short out the transformer will cook itself. There are tons of videos on RUclips to really explain that replacement process well. I’m going to be diving back into my ‘48 Philco in the near future. The station plays…fades aways…then POP…the station is back. I’m hoping it’s a bad tube. Thanks for watching, I hope I helped. Enjoy the Philco Steve.

@@My1925World Thanks for your reply! I really appreciate your advice and videos. I was given the Philco 48-1270 because no one wanted a console that would only play 78s, but I think it's cool. It must be so awesome to have one of these that your grandpa owned. I collect prewar tube radios but I only buy them recapped, so I've never had to replace cords or caps. I think I can probably handle replacing the electrolytic capacitors if I take it slow. I just wish Philcos had more room inside the chassis! Thanks again.

Thank you. I find them at swap meets, auctions, antique shops, a few were gifts and I dragged one out of a barn. A few, like the little RCA, I’ve had over 40 years. Now I’m just trying to maintain what I have. The house is full. But there is always room for one more…hahaha. Steve

Yes there is always room for one more! Thank goodness for Nostalgia Air, those Riders manuals take up a lot of space!

That sounds like a good plan. Maybe a wire is broken under the solder or something. Related to that, I’m going to check the solder on the speaker plug. Maybe one of the wires from the speaker is breaking apart inside the pin. It’s probably something simple just waiting to be found. But, while searching I’m learning a lot. As always thank you for sharing your ideas and knowledge. Steve

@@My1925World Also check for solder blobs. Even I run across them every now and then.

Thank you. It’s currently under the weather. The volume control shorted out. But at 84 years old that’s going to happen. I hope to have it playing again soon. 🙂 Thanks for watching. Steve

@@My1925World I have many old radios. I put LED night lights inside some, by the original dial lightbulb, so that they don't have to operate to be "alive" again.