It used a battery pack that had 9 volts to light filaments and 90 for plate voltage. These battery packs were popular around 1950 but no longer available.
You can make your own using 6 flashlight batteries for 9 volts and 10 - 9 volt radio batteries for 90 volts.
Some have made up these battery packs and sold them on eBay or their web sites.
Norm
:DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT TYPE OF BATTERY WAS USED IN THE PHILCO 46-350. I HAVE CHECKED NUMEROUS SOURCES BUT CAN'T FIND THIS INFO. ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED.
Thomas
9 volt batteries can be snapped together in series, and only require a snap connector on each end of the bank. To do this, cut a common snap connector in two and use the individual snaps on each end.
A 9 volt battery has very small cells, which do not have as much resistance as larger batteries. Sometimes this can affect the performance of a radio. To find out, connect a condenser across the bank to bypass all signals. Some radios have condensers installed inside that will already do this, so this tip may not be necessary. As a battery discharges, the resistance becomes less, so with a bypass condenser, your radio may continue to operate somewhat longer as the voltage becomes less.
Never solder a connection to a dry cell unless it will be discharged in a few months. I used to solder the older cells together with no problem, but the newer ones with a long shelf life cannot take this excess heat. I still solder a few cells together to make a quick C battery, knowing that it will be shot in less than a year, even though it has not had any current drain. The same thing happens if you solder taps on a bank of 9 volt batteries.
Two battery banks in parallel will last more than twice as long as a single bank. This will also reduce the total resistance by half. This can get pretty expensive if 9 volt batteries are used for B+, so the suggestion by Thomas about rechargeable batteries can be the cheapest way out in the long run if you plan to use your radio a lot. But then, batteries have always been expensive for operating a tube type radio. They were the largest expense back in the 1920’s and still are today. Back in the 1940's in my neck of the woods without electricity, no one listened to the radio except for the Grand Old Opera on Saturday night.
Battery packs are available!
Try http://www.batpack.com, and you will see that Rodney of Rodney's Appliance Service built a battery pack of 60 AA cells and 6 D sells that outputs 9V for A+ and 90V for B+! The cells are even replaceable!
:Hi Ed
:
: It used a battery pack that had 9 volts to light filaments and 90 for plate voltage. These battery packs were popular around 1950 but no longer available.
:
: You can make your own using 6 flashlight batteries for 9 volts and 10 - 9 volt radio batteries for 90 volts.
:
: Some have made up these battery packs and sold them on eBay or their web sites.
:
:Norm
:
:
:
::DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT TYPE OF BATTERY WAS USED IN THE PHILCO 46-350. I HAVE CHECKED NUMEROUS SOURCES BUT CAN'T FIND THIS INFO. ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED.
Thomas
Do these voltages apply to a Philco 46-132 also?? I just came across this unit and it is my first BATTERY ONLY radio. I was thinking of building a power supply instead of batteries just to get it operating. THere is so much room in the back of the unit and don't want to go through the hassle of replaceing/building battery banks.
Joe
:Hi Ed
:
: It used a battery pack that had 9 volts to light filaments and 90 for plate voltage. These battery packs were popular around 1950 but no longer available.
:
: You can make your own using 6 flashlight batteries for 9 volts and 10 - 9 volt radio batteries for 90 volts.
:
: Some have made up these battery packs and sold them on eBay or their web sites.
:
:Norm
:
:
:
::DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT TYPE OF BATTERY WAS USED IN THE PHILCO 46-350. I HAVE CHECKED NUMEROUS SOURCES BUT CAN'T FIND THIS INFO. ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED.
If you build an eliminator, both the 90 volt plate supply and the 1.5 volt filament supply should be regulated fairly close to the maximum tube voltage ratings. The maximum voltage rating for the 1A5 output tube is 90 volts and 1.4 volts, so when batteries were used, it was operated at maximum.. Fresh batteries yield more voltage than this, but this was taken into account since the tubes are designed for them. They were also designed to operate at less voltage as the batteries drained, so the voltages are not all that critical.
For regulating the filaments, I have been using the LM317T (Radio Shack Catalog #: 276-1778) adjustable regulator for longer than I care to remember. It is adjustable from 1.2 volts to 37VDC, and will supply the .25 ampere filament requirement for your set with plenty of power to spare. If a potentiometer is used for regulation, your power supply can be used for just about any battery set that you may acquire in the future. For your Philco, you can regulate the filaments to exactly 1.4 volts. I have filed carbon resistors to trim them for exact voltages, but a pot does the same job with a lot less effort.
THanks for this much needed info. I haven't started on this one yet (have a few to finish first) but this info is helpful to get it working.
Joe
:These voltages do not apply to a Philco 46-132, Joe. The Philco 46-350 has the filaments in series, requiring 9 volts, whereas the model 46-132 has them in parallel, requiring a 1.5 volt battery. The B+ of 90 volts is the same for both sets. Since your set is not a portable, a battery eliminator is the most economically way to operate it. Many of these old battery sets used the same cabinet as the AC powered version, so there is usually plenty of extra space inside.
:
:If you build an eliminator, both the 90 volt plate supply and the 1.5 volt filament supply should be regulated fairly close to the maximum tube voltage ratings. The maximum voltage rating for the 1A5 output tube is 90 volts and 1.4 volts, so when batteries were used, it was operated at maximum.. Fresh batteries yield more voltage than this, but this was taken into account since the tubes are designed for them. They were also designed to operate at less voltage as the batteries drained, so the voltages are not all that critical.
:
:For regulating the filaments, I have been using the LM317T (Radio Shack Catalog #: 276-1778) adjustable regulator for longer than I care to remember. It is adjustable from 1.2 volts to 37VDC, and will supply the .25 ampere filament requirement for your set with plenty of power to spare. If a potentiometer is used for regulation, your power supply can be used for just about any battery set that you may acquire in the future. For your Philco, you can regulate the filaments to exactly 1.4 volts. I have filed carbon resistors to trim them for exact voltages, but a pot does the same job with a lot less effort.
:
Thomas