IR Remote Control for Shortwave Radios & Scanners

Vintage Radio

I learned about tube electronics when I was a kid in the 1950s and 1960s.  I still have a fondness for the old vacuum tube style electronics - especially vintage radio.  I restore vacuum tube electronics and I just love to breathe new life into vintage tube electronics that have been sitting in an attic for 50 years or more.  Using new components that are much more reliable than the older components, these units can be restored and will work reliably for many years to come.  I have set up this web page so you can see some of the vintage electronics I have restored.  I sometimes have vintage electronics for sale.

To contact me send an email to vintageradio@swl-remotes.com.

We now offer restoration of vintage Philco radios.  We concentrate predominately on 1920 & 1930s era Philco radios.  If you have a family heirloom or you just want your vintage Philco radio restored, we can help you get it working again.

A restoration is different than just a radio repair.  A repair will only replace components that have failed in order to get the radio to play.  A restoration will replace capacitors that are prone to failure and update the electronics so the radio will be reliable and play for many years.  If the capacitors have not failed yet, they will most likely fail in the future.  Restoration consists of replacement of all failed components, and those prone to failure.

Standard electronic restoration:

• Replace all electrolytic capacitors.  Humming in a vintage radio is usually caused by the failure of the power supply filtering electrolytics.
• Replace all wax/paper capacitors.  These are prone to failure and should all be replaced with modern equivalents to improve reliability.
• Replace out of spec resistors.  Over time the values of the resistors change enough to affect the overall performance of the radio.
• Rebuild Bakelite capacitor.  This capacitor is connected across the 110-volt line and provides RF filtering.  These are potentially unsafe and should be replaced.
• Install in line-fuse.  This provides protection to the radio if something should short out or draw too much current.
• Install new power cord.  The power cords are almost always damaged and generally are unsafe.
• Install Inrush Current Limiter.  This prevents stressing the vacuum tubes when the power is first turned on extending the life and reliability of the electronics in the radio.
• Replace any frayed or damaged wiring.  We have found that most radios of this age have damaged speaker wiring and sometimes the grid cap wires on the top of the chassis.  These are replaced with a cloth covered wire to maintain the original look.
• Rebuild pilot light holder.  They are generally melted and not working.
• Test all vacuum tubes.
• Align the chassis so it plays at peak performance.
• Extended operational check to insure the reliability of the radio.

Additional restoration if needed:

• Speaker repairs and reconing of speaker.
• Replacement of any bad vacuum tubes.
• Replacement of speaker grill cloth.
• Replacement of knobs.  These can be very hard to get!
• Undo poorly done or botched repairs.  Over the years many of these older radios were subjected to poorly done or botched repairs.  It can sometimes take quite a bit to remove these badly done repairs.

Cabinet restoration:

• Glue any loose veneer and cabinet joints.
• Replacement of missing veneer.  It is very difficult to match a 70-year-old veneer and have the color and grain match, but we do the best we can.
• Strip old finish. We try to restore the cabinet finish rather than re-finishing.  This will increase the value of the vintage radio.  Sometimes the original finish is too badly damaged for a restoration.  In that case we can re-finish the cabinet also.
• Stain if necessary to restore color.
• Refinish cabinet.
• Replace any missing or damaged hardware.

Restorations are warranted for one year.  If your radio stops working, return it to us and it will be repaired at no charge.  You pay for shipping to us; we pay for the shipping back to you once the radio is repaired.

Here are some examples of radio restorations.

Cost to Restore a Philco Radio

Chassis restoration generally runs about $25 per vacuum tube in the radio to restore the chassis.  If you have a 5-tube radio, the restoration cost would be $125 plus shipping.  This is a standard restoration and does not include any extras such as vacuum tubes, knobs, speaker grill cloth, speaker repairs, cabinet refinishing, undoing botched repairs, etc.  Once we evaluate the condition of the radio we can provide an estimate of the total cost to restore.  Cabinet restoration is on an individual basis and starts at $150 for a table radio on up depending on the damage and the size of the radio.  If we cannot restore your radio, you will be charged a $25 diagnosis fee plus return shipping.

What we need in order to do a proper restoration:

• Radio must be pretty much unmolested.  If anyone has modified the radio we may not be able to restore it to its original condition.
• It must have all original knobs.  Knobs are very hard to get and we don't have the time to track them down.  Sometimes we have knobs available, but not often.
• Power Transformer working and not burned out.  It is extremely difficult to replace a transformer with an original.  They can't be found.
• Speaker not badly damaged.  Re-coning of a badly damaged speaker can be quite expensive.

What to do if you want to have your radio restored:

DON'T SHIP US A RADIO WITHOUT CONTACTING US FIRST!

eMail us at vintageradio@swl-remotes.com and give us the model Philco radio you have and any information you might have on the condition of the radio.  Try to send a picture of the front panel and the back of the radio so we can see the chassis.  Don't plug in the radio to see if it works!  If the filter electrolytics are shorted you will ruin the transformer or other components.  You might also see smoke.  Because these radios were not fused, the chassis can be damaged very easily.  This can cause un-repairable damage to the radio - most likely the power transformer.

Radio Restoration Examples

Philco 37-610 Table Top (Early Model)

This radio had some pretty bad veneer damage to the front on both the left and right sides.  The cabinet was coming loose at the top.  Everything is original except for the speaker grill cloth and the cabinet finish.  It is quite a lovely radio even though the veneer had to be repaired.  The original wood is a beautiful Mahogany.

Philco 37-610 Tombstone (Late Model)

The finish on the front of this model is a faux (photo) finish and cannot be repaired easily if damaged.  Unfortunately this radio had some very bad damage to the photo finish that couldn't be repaired.  The wood underneath was not damaged.  The finish was stripped, and the cabinet was completely refinished.  Considering that the front is not original, it still looks pretty good.

Notice in the photo of the back of the radio that the RF chassis is floating in the middle of the chassis and is held in alignment with rubber washers.  These were also replaced so the tuning shaft would align properly to the front of the radio and would not wobble.

The first photo shows what the cabinet looked like when we received the radio.  The faux wood finish on the front was beyond repair.

Notice in the photo of the back of the radio that the RF chassis is floating in the middle of the chassis and is held in alignment with rubber washers.  These were also replaced so the tuning shaft would align properly to the front of the radio and would not wobble.

The first photo shows what the cabinet looked like when we received the radio.  The faux wood finish on the front was beyond repair.

Philco 38-10 Table Top

This radio was restored to its original condition.  Everything is original including the speaker grill cloth, knobs, and dial.  This is a beautiful radio that plays very well.

Philco 38-62 Table Top

This radio was restored to its original condition.  The knobs, and dial are original.  The speaker grill cloth is a replacement.  This radio plays very strong.  It will even pick up standard AM stations without an external antenna.