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Old 14th Dec 2017, 10:29 pm   #1
mark2collection
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Default Philco 444 'Peoples Set' from 1936

Here's my Philco 444, repaired October 2017. The latest date stamp I found in the set, on the mains transformer, was spookily enough, October 1936

Given the overall originality of this set, I decided to take a 'before' under chassis photo, check for faulty components (as you do), remove capacitors one-at-a-time (all the bakelite blocks, tubular & electrolytic ones were resistive - in the order of low meg-ohms), I then carefully opened the tubulars & emptied the bakelite blocks, replenishing them with the usual bright yellow suspects. The non-original HT cap (a Hunts unit, dated 1946) had one half reading just a few K's, a big bulge in its base & a slight bulge to the top. Whilst outdoors, this was carefully cut open, cleaned, & replenished back in the workshop.

There's plenty of room in the bakelite blocks, enough room in the tubulars & the HT can was cavernous!

Amazingly, all resistors checked as 'in specification', the internal wiring was nice & flexible, in good order, along with the loud speaker, the cone of which moved freely, so all this was left well alone.

The mains lead, possibly original(?) was found coiled up inside the radio, leaching an oily substance over the chassis, fitted with a 2-pin mains plug. 'Clix' I seem to recall(?)

Given the mains plug in the photo, when were these plugs first & last used? I've kept it, but am curious to know when the radio was last used before I revived it. The HT cap is not original, & one of the easily changeable tubulars had been replaced by an RS item, & judging by the logo (RS with a character either running or grabbing the RS logo itself), a colleague suggested late 60's, early 70's?

This later, pale yellow/almost cream tubular capacitor checked out ok, so I made a label on the computer, put the 'Philco' name on & the value code under the logo, added a bit of colour, printed, trimmed & wrapped the capacitor. At a quick glance you'd miss it!

The volume control had been 'got at', & as it turns out, it was open circuit. You can see the blobs of silver conductive paint showing the damaged area (the paint sort of worked, just not very well). Luckily, in my rapidly depleting 'stash' I had a potentiometer of the correct value, style & amazingly, had never actually been used , however, it had the wrong shaft & no provision for a power switch. Because both were identical in style, I made a good unit out of the two, which now works a treat & looks just like the original

Cosmetically, the dial's Perspex cover had to go, you couldn't read the dial at all. I laid the original cover over a new piece of Perspex, marked it up, trimmed, drilled, deburred the edges & refitted.

The cabinet needed a general buff, along with the knobs, the back cover has shrunk, so I've used slightly larger washers, speaking of washers, the chassis mounts disintegrated when the chassis was removed, so new ones were fashioned. The speaker cloth also needed replacing, as this was not original & looked like part of a 1960's grass mat ...

The mains lead is a new, 3-core cotton covered cord & looks the part with it's black 3-pin mains plug. The chassis has been grounded & the 'live' terminal is now switched. On my PAT insulation was 298 meg & bond was 0.02 ohms, impressive for an 81 year old.

As for alignment, I tried my best not to move any wires & place all parts back as per the 'before' photo, this has paid off, since the alignment is pretty much spot on. Given the sensitivity too, I feel it's best left alone.

Sound quality wise, I was expecting it to be squawky, almost nasally? It's not, & has a wonderful, rich, warm sound.

Needless to say, it's being enjoyed as a functioning display piece. A label has been placed inside stating what has been done, as it's difficult to initially tell.
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Old 14th Dec 2017, 10:30 pm   #2
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Default Re: Philco 444 'Peoples Set' from 1936

... more pictures of work done & the results ...

Mark
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Old 14th Dec 2017, 10:33 pm   #3
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Default Re: Philco 444 'Peoples Set' from 1936

An enjoyable read. Well done. I really like the look of these sets.
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Old 14th Dec 2017, 11:30 pm   #4
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Default Re: Philco 444 'Peoples Set' from 1936

Nice work! I like the replacement speaker cloth, what did you use? I have one of these in the workshop, I really must get it up and running, it does work, but the output valve and rectifier get really hot, much hotter than I'd expect. Also the rectifiers holder is half burnt and needs replacing.

They are lovely looking sets, and the cabinets feel quite robust too. Didn't one of these feature in a couple of Queen music videos too?

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Old 14th Dec 2017, 11:47 pm   #5
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Default Re: Philco 444 'Peoples Set' from 1936

Looks fab. Speaker cloth looks close to the original.
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Old 15th Dec 2017, 12:17 am   #6
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Default Re: Philco 444 'Peoples Set' from 1936

Quote:
Originally Posted by mark2collection View Post
Given the mains plug in the photo, when were these plugs first & last used?
Well, I used one last week — it's fitted to my NiCad charger. There's also one on my AVO Test Bridge.

Lovely job on the wireless.
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Old 15th Dec 2017, 6:56 pm   #7
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Default Re: Philco 444 'Peoples Set' from 1936

Quote:
Originally Posted by mark2collection View Post
The HT cap is not original, & one of the easily changeable tubulars had been replaced by an RS item, & judging by the logo (RS with a character either running or grabbing the RS logo itself), a colleague suggested late 60's, early 70's?
Certainly in 1966.
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Old 15th Dec 2017, 6:57 pm   #8
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Default Re: Philco 444 'Peoples Set' from 1936

I remember buying one of those 5-amp 2-pin "Clix" plugs - and a matching 2-way adapter - from "Fenwicks" in Wolverhampton some time in the very-early-1970s. I guess they probably first appeared in the very-early-1930s, often associated with a 'pass-through' bayonet-light-socket adapter!
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Old 15th Dec 2017, 7:53 pm   #9
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Default Re: Philco 444 'Peoples Set' from 1936

And of course the “feature” of the Clix plugs was that a screwdriver was not required to fit one. The wires were placed through the holes in the split pin that formed the mains connection and the lid of the plug held the pins in place when screwed down. There was a sort of click stop mechanism to make removal of the lid a little harder.
As a youngster I thought they were a great idea......

Peter
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Old 16th Dec 2017, 11:11 am   #10
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Default Re: Philco 444 'Peoples Set' from 1936

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lloyd 1985 View Post
Nice work! I like the replacement speaker cloth, what did you use? I have one of these in the workshop, I really must get it up and running, it does work, but the output valve and rectifier get really hot, much hotter than I'd expect. Also the rectifiers holder is half burnt and needs replacing.

They are lovely looking sets, and the cabinets feel quite robust too. Didn't one of these feature in a couple of Queen music videos too?
I believe the wife saw the cloth in Dunelm Mill(s), I'll trek to the workshop later today as the rest of the material is still in its bag, complete with label ... Will update as soon as I have that info.

A friend has also mentioned a Philco in a Queen music video, as it turns out, Radio Ga ga ... a 444 with the brightness dial lamp going!

Have recently spotted a set (one I've had a eye on for a while) in a film which takes me back to my childhood, the original 'The Snowman', watching this the other day with my daughter, David Bowie giving an introduction from an attic & THERE! 20 seconds in, looks like a Cossor 501!

I digress, it's the season. Currently on my bench is a Philco 333, the battery one, being converted to mains, watch this space ...

Mark
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Old 16th Dec 2017, 11:13 am   #11
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Default Re: Philco 444 'Peoples Set' from 1936

Many thanks to all for the info on the mains plug, has given me the idea to fit this (& others) to my workshop tools/gadgets ... I bet no one will be nearly so keen in 'borrowing'
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Old 16th Dec 2017, 12:04 pm   #12
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Default Re: Philco 444 'Peoples Set' from 1936

Mmmmmm ....... nice job!

I re-built one of these myself recently .... from a total wreck. Mine had been badly 'got at' - crap caps strewn across the 'Philco blocks' ..... and a permanent magnet speaker installed [i.e. original OP TX/RF choke/and Hum Buck 'gone' etc. .... there was also evidence of a mains TX re-wind too].

The rectifier on these sets is directly heated - and I concluded that mine must have shorted at some stage [it must have been quite a spectacular event - wished I'd witnessed it!]. On this basis - I installed some under-chassis fusing in mine too.

Most of my exposed wax caps were not original and therefore I was unable to re-stuff them [but the smoother/res was still there - permitting me to do that, and of course the contents of the Philco blocks].

The Philco block containing R16 was absent too ..... so I re-jigged this [and replaced the absent RF by-pass cap/C16] on a vintage tag strip.

I sourced another speaker/OP TX, correct knobs and a replica back from Forum members ..... together with another PENDD61 too! [I also installed a NOS 80 rectifier too].

The thing desperately needed re-alignment - and this proved to be quite tricky ..... in fact for such a simple set, this one gave me many headaches! (Watch out for drift on R6 & R8!!).

Anyway - it's fine now ..... and up and running on a daily basis: some photos attached:-
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Old 16th Dec 2017, 12:14 pm   #13
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Default Re: Philco 444 'Peoples Set' from 1936

The chassis looked to be a good clean example to start with, not mucked about.
A good looking set, smart job, worth the time and patience to keep it looking original.
I have a few of those Clix 5A 2 pin plugs and a couple of the 3 pin ones too. I think most of mine date from the late 50s and early 60s. I use them in my modern fit anything face plate socket with 2 usb ports as well.
Its surprising how difficult it is to pull the wires out accidentally.
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Old 16th Dec 2017, 7:12 pm   #14
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Default Re: Philco 444 'Peoples Set' from 1936

Lovely job!
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Old 16th Dec 2017, 7:27 pm   #15
mark2collection
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Default Re: Philco 444 'Peoples Set' from 1936

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lloyd 1985 View Post
Nice work! I like the replacement speaker cloth, what did you use?
Lloyd, I've found the number, & it was Dunelm, search for 5016903154530.

Optionally, I still have some left over should anyone PM

Mark
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Old 31st Dec 2017, 10:49 pm   #16
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Thumbs up Re: Philco 444 'Peoples Set' from 1936

Fab restoration.
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