How about a vid of my recently restored Philco 650B

[BDM]

Hope you guys enjoy it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbcQUkTRZgY

[HobieSport]

What a beauty!   If I don't watch out you guys are going to get me interested in radios too.  Oh what the heck...what radios would you recommend for a beginner, something simple to work on and not too expensive?

[Dennis Markham]

Very nice Brian.  Nice work.  I would love to have a radio like that someday.  I'll have to start saving my pennies and nickels. 

Dennis

[bingster]

What a beaut!  The veneer on the front is just incredible.   The code you're picking up on LW at the beginning... is that amateur?  I can't pick anything up on LW on my TOs.

[BDM]

Thank you gentleman. They're fun, and keep me out of trouble. Hobie, I would recommend an AA5(All American Five) set. Meaning a typical desk set from the 30s 40s or 50s using 5 tubes. Most are very easy to learn on. Plus you can buy most for small dollars(depending on model). Easy cheap and generally good performers, especially the ones from the 50s. Now, down side is you MUST use common sense with those sets. If the set lacks a transformer, is AC, then it's going to have line voltage on the chassis. Meaning what we call a "hot chassis". Two ways of dealing with these, using an isolation transformer, or keeping one hand behind you back when it's powered and your aligning it.

Of course I advise using an isolation transformer. This keeps "you" from completing a circuit to ground, should you touch the chassis and another object that's grounded. The transformer does exactly as stated, it isolates the set from a common ground. As with any tube set, you're generally dealing with high voltages. Sometimes as much as 300/dcv B+ on the tube plate. This can KILL! Not trying to be melodramatic nor scare you. It's just that common sense is a must. Ask me how I know!!

That being said, an AA5 would be an easy learners set. All electrical components can be bought new. Most problems associated with them are easy to work out. Plenty of guys on this site and the related radio forums that would help.


Bing, those are aviation beacons, also known as NDBs. Many guys DX them as a hobby. Late at night, these can be heard for hundreds of miles, sometimes over 1000 miles. They're low power and use slow key code. Very easy to ID. I can pick them up with my T/Os, but not many. The antenna used for reception of the LW band is bad at best. It's just a loop-stick, and it's optimized for the BCB(broadcast band), not LW.  Late at night I can receive the European and North African LW broadcast stations at the low side of the band. Some of those stations use 2 megawatts of transmitter power.

[bingster]

Bing, those are aviation beacons, also known as NDBs. Many guys DX them as a hobby. Late at night, these can be heard for hundreds of miles, sometimes over 1000 miles. They're low power and use slow key code. Very easy to ID.

That explains it.  I was thinking amateur because of the slowness.  I think even I could decipher that code.  Now I'm off to trawl a band or two or six.

[McHeath]

I have my father's radio he bought in 1943, it's a small Emerson desktop job, maybe even a portable for the time as it has, or should I say had, a handle of leather on the top.  It works but tuning is poor and has a "dirty" sound, for lack of a better term.  He bought it with his first paycheck when he was 13 after he had run away from home and moved to Rockford Ill and got work in a canning factory.  Tomorrow I'll try to take  pic or two of it and maybe you radio folks can tell me what it is.

[HobieSport]

Well, that's it, now I've caught the radio bug.  I went on Ebay last night and looked at a few from the 30's, 40s and 50s'.  My gosh they are beautiful...   The rounded wood case table top models really grab me and would look perfect in my 1954 Roadmaster rounded birch interior travel trailer/ hobby shop.  I can just see tuning in the radio for a little background entertainment while I work on the telephones...

BDM, you're point about the risk of shock is well headed.  I notice that is one of the first things mentioned in articles for beginners about these radios.  But I don't think I want to work on the radios, since I have very little background in electronics and just want to concentrate on the phones. So I'm just shopping for an already refurbished radio at a moderatet price.

The choices baffle me.  As a rank beginner, all I see is the exterior, not the inner workings. I should be thinking more about function; being able to pick up as many stations as possible, and sound quality.  I don't mind so much about a not-so-pristine/original exterior and value/collectability.

Any suggestions from anyone of brand names or models to look for would be greatly appreciated.  So what I'm looking for is a wood case table top with good looks and rounded corners, five or six tube, capable of picking up a maximum amount of stations, competently refurbished and with good sound quality.  Hmm.  Is that too much to ask? 

[bingster]

> Well, that's it, now I've caught the radio bug.

Buy one and everything will be fine.  Buy two and you'll start a life-long addiction to old radios.  Ask me how I know that. 


> Any suggestions from anyone of brand names or models to look for would be greatly appreciated.

That's a matter of such personal choice that it would be impossible to give advice on it.  Everybody has their favorite brands and styles, and they vary incredibly.  Best bet is to regularly trawl through the ebay listings to thoroughly familiarize yourself with the different brands, styles, ages, features, tube counts, and prices.  That way you can settle on what you like, and make a competent decision on what to buy.

And another decision is to buy one that's already restored, which can be pricey, or buy one in good shape but not working, and have it repaired locally.

[HobieSport]

Thanks Bing.  I'm looking for a table top radio on Ebay that is already competently restored.  It looks like I might have to wait until after Xmas to find a decent price.

Is there a big difference in sound quality among the table top sets?  Some folks seem to claim that the six tube models are clearer than some five tube models.  Being a rank newbie I really have no idea.

[Sargeguy]

I have an ancient Philco similar superficially to yours.  I made the mistake of plugging it in and testing it, which I guess wrecks the transformer or something.  All I get is the loud humming noise.  I plan on restoring it one day.  I also have a Stromberg-Carlson television from about 1950 or so.  It has the round 10" screen.  I cannot find any info on it whatsoever.  After my experience with the PHILCO I am reluctant to plug it in without more guidance.

[bingster]

First rule of old radios & TVs:  Never plug 'em in until they're checked out.

You didn't blow the transformer, but the hum is an indication that the capacitors need to be replaced.  Once that's done, nine times out of ten, you'll have a working radio.

[BDM]

What Bing said!! As stated, the hum is actually a good thing generally, and you lucked out. If you smoked the transformer, you'd know, in no uncertain terms
The set in my vid came to me with a completely cooked and char-broiled transformer. The previous owner decided it was a good idea to "jam" the rectifier tube in wrong, causing a dead short. He then turned on the set, and left it on as the transformer went up in flames. His words, not mine.

But, there was no damage to the inside of the cab or chassis surprisingly. In fact, the chassis looks near mint. Nice clean and completely free of surface rust. I installed another transformer from a parts set, recapped it, replaced the electrolytic filter caps(which BTW causes "hum" generally), replaced a few out of tolerance resistors. Replaced all the mica caps(many collectors never do this, I'm anal ). Another good collector friend of mine re-wound the shadow meter coil(that's the upper window with the shadow that widens and narrows according to signal). Then gave it one of my super anal 3 hour alignments. I'm stupid silly about getting alignments and dial calibrations right! I always let the set play for about two hours to confirm there are no issues. Plus doing that stabilizes the set temp wise before an alignment. Then I go to work like a honey bee aligning the set, and re-aligning it until I'm satisfied.

Now, no need to do things like I do. Every collector has their own way. Some are flat out geniuses when it comes to radio restoration, others are blacksmiths

Hobie, pick out a set you like, then let any one of us know. We can generally tell you the good or bad of a particular set.

[Sargeguy]

Thanks.  Can you point me to a good source for capacitors?  Once the PHILCO is fixed, I can start on my Stromberg-Carlson Brentwood 10-inch screen circa 1950.  I want to get it ready for the switch to digital.

[bingster]

tubesandmore.com is a good place for caps, tubes, wire, and all manner of other electrical doo-dads for repairing vintage electronics.

Nice TV!  I have a 10" Motorola from 1950 that I need to have looked at.  It worked great when I got it, but something's gone wonky in it.