Repair Of A 1932 Philco JR Model 81 Cathedral Tube radio
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.ย. 2024
- Here's an old Philco JR Cathedral radio i bought and worked on back last year. I was having trouble getting it to play correctly. I wasn't going to post this video but decided to post it up anyway. UPDATE After playing with the touchy tuning i was able to get it to play on the AM broadcast band and pickup stations about 50 miles away. I'm happy with that and am not touching the tuning anymore.
I've had several early Philco sets and it seems that all of them have had coil issues. You did a nice job repairing the oscillator coil break. Mine were usually broken in several locations because of the chemical reaction to the materials used to wrap the coil. While it is a bit intimidating they really are simple to rewind and that prevents future breaks from occurring. I found a good article on this and thought it might be helpful to you or others who run into this same issue. Unfortunately it happens on the antenna, oscillator and RF coils because they used the same technique and materials on several early Philo models. Thanks for sharing and posting. Love the looks of the early Philco cathedrals but they can be a pain to restore. www.philcorepairbench.com/rewinding-philco-rf-coils/
Thank you for sharing that I'll try to pin your comment.
Every Philco 60 I've seen has had both an open oscillator and antenna coil. I also had an 89 that worked in the late 90's, but over time, first the antenna coil, then the oscillator coil went open. It's also an issue in the 70 in the RF section. The good news is that 1936 and later model Philco's didn't seem to be affected as they changed the design of the coils, but other manufacturers had this problem too. I just repaired a 1937 GE which had an open oscillator coil!
A very nice save! My father's Uncle "Phil" owned a Philco and Sylvania radio dealership, from 1934, through sometime just prior to 1960. Upon retirement, being a widower, he moved into my paternal grandparent's home, a large Victorian, with a huge wrap-around porch, which housed three generations of my father's family. My grandmother was an M.D., and cared for them as they aged (better than rotting in a nursing home). I was blessed with having heard 'first-hand' tales of life from as far back as 1887.
Uncle Phil piqued my interest in electronics by the time I was age 8; btw, he disliked Predictas with a passion. I once assisted him in building a "Jacob's Ladder". I still have what remained of his tools. With that said, when he described the phenomenon of 'deteriorated wire insulation', a.k.a. "brittle wire disease", he informed me of the once common practice of using "Indian Head Gasket Shellac", which is still made by Permatex, to dress, support, and insulate the areas repaired on any, and every transformer. It keeps the joint(s) stable, and can be removed with mineral oil mixed with acetone.
I enjoy these short story comments you post. Thanks for sharing them with me. The house sounds stunning. I love the Victorian homes and furniture.
As for the 'short stories', 22 years of writing avionics build procedures, and instrument operation manuals (from the point of the 'pilot and end user', combined with a parochial education will do that to you) ;-) You learn to cover every aspect, and try to accomplish the task without becoming somnolent, mundane, and/or morose.
As to improving its reception and sensitivity, during the 1930's, it was a common practice of housewives - to mix 2 tbsp of salt with 1 qt of water, and food coloring, added to a 1 qt Mason jar. Very often, the longwire aerial would be strung along the window sills. It was believed to improve reception, and referred to as a "salt water amplifier" by radio repairmen.
Hardware stores in the Philadelphia area often sold kits with closed pointed (wood screw) eye hooks, small squares of leather, and 7-inch lengths of 'nickel plated wire', to insert through the jar lid. The practice lasted for no less than a decade.
I've tried to retell these stories, because unless I do, with my death, they too will die; what I've learned from those who are long-gone, has been of some benefit to myself and others. I think of it as their attempt at TH-cam, some 70+ years before personal computing existed.
I looked at this video again and something that might be of value to you is that I noticed when you were doing the adjustments on the bottom of the second band, you tuned to the low-frequency end of that band and made adjustments then changed to the upper-end frequency but when you made the adjustments you did so on the exact same device! I think you should have been on the one above it.
Hey nice repair job on the coil! Those are a pain, I believe #36 gauge wire. I have found that a lot of those Philcos have coil issues! Seems like the wire corrodes and becomes brittle in several locations. You are lucky to find the break and be able to repair it. I worked on a model 84 that had a corroded broken coil. I ended up rewinding it. Wasnt hard, but had to do it under a magnifier! I used double sided tape to keep the wire from unwinding on me. If you would like to see how I did it, its in my Philco 84 video Part 4. Thanks for letting us watch this repair! Looks like not many folks has been there before you! Take Care--Larry. Addition: I had trouble aligning the 84. It is a regenerative receiver simular to the 81. Take a look at Note 1 on your alignment procedure about the regenerative adjustment (sensitivity) #8 adjustment on the far right on the back. This controls the amount of signal that is fed back into the circuit. As you know, too much and it will squeal or feedback. Hope you can tweak this one to the point of decent performance. These were not a great performer in the day!!! Take Care--Larry
The Junker radio i refer to in this video is a model 84 i picked up at a weekly sale years back. It's in horrible condition. not worth the trouble, but a good parts set.
I remember having an early Philco set with similar behaviors and to my dismay what cured that old set was re arranging the component leads underneath. Very choosy circuits and one wire or resistor lead set too close to something else can stop that radio dead in its tracks. Good luck to ya and I really enjoy your channel!
I am a newbe at this hobby. I have a Philco Jr. 80 with the wireing all connected up but out off the chassis! The chassis is completely bare! Wish me luck! I enjoy your videos! And yes l learn something from every one of yours l watch! Mike.
Good luck man! These can be a pain!!
I always learn things watching your videos. You are straight forward and open and honest as you go through these repairs; that makes for a much better learning experience for me. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for showing this video. In high school I had a bunch of these old radios. What happens is this is a later revision and the alignment procedure is for the first ones. What I found was I had to think about the entire project and when a turn of the tuning for a coil did nothing to do something slightly out of step with which coil to align next. The coils have to be tuned so they are synergistic to each other and I am saying this radio will do a ton better. Probably a tube malfunction would be my first guess, or a tube pin dirty. It will do much better I just don't know how to waste less time because just listening to the hum means a resistor is out of spec making the circuit go out of heterodyning. I'm old now so do what you think best.
You did good,getting the old girl going,especially the coil repair was excellant. Most techs couldn't have done what you did.
I had the same bad coil issue on a radio, but I rewound it and it works today. That job is not for the faint of heart. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and skills.
Most definitely.
Hey, the fact that you got it to receive in itself is great! I have an old highboy Philco model 18H that I currently have a tunable loop antenna hooked to and can only get our local station with it. I was doing better with a long wire antenna and will probably go back to that this Spring when I feel like getting outdoors to run the wire. :)
That was a good fix on the coil, thanks so much for your videos. When I got on TH-cam, I thought that I would do videos, I'm accomplished at working on old tube radios and TV's. But it takes more skill to do the videos. So I am just a watcher.
So for those who complain about what "Radio Rescue" presents... Show some of your videos....
Thanks Carl
Understandable. When you make videos the main thing you have to deal with are the people who critique your videos. There are plenty of arm chair experts out here who always know better than you. I've got to where i just block them and delete there comments. Thanks for watching!
Thank you for the upload, I always like watching your video's. Great feeling if you get the radio to work, I enjoyed it thank you.
That's a really nice job you did on that radio! 1932!!! Wow! What a classic! On the other hand, it is a 4 tube radio and was probably the least expensive Philco a buyer could find at a time when everybody was broke. So, it might not be able to tune in a lot of stations on its best day. However, what I think I hear when I listen to the guy talk on one of the strong stations, is an over-driven audio output tube. It just doesn't sound like it's running in class A. In other words, if you looked at the plate of this tube with a scope, you might find a square wave or at least, some clipping off of the top and bottom of the wave. I know you've probably already checked all this, but I see a 9K and a 16 K resister as well as a .09 uf capacitor in the screen grid circuit of the audio tube. If any of these are out of tolerance, the sound would not only be raspy but the 1st det/oscillator would be out of whack too. Unfortunately, you would have to take at least one leg of each component out of the circuit to get an accurate reading when ohming them out. Also, any out of tolerance component between the 2nd detector and the output could cause poor sound. Finally, (I know I'm probably mentioning every part in the radio LOL) the 325 Ohm wire wound resister in the power supply seems like it would be very critical. If some of the windings in it were shorted and the resister read less than 300 ohms, this would cause the voltage to all the tubes to be low. Everybody who's ever worked on an old radio knows how challenging it can be. It's too bad your very nice repair of that RF coil wasn't the only problem. Good luck if you are still having problems with the radio.
Enjoyed the video and all your hard work and great explanations. I love these Philco‘s and actually have a 38-2 console waiting for restoration right now. This was a nice primer heading into that one. I always get a lot of super info from your running commentary, thank you. It’s great to see another radio come back to life. Buddy
I wish I could find more tube radios. Not that there arent any around where I live but people have no idea what they are worth. A radio from the 50s, field coil a mess of cut wires, speaker had no paper left in its cone, missing one of three tubes, power cable completely in shreds. The seller insisted that "It worked this morning" even though we have absolutely no AM stations in my country anymore and it was an AM only radio. His asking price was 70 Euros. Ofc non-negociable
try to find a SW tube radio or build one yourself :-) we dont have many AM stations in Germany, i get some on my sets. SW radios are however, quite nice and you can get many great stations !
I was lucky to get my radio for £54.99 with ok condition.
But one other radio I got was trashed dial nob snapped off and antenna rip out.
what country are you in that has not AM stations.
Nice sounding radio. I'm in two minds with bandscans. I don't like listening to static (strange for a ham operator I know but hey) but I do like to see a radio working and showing what it picks up is part of that. It is the same as tv... if you don't like it, nobody has a gun at your head making you watch. If you can't say nice then say nothing.
I Agree! If you don't have anything nice or constructive to say, say nothing and move on. I hear ya on the band scans. If you've listened on HF enough. That'll give you enough static to hear from now on.
Wow what a classic! Thanks for posting....I remember a few senor citizens had these when I was kid =).....Works pretty good despite it's flaws =)
Thanks bud!
It's a joyful sound when a dead radio comes alive. I know you'll get it eventually its a challenge and I know the nature of us we will dream it until it illuminates ¡oh, aha! THANKS for the show it was sincere, glad you did it, I learn a lot of things. You did great!
Cool!... those early 1930's Philco sets were definitely awesome looking... the 'family-resemblance' to the Model 90 and 70, etc shows through in that 81 there.... nice find and thanks for sharing, Radio Rescue :-)
I've restored one of these too. Some idiot spray painted it silver. 😱 It was a full restoration job. Electric and the woodwork. We used to go to MARC Lansing Michigan swap meet. Those were fun days.
Very nice little radio. Well I think you did your best at figuring out the broken oscillator coil. It almost sounds like a lot to a modern analog dsp radio when the stations pop in and out. The squeal is cool sounding too. It has personality. 😊
Great job. Looking forward to more. Liked,Shared and added to Playlists.
All my best.
Bobby
I appreciated this video. I have never heard of using a variable resistor in the antenna lead for volume control....I think that was the most WOW moment of your entire video! I expected to see a lot of paper/wax capacitors but every time you showed the bottom, I couldn't see ANY of them in there. Maybe they were there but I just didn't see them. Oh, and if you did what it looked like, and put the new Electrolytic caps across the leads of the old ones, that is a BIG NO NO!!! You might be helped a lot with the other problems if you remove (electrically) the old caps completely from the circuit. Keep enjoying the work you are doing....and have fun with it! 73 WB4RHA
That Would Be Fun To Gut
One of Those Old Radios & Make
a Bluetooth Speaker Out Of It.
Then Play Some Of That
Classic Country Over It.That Would Make
It Sound Like an Old Radio.
Alot People Would Do That Then Hunt
For All Those Old Parts
The good thing about picking the radio up at a hamfest and not EBAY you get to see it first hand and you don't have to pay to have it shipped. It still may not play perfectly but hey you got a non-functioning radio to work.
My model 84 plays the same, as long as it plays I'm happy
maybe a pretty basic question, but what did you do to remove the front knobs? are they just press fit?
We have a 1932/15x philco radio and working condition and pretty much great condition. Just curious how many are left? And how much are they worth now. Back in 1932 they were sold for $150
Coil wire failure - unfortunately a common failure in old Philcos. Seems as if the wire corrodes through over time.
Squealing - maybe a weak bypass capacitor somewhere on the RF side of the circuit?
Only gets strong stations - low cost design - no IF amplifier, just a converter followed by an "amplified" detector. Gotta remember, that radio was built during the great depression. They had to cut every corner just to try to stay in business.
Good points!
always a joy to watch your videos, its videos like these that got me into radio restoration and homebrewing ! have you ever built any homebrew radios ? if so i'd love to see these, i got about 5 different SW regen radios myself, hoping to find a nice tube SW radio to restore but its not common to find here .. cheers from Germany :-)
The regeneration control needs to be carefully adjusted in those sets. Too much, you get instability like you are getting. Too little, and the sensitivity suffers. Hope that helps.
Good video, and glad you posted it!
I think it's safe to say that radio is what it is. It was a low end set, with its target audience most likely being a thrifty city dweller, with hot broadcasts nearby.
They cut every corner they could, while keeping it a superhet. You usually know what you're in for when you see the low tube count, a lack of a proper detector tube, and the volume control controlling the RF strength, rather than output of the amp.
Regardless, didn't sound bad after you were done.
Believe it or not i was actually able to get it tuned after the video for most of the AM band and with a long wire was able to pickup somewhat weaker stations about 45 miles away. I'm not touching the tuning anymore LOL!
Oh yeah. Some of them are happy on just a six foot piece of antenna, where others want all the length you can throw at them. Few years ago, while living in a condo, I couldn’t run a long wire. So I ended up using the downspout/gutters of the building as an antenna, which ran the perimeter of the building (at least a couple hundred feet long). I used that on 30’s sets, and 20’s TRFs, and it was amazing what I could pull in.
Alignment on these sets is almost an art, rather than exacts. Always a fine line between sounding acceptable, sounding deaf, or just plain motorboating.
Good work! Where can I find information on the bakelite boxes? I have a Philco 71
I always have some issue with the old Philco radios when I work on them. They just are not the typical radios made at that time. Philco made all of their own components and circuits for their radios.
Is there a way to replace the material on the face of a cathedral Phil o?
I have a old philco I worked on a couple of years ago..I gave up after i fixed one coil,then another went out while testing it..Its been on the shelf collecting dust since!!
These are a PAIN for sure!!!
Awesome Radio one of my favote Radio's👍🤠
At 4:45 the Ebay price on that Ron Ramirez Philco Radio book is totally nuts!
Nice job as always. Too bad it didn't turn out as planned...
Hello, was all the reference material that you have from the book by Ron Remiraz?
You did exactly what I would have done...ran another wire to the end of the coil...Do you think hot glue would have worked on this, or to fix the wire to the coil housing?
Sounds like most 4 tube radios
All your videos are super,my Philip 84 was also a pain,they were city radios. Did you use a 50 foot antenna?
I use a 285 ft Beverage antenna
I live here in North Georgia I have a bunch of older tube radios a couple of philco 2 Magnavox from the late forties and a Crosley from 1951 moving into a camper and going to start traveling and can no longer take them with me would love to see then go to someone we appreciate them and repair them the ones that I'm getting rid of all work I'd love to offer them to you dirt cheap to see them go to a good home
Send me an email dustytubes@gmail.com
I have a model just like that. It worked some years ago. I plugged it in and it just hums. Any interest in trying to repair it for me?
I don't really like working on TRF radios. They're a pain to align and keep working reliably. I just stick to superhet's
I have same radio and the band selector switch is busted so all i get from radio is a buzz.. ok there are 4 connectors to that switch.. 2 go to the "Cans" and the other 2 go to the tuning caps.. I know I will never find a switch so I need to know what ones of the 4 wires to connect in order to get just AM. right now its basically not selected to either or so naturally the radio will not work... I was wondering if you could help, this radio is a little older than what I am used to working on..
I've got a junker radio out in my shop very similar to this one. I'll see if the band switch is the same.
It's just a single band radio. Sorry. Broadcast position is counterclockwise. So whatever pins would contact in that position would activate that band.
@@45AMT I unbolted it and there is a Philco part number 42-1000 on the plate. all the switch does is spin around, there are 4 wires.. one side the connectors are close the other side 2 are spaced farther apart. but one side has a 2nd wire attached to the one.. Since I can't find a replacement all I want is the AM band working and the switch can be there just for looks. So what wires to connect to one another. Currently all i get is a hiss. basically it is like if you removed the switch and just have the 4 wires connected to nothing.
Can you tell me where you get your capacitors and resistors from....Thanks
If it’s beyond repair upgrade the speaker to a pm type and use the radio as an extension speaker and connect it to a newer radio that has good sound
Here we have an Un-Crosley non Chinese all American cathedral radio with no particle board and no ejaculate to secure the wiring
Squealing while tuning could be a coupling capacitor. I would totally recap it if you haven't already.
It's much easier to peak a trimmer or coil if you keep your signal generator output very low.
I'll get right on it sir.
Dang, I didn't see it before you did
Where did you find wire that small?
I seem to remember RTVPN having one of these and the power transformer was gone?
I made the same mistake with the audio coupling cap to ground!
If That Was Me I'd Make A Bluetooth Speaker Out Of It.
the filter caps should always be replaced so the 60 cycle hum of the ac doesnt wash over the tubes and audio.
Apparently you didn't watch the video. They were clearly replaced.
I Would've Usef a Hot Gluegun!
philco 37-84 같고 있어요..
I have worked on a few early Philco sets and they can all be a pain. This may help: www.philcorepairbench.com/models-80-81-84-37-84-i-f-resistor-mod/
that thing is older than me
i have a working 1933 rca model r 28 superhet cathedral
I'm Looking For One To Make
A Bluetooth Speaker Out Of It
Ask Mr C.
It sounds like you still have the regeneration advanced too far on this set. Instead of an IF amplifier, this set uses a regenerative detector not unlike than in the early receivers in the 1920s. Like those receivers, the regeneration is critical. I saw you adjust the RF and IF trimmers but not the regeneration.
These were crap, low end radios. You will need the tube shields, and alignment is touchy.
Being around over 80 years has to say something though.Yes the alignment is a total nightmare.
Please don't be the dress dude