Scott Philharmonic #E770 to restore

[Kenneth Chaffin]

Hello, I just got this Scott Philharmonic (Serial # E-770) today and examining it to see what will be involved in restoring it. The chrome is fair on both chassis and had to replace 5 metal tubes on the tuner chassis with the proper glass tubes and I ordered (2) 6L7G tubes to replace ones that are missing. I checked the power transformer and it is good. The main speaker will have to be reconed but the tweeters checked good, The cabinet is in decent condition but the decorative trim on the upper part of the cabinet has come off in places--not sure how to fix it at the moment. The round chrome shield on the power unit is badly dented and the chrome is very poor on it--I'll have to find one of those also. I took the bottom off the tuner and the multi-tap candohm resistor is completely open-anyone know what the resistance values are for it? The schematic on this site isn't clear and I can't make out the values for it? I won't be able to rechrome the chassis due to taking a great deal of time to strip the chassis and the cost of rechroming.  I have 3 pics attached-I have more but it looks like 3 is the maximum. The radio is going to take a lot of work to restore it but I'll give it a try.   Ken

[Kenneth Chaffin]

Here are more pics of the radio.  Ken

[Kenneth Chaffin]

One more picture

All the knobs are missing--is there any reproductions made?

[Kent King]

Ken -

Well, it does need some work, but I've seen far rougher sets brought back to life. This one is definitely restorable. I worked on one very similar to this about a year ago - I pull all the covers and shields off the tuner. Replace mall the capacitors and test resistors - replace if out of tolerance. The tin box in the chassis has 7 caps in it, it can be rebuilt or simply replaced. 

The divider resistor is often bad. There is a discussion here on values, I'll try to locate it. I use an adjustable resistor with a number of taps added and adjust it to get the voltages right for each segment. 

Finally , knobs. There are no repros of the "S" knobs. However, the early Phillies came with a fairly basic and common plastic knobs. The one I restored had these on it, I cleaned them up and put them back on my set. I can post pics of those knobs if you want.

Keep asking the folks here for info, many will help.

Kent

[Kenneth Chaffin]

Hi Kent, Thanks for the information. The knobs will be difficult to find--go ahead and post pics of them when you get a chance. What would be the easiest way to clean the top of the tuner as all the tube, IF cans & RF coil cans are very close to each other?  Thanks,  Ken

[David C. Poland]

Your pointer dial Philharmonic is 1937 or possibly early 1938 - by virtue of the single letter serial number prefix. 

The two photos show appropriate Philharmonic knobs.

And photo of my Pointer dial Philharmonic with correct knobs would be correct for yours.

Note 5 are plain round, including the low speed tuning knob. More common at swap meets.

Renovated Radios has a decent repo - their medium generic:  k103 knobs     have set screws   http://renovatedradios.com/product.php?product=242

Suggest selecting the version without labelling. These repos have set screws.

The pair of wing metal for the Volume and Wave Change are correct for a Pointer Philly, but seldom turn up. 

The large plastic wing type were used for later BOL Philharmonics. "S" knobs were later too.

Because I could not find the large high speed tuning knob I needed, I had a few made (2 set screws) and would sell you one.

[David C. Poland]

trying again with the two knob photos.

[David C. Poland]

I use Turtle brand liquid Chrome Polish from the auto department of big box stores or local hardware.

Use small squares of old bath towel as applicator, and discard frequently to limit grit scratching the chrome.

For tight places, where my finger won't fit, the end of a chip stick.

I pull off all the coil covers and the tuning cap cover for recapping,  making polishing access better.

For the amp's 4 electrolytic caps, Mothers Mag Polish, will shine up like chrome.

The canned ohm B divider had failed and been replaced on the Philharmonic's I have had.

The -C divider on the middle apron were good, however.

[Kent King]

As Dave said, pull off the coil covers and tube shields, etc. Here is a pic of a Philly I recently worked on, this is how I tear them down for cleaning. The lower part of the tube shield is just held on by two nuts that hold the socket in place. I remove every other base to allow me to get in between to clean. Putting them back on as I move from area to area. I do the same thing Dave described with the liquid, non-abrasive Turtle polish.

[Kenneth Chaffin]

Thanks for the information David & Kent, I ordered the caps I need from Just Radios and should be here soon and I got the missing 5Z3 & 6L7G tubes yesterday. David, I would be interested in the high speed tuning knob and I'll look into ordering the rest of the knobs from Renovated Radios (bought repro rubber parts for my Philco radios from them). I found out what the resistances for the divider are so I'll get that fixed soon. I'll be starting with restoring the power unit first then work on the tuner part.   Ken

[David C. Poland]

Kenneth. re the large tuning knob, I am:   [e-mail]

[Scott Seickel]

Kenneth, for the B+ divider resistor the Ohmite D50K5K0E is a great choice.  You will need extra taps for it which is part number 2121E, and the threaded mount is 7PA50E.  It is a 5K ohm resistor and works well in these sets. 

[Kenneth Chaffin]

Thanks Scott, I'll look into getting the Ohmite resistor----do you know who sells the resistor, taps & threaded mount?  Ken