This Philips radio looks to be a Philetta 254 from 1956. Beneath the five buttons was a (now missing) logo saying Philetta. Model number on back would say BD 254 U. You do real good on these foreign radios Seth. Might be the only red cabinet Philips in the world.
I restored the exact same radio a couple of years ago. Well, sort of. It was a Siera-branded radio but the chassis is identical. Indeed quite a challenge and pretty cramped indeed, but once restored it sounds wonderful for such a small radio. The slow warmup is normal. It's a combination of having a tube rectifier and the UL41 being notoriously slow to warm up. Small remark: the U-tubes are hot chassis equivalents for the E-tubes. So if you see tubes starting with 'U', you immediately know it's a hot chassis radio. Great channel, by the way. Subscribed.
That range of valves always takes ages to warm up . The output valve is hard to get and expensive even here in the UK. I also restored a biampli recently . What a nightmare . Put me right off Philips for ever . Dial lamps are always dim on those but the set works well when restored . Looks nice now . Well done !
There were quite a few series strung / hot chassis sets in europe, but as you mentioned, those were the cheaper ones, so maybe export wasn't as lucrative as with the high end Grundig or Saba. A lot of german sets seem to have a tube lineup printed right on the back, or if you can get a glimps of the tubes.., if it's "U" or "P" tubes, it's series strung, if those are "E" it most likely has a transformer. Heater designed for: U=100mA, P=300mA (both designed for series strung sets, so the heater is set to have uniform current consumption on all tubes), E=6,3V. So also... no, you can't just interchange a U and E Series tube, as they have different heaters. Yeah, sometimes this can be made to work - like there are a few ways to substitute some of the rare pre-war tubes like the RES164 with a cheap PL95 and a bit of trickery, but for sure no drop in replacement.
The difference between an EABC80 & UABC80 is the heater voltage & current. The U prefix means the valve is suitable for a series heater string. I don't think there's a mains transformer in this radio?
Sounds like 👍 these Philips radios 📻 are a real pain in the neck. It’s probably the organic rubber wire, if they have. Or a difficult 😞 to diagnose bad capacitor. Your friend, Jeff.
Has anyone tried replicating this radio using Pencil Stub type tubes by Philips/Raytheon and the small IF transformers or for that matter 455KC Crystal filters and have a heater voltage of 3V and a B+ of 45V and using VN66AF MOSFETS for the output stage.
I’m almost embarrassed to ask. And I’m sure those reading will say “What a jerk!” Someone once said the only dumb question is the one not asked! Could you please in one of your videos show how to clean tube sockets? Now I’ll go and hide!!!
That’s not a stupid question. I don’t have a perfect answer, but contact cleaner (like CRC QD) and those little expensive fuzzy things that go in between your teeth might work.
Replacing capacitors on a Philips is like trying to change spark plugs on a running engine.
"Pull out the mains plug before removing rear panel" per google translate
This Philips radio looks to be a Philetta 254 from 1956. Beneath the five buttons was a (now missing) logo saying
Philetta. Model number on back would say BD 254 U. You do real good on these foreign radios Seth. Might be the only
red cabinet Philips in the world.
Mr. Radio you did a wonderful job with that Philips radio. it looks and sounds beautiful. I love that latin music you have on.
Before removing the back plate remove power socket 😂 that was the writing
Pull mains plug (Netzstecker) before removing (entfernen) the back cover (Rückwand).
I restored the exact same radio a couple of years ago. Well, sort of. It was a Siera-branded radio but the chassis is identical.
Indeed quite a challenge and pretty cramped indeed, but once restored it sounds wonderful for such a small radio.
The slow warmup is normal. It's a combination of having a tube rectifier and the UL41 being notoriously slow to warm up.
Small remark: the U-tubes are hot chassis equivalents for the E-tubes. So if you see tubes starting with 'U', you immediately know it's a hot chassis radio.
Great channel, by the way. Subscribed.
That range of valves always takes ages to warm up . The output valve is hard to get and expensive even here in the UK.
I also restored a biampli recently . What a nightmare . Put me right off Philips for ever . Dial lamps are always dim on those but the set works well when restored . Looks nice now . Well done !
If that leaf blower is anything like the Parkway leaf blower/mulcher then it is perfect for keeping gardens neat and tidy.
From the cheap seats, maybe someone has played with the input voltage selector causing the excessive warm up. The dial lamps look pretty dim as well.
There were quite a few series strung / hot chassis sets in europe, but as you mentioned, those were the cheaper ones, so maybe export wasn't as lucrative as with the high end Grundig or Saba.
A lot of german sets seem to have a tube lineup printed right on the back, or if you can get a glimps of the tubes.., if it's "U" or "P" tubes, it's series strung, if those are "E" it most likely has a transformer. Heater designed for: U=100mA, P=300mA (both designed for series strung sets, so the heater is set to have uniform current consumption on all tubes), E=6,3V. So also... no, you can't just interchange a U and E Series tube, as they have different heaters. Yeah, sometimes this can be made to work - like there are a few ways to substitute some of the rare pre-war tubes like the RES164 with a cheap PL95 and a bit of trickery, but for sure no drop in replacement.
I'm German but unfortunately don't speak a word of it. My grandfather spoke fluent German unfortunately he's dead.
It's probably a good thing i don't live near there. I'd go broke buying restored radios!
at least it didn't turn yellow like a bus 🤭
I think you will find European "valves" have the first letter defines the tube voltage/current specifications.......
Indeed. "U" means 100mA heater for series wiring of tubes in a hot-chassis radio.
The difference between an EABC80 & UABC80 is the heater voltage & current. The U prefix means the valve is suitable for a series heater string. I don't think there's a mains transformer in this radio?
Nice color !!!
Beautiful
Sounds like 👍 these Philips radios 📻 are a real pain in the neck. It’s probably the organic rubber wire, if they have. Or a difficult 😞 to diagnose bad capacitor. Your friend, Jeff.
Has anyone tried replicating this radio using Pencil Stub type tubes by Philips/Raytheon and the small IF transformers or for that matter 455KC Crystal filters and have a heater voltage of 3V and a B+ of 45V and using VN66AF MOSFETS for the output stage.
Philips not German but Dutch!
Its a German-Made Philips, hence the mention
I’m almost embarrassed to ask. And I’m sure those reading will say “What a jerk!”
Someone once said the only dumb question is the one not asked!
Could you please in one of your videos show how to clean tube sockets?
Now I’ll go and hide!!!
That’s not a stupid question. I don’t have a perfect answer, but contact cleaner (like CRC QD) and those little expensive fuzzy things that go in between your teeth might work.