crazy how complicatedd these things get. when i take apart a computer it's easy to just abstract it all away, it's just some patterned boards, but you see these things absolutely packed with electronics
Hi Rod. Shame that you could not get this to work. Ordering expensive parts with no guarantee is risky. I would not be surprised if you found that it needed more expensive parts (assuming that you could get them) once the valves were replaced. You can't win them all, and you made the right decision. The cabinet turned out really well. The Bluetooth upgrade sounds great. I have enjoyed watching this. Cheers Chris.
Usually US radios of this vintage were only sprayed with clear lacquer that dissolves easily with a bit of lacquer thinner and plenty of rags. Sorry the tubes were so expensive for the set. I can understand though as I priced a new old stock 6U5 magic eye tube for an RCA console I have and they average in the neighborhood of $75.00 here. Other tubes like the 6V6 aren't nearly as expensive, being closer to $13-$15.00 each. I like your end result. Never seen a radio done up quite like that though I have seen them with bluetooth added into a working tube radio with a phono input.
The largest tubes in that set with the odd shaped tops are called ST or Shoulder Tubes (valves) and were common to radios of the 1930's. Radios of the 20's had tubes that were shaped like small versions of incandescent light bulbs and were called globe tubes. The slightly smaller plain looking tubes were most common in the 40's and are commonly called octals when they have a bakelite base and long pins and if they have a metal base and relatively short thin pins they're probably locktals as they lock into place and were originally designed for automotive radios by Philco as they didn't jiggle loose when driving down bumpy roads. They were also used in many home radio sets of the 40's by Philco as well though. Typically the small 7 and 9 pin tubes are found in radios of the 50's and later till the transistor took over. I say this as a general rule though each decade end/beginning had some overlap of tube types and ST and octal specialty tubes like magic eye tubes were used clear up to the transistor era.
It's entirely your decision (or customer's) and nobody else's to convert the old valve radio into a blue-tooth box. If you ever do decide to restore the valve radio then the way forward may be to use a 1N4007 with 5w dropper resistor (5Y3G valve £25 Ebay) , the 6FG5 valve can be bought for £25 on Ebay and maybe just not bother replacing the magic eye although I found a few 6U5 valves for £5 to £20 on Ebay. £25 to £50 (30 to 60 Euros) in total for the valves. The finished item looks fantastic though and I'm sure the customer was delighted with the result.
First...I am NOT offended by your decision. I AM heartbroken that you were not able to restore the radio to function as it was designed, but I do understand the cost issue! You may not have the radio with you anymore, or the parts therefore, but something that happened a lot in U.S. designs is that the filter capacitor would get so leaky that it would in essence become a short and cause the bonding wire inside the rectifier tube (valve) to act as a fuse and kill power to the set. It can be difficult to see, but I suspect that is what happened to this radio. I was trying to locate a source of valves that were more reasonable in price and man did I ever get a shock! One tube was going for over $600.00! I did eventually find a source that was selling several valves that I need for a single-digit amount per valve. Some were around $20.00 to $30.00 or so, but it was great to see some around $7.00 or so. Good luck with your endeavors! When do you think we might see part 2 of the Philips B6X72A Repair and Restoration?
Hi Wayne, thanks for your reply and info. I've paused with the Philips set as I wasn't happy with the clutch mechanism switching between f.m. and a.m. On closer inspection again, there seems to be a cam of some sort hidden behind the plate on which the 2 brass rollers are mounted, that is not recoiling correctly when the band switch is operated. The only way to further examine is to remove the plate to see what's happening . However there are 7 pulleys on this plate that contain the dial drive cords moving in various directions, so I've been reticent about "biting the bullet" in dismantling this complicated dial drive system. However it has to be done so sometime in the next week or so, when I pluck up the courage !!!
@@rodsradios Oh do I ever understand! I am expecting some really lengthy work will be required on a couple of radios I plan to work on...could take me months to years to do it all. Most people want to see start to finish in seconds...it just doesn't work that way! I do appreciate your work and your sharing it with us!
crazy how complicatedd these things get. when i take apart a computer it's easy to just abstract it all away, it's just some patterned boards, but you see these things absolutely packed with electronics
Hi Rod. Shame that you could not get this to work. Ordering expensive parts with no guarantee is risky. I would not be surprised if you found that it needed more expensive parts (assuming that you could get them) once the valves were replaced. You can't win them all, and you made the right decision. The cabinet turned out really well. The Bluetooth upgrade sounds great. I have enjoyed watching this. Cheers Chris.
Usually US radios of this vintage were only sprayed with clear lacquer that dissolves easily with a bit of lacquer thinner and plenty of rags. Sorry the tubes were so expensive for the set. I can understand though as I priced a new old stock 6U5 magic eye tube for an RCA console I have and they average in the neighborhood of $75.00 here. Other tubes like the 6V6 aren't nearly as expensive, being closer to $13-$15.00 each. I like your end result. Never seen a radio done up quite like that though I have seen them with bluetooth added into a working tube radio with a phono input.
The largest tubes in that set with the odd shaped tops are called ST or Shoulder Tubes (valves) and were common to radios of the 1930's. Radios of the 20's had tubes that were shaped like small versions of incandescent light bulbs and were called globe tubes. The slightly smaller plain looking tubes were most common in the 40's and are commonly called octals when they have a bakelite base and long pins and if they have a metal base and relatively short thin pins they're probably locktals as they lock into place and were originally designed for automotive radios by Philco as they didn't jiggle loose when driving down bumpy roads. They were also used in many home radio sets of the 40's by Philco as well though. Typically the small 7 and 9 pin tubes are found in radios of the 50's and later till the transistor took over. I say this as a general rule though each decade end/beginning had some overlap of tube types and ST and octal specialty tubes like magic eye tubes were used clear up to the transistor era.
Thanks for the info rebel9668
It's entirely your decision (or customer's) and nobody else's to convert the old valve radio into a blue-tooth box. If you ever do decide to restore the valve radio then the way forward may be to use a 1N4007 with 5w dropper resistor (5Y3G valve £25 Ebay) , the 6FG5 valve can be bought for £25 on Ebay and maybe just not bother replacing the magic eye although I found a few 6U5 valves for £5 to £20 on Ebay. £25 to £50 (30 to 60 Euros) in total for the valves. The finished item looks fantastic though and I'm sure the customer was delighted with the result.
First...I am NOT offended by your decision. I AM heartbroken that you were not able to restore the radio to function as it was designed, but I do understand the cost issue!
You may not have the radio with you anymore, or the parts therefore, but something that happened a lot in U.S. designs is that the filter capacitor would get so leaky that it would in essence become a short and cause the bonding wire inside the rectifier tube (valve) to act as a fuse and kill power to the set. It can be difficult to see, but I suspect that is what happened to this radio.
I was trying to locate a source of valves that were more reasonable in price and man did I ever get a shock! One tube was going for over $600.00! I did eventually find a source that was selling several valves that I need for a single-digit amount per valve. Some were around $20.00 to $30.00 or so, but it was great to see some around $7.00 or so.
Good luck with your endeavors!
When do you think we might see part 2 of the Philips B6X72A Repair and Restoration?
Hi Wayne, thanks for your reply and info. I've paused with the Philips set as I wasn't happy with the clutch mechanism switching between f.m. and a.m. On closer inspection again, there seems to be a cam of some sort hidden behind the plate on which the 2 brass rollers are mounted, that is not recoiling correctly when the band switch is operated. The only way to further examine is to remove the plate to see what's happening . However there are 7 pulleys on this plate that contain the dial drive cords moving in various directions, so I've been reticent about "biting the bullet" in dismantling this complicated dial drive system. However it has to be done so sometime in the next week or so, when I pluck up the courage !!!
@@rodsradios Oh do I ever understand! I am expecting some really lengthy work will be required on a couple of radios I plan to work on...could take me months to years to do it all. Most people want to see start to finish in seconds...it just doesn't work that way! I do appreciate your work and your sharing it with us!