Two caps connected the way you explained are in parallel and the values add, the max voltage is whichever one is smallest.
Two caps connected end to end are in series and in this case the value is half, the max voltage is sum of the two. If the caps are electrolytic they are usually connected plus to minus.
Okay now I get it! So it looks like I have 32mf at 450 going to the rectifier since they are parallel. If I put the replacements in series, it will be 8mf at 900
I merged your two threads on the Philco 60 restoration to keep the discussion together. Makes it easier for folks to see and follow the complete restoration and our rules for posting are to keep the topic together. Also modified the title of the thread to be broader.
Brandon, concerning our sort of miscommunication concerning capacitors, I thought that your last post concerning those 3 electrolytic capacitors mentioned that you had figured out that the two Atom-lytics were in parallel. Perhaps I had misunderstood.
If they ARE in parallel, they add, so 2 ea 16 MFD caps would add up to 32 MFD.
I also thought we had pretty much determined that one of the Atoms was in series with the black/blue one. THAT combination would equal 8 MFD.
I looked up “parallel” vs “series” and figured out the difference. I thought they both meant the same thing
So the black cap is parallel with yellow atom going to the rectifier. So it is indeed 32mf. Definitely too big for comfort. Also, I was looking at a schematic of a different type of 60. I found the correct one, and now I’m able to understand it. Just found the correct schematic this morning!
Electricity has always confused me, but I’m starting to wrap my head around it now. I’m just glad I’m working on a simple radio and not a Television with 20 tubes!
Hello Brandon ,
For sure and take your time myself I use my iPad or phone to take lots of before photos also I will even draw a simple diagram and even label wires.
Capacitors are funny because when put series the value is halved but with resistors the two values are added together.
Okay folks so I’m rebuilding all of the Bakelite caps in the 60. Got them all done, but now I’m working on the metal can known as the “condenser bank”. I originally was going to put the new caps inside the metal can and solder all of the negative leads to the can, just like originally. But I’m finding that it will be cleaner and more open if I simply leave the can out. So now I need a ground point to solder the negative leads to…. Can I solder them to the ground bolt on capacitor 8? It’s the Bakelite cap that contains the .18uf.
I appreciate all of the help from this website by the way! You all are amazing! Once I get more experience under my belt, I can start chiming in on some of the other posts on here.
Okay folks, so pretty much everything has been wrong with the 60. A couple tubes were gassed, open oscillator coil, a few bad caps and resisters and so on. I have literally replaced every part I can think of, and I still get the same results. No reception whatsoever. Just a quiet hiss. I checked the voltages, and everything is fine. Re stuffed all Bakelite caps, replaced filter caps, and replaced the caps inside the metal can. Replaced bad resistors. Re wound the coil(the correct way and actually made it perfect. Looks like factory) I have re flowed all solder joints and checked wires for any shorts. I have literally done everything possible, and it won’t work at all. The weird thing is the radio worked perfectly fine before the coil opened. It’s as if everything went bad all at once. The ONE thing I did not do was replace the tuner grommets as they are rotted and the tuner wobbles around. I temporarily stuck some foam “shims” underneath the tuner it to prevent it from wobbling. Seems like there is a short somewhere because if I move the antenna around, I will hear loud popping sounds from the speaker. And if I hold the antenna, then I can faintly hear a station in the lower end of the dial. But it’s very faint. I am at a complete loss…. I think I will stick with my simple AA5 radios lol
Brandon, if you have a signal generator you can check most of the set by sending a modulated 460 KHz signal to the antenna. If you hear the tone from the speaker then the entire rf/af sections work to some extent. Then you can concentrate on getting the oscillator to function properly. My first guess is the oscillator coil is not wired for positive feedback. I assume you have the other components in the oscillator circuit checked out. Reverse the primary winding connection and see if that perks it up.
Brandon, looking at the photo of your coil, it looks like the new feedback winding is wound backwards. I have not rewound a coil for a Philco 60 but, most Philco coils, looking from the bottom are wound in a clockwise direction, starting from the bottom going up. Try reversing the connections to the feedback winding.
Steve
M R Radios C M Tubes
(This post was last modified: 04-29-2022, 09:49 AM by Steve Davis.)
I was thinking about reversing the leads to see if I wound it backwards actually! I’m going to give it a try and see what’s up. I got a better multimeter and a new soldering iron so I’m good to go! I just re wound the antenna coil as well since it’s only 6 turns. That one was worse than the oscillator! I’ll keep you all informed. Thank you all so much! This radio is going to be electronically restored before I even get it working!
So I swapped the leads around thinking I had it backwards, but I get the same results. No oscillation at all either way… I tried the two radio trick with my little transistor and there’s no oscillation at all.
Might as well get everything replaced while I have the chassis out.
