Troy Taylor's Page

"Hello- I am not an expert on the Phantom, but I did have to make a speaker plug and socket for a Philharmonic recently.  That is a 7 pin plug with pins #1 and #4 being the larger diameter ones.  Ordinary tube sockets and bases have pins #1…"

"I am thinking spot on voltage readings are not too critical, because the radio is designed to operate well over a range of of 100 to 130 volts AC, in conjunction with the hi-low switch, allowing a  15 volt range on the power transformer primary…"

"Troy, on the negative voltage divider, I've had to play with the resistances to get the voltages close to spec.  If the -27 volts is high ( as you indicated: -23.7), it will affect the bias on the output tubes causing them to conduct a bit…"

"Hello- As I continue to listen to this wonderful old set, I have a new question.  How do verify that the output tubes in the amp are properly biased?  And, if they are not, how do I correct the problem?  I am presently using a matched…"

"I should also mention that it does not require much moisture to help loosen the glue while ironing.  Just dip your finger in a bowl of water and trace along where you want to soften the glue before ironing.  If the water steams away before…"

"Hello- Hide glue is used extensively in player piano restorations (another hobby of mine) so I have lots of experience using it.  If you need to remove something that is glued with hide glue, it will soften and let go with the application of…"

"Hello- I wrapped a wire around the 6J7 scratch-suppressor plate pin on my 1937 pointer-dial Philharmonic this morning and have a meter measuring the voltage right now.  It is holding steady at 220VDC.  A finger on the grid cap makes a very…"

"Hi Troy, If there was a problem with the power transformer you would know about it by now, if there is a shorted turn it's usually followed by smoke, dont't forget that the 6L6 tubes are running in class A and will be pulling a fair bit of…"

"Troy - Would appreciate a voltage reading on the 6J7 plate (pin 3) -  front far left, 2nd back, Scratch Suppressor. See if it is somewhere 160 volts? "

"I should also mention that the power transformer is running about 118F; noticeably warmer than either of the chokes, which are both lukewarm at best.  Set has been operating continuously for over 3 hours now. The 6L6 tubes test "OK",…"

"Hello- Thank you all for the suggestions and advice.  I went through the power supply/amp chassis again and checked everything.  The biggest problem I discovered was the 10H and 30H chokes were miswired opposite of the schematic.  So…"

"Hello-  It took longer than expected, but last evening I finally got a chance to investigate the power supply.  I could not find anything amiss with the filter caps or any other components.  So I replaced the faulty 80 with a known…"

"Hi ,Troy, I powered up my pointer Philharmonic about 75 minutes ago. The power transformer is mildly warm to touch on top. Both amp's chokes are mildly warm. Nowhere near hot, just warm, no problem leaving a finger on either 10 seconds or…"

"Thanks Mike, I had that info from this site, but didn't have the entire Riders Vol 14 info, now I do!"

"Karl Look at the top of this page, Scott info and archive, see Philharmonic folder, lots of information there"

"Silly me, I found the Riders info on the Radio & Broadcast library..."