phantom deluxe restoration

[david crane]

Hello . I am learning about my phantom deluxe model 20.Thanks to David Poland and Y2k Bruce for their previous response. I am also learning about restoration ( this makes me nervous).

I need to replace the speaker cloth, 1 tube cover, 1 knob and 5 tubes (2-6j5g,2-6l6g,1-5u4g).  I see various web sites for replacements-any suggestions? 

I posted 4 pictures. One is of the material in the speaker area on the side of the cabinet-any idea what this is?  Another pictture has some mica type strips that were in the cabinet (by a tube cover)- are these part of the radio?  Picture 1 has wood strips as part of the assy-what are these for?

So far I have been working on cleaning up the parts and the top section is cleaning up quite nicely.  The power amp chrome is in poor condition-is air brushing chrome paint an option?

Last- everything I read says to replace the paper and electrolytic caps. Should I power up the radio first to somehow determine if I should continue or just scrap the whole idea?  This process is getting addictive.  I can see why the site is for EH Scott enthusiasts.

Thanks for any help

[Y2K Bruce]

The round wood thing is known as a Tausher sound board.

It was an option sold just before WW2 that was mounted on the front of the speaker. It supposedly spread the sounds out better but really muffled the speaker. Mr Scott liked them as they had a cutout similar to his logo used.

They were sold in 10", 12" and 15" sizes

[Norman S Braithwaite]

The material covering the inside of the cabinet is Celotex. This was used to deaden cabinet resonance. It was rarely factory installed in pre-WWII Scott cabinets but was a relatively popular customer modification. I was able to purchase a sheet of Celotex in 1986 but have not seen it available for many years now. I have never seen large mica sheets used in a Scott radio or cabinet.

Norman

[David C. Poland]

I urge you to replace the electrolytic and wax caps with modern equivalents - before you ever power up the radio. Those 70 year old caps are way past their design life - and should be considered unreliable even if the radio might work with them. Cap failure may stop the radio playing or damage hard to replace parts and meanwhile can cause intermittent problems with performance and sound quality. Don't chance it.

As for the octal tubes like the 6J5, be aware that the tube shield base opening may be too small for the metal and GT type tubes.  The GT base is like the metal tube base - a slightly larger diameter than the prior, taller G type octals of the 1930's. I have a couple late 1930's Scotts for which shield bases were hacked up or removed attempting to fit GT version tubes.

The G type octal tubes can be somewhat elusive and you may want to settle for used tested. Check with fellow collectors. Also club swap meets can be a good source. And do some price comparisons of online vendors.

-Dave

[david crane]

Thanks for the response.  The Tausher sound board is in good shape and the other parts in the picture are various thickness shims.   Your comments indicate the board muffles the sound instead of helping it. Am I correct in thinking it would be best to just leave the board off?

Thanks Dave
 
Y2K Bruce said:

The round wood thing is known as a Tausher sound board.

It was an option sold just before WW2 that was mounted on the front of the speaker. It supposedly spread the sounds out better but really muffled the speaker. Mr Scott liked them as they had a cutout similar to his logo used.

They were sold in 10", 12" and 15" sizes

[david crane]

Thanks for the response.  I looked up Celotex and found general comments about asbestos.  Could the cabinet Celotex have asbestos?  Should I replace it with some other material or just get rid of it?

Thanks Dave
 
Norman S Braithwaite said:

The material covering the inside of the cabinet is Celotex. This was used to deaden cabinet resonance. It was rarely factory installed in pre-WWII Scott cabinets but was a relatively popular customer modification. I was able to purchase a sheet of Celotex in 1986 but have not seen it available for many years now. I have never seen large mica sheets used in a Scott radio or cabinet.

Norman

[david crane]

Thanks for the response.  The cap replacement will occur before I plug in the radio!  I have one tube shield that fit over the tube fairly tight.  Should there be an air gap between the tube and shield? 

Thanks Dave  
David C. Poland said:

I urge you to replace the electrolytic and wax caps with modern equivalents - before you ever power up the radio. Those 70 year old caps are way past their design life - and should be considered unreliable even if the radio might work with them. Cap failure may stop the radio playing or damage hard to replace parts and meanwhile can cause intermittent problems with performance and sound quality. Don't chance it.

As for the octal tubes like the 6J5, be aware that the tube shield base opening may be too small for the metal and GT type tubes.  The GT base is like the metal tube base - a slightly larger diameter than the prior, taller G type octals of the 1930's. I have a couple late 1930's Scotts for which shield bases were hacked up or removed attempting to fit GT version tubes.

The G type octal tubes can be somewhat elusive and you may want to settle for used tested. Check with fellow collectors. Also club swap meets can be a good source. And do some price comparisons of online vendors.

-Dave

[Norman S Braithwaite]

I do not believe there is any asbestos in the early fiberboard. It is low density cellulose fiberboard,(from which the company derived its name) not the later insulation products associated with asbestos.

Norman