Problems with a Philco 5 tube radio

[Reece]

The loop is part of the antenna tuning circuit of the radio and must be connected. Be sure the loop has continuity. Did you replace all the paper caps?

C1B will adjust a station near the high end of the dial to read at the right number on the dial. Then C1A should peak reception of a weak station near the high end of the dial. Be sure to use a very weak station. There's nothing much on the "Special Services" band any more so maybe not worth doing much with.

If you have a signal generator the radio ought to be aligned per the procedure in NostalgiaAir for this set. If not, and if nobody has played with the IF transformers before you, then peaking C1B and C1A above just listening for max output ought to bring the set around.

[tgunner]

Originally Posted by Reece

The loop is part of the antenna tuning circuit of the radio and must be connected. Be sure the loop has continuity. Did you replace all the paper caps?

C1B will adjust a station near the high end of the dial to read at the right number on the dial. Then C1A should peak reception of a weak station near the high end of the dial. Be sure to use a very weak station. There's nothing much on the "Special Services" band any more so maybe not worth doing much with.

If you have a signal generator the radio ought to be aligned per the procedure in NostalgiaAir for this set. If not, and if nobody has played with the IF transformers before you, then peaking C1B and C1A above just listening for max output ought to bring the set around.

Thanks for reply. I checked the loop; it has continuity. I did replace all paper caps, as well as the multi-cap can, a bumblebee, and two flat plastic caps which had six dots on them.

I don't have a signal generator, so I'm kind of going blind here... just using local stations I know of. The set sat untouched for a long time, so I doubt the IF transformers have been adjusted. I tried adjusting the screw on C-1A and had no real change. C1-B did cause the tuning of a lower and higher stations from where I had it set ~1300khz. However, even after adjusting them, I still get no sound or reception unless I touch the C-1A terminal.

Update: I'm starting to think this might be a grounding problem. I tried the radio using a different plug, which I know was properly grounded unlike the first. Here, depending on which way I plug it in, I get different results. One way, the set works OK when I touch or bride C-1A and chassis and the other way, the sound is muddy and I feel a tingle if I try to bridge C-1A and chassis. I took a volt reading and came up with 5.5V AC.