This channel will feature radios from the 1920's - the 1950's that I've restored to playing condition and other videos that may be of interest. Under Playlists/ favorites you'll find videos, from other RU-vid channels, of silent movies, 1920's jazz and radio restoration. Under Channels you'll find some channels featuring music, radios and movies. This page will offer you an escape from the 21st century and let you enjoy My1925World.
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
Great video Steve. When I measure the resistance across the power plug on my working 511, I get 20 ohms with the Primary Tap Switch #29 positioned toward the rear of the radio and 18 ohms when positioned toward the front. I cannot find any reference to suggest what voltages the two positions represent and I haven't measured tube voltages yet. The resistor you suggested being a 10 Meg looks to me to be a 10K (Brown-Black-Orange). Where did you get the schematic you have that includes the component values? The only one I have been able to locate with values shown is the Canadian Philco 511 version and the values are subtly different than what I see on your copy. None of the US versions I can find have the component values shown except for the odd value in the parts list. Good job, keep them coming and thank you.
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 watched this last month when you released it and I just happened to pick up this model a couple days ago. The seller had it playing when I arrived to pick it up. Has a hum that I will need to take care of but otherwise in great shape. Looking forward to your future videos on this model. BTW, the jack in front is for a phonograph pickup. I enjoy your videos - short and informative.
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
It is weird looking at a radio of this vintage. Resistances may seem precise but they probably varied from radio to radio but not over 20%! The long resistance block was a 3 Watt minimum but for modern safety reasons you should bump that up to 5 Watts for each one. Since it ran off 110 Volts back then we now have 125 Volts or higher coming out of the wall. Any section not up to snuff and you might be dead in the water. I am not sure if you can check the tubes. One bad one will make it inoperable. Guess that is how they made things back then.
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
At 4:14 you are pointing to a metal rectangular box containing electrolytic capacitors potted in tar. They may actually still be OK but don't quote me on that! Steve from IL
@@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
Very cool! I love these old bread box radios. Good clean shape. It's good to keep in mind that these older balloon type tube have VERY low filament voltages. Unfortunately, I found this out the hard way once. Also, don't trust that oil crapacitor or any others that old. Even micas can be bad some times. I think you already know all of this though. Take care!
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
Before we had a television, we had a monster Philco console radio, which entertained us with The Green Hornet, Boston Blackie, the Lone Ranger and many other shows. When I got old enough, I sometimes was dispatched to the drugstore to test a vacuum tube and fetch a new one if it failed. Riding a bicycle with a brand new tube in my pocket was sometimes nerve-wracking. But, I never broke one.
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
Someone just gave me a 48-1270 because no one else wanted it. It seems to work fine but the power cord is crusty. Do you recall how hard it is to replace the power cord on this chassis? I've never replaced one but it can't be rocket science as long as I can get the chassis out and dust off my soldering iron. I'm just not sure about polarity, as the original power cord plug is non-polarized, but the spare extension cord I have is. Any tips? Thanks!
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 RU-vid 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
If you went over all the components and replaced them it still is possible that a pin socket solder point may be to blame. That would cause a hum if one of the necessary components is not making good contact through a pin connection on a tube socket. Make sure the right wires are going to the right pin outs as well!
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 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.
The volume pot is the most used mechanical part of any old radio. I try to get spare vintage pots on fleabay in 1 Meg, 500K, and 250K regardless if their is a on/off switch on it. You can open them up and replace the semicircular carbon track if worn out and or the shaft which holds onto the wiper which can get bent or broken and eat into the carbon track and eventually break it. Like a boy scout be prepared. Hope things work out for you in this crazy hobby.
Thank you. This radio was the reason I got into this hobby. I wanted to learn how to preserve it. I haven’t played it in a long time, I need to do that soon. Thanks for watching. Steve
After I posted the video the power cord plug started shorting out. So I’ll replace that today. I listened to WCBS 880 the other night. It’s a great radio.
Get some spare IF transformers from a junk box and experiment with them on the side. Get proficient with working with stuff is the best way learn. The radio sounds great.
Silver Mica Disease was very common in those particular IF transformers. Very difficult to fix. Can you say "beyond my skillset"? After watching Shango's latest video (at over an hour long ) it was hard for him to fix too. But he did it. It may be possible to find a radio chassis and no cabinet on line that has replacement parts with the transformers but they must be both 455 kHz and fit the holes for your chassis. Of course those might have the same dreaded problem!
The guy on YT to watch on vintage Telechron clocks is a fella named WardCo. Three years ago he did the clock works on a GE model 5xxF series alarm clock radio on his channel. Practically Fixed has some good but long videos because he so thorough.
Thanks for the tip on WardCo. I’m going to save the clock for last. I usually shy away from radios with clocks but I really wanted one of these models. So far it’s been a fun little radio to work on. Steve
Help! It played…poorly….I changed out the electrolytic caps and it sounds like Silver Mica Disease. No stations just loud static. In the 1st IF one side has lost continuity….ohms at 0….but has a .00025mf reading. The other side of the 1st IF has continuity…21ohms….but has 0mf reading. Does that sound like SMD or a fried winding? Or both? I’ve never dealt with SMD before. Thank you for any ideas you may have. Steve
@@My1925World I'm told if you turn the chassis upside down and look inside the IF transformers from there in a dark room you may see little sparks inside when you turn turn the radio on which indicates SMD. There are tiny windings in these IF transformers and they can break if too much voltage got to them.
@@hestheMaster thank you I’ll give that a try. If that is the case I may think about repairing it if possible. I don’t believe that’s an easy fix. Could be a learning experience. Steve
@@My1925World Search around on the internet for the type of IF transformer you have and see if someone has attempted replacing the bad part with a tiny reddish brown Mylar "dogbone" shaped capacitor. For some of the 455 kHz ones I think they were a pair of 75pF caps but you must note which wires actually connect to each of the the two sides.
I'm curious if the radio stays on that frequency when you tune the dial, or does it only pick up that frequency? How far from that frequency will it receive? Could there be "silver mica disease" inside the i.f. transformers? I'm kind of new myself so I can't offer a lot of help. What exactly is this radio doing or not doing? It looks beautiful by the way.
If it's connected to a long-wire antenna it will receive lots of stations but at a real low volume. With the loop only the Spanish station and my AM broadcaster. Two years ago, when I first worked on it, it played beautifully before I started recapping it. So I know it will play and that I messed something up. I've had it for 40 years and hate that it doesn't play like it should. I'm self-taught in radio repair, lots of RU-vid and reading, so I expect some disasters. hahaha A great RU-vid channel to watch for a good education is Joernone. His early videos are about radio repair and cabinet work. He explains everything. Watching his videos encouraged me to give it a try. Hearing the old radios playing again is a real thrill. Thanks for watching.
You may find RestoreOldRadios and AllAmericanFiveRadio (both also in NC) to be very informative. It looks like your on the right track though. Check out the avc voltage and rf amp and mixer stages. Could be some messed up wiring in the if transformers. A re- alignment may show the problem. These old wires can break just by easily moving things around. Stuff this old gets very brittle and may not be anything you did "wrong". Good luck! @@My1925World
You really need a signal tracer! Mr. Carlson did a video on repairing one a few years ago and sold me on the idea so I got an EICO 147A but it needs a recap job.
I replaced the tubes that tested bad. The voltages to some tubes is getting crushed somehow. It’s a real puzzle. I may retest the tubes. Thank you for the idea.
$10 for a valve radio working or not is good. I feel we get ripped off here in the U.K., £99 for a three valve Pye 350C m.w./l.w. set with no valves, it looks a quality set with coarse and fine tuning and nice cabinet. I found an advertisement and it sold for £25 in 1929.
For $10 I had to buy it. I always like thinking that in their day these old radios were some family’s prized possessions. It’s fun trying to make them play again.
Good catch on the faulty 2nd IF transformer lead. It does touch the chassis were you are poking at it. Before putting the IF shield back cut some thin cardboard or brown wrapping/ shipping paper to fit inside the body of the transformer metal cover. They used to use that kind of paper , called fish paper to insulate the cover from the coil connections.
You are doing great on troubleshoot the problem. I don’t think the E cap problem since you are picking station. As radio wild mentioned check the alignment, it might be off, try to use a digital radio to match the station that you are receiving. This will tell you if you are off and how off. Hope this helps. Remember, then one who never gives up will win. You can do it 👍👏👏
