1954 Philips 342A Music Maid 5 valve alarm clock radio

[howard]

Hello again,

I have seen one or two of these little Philips clock radios at BVWS events and other locations and they have always had knobs missing or damaged slats on the sides of their bakelite cases but I managed to find this complete undamaged example locally for just £4.99. It was in a poor state on acquisition (see last pic below) but once all the grime was cleaned off it was found to be in very good condition but it has taken a lot of work to get it into good working order. I knew beforehand that the clock was OK but the radio didn't work.

This set has no tuning capacitor or dial, just a selector switch on the front for 1 LW and 3 MW radio stations which are preset via adjusters and trimmers on the back and this example still has the adjustment tool clipped onto the back cover. Another unusual feature is that it has a mains socket on the back for an old 3 pin 5 ampere plug into which one can attach another appliance under the control of the electric clock/timer/alarm in the set. The clock hand set knob is on the back, and the three knobs on the front are used for controlling the alarm (right), an alarm/off/manual selector switch (centre) and a 60 minute slumber timer (left). I used trader sheet 1192 and the Philips service manual as a guide to its overhaul, obtainable here ....

http://www.service-data.com/section.php/5790/1

One can work on this set with the chassis still in its case with just the wraparound rear cover removed, which is just as well as it's not an easy set to take apart. Under the chassis I found 9 big black pitch capacitors, typical of a 1950s Philips valve radio. A couple had chunks missing so I decided to replace the lot. None had their capacitance values printed on them and confusingly '04' appeared on several on them - none in fact are 0.04 uf. They were replaced as follows using new polyester and orange dip capacitors ....

C1 0.001uF 1000v
C2 0.0047uF 1000v
C10 0.047uF 630v
C11 0.01uF 630v
C16 0.033uF 630v
C17 0.01uF 630v
C18 0.0033uF 630v
C22 0.0082uF 630v
C23 0.01uF 1000v

I also replaced a resistor which was found to be coming apart. I cleaned the valve pins with a soft copper wire brush, and then the valve bases, off/on/ volume potentiometer and waveband switch with Servisol 10, plugged in, switched on and nothing happened. The clock was working OK but no radio so I checked all the clock switches - I turned the middle switch to manual and away she went. I quickly tuned the first preset to Radio 4 on LW - initially it sounded reasonable but slowly it faded away .... I felt the 50+50uF smoothing capacitor and it was really hot, so I switched off quick and stood clear ! I first tried fitting NOS valves starting with the UY41 rectifier and then the UL41 but the problem persisted.

To diagnose the fading, Ron Bryan suggested testing the output voltages from the smoothing capacitor - its two 50uF capacitors should output around 200 volts but when tested both were outputting far less than that when cold, and after five minutes one had dropped to 30 volts, so I switched off ..... and stood clear again. I removed the smoothing cap and and temporarily tacked in replacement 50uF and 33+16uf axial capacitors, switched on and the set then worked fine. The original valves were checked and all were in good condition including its UL41, its control grid voltage was found to be a reasonable 140 mv.

The 350v smoothing capacitor in this set is the type with twisted lugs and as there is insufficient room to fit a clamp for a modern replacement on its small chassis, it was a choice of finding an original working spare or stuffing the old can with a couple of modern radials. Unfortunately there is insufficient room to accomodate the latter comfortably, the external dimensions of the can are 35mm x 50mm and as 350v radials come 16-18mm x 25mm it was going to be a tight fit. So I obtained an excellent secondhand original already reformed from Mike Lewis and fitted that and it works fine.

Then there was an unexpected problem with the clock, when I tried testing the slumber control there was an almighty bang from inside the set which blew the fuse in the plug. The set was unplugged, the fuse was replaced and then an Avometer was attached to the plug and the switch tried again and it was fine, no short circuit was found and the radio was switched on and it was working again. It was the day after when I replaced the mains flex that the cause of that explosion was discovered.

The original black braided 3 core flex was showing signs of serious wear so I decided to replaced it and managed to obtain some new 6 amp black braided flex with yellow stripes from Martin (G8UWM-MildMartin), it's not quite the same colour as the original but still IMHO more authentic than modern 3 core PVC cable. The mains lead is wired into the clock so to gain access to the clock I had to remove the chassis ....

- removed large white knobs (long grub screws)
- disconnected the three aerial wires
- removed the three small red knobs, left-hand and middle ones pull off, right-hand one unscrews (reverse thread)
- unscrewed the 3 pin plug socket from the corner of the cabinet (3 screws) and red and black wires to the chassis unsoldered
- removed the screw securing the loudspeaker baffle to the inside top right hand corner of the case
- removed the two lower cover screw clips from the cabinet
- removed the two screws on rear of chassis and the chassis complete with loudspeaker was pulled out.

The back cover of the clock comes off after removal of two small nuts and I was then able to replace the mains flex. One of the clips which secures the clock to the inside of the cabinet had come off and it was wedged right next to the slumber switch (see pic below) and it was that that had caused the short. Fortunately the clock hadn't been damaged and I put the clip back.

With the chassis out I restored the case. I removed the front perspex panel (undo the four brass screws) and cleaned everything with B&Q upholstery cleaner. The outside of the case and the perspex front were rubbed down with Brasso and then the case polished with Liberon beeswax and turpentine polish. The four brass screws were polished and revarnished. A replacement 19 volt bulb which lights up the Philips badge was pinched off another scrap Philips set and the clock radio was then reassembled.

This Philips 342A Music Maid is a cute little alarm clock radio and it has survived 55 years really well. It picks up four stations loud and clear, its alarm works perfectly and its clock keeps good time too, a nice addition to my collection for under £20 and a weeks work.

Howard

[howard]

And here's a pic of the clip which caused the short in the clock ...

Howard

[mark pirate]

What a nice little set
It Has certainly come up a treat, I have a similar hmv clock/radio in the
'round tuit' pile.
I hope you will give it pride of place on the bedside table

Mark

[howard]

Thanks Mark,

It did come up nice and I was lucky to find one with all its knobs and accessories, it came with its Operating Instructions booklet as well. I hope you get round to restoring your HMV clock radio soon.

Finally a pic of all the parts replaced and a closer look at the clock, which was built by Smiths.

Be careful with this type of smoothing capacitor, I was talking to someone the other day who once had one explode in his face a couple of minutes after the set was switched off.

Howard

[IJK2008]

Howard

A lovely restoration as always. The difference in the before and after on the case is amazing. How do you apply the wax/turps and how many 'goes' does it take to achieve that finish?

Ian

[howard]

Originally Posted by IJK2008

Howard
How do you apply the wax/turps and how many 'goes' does it take to achieve that finish?Ian

Hello Ian,

There's a pic of the tin of Liberon Beeswax with pure turpentine polish below which was £4.29 from Robert Dyas. The Philips case had at least four coats. Best way to apply it is using a soft paper towel in a circular pattern all over the case and then polish off immediately with a soft slightly damp cloth. It's brilliant on wooden cabinets too.

Howard

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...5&d=1216905638

[Tim]

Another splendid job Howard. I have always fancied a vintage clock radio but haven't found one as yet.

[Mark the Mender]

Nice job Howard, I did one of these for someone else in between doing the Decca 400

cheers Mark