There’s something magical about the clunk of a heavy 1950s portable radio – the solid thunk of Bakelite, the warm hum of tubes glowing to life. This is exactly why [Ken’s Lab] took on the restoration of a Philco 52-664, a portable AC/DC radio originally sold for $45 in 1953 (a small fortune back then!). Despite its beat-up exterior and faulty guts, [Ken] methodically restored it to working condition. His video details every crackling capacitor and crusty resistor he replaced, and it’s pure catnip for any hacker with a soft spot for analog tech. Does the name Philco ring a bell? Lately, we did cover the restoration of a 1958 Philco Predicta television.
What sets this radio hack apart? To begin with, [Ken] kept the restoration authentic, repurposing original capacitor cans and using era-appropriate materials – right down to boiling out old electrolytics in his wife’s discarded cooking pot. But, he went further. Lacking the space for modern components, [Ken] fabbed up a custom mounting solution from stiff styrofoam, fibreboard, and all-purpose glue. He even re-routed the B-wiring with creative terminal hacks. It’s a masterclass in patience, precision, and resourcefulness.
If this tickles your inner tinkerer, don’t miss out on the full video. It’s like stepping into a time machine.
Hmm… AC/DC radios. Hot chassis!
used to be a right of passage to get Zapped while working on one of those.
This is when you learn why some VTVMs only have a two wire cord.
Way back before the Nanny State took over and wrapped everything in bubble wrap and gave it a warning not to Eat.
Wow. I had that very same model radio when I was a kid. I was mystified by the AC/DC, which of course caused me to open it to figure it out. Which of course caused me to learn about the hot chassis too :-). After that I was pretty particular about which way the plug went in.
A quest like like feels like something out of a Neville Shute story, just missing a British accent.
When I first started doing repairs, I saw alot of older radios. At first it was mostly defective tubes. But as time wore on more and more capacitors where at fault. At first we had exact replacements. Then it came to the point where I had to jury rig more modern capacitors into the circuit, While leaving the old cans in place for looks. Never got a shock from a radio . Gee am I getting old.