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Old 17th Oct 2008, 2:50 pm   #1
Robert Darwent
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Wink Philco People's Set c.1937

Introduction & As Acquired

This restoration is something of a departure for me from the valve and transistor portable's I usually collect. But like many, I just can't resist the lure of a nice bakelite set that catches my eye also! In this instance it was a Philco 444, unfortunately no chassis or anything else, just the empty black bakelite case in a dirty but otherwise good condition.

My thoughts were to adapt or build from scratch a valve radio chassis to fit inside to give the appearance of a working original. As usual however other restorations gradually took me away from the intended project and the case stood idle for almost a year awaiting my attention again, until...

A friend telephoned telling me that whilst helping clear out an elderly neighbour's shed he had come across a rusty old valve radio chassis and would I like to have it otherwise it was going to be dumped along with the rest of the junk being cleared out. Of course I said yes expecting it to be only fit for stripping down for the odd usuable part.

However upon its arrival it was in much better condition than I had assumed. It was also immediately obvious from the dial that it was from one of the many Philco people's set models. It was rusty on top, which is very common with these sets due to the chassis only being thinly plated, but in a remarkably good restorable condition otherwise. It had been discovered inside a disintegrating suitcase which had offered it some protection during its storage. It still had a full set of original Philco branded valves, the speaker was in a good state, its celluloid tuning dial was very well preserved, and even all its bakelite knobs were present and intact!

After some research I narrowed down the model, despite no case or markings on the chassis or dial, to be either a B-537 or a C-537. After scrutinising the service sheets for those two sets I pinpointed it to be a C-537 of 1937 vintage, which was one of the deluxe people's sets that came in a veneered wooden case. The B-537, also of 1937 vintage, came in the familiar bakelite people's set case and used an almost identical chassis, just lacking the combined on/off and tone control present on the C-537.

But would it prove possible to get the chassis working again reliably and then be able to fit it into my earlier obtained 444 case to make a complete set? I hoped so and put everything else that I was currently working on temporarily aside in order to find out...


Chassis Restoration

I spent some time cleaning the accumulated dirt and rust from the chassis. I removed and cleaned all the valve sockets using Servisol 10, and the pins of the valves themselves with a glass fibre pen. Referring to Philco Service Bulletin No.72 for the C-537 model, I replaced a dozen or so of the moulded and tubular capacitors along with three new electrolytics. I retained the two original large cans for appearance after having electrically disconnected them. I didn't bother testing or trying to reform, at this point I was just trying to get the chassis working quickly. Plus after over 70 years I reasoned they probably weren't to be trusted in any case!

After further routine continuity and resistance checks and a new length of mains cable fitted, I was ready to apply power for the first time via the lamp limiter. I switched on for a minute or so, no indication of problems from the lamp, so applied power directly. A short while later and I'd got the local medium wave station coming in loud and clear, despite no external aerial connected at this point. Radio 4 on long wave was a little quiet but soon came in loud and clear too with a few metres of aerial wire hooked up. As this chassis was one of the 'deluxe' models it also offered a short wave range from 5.7 to 18 MHz, which also performed well bringing in various stations up and down the dial.
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Old 17th Oct 2008, 2:52 pm   #2
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Default Re: Philco People's Set c.1937

Case Restoration - part 1

A couple of problems here. First, I would need to make a replacement baffleboard to mount the speaker and to fit some new grille cloth to. Second, the case I had was from a 444 model and only had two holes at the bottom for the control spindles whereas the C-537 had three, having an extra control in the middle.

Making a new baffle board was not as easy as I had first assumed, the angle and curve of the case made taking accurate measurements difficult, plus the four mounting holes needed drilling at an angle through the board in order to fit correctly. I eventually got the measurements necessary by using a sheet of paper carefully pushed on to the mounting threads, taking care to keep the paper taut, and then drawing around the speaker opening whilst holding it in place. This enabled me to make the thin card template for the baffle and grille cloth shown in the first image below.

Drilling the third hole in the bakelite case was fairly straight forward. After accurately marking out a position in-line and equi-distant from the existing holes, it was a case of carefully drilling starting with a small diameter bit and progressively changing to larger sizes to enlarge the hole. The largest drill bit I had was still a couple of millimetres less than the 15.5mm hole needed, but the hole that I'd made was still more than sufficient to allow clear and easy passage of the third control spindle, so I left it at that.
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Old 17th Oct 2008, 2:54 pm   #3
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Default Re: Philco People's Set c.1937

Case Restoration - part 2

Now to make the baffle board. Using the card template I made earlier, I marked out some 3/8 inch plywood. Then using an electric jigsaw and drill carefully cut out the speaker aperture and made the mounting holes. Using some nuts and bolts reclaimed from a baffle board out of another scrapped set, I was able to make the mounting points for the speaker itself. After a bit of fine tuning here and there I got the board to fit snuggly in the correct position inside the case, and at this point I gave the plywood a coat of matt black paint.

Whilst the plywood was drying, I cleaned the accumulated dirt that had been present inside the case when I had obtained it. I used foam cleanser and plenty of paper towels. The outside of the case was cleaned in the same fashion, then any minor scuffs, hairline scratches, and the inevitable tiny white spots of paint polished out with 'bake-o-bryte' paste. The entire case was then given a wipe over with a cloth soaked in teak oil, I found by accident some time ago that this oil works wonders on bakelite and gives a long lasting glossy shine!

The baffle was now dry, so using the card template again I cut a piece of 'Tygon' type material for the grille, and attached it to the board using Flooring Tile Adhesive. I find this type of glue ideal, I've used it on other restorations with excellent results, and it has the advantage of being water based so if it goes anywhere it shouldn't it can be easily removed with a damp sponge.

The first two images below show the case as it was before it was cleaned and polished. The third and fourth images show the baffle, complete with grille cloth, fitted into the case from the inside and out.
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Old 17th Oct 2008, 2:56 pm   #4
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Default Re: Philco People's Set c.1937

Finished Result

It was now a simple matter of fitting the chassis into the case and securing with some suitable bolts, and likewise with the speaker to the baffle. I have yet to make a replacement back for the set, which is my next task. I also intend to tidy up the electrolytics by removing the contents of the originals and restuffing, instead of leaving the replacements below the chassis. I've also given some thought to repainting the top of the chassis to cover up the rust, at the same time removing the tuning capacitor, disassembling and repainting its framework also.
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Old 17th Oct 2008, 3:21 pm   #5
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Default Re: Philco People's Set c.1937

Robert, congratulations on what must be a very satisfying restoration project. I bet you couldn't believe your luck when the chassis turned up. The finished product looks excellent, it's a testament to your skill and patience. Well done! I want one ... is it a 444 or a c-537?
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Old 17th Oct 2008, 4:00 pm   #6
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Default Re: Philco People's Set c.1937

Gorgeous radio. Must be a pleasure to listen to in person.
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Old 17th Oct 2008, 4:15 pm   #7
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Default Re: Philco People's Set c.1937

That's a lovely job! Well done.

Much better to adapt a cabinet slightly than to have it and a chassis go to waste!

How does it sound?
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Old 17th Oct 2008, 4:54 pm   #8
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Default Re: Philco People's Set c.1937

Brilliant Robert, these are fantastic looking sets. The Peoples Set influenced me way back in the early seventies as the typical thirties wireless - I got mine earlier this year. They sound good too!
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Old 17th Oct 2008, 5:08 pm   #9
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Default Re: Philco People's Set c.1937

Very nice!! and a very good job on it too. I have a 444, its not working properly yet, but its getting there!

regards,
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Old 17th Oct 2008, 6:22 pm   #10
Robert Darwent
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Default Re: Philco People's Set c.1937

Thank you for all the replies and kind comments, very good of you all!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Colin View Post
I bet you couldn't believe your luck when the chassis turned up... I want one ... is it a 444 or a c-537?
Colin,

You're quite right there! From the description I was expecting a bit of a rusty old bucket not what I got, a really very pleasant surprise indeed!

As for it being a 444 or a C-537, I suppose really the model it comes closest to is the B-537. I found this web page showing a B-537 and used it as something of a guide: http://www.radiochest.co.uk/RADIOCHEST%20TOO!.html

An original B-537 had a mottled black/brown bakelite case as shown, whereas mine is all black. And the control far left was just a rotary on/off switch, whereas mine being a C-537 chassis, is a combined on/off and tone control.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ajs_derby View Post
Much better to adapt a cabinet slightly than to have it and a chassis go to waste! How does it sound?
AJS,

There are actually 444 sets out there with a third hole too, so I didn't have much reservations about doing a modification which Philco had also done originally. As long as I didn't shatter or crack the case in doing so, which didn't happen fortunately!

As you will be aware, Philco produced several versions of the bakelite people's set, and seemingly used whichever sort of case they had available at the time. So some 444's ended up in a three-holed case with the extra hole blanked off by a plug.

Regarding how it sounds. I've heard it said many times that the 444 set was only a mediocre performer audio-wise. I can't say that about the C-537 chassis however, it sounds as good as any table-top valve set that I've come across before. There's plenty of undistorted volume and a lovely rich tone. I'm more than pleased with it, very enjoyable to listen to!

Regards
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Last edited by Robert Darwent; 17th Oct 2008 at 6:29 pm.
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Old 18th Oct 2008, 12:01 am   #11
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Default Re: Philco People's Set c.1937

Great job , what luck !
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Old 18th Oct 2008, 10:28 am   #12
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Default Re: Philco People's Set c.1937

lovely job Robert! You must be very pleased with the result.
Cheers
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Old 19th Oct 2008, 1:22 pm   #13
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Default Re: Philco People's Set c.1937

Quote:
Originally Posted by chipp1968 View Post
Great job , what luck !
Quote:
Originally Posted by ajs37 View Post
lovely job Robert! You must be very pleased with the result.
Thanks for the thumbs up guys! Appreciate your comments, cheers!

Regards
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Old 20th Oct 2008, 1:19 am   #14
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Default Re: Philco People's Set c.1937

Great job Robert
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Old 21st Oct 2008, 8:07 pm   #15
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Default Re: Philco People's Set c.1937

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim View Post
Great job Robert
Appreciate the reply Tim, thank you for saying that!

Regards
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Old 22nd Oct 2008, 8:14 pm   #16
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Default Re: Philco People's Set c.1937

Replacement Back Panel

I have now completed a replacement back for this set. After being unable to find any photographs of an original Philco B-537 back, I decided to make one instead along the lines of a 444 back using the first image shown as a guide, adding the openings and cut-outs necessary for the C-537 chassis.

Using this picture and a tracing of the opening of the set I eventually arrived at the paper template shown in the second image. I used a graphics package on my laptop to achieve this, then printed it out in four sections. The sections were then carefully alined and joined together.

I obtained some 3/16 inch thick mdf board and transferred the cut-out lines and drill points over to it using the template. After some cutting with an electric jigsaw and a total of 690 drilled holes later! I had produced the completed back shown in the third image, ready for painting.

Images four and five show the completed back fitted to the set.

Regards
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Old 22nd Oct 2008, 8:17 pm   #17
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Default Re: Philco People's Set c.1937

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert G0UHF View Post
...a total of 690 drilled holes later...
I'm speechless! It's a work of art in itself.

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Old 22nd Oct 2008, 8:36 pm   #18
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Default Re: Philco People's Set c.1937

Now that's attention to duty! Excellent. Well done that man. What a result.

Regards,


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Old 22nd Oct 2008, 8:50 pm   #19
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Thumbs up Re: Philco People's Set c.1937

Hi Robert,
Quote:
After some cutting with an electric jigsaw and a total of 690 drilled holes later!
What a job! I admire your patience, end result looks fantastic

Mark
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Old 22nd Oct 2008, 10:14 pm   #20
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Default Re: Philco People's Set c.1937

Even wower!
I think you have a business oppertunity there!
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