No 👎, this is NOT an utter crap product, as I see in one of the comments. I understand 👍 that these old radios can be hard to fix. One hard to diagnose repair can be a burned open speaker 🔊 field coil. These old Philco's are one of the GREATEST radios 📻 around!! I'm so glad that ya resurrect them, including many other brands!! Your friend, Jeff!!
Cheers Jeff. Everyone's entitled to their opinion but if I thought they were utter crap I wouldn't waste my time fixing them. The ones I've done have turned out to be great radios. Yes, they can be a pain to work on but they're usually worth it in the end. Cheers
Hi Don, you got over a few hurdles there with the volume control etc. Sorry the Rigol SG failed, you could contact Rigol service, it may be cheaper to repair than replace. When balancing the ratio detector you need a meter with a + and - DC. In other words the meter should be able to measure plus and minus DC, the zero point needs to be in the centre of the scale. I have one. Manuel's meter has a reverse polarity feature on it. He adjusts until the needle is on zero then switches the DC polarity to check it hasn't gone past zero. Good job, the radio looks great 👍🙂
Ah - that makes sense! The term "diode volt meter" in the alignment instructions had me confused. I opened up the Rigol and it's pretty cooked. It was secondhand anyway so I think I'm up for another one. Did you notice that I was pushing the mHz button instead of MHz when setting it up? I wonder how long it would have taken me to realise my mistake? 10.7 microhertz wouldn't have got me far with the alignment! Ah well you have to learn somehow! Surprisingly, the radio actually sounds pretty good! Cheers
Don. Your not the first or last to fight with a Philips; they are buggers to repair and service. My ex-engineering days way back were filled with a lot of Philip receivers, and products; and those I.F.'s were always a nightmare from new. Flimsy foil former design that always ceased-in cores.... Considering you got this one up and running, even using the analogue generator and your own ear-hole method, that I had subscribed to a long time ago when push came to shove. I reckon you have done a very good job, and award you the 9 Star ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨Rating, from 10; because you were handicapped in the first place, with this bugger of a Philips Radio.
Nice restoration. Philips always did things differently to every one else which sometimes made working on them a PIA. Once fixed they aways performed well.
Hi Ian Yes they do produce a good product. As you say, just a PIA to work on. I don't suppose they could foresee that the IF transformers would become fragile in years to come. As for their dial cords though ... 😱
Thanks Don for an interesting series! I'd have another go at the alignment, the FM certainly sounds rough, but I share your trepidation at touching those Philips inductors, the ferrites easily crumble. I don't think Philips were bad radios, quite the reverse, but definitely not easy to work on. ATB Mike
Hi Don, good to see the old Leader come to the rescue, slowly sorting my Philips farm radio out, 12" speaker had a rotted and seized voice coil, after 3 attempts of winding a new voice coil and re coning, bingo. Also primary of speaker trans had one side open ( push pull amp), that was a challenge, was able to remove the secondary winding and resolder one side of the primary then manually re wind the secondary, think I was lucky with that. Cheers.
Hi Reg, Gee that sounds like an epic job on the farm radio! Yes my Rigol is a nice piece of kit - when it works. I opened it up today. There's a cooked chip near the output. The writing's burn off it and no schematic so pretty much it hoes in the bin. Luckily a couple of weeks ago I fixed up the Leader. It was just a cracked plastic coupling with the tuning capacitor. It works really well. A pity it won't do FM modulation. Someone sent me a CSR chip reprogrammer which you can use to re-program the bluetooth chip to re-name it and lots of other stuff. I haven't really looked at it closely yet. I'll bring it over sometime. About time we had a catchup anyway. Cheers
Hi Don, good video! I don't know why people insist on stuffing caps. I just leave the can and place the new caps on a strip under the chassis. that way there is little chance of shorts. Rich
Thanks Rich. That's what I should've done! I often do leave the can and place the new caps under the chassis but this one was pretty packed underneath and there wasn't much room so I decided to stuff the cap to save space. Bad idea, as you saw!
@@Donno308 If there is room underneath and it is out of sight then fit the caps there. But stuffing caps is a good easy way to hide news ones which are so obvious and ugly to see in an old set. Resurrection, Restoration, Shango and Mr Carlson.
@WOFFY-qc9te Hi Woofy. It depends on the chassis whether I stuff the filter caps or not. If it's a nice original chassis and not a cheap heap of junk I'll usually stuff them. Especially if there isn't much room underneath.
Hi. Yes it looks good at least. A new ECC85 might do wonders for the FM reception. I'll have another go at it when I get a new signal generator and a new ECC85. Cheers
That's a shame about the Sig Gen. I wonder if the FM IF response is actually too narrow now? Maybe when you find a replacement for the Rigol if it includes a sweep function it'll be time to try a visual alignment? Lovely result on the cabinet. 😍
Hi Bob. yes I had planned to try to do a visual alignment this time. The Rigol does (did) have a sweep function. I'll be looking for another one the same. When I get a new one I'll have anther go at it, perhaps with a new ECC85 in the radio as well.
Hello Don, well I found this 2 part series quite fascinating, really too bad about your signal gen, but your ring/tab build was quite creative. I have had so many of those tabs break on me, I might just try cutting myself a few as spares for future projects. I believe these tabs would be removable if they hadn't been over twisted at installation, they only need to be twisted 20° to 25° to keep the can in position, but most time they are twisted to 90° and it's almost impossible to untwist them straight for removal. I also observed the tabs with a lot of solder on them tend to break more easily than the ones that never had solder or any kind of heat applied to them. The heat seems to make the metal much more friable. At any rate, thanks for sharing this series with us. Be well, God bless.
I think, regarding the filter, I would have mounted the caps externally under the chasis somewhere and left the cap in place just to look original from the top, but it did look pretty cluttered underneath, so not sure where I would of put them :). Definitely a good idea to replace the filter though, the underneath didn't look particularly healthy. Probably best to replace the paper caps, but sometimes, although paper caps should go, it's better to find the faults first with usual troubleshooting, then replace the caps after. I know the capacitor police on the internet always say just recap, but sometimes you can recap and the fault will still be there, so you end up not really knowing for sure. With these older radios, it would be very rare that no one had been in messing around with them before. I'd try the peroxide treatment on the switches. This is a process known as retrobright that is used by a lot of retro computer enthusiasts also. It often has really good results. It is a bit fiddly though, as removing those switches is not particularly easy. Another great restoration coming together here.
Hi. Yes this chassis was to crowded to put all the filter caps underneath. I ended up putting one under the chassis and one in the original can, just to save space. I didn't want to remove the switches but they came up well with a rub down with very fine emery paper and a polish with car polish.
Mate, this looked a nightmare to do. I dont think i will attack mine any time soon ! Anyway, next up Vid, the Rigol. Would like to know what that burning smell was. You once again did a great job on the cabinet too, looks mint. Cheers, Baz
Awesome restoration and what a pretty looking radio! I still think the FM should sound better, even though you did the alignment correctly. Maybe its a matter of bad reception? Are all the antenna wires intact? Maybe the ECC85 is weak?
Hi Kristof Yes it is a nice looking radio. I think you're right - the FM reception could be better. Maybe the ECC85 is weak, I haven't tested it. Also there is no reception with the ferrite antenna on FM although it works ok on AM. It has continuity but I haven't traced it right through the circuit as that would involve pulling the switch assembly apart. For the video I was using a multimeter lead plugged into the antenna socket. More work needed on this one I guess. The FM tends to sound "chopped up" especially when there's a lot of bass. I'm realizing I have a lot to learn... Cheers
Great job Don. Yes I agree that Philips can be a pain to work on. So sorry to witness the demise of your SG. Looks like an expensive one too! (I've just bought a Chinesium, still not cheap, and it doesn't quite do what I want!!) Radio looks really good in its cabinet. Perhaps try a new ECC85 for the FM? Common valve in The UK, maybe not in Aus? Look forward to the next vid. Regards Lynton
Hi Lynton. Yes I agree - a new ECC85 might make all the difference. It doesn't sound too bad on FM now but it's difficult to tune so you get a clean sound. ECC85s aren't all that common here but I'm sure I could get one. When I get a new SG I'll have another go at it. Cheers
Hi Don, I was working on a Cossor and had distortion issues. Turned out to be a poor speaker! (I was blaming the output valve). Did you try a different speaker? Also I had a Ekco which turned out to have a bad EABC80 valve. But I also don't touch FM alignment unless I absolutely HAVE to!
Hi. No it's not the speaker - it sounds good on AM. It's just FM that's a bit dodgy. I'm suspecting the EABC80 or just a crappy alignment. I'll try it again when I get a new signal generator.
I always like the down-to-business radio dials on these European radios compared to the overly decorative dials and flourishes on American radios of this time period and earlier.
Hey Don I admire your even temperament, wow a blowing up ( usually terminal and expensive) ,difficult things to do and you stay calm. I’m not so calm. I get frustrated easily. What’s your secret? I have an old 1948 Paton sig gen built like a tank, very accurate and completely shielded, but it only goes to 30mhz and no fm. I was thinking of buying one of those Rigel generators but maybe I now have second thoughts!
Hi Robert This is my therapy. Each one is like a puzzle to be solved. Yes the signal generator blowing up is a nuisance but that's all. Even a bad day in the shed isn't really a bad day. It's still my escape from work and from the world
Hi Joe! You're right. I checked the video and I pressed mHz instead of MHz. so I wouldn't have got far even if it was working. Unfortunately the Rigol is dead. I opened it up and there's a chip with a big heat sink which is cooked. The writing is burnt off it, the board is burnt, I haven't got a schematic so basically I have zero chance of fixing it. EBay here we come... Cheers
@@Donno308 So the chip is attached to a big heat sink that apparently was not big enough? Sorry, I shouldn't laugh. I didn't notice mHz vs. MHz until the decimal point shifted when you entered the deviation, and the "µ" showed up. That's when I went back and saw that you had also pressed mHz for frequency. I was yelling at my screen as if you could hear me, and doing it live. I'm sorry that you lost a quite pricey piece of gear while creating a video for us. I loved the video and your creative approaches to solving problems. Also I agree with Baz -- your work on the cabinet is (as always) beautiful.
No 👎, this is NOT an utter crap product, as I see in one of the comments. I understand 👍 that these old radios can be hard to fix. One hard to diagnose repair can be a burned open speaker 🔊 field coil. These old Philco's are one of the GREATEST radios 📻 around!! I'm so glad that ya resurrect them, including many other brands!! Your friend, Jeff!!
Cheers Jeff.
Everyone's entitled to their opinion but if I thought they were utter crap I wouldn't waste my time fixing them. The ones I've done have turned out to be great radios. Yes, they can be a pain to work on but they're usually worth it in the end.
Cheers
Hi Don, you got over a few hurdles there with the volume control etc. Sorry the Rigol SG failed, you could contact Rigol service, it may be cheaper to repair than replace. When balancing the ratio detector you need a meter with a + and - DC. In other words the meter should be able to measure plus and minus DC, the zero point needs to be in the centre of the scale. I have one. Manuel's meter has a reverse polarity feature on it. He adjusts until the needle is on zero then switches the DC polarity to check it hasn't gone past zero. Good job, the radio looks great 👍🙂
Ah - that makes sense! The term "diode volt meter" in the alignment instructions had me confused.
I opened up the Rigol and it's pretty cooked. It was secondhand anyway so I think I'm up for another one.
Did you notice that I was pushing the mHz button instead of MHz when setting it up? I wonder how long it would have taken me to realise my mistake? 10.7 microhertz wouldn't have got me far with the alignment!
Ah well you have to learn somehow!
Surprisingly, the radio actually sounds pretty good!
Cheers
I did notice Don. Not the first time but the second time. Someone else mentioned it so I didn't bother. Easy mistake 😊
25:34 That volume control has gone to "pot"! LOL😄
Yep. Luckily I was able to rehabilitate it. One of my few successes with this one.
I love these. Have had a few and think there are tough as old boots. You've made that cabinet look really good.
Cheers Maarten. Surprisingly it sounds pretty good too.
I've always liked these, but now, I'm kinda glad I haven't managed to get one!
Well done, Don!
I've had worse! At least it's a nice looking radio.
You always do a great job, sure enjoy your channel.
Don. Your not the first or last to fight with a Philips; they are buggers to repair and service. My ex-engineering days way back were filled with a lot of Philip receivers, and products; and those I.F.'s were always a nightmare from new. Flimsy foil former design that always ceased-in cores.... Considering you got this one up and running, even using the analogue generator and your own ear-hole method, that I had subscribed to a long time ago when push came to shove. I reckon you have done a very good job, and award you the 9 Star ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨Rating, from 10; because you were handicapped in the first place, with this bugger of a Philips Radio.
Nice restoration. Philips always did things differently to every one else which sometimes made working on them a PIA. Once fixed they aways performed well.
Hi Ian
Yes they do produce a good product. As you say, just a PIA to work on. I don't suppose they could foresee that the IF transformers would become fragile in years to come. As for their dial cords though ...
😱
Thanks Don for an interesting series! I'd have another go at the alignment, the FM certainly sounds rough, but I share your trepidation at touching those Philips inductors, the ferrites easily crumble. I don't think Philips were bad radios, quite the reverse, but definitely not easy to work on. ATB Mike
Don, nice save on the electrolytic. It seems like a lot of life is coming up with workarounds.
Hi Don, good to see the old Leader come to the rescue, slowly sorting my Philips farm radio out, 12" speaker had a rotted and seized voice coil, after 3 attempts of winding a new voice coil and re coning, bingo. Also primary of speaker trans had one side open ( push pull amp), that was a challenge, was able to remove the secondary winding and resolder one side of the primary then manually re wind the secondary, think I was lucky with that.
Cheers.
Hi Reg, Gee that sounds like an epic job on the farm radio!
Yes my Rigol is a nice piece of kit - when it works. I opened it up today. There's a cooked chip near the output. The writing's burn off it and no schematic so pretty much it hoes in the bin.
Luckily a couple of weeks ago I fixed up the Leader. It was just a cracked plastic coupling with the tuning capacitor. It works really well. A pity it won't do FM modulation.
Someone sent me a CSR chip reprogrammer which you can use to re-program the bluetooth chip to re-name it and lots of other stuff. I haven't really looked at it closely yet. I'll bring it over sometime. About time we had a catchup anyway.
Cheers
Hi Don, good video! I don't know why people insist on stuffing caps. I just leave the can and place the new caps on a strip under the chassis. that way there is little chance of shorts.
Rich
Thanks Rich. That's what I should've done! I often do leave the can and place the new caps under the chassis but this one was pretty packed underneath and there wasn't much room so I decided to stuff the cap to save space.
Bad idea, as you saw!
@@Donno308 If there is room underneath and it is out of sight then fit the caps there. But stuffing caps is a good easy way to hide news ones which are so obvious and ugly to see in an old set. Resurrection, Restoration, Shango and Mr Carlson.
@WOFFY-qc9te Hi Woofy. It depends on the chassis whether I stuff the filter caps or not. If it's a nice original chassis and not a cheap heap of junk I'll usually stuff them. Especially if there isn't much room underneath.
I know Phillips radios can be a real pain. But that one really looks good. Especially after you cleaned and waxed it.
Hi. Yes it looks good at least. A new ECC85 might do wonders for the FM reception. I'll have another go at it when I get a new signal generator and a new ECC85.
Cheers
@@Donno308Mate I reckon a reverse protection diode has failed on the output of that signal generator.
Nice to see the old Leader still putting out a decent sine wave. Great job Don! don't forget to wash your hands lol
Ha ha! The things you hear on community radio stations!
That's a shame about the Sig Gen. I wonder if the FM IF response is actually too narrow now? Maybe when you find a replacement for the Rigol if it includes a sweep function it'll be time to try a visual alignment? Lovely result on the cabinet. 😍
Hi Bob. yes I had planned to try to do a visual alignment this time. The Rigol does (did) have a sweep function. I'll be looking for another one the same. When I get a new one I'll have anther go at it, perhaps with a new ECC85 in the radio as well.
Don sometimes we have to do things to get the set fixed and I have been there !
Hello Don, well I found this 2 part series quite fascinating, really too bad about your signal gen, but your ring/tab build was quite creative. I have had so many of those tabs break on me, I might just try cutting myself a few as spares for future projects. I believe these tabs would be removable if they hadn't been over twisted at installation, they only need to be twisted 20° to 25° to keep the can in position, but most time they are twisted to 90° and it's almost impossible to untwist them straight for removal. I also observed the tabs with a lot of solder on them tend to break more easily than the ones that never had solder or any kind of heat applied to them. The heat seems to make the metal much more friable. At any rate, thanks for sharing this series with us. Be well, God bless.
Topcon caps are ok. I've used lots without issue.
I think, regarding the filter, I would have mounted the caps externally under the chasis somewhere and left the cap in place just to look original from the top, but it did look pretty cluttered underneath, so not sure where I would of put them :). Definitely a good idea to replace the filter though, the underneath didn't look particularly healthy. Probably best to replace the paper caps, but sometimes, although paper caps should go, it's better to find the faults first with usual troubleshooting, then replace the caps after. I know the capacitor police on the internet always say just recap, but sometimes you can recap and the fault will still be there, so you end up not really knowing for sure. With these older radios, it would be very rare that no one had been in messing around with them before. I'd try the peroxide treatment on the switches. This is a process known as retrobright that is used by a lot of retro computer enthusiasts also. It often has really good results. It is a bit fiddly though, as removing those switches is not particularly easy.
Another great restoration coming together here.
Hi. Yes this chassis was to crowded to put all the filter caps underneath. I ended up putting one under the chassis and one in the original can, just to save space.
I didn't want to remove the switches but they came up well with a rub down with very fine emery paper and a polish with car polish.
Mate, this looked a nightmare to do. I dont think i will attack mine any time soon !
Anyway, next up Vid, the Rigol. Would like to know what that burning smell was.
You once again did a great job on the cabinet too, looks mint.
Cheers, Baz
Awesome restoration and what a pretty looking radio!
I still think the FM should sound better, even though you did the alignment correctly.
Maybe its a matter of bad reception? Are all the antenna wires intact? Maybe the ECC85 is weak?
Hi Kristof
Yes it is a nice looking radio. I think you're right - the FM reception could be better.
Maybe the ECC85 is weak, I haven't tested it. Also there is no reception with the ferrite antenna on FM although it works ok on AM. It has continuity but I haven't traced it right through the circuit as that would involve pulling the switch assembly apart. For the video I was using a multimeter lead plugged into the antenna socket.
More work needed on this one I guess.
The FM tends to sound "chopped up" especially when there's a lot of bass.
I'm realizing I have a lot to learn...
Cheers
@@Donno308 The ferrite antenna is not used for FM. If you use a single wire for FM (not a dipole), make sure the antenna switch is set correctly.
Great job Don. Yes I agree that Philips can be a pain to work on. So sorry to witness the demise of your SG. Looks like an expensive one too! (I've just bought a Chinesium, still not cheap, and it doesn't quite do what I want!!)
Radio looks really good in its cabinet.
Perhaps try a new ECC85 for the FM? Common valve in The UK, maybe not in Aus?
Look forward to the next vid.
Regards
Lynton
Hi Lynton. Yes I agree - a new ECC85 might make all the difference. It doesn't sound too bad on FM now but it's difficult to tune so you get a clean sound. ECC85s aren't all that common here but I'm sure I could get one. When I get a new SG I'll have another go at it.
Cheers
Hi Don love your videos. Can we expect next video to be the rigol ? Cheers mate
great video, how did you end up cleaning the push buttons?
Hi David. I ended up rubbing them back with 1200 grit emery paper and polishing them with car cutting compound. Sorry, I left it out of the video.
Hi Don, I was working on a Cossor and had distortion issues. Turned out to be a poor speaker! (I was blaming the output valve). Did you try a different speaker? Also I had a Ekco which turned out to have a bad EABC80 valve. But I also don't touch FM alignment unless I absolutely HAVE to!
Hi. No it's not the speaker - it sounds good on AM. It's just FM that's a bit dodgy. I'm suspecting the EABC80 or just a crappy alignment. I'll try it again when I get a new signal generator.
46:00 A 1960s Signal Generator..... generates 1960s signals! LOL😁
I always like the down-to-business radio dials on these European radios compared to the overly decorative dials and flourishes on American radios of this time period and earlier.
Hey Don I admire your even temperament, wow a blowing up ( usually terminal and expensive) ,difficult things to do and you stay calm. I’m not so calm. I get frustrated easily. What’s your secret?
I have an old 1948 Paton sig gen built like a tank, very accurate and completely shielded, but it only goes to 30mhz and no fm. I was thinking of buying one of those Rigel generators but maybe I now have second thoughts!
Hi Robert
This is my therapy. Each one is like a puzzle to be solved. Yes the signal generator blowing up is a nuisance but that's all. Even a bad day in the shed isn't really a bad day. It's still my escape from work and from the world
Hi Don. On your Rigol, I think you pressed mHz (milliHertz) for freq. & deviation instead of MHz (megaHertz). --Joe
Hi Joe!
You're right. I checked the video and I pressed mHz instead of MHz. so I wouldn't have got far even if it was working.
Unfortunately the Rigol is dead. I opened it up and there's a chip with a big heat sink which is cooked. The writing is burnt off it, the board is burnt, I haven't got a schematic so basically I have zero chance of fixing it. EBay here we come...
Cheers
@@Donno308 So the chip is attached to a big heat sink that apparently was not big enough? Sorry, I shouldn't laugh. I didn't notice mHz vs. MHz until the decimal point shifted when you entered the deviation, and the "µ" showed up. That's when I went back and saw that you had also pressed mHz for frequency. I was yelling at my screen as if you could hear me, and doing it live. I'm sorry that you lost a quite pricey piece of gear while creating a video for us. I loved the video and your creative approaches to solving problems. Also I agree with Baz -- your work on the cabinet is (as always) beautiful.
53: Sounds awful? That's Philips for you! *UTTER CRAP PRODUCTS!*
Disagree.