[Guest]

Hi, my name is Tom, and I am new to the phorum. I'm located in the Denver, CO area. I inherited a 1940 Philco 40-180 about 10 years ago when my father-in-law passed away. The radio had been unused since the 1950s and stored away in a basement. It was in working order when it was set aside. Since then, I have had it in storage as well, but now would like to restore it. It has all the original parts. The cabinet is in good condition - just a few scratches and a ton of dust. The cabinet fabric is in good shape, just really dusty. The dial needs cleaning. The bakelite pushbuttons are cracked and basically toast. The chassis looks pretty good, but all of the rubber insulated wiring looks dried out and cracked, as does the power cord. The speaker and tuning antenna look ok as well. I have not powered it up. It looks like a shock hazard, and it looks like applying power would just ruin what is there. I've been lurking around the phorum for a while, and I have followed all the repair links. It looks like my first step is to replace all of the capacitors, and get a variac or build a dim bulb tester. It also looks like I need to rewire the thing completely. I'm an electrical engineer, and I'm good with a soldering iron, but I have never attempted a project like this. I have no real knowledge of vacuum tubes. I just never learned the technology in school. But it looks like this is an achievable project, as long as I take my time, do the research, and just be careful. So, I will be checking in from time to time to gain some knowledge from the experts here at the phorum. I do have a couple of quick questions. Electrolytic capacitors scare the H**l out of me with the charge they can hold. Now since this radio has not been powered up for years, I will assume they have discharged themselves over time. But after I do finally power it up, what is a good technique and tool to discharge them? Also, what type of wiring should I use to replace the old rubber coated wires and power cord? Thanks in advance for your help, and I look forward to chatting with you all.