[Guest]

Hi, New to this web site so hello to everyone. I've always loved history and old things in general so I was at a flea market and found this Philco Model 42-390 in excellent condition. Well the cabinet was original and very close to new condition. I has a few marks but mostly on the bottom trim where it was swept and mopped around. Anyway I know by now from reading on this site that plugging it in isn't the best thing to do but the guy had it plugged in and playing when I bought it. I gave 175.00 for it. Maybe too much maybe a bargain I don't know. I just knew it was in great shape other than the plastic being bezel on the front being made from one of those wonderful ever shrinking plastics of the fortie. I have some old Winchesters with the majical shrinking buttplate too. I did some research on the radio before I went back and bought it and saw I could get most everything I needed to really make it look nice. I ordered and received a new bezel and that leads to some questions I have. The original bezel has a metal piece on the back that has a piece of paper under it. I want to replace the piece of paper but don't know what I should use. I also plan to get rid of the tabs on the knock off bezel and drill it and use the original twisty like nail fasteners to install the bracket back on. Anyway I know the stuff isn't regular paper, looks kind of like the paper off the back of a peel off sticker. The old one isn't in bad shape but it's got some stains from the metal piece and it's yellowed to some extent. So that's question #1. What do I use to replace that old paper. I'm one H**l of an auto mechanic and electrician but I don't know jack about electronics but I would really like to replace all the Electrolitic Capacitors and other Capacitors on the unit myself after reading that's what should be done to avoid other problems. I couldn't believe the local TV and Radio place said they wouldn't touch one of these old tube sets with a 10 ft pole. So question #2 is do you guys think someone with above average mechanical skills can tackle this without toasting the whole unit? I read that these later units use rubber covered wires under the chassis and would likely be in bad shape so I was surprised when I flipped it over and all the wiring was in excellent shape. The radio still has all the paper capacitors so I don't think it's ever been worked on. The stations seem to drift some and it makes lots of racket when pushing the pre set station buttons but when it's dialed in on a station I was shocked at the sound quality. After rotating it through the stations several times it got to where the needle wouldn't move so I looked and the outer jacket on the string that works the needle had torn away. I ordered some string off one of the suggested sites and got it changed out and that works great. I didn't have the little original metal deals they clamped the original string with so I just tied it in a knot and put some super glue on the knot, I figured that would do and if it doesn't there's like 25ft of cord on the roll so I can do re-do it lots of times All the original call tabs were on the radio except for the ON-OFF one. A few had clear plastic pieces over the call letters but most did not so question #3 Is how was this set up originally and where can I get an ON-OFF tab to go in the slot? The last question I have is about the wire that runs around the back edge of the cabinet. This wire is dried out and was really in the shape I expected the wire under the chassis to be in. Anyway the wire has a plug on it that plugs into the back of the radio and is stapled around the edge of the cabinet. It's broken into in the middle at the bottom so question #4 is was this wire originally a continious loop or is it supposed to be cut into? I want to replace it since the jacket is crumbling and wanted to know for sure it it was supposed be cut into three or if it had just got broken over the years. I also thought maybe there was something missing that was between the wires at the bottom so one could fasten other wires on them to get more reception. I know by the time a real radio guy reads this he's gonna say geez what a rookie but we were all rookies at one time in any hobby we decided to join in. I would appreciate your help bringing me up from the lowly Grasshopper I am now Great Masters. I already have my eye on a nice 42-400 but the bezel is crappy and I don't believe you can get a reproduction one. The cabinet sure is nice though. Thanks!