Estate sale find: Philco 48-1256 - Printable Version
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Estate sale find: Philco 48-1256 - captainslack - 10-13-2015
While my wife was selling her jewelry at an arts & crafts fair, I checked out a couple of estate sales. At one of them, I picked up this 46-1203 48-1256 for $30!
[Image: http://i.imgur.com/szo2mvxl.jpg]
I powered it up with my variac once I got it home. The dial light works, but I didn't get any sound out of the radio. Not sure if the chassis itself is not working or if the speaker is dead. From the way it was positioned in the cabinet, I couldn't tell if the tubes were lighting up or not. Have to pull it out for further testing. The phonograph does spin, but seems to be running slow. I don't have any 78's, so I couldn't get it any further.
All in all, it's in great condition considering it's age. For a change, the insides weren't covered in dust & cobwebs and the cabinet doesn't show any signs of water damage. I wiped it down with some Goop and it looks like it'll hardly need any further work.
So, here's a question: how do you remove the knobs on this model? I've tried pulling them out, but they seem to be secured. However, I don't see any set screws. Obviously, I'll need to take them off before I can remove the radio chassis and I don't want to break them in the process.
RE: Estate sale find: Philco 46-1203 - Squire - 10-13-2015
Congratulations! They are great looking units! The knobs are stuck. They should pull off with little effort. Try gently prying them up with a teaspoon being careful not to ding the cabinet. I'm working on one of those now. (See my avatar) I'll tell you now the chassis is a sardine tin! It's very cramped in there but I'm managing to get it done. I should be done with the recap in a day or so. I'm happy to say I've only had to replace a few resistors. Most have tested within tolerance which is great because some of them are buried! Your D-10 record changer will need an overhaul and will need the original crystal cartridge replaced. They are always dead and aren't made anymore. You can have the original rebuilt or with a slight modification you can replace it with a Pfansteihl P51-3. It will also need a new idler wheel. Both items are available through the Voice of Music website.
RE: Estate sale find: Philco 46-1203 - captainslack - 10-13-2015
Thanks Squire!!! I'll have a go at those knobs tomorrow or the next day.
Yeah, I can tell by looking at the underside of this model that it's going to be a tight space to work in. Hopefully I won't cause more problems when I start work on it.
RE: Estate sale find: Philco 46-1203 - Squire - 10-13-2015
It's manageable. There are four electrolytics and about nine paper caps. My biggest complaint is that the connectors on the underside of the tube sockets have no holes so everything has to be wrapped around and sometimes there are four or five things connected to one pin. There's a good schematic available on nostalgia air. They also have the service info for the D-10 changer. I've always liked these units! After doing a half dozen or so radios for friends and family, I'm doing this one for myself! Looking forward to playing my holiday 78's this December! I have the replacement cartridge but will need to send the idler wheel out to get it exchanged for a refurbished one. The last thing will be getting the platter reflocked, but I can probably hold off on that for now. Keep us posted on your progress. Enjoy!
RE: Estate sale find: Philco 46-1203 - captainslack - 10-14-2015
I found the schematic at Nostalgia Air, but I don't have a membership there to download it.
Edit: D'oh! That was at RadioMuseum, not Nostalgia Air!!!
I put an order in with Chuck Schwark (sp?) for whatever he might have. Just waiting for him to respond.
RE: Estate sale find: Philco 46-1203 - Arran - 10-14-2015
I think that I may have the service folder for one of these, or at least for the Canadian version, I will have a look. However I don't think that it is particularly complex electrically to work on, if it has not been tampered with or altered.
I would say that the cartridge is probably a write off if it is a crystal type, the idler wheel may be alright to use if the rubber isn't rotted, though sometimes the motor shaft will leave a divot in the rubber causing a bump, bump, bump, sound if there is no neutral setting for the changer. Even so the rubber may even out if it is played enough, if not sometimes there are certain rubber "O" rings or belts that can be used to replace the old tire.
Regards
Arran
RE: Estate sale find: Philco 46-1203 - captainslack - 10-15-2015
Pulled out my signal generator and successfully fed a tone directly into the speaker. So, looks like the problem is in the radio itself. Now I have to clear a space on my meager workbench so I can have a closer look at the chassis.
RE: Estate sale find: Philco 46-1203 - Squire - 10-16-2015
It's probably going to need to be recapped. I'm doing my 46-1203 and a nearly identical 48-1256 back to back. And they both needed going through. The 46-1203 was mostly original with only an electrolytic or two having been replaced at some point. The 48-1256 had half the electrolytics and most of the paper caps replaced at some point but was still dead.
RE: Estate sale find: Philco 46-1203 - mikethedruid - 10-16-2015
Captain, my advice, for what it's worth, just go ahead and make a list of all the resistors and caps. Replace all the paper and electrolytic caps, period. Don't replace the micas unless there are problems on start up. Check all resistors and replace any that are out of tolerance, or, just replace them all. Good luck, my friend, that is a noble looking radio-phonograph !
RE: Estate sale find: Philco 46-1203 - Squire - 10-16-2015
http://www.nostalgiaair.org/Resources/download.asp?FN=\M0013585.pdf
There's no parts list attached to the schematic but there is a good parts diagram and its easy to read the component values on the schematic itself.
RE: Estate sale find: Philco 46-1203 - captainslack - 10-17-2015
Thanks for the advice & the schematic!
Definitely going to replace the caps & check the resistors. First I have to find somewhere to work on this thing. It's a pretty big cabinet and I've got very limited space. Have to some stuff around, I suppose.
RE: Estate sale find: Philco 46-1203 - mikethedruid - 10-18-2015
Ah, Captain, you've been bitten bad. Soon you will end up in the sad condition of the rest of us, and have to find quarters big enough to fit your radio collection.LOL ! Really, I look forward to hearing your stories of the cabinet and chassis work. You will find it absorbing, interesting, and sometimes maddening work; but, in the end, when you finally have a radio-phonograph that plays well, and provides you with hours of entertainment and enjoyment, you will find it EXTREMELY rewarding. If you don't already have 78 records, you can find them on ePay, and sometimes at flea markets, yard sales, or thrift stores. When you play them, don't be surprised by the "groove hiss" It will be more with an old 78 than with a modern vinyl 33 1/3, but, of course, your machine will only play 78s.
RE: Estate sale find: Philco 48-1256 - captainslack - 10-18-2015
I pulled out the AM radio from the cabinet today and discovered this:
[Image: http://i.imgur.com/GmB6YFVl.jpg]
Whoops!!! Looks like I had the wrong model! That would explain why one of the tubes didn't match the schematic I had.
RE: Estate sale find: Philco 48-1256 - Squire - 10-18-2015
I have excellent info for that model. I can send you scans if you'll PM me. They are virtually identical units. The one tube is different and the 48-1256 doesn't have the big canned wire wound resistors attached to the back of the chassis. There are a couple other minor differences but they are generally the same. The record changer is identical.
RE: Estate sale find: Philco 48-1256 - captainslack - 02-02-2016
Wow! Has it really been four months since I last updated this thread?
Anyway, I've got majorly good news! I finally finished replacing the old paper caps and wired in a fuse to the power cord. Hooked it up to my variac and gator wired in a small speaker. Result:
IT WORKS!!!
Was able to pull in a couple of the local AM stations. Need to do an alignment next and then work on the cabinet. Still not sure if I want to tackle the phonograph, though...