[NJARC] Radiola 104 electrical items needed:

[John Ruccolo]

Hi Joe,

I know you probably have thought of this already, but
if I *ever* have a dedicated radio room (I hope to
someday!), I plan on using a husky variac to power all
the vintage sets in the room. (At least 10 amps, so I
can run multiple large sets at once). Set it for, say,
105V or 110V out. 

However, I don't think today's high line voltages are
the whole story. Some manufacturers used the smallest
xformer they could get away with, others (like
National) appear to have some kind of issue with
acidic paper that breaks down the winding insulation.

I have an RCA CR-88 which has oozed what looks like a
QUART of tar onto the chassis (I'm exaggerating, but
not *that* much) and it still works. All the tar did
was hold the xformer heat in (a bad thing). It's like
that stupid "undercoating" they used to put on cars to
promote rust. Who needs it? ;-)

Also, I have several NOS 874's and you're welcome to
one. I can't help with the other tubes, though.

Regards,

John

--- JOE CRO <n3ibx at verizon.net> wrote:

> Visit our web site - See http://www.njarc.org
> _______________________________________________
> Marty,
>           I appreciate your response. Actually, the
> power transformer 
> doesn't get "hot" to the touch; but rather warm,
> probably from the heat 
> convection due to it's proximity to some of the
> tubes in the set. A "hot to 
> the touch" transformer would definitely be cause for
> alarm. I really like my 
> Philco 41-290. It's what some people refer to as the
> "skyscraper" style 
> console, and it really sounds terrific, and even
> does yeoman duty listening 
> to the various Hams on 75M AM. I would like to use
> it on just about an 
> everyday basis, and was concerned about it's loss of
> potting material inside 
> of it. I'd rather pull the chassis out again and
> repot the transformer 
> rather than replace the whole part.
> 
> It sounds to me like I'd be better off "not fixing
> what isn't broke" so to 
> speak. I'd like the thing to outlast me - hi!
> 
> Very Best Regards,
>                             Joe Cro N3IBX
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Marty Friedman" <radiomf at comcast.net>
> To: "New Jersey Antique Radio Club"
> <njarc at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2008 10:07 AM
> Subject: Re: [NJARC] Radiola 104 electrical items
> needed:
> 
> 
> > Visit our web site - See http://www.njarc.org
> > _______________________________________________
> > Hi Joe,
> > I don't think Philco power transformers are less
> reliable than other 
> > brands. I think Emerson and Zenith are more prone
> to failure. After an 
> > hour most trannys get pretty warm. Is it too hot
> to hold your fingers on 
> > for a few seconds? This could be caused by the
> higher line voltages we see 
> > today. To cure that you can try a series resistor
> with the primary or wire 
> > in a 6 volt filiment tranny to buck the voltage .
> > Marty
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > NJARC mailing list
> > NJARC at mailman.qth.net
> > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/njarc
> > 
> 
> 
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> 



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