04-23-2013, 12:09 AM
Lots of folks rebuild electrolytic caps, putting modern caps inside the old. We call it "restuffing." It's not very hard, and you mostly need just ordinary household tools and supplies. It's usually the first thing I do with a radio rebuild, after some cleaning. The bakelites are also pretty easy to restuff. Not everyone restuffs the paper caps, but some do. If you are really concerned with retaining an authentic look under the chassis, you might want to look into this.
I never strip a chassis completely, but always replace one connection at a time, to reduce errors and make sure that routing of wires and placement of parts is as in the original. Take digital pictures or make detailed diagrams of parts you remove to make sure you remember where all the connections go. This is helpful when several parts connect to the same point. Some people use different colored alligator clips to mark all the connections and the various parts that connect to them.
A good web site for a lot of the basics of electronic restoration of tube radios is here: http://www.antiqueradio.org/welcome.htm This site, run by Phil Larson, is the one that got me addicted to this hobby and taught me many of the basics.
Prewar capacitor values differed from modern ones. The difference isn't terribly important, mainly because the tolerance of the old caps was so high that a few % on one side or the other doesn't matter much. A .47 uF will replace a .5 uF perfectly well. However, I still buy most of my caps from the one place I know of that stocks the old values: http://www.justradios.com/ It is important to match or exceed the voltage rating of old caps, though. Tube radio caps were in the range of 200 to sometimes 700 volts or occasionally even higher. Most of us use tubular poly caps rated at 630 volts and electrolytics at 450 volts for radios with power transformers like yours. Some use "Orange Drops" at the same ratings. You can probably get those high voltage caps, in postwar values, wherever you get your supplies for solid-state electronics (except Radio Shack.)
Your modern tech supplies like hook up wire will work perfectly well unless you are particular about originality of appearance. You can get cloth covered wire from a number of sources. Try these: http://www.tubesandmore.com/ or www.radiodaze.com Some old wires used tracers in the insulation, but as far as I know, they are no longer available except in large gauges.
It is extremely helpful to have a good quality schematic and parts list. There are places where you can download free schematics, like here: http://www.nostalgiaair.org/, but these are often low resolution and incomplete. For Philcos you have the option of getting good quality copies of the original Philco documentation from Chuck Schwark. You can order inexpensively from this site: http://www.philcorepairbench.com/. The quality is outstanding, but you'll need to send a check and receive your copies by mail. It is well worth it. Considerable Philco tech information regarding unique Philco part numbers and restoration tips is also available on that site.
Great tech information, schematics, tips, and the occasional modification, especially for 30's and older Philcos, is available from Ron Ramirez's site http://www.philcoradio.com/. Ron also hosts this forum dedicated to Philcos.
I never strip a chassis completely, but always replace one connection at a time, to reduce errors and make sure that routing of wires and placement of parts is as in the original. Take digital pictures or make detailed diagrams of parts you remove to make sure you remember where all the connections go. This is helpful when several parts connect to the same point. Some people use different colored alligator clips to mark all the connections and the various parts that connect to them.
A good web site for a lot of the basics of electronic restoration of tube radios is here: http://www.antiqueradio.org/welcome.htm This site, run by Phil Larson, is the one that got me addicted to this hobby and taught me many of the basics.
Prewar capacitor values differed from modern ones. The difference isn't terribly important, mainly because the tolerance of the old caps was so high that a few % on one side or the other doesn't matter much. A .47 uF will replace a .5 uF perfectly well. However, I still buy most of my caps from the one place I know of that stocks the old values: http://www.justradios.com/ It is important to match or exceed the voltage rating of old caps, though. Tube radio caps were in the range of 200 to sometimes 700 volts or occasionally even higher. Most of us use tubular poly caps rated at 630 volts and electrolytics at 450 volts for radios with power transformers like yours. Some use "Orange Drops" at the same ratings. You can probably get those high voltage caps, in postwar values, wherever you get your supplies for solid-state electronics (except Radio Shack.)
Your modern tech supplies like hook up wire will work perfectly well unless you are particular about originality of appearance. You can get cloth covered wire from a number of sources. Try these: http://www.tubesandmore.com/ or www.radiodaze.com Some old wires used tracers in the insulation, but as far as I know, they are no longer available except in large gauges.
It is extremely helpful to have a good quality schematic and parts list. There are places where you can download free schematics, like here: http://www.nostalgiaair.org/, but these are often low resolution and incomplete. For Philcos you have the option of getting good quality copies of the original Philco documentation from Chuck Schwark. You can order inexpensively from this site: http://www.philcorepairbench.com/. The quality is outstanding, but you'll need to send a check and receive your copies by mail. It is well worth it. Considerable Philco tech information regarding unique Philco part numbers and restoration tips is also available on that site.
Great tech information, schematics, tips, and the occasional modification, especially for 30's and older Philcos, is available from Ron Ramirez's site http://www.philcoradio.com/. Ron also hosts this forum dedicated to Philcos.
John Honeycutt
