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City: Columbus
State, Province, Country: Ohio
Hello all! I was given this Philco 84 Baby Grand (early make) from my grandmother before she passed away. I plugged it in today and the bulbs in the back (possibly original?) lit up and got hot after a few minutes. There was also a low humming noise coming from it, but when I moved the dial, I couldn’t hear anything, just the hum. I have ZERO experience with electronics and no idea what I should be doing or looking for. The cloth screen in front where the speaker is has some tears in it, I assume from old age and some bad handling. I don’t know what I have here, so I’m wondering if it’s worth anything, or should be restored. The veneer looks pretty good I think. How easy do you think it would be for a novice to tackle on trying to fix it? Any and all opinions and advice is welcome! Thanks in advance!
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City: Allendale, MI
A word of advice: do NOT turn it on again. The hum is from components (capacitors) that are bad and need to be replaced. these are life limited components and are way beyond their expected lifespan. You risk burning out difficult to find components if you do not replace all of the capacitors. If you are not capable of doing that yourself, find a qualified person to do it for you. There are people here on this phorum who can help. Nice keepsake from your Grandmother! Take care of it properly.
PS: Welcome!
(This post was last modified: 05-06-2020, 09:12 AM by
rfeenstra.)
Posts: 7,212
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Joined: Dec 2009
City: Roslyn Pa
Good Morning and welcome,
>I plugged it in today and the bulbs in the back (possibly original?) lit up and got hot after a few minutes.
Not a good idea to give it a try before having a look to see if it's had any service work done on it. Can cause damage to expensive parts. Those glass thingies called "bulbs" are commonly known as tubes. Your set has 4 and one dial lamp.
>I have ZERO experience with electronics and no idea what I should be doing or looking for.
If you have the desire to get it working again we can help you here at The Phroum. If you are truly starting at zero you will need a soldering iron and solder. Search ut for vids on soldering and practice with some scraps of wire. Volt-ohm meter. Modern ones are digital and can be had for $5-$100 for a really fancy one but the cheap will work just find. Hand tools small screw drivers, long slender needle nose pliers, pair of dikes, (I didn't make up the name) solder sucker is pretty handy likewise is a dremel tool.
>The cloth screen in front where the speaker is has some tears in it
Not to worry the original style grille cloth is probably still available. If not some close to is. The more important question is the cone of the speaker (that's the paper part) torn? If so how badly?
>I’m wondering if it’s worth anything
Depending on condition here in the east in average shape $90-$100. Very nice one might bring $150. This also may depend on which version you have. Nice original finish and a non rusty chassis make it more desirable.
>How easy do you think it would be for a novice to tackle on trying to fix it?
They are pretty simple sets but do have some quirks. Most need a small winding on the antenna coil and on the oscillator coil rewound. It's not a big deal. Other than that it's replacing 10 of so capacitors and a few resistors. In some instances there are some other component failure.
GL
When my pals were reading comic books
I was down in the basement in my dad's
workshop. Perusing his Sam's Photofoacts
Vol 1-50 admiring the old set and trying to
figure out what all those squiggly meant.
Circa 1966
Now I think I've got!
Terry
Posts: 7,212
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Joined: Dec 2009
City: Roslyn Pa
When my pals were reading comic books
I was down in the basement in my dad's
workshop. Perusing his Sam's Photofoacts
Vol 1-50 admiring the old set and trying to
figure out what all those squiggly meant.
Circa 1966
Now I think I've got!
Terry
Posts: 4,333
Threads: 407
Joined: Jun 2011
City: Boston
State, Province, Country: Massachusetts
Maybe some help here....I think you are in Ohio.
https://coara.org/
Paul
Tubetalk1
