Philco PT-25 Transitone - Loudspeaker Rebuild

Rebuilding a donor PM loudspeaker that may be a replacement for the missing electrodynamic loudspeaker. The final decision will be made after powering the receiver up and evaluating the sound quality.
Building a loudspeaker cone: www.templatema...
Output audio from the BT receiver is ~0.03W or 30mW in the demo; way less than stated in the footnote.
Music Attributes:
Lonesome Avenue The 126ers
The playlist for this series:
• Philco PT-25 Transitone
Thanks for watching and subscribing to my channel on vintage radio repair.
#restoreoldradios
#PhilcoPT25

[@steelcity321pb6]

Fairly straightforward, but very effective - I like your speaker cone construction very much Don. Best regards, Phil.

[@RestoreOldRadios]

Thank you Phil, far from perfect with no surround, but should work okay being it’s a 4” loudspeaker. Take care and thanks again. Best, Don

[@THOMMGB]

Don, It's always nice to see a video from you. And I always learn something new. The final result is that this speaker looks like and sounds like new. Thanks for all you do.

[@RestoreOldRadios]

Tom, thank you. It’s a little wrinkled and doesn’t have a surround, but should suffice for this old Philco. Thanks again and Happy Thanksgiving. Best, Don

[@tinkeringwithelectronics]

The MacGyver of radios strikes again! Give Don a paper bag, 3 rocks and some bailing wire and he can make a radio. Seriously very nice job, and inspirational.

[@RestoreOldRadios]

Still laughing about this one. Thanks again Josh and hope you and your family have a blessed Thanksgiving. Best, Don

[@deanschmeltzer9620]

I love it when you do speakers😊😊. Thanks for taking the time

[@RestoreOldRadios]

Dean, I appreciate your feedback and taking time to watch. Best, Don

[@AllAmericanFiveRadio]

Nice work Don. This is very useful information now and for future restorers.

[@RestoreOldRadios]

Much appreciated Rick. Happy Thanksgiving. Best, Don

[@jimnewman5596]

Your ability to rebuild loudspeakers is truly amazing Don.

[@RestoreOldRadios]

Much appreciated Jim. All the best. Don

[@bradleyleben7785]

Great looking speaker now!

[@RestoreOldRadios]

Thank you Bradley. Best, Don

[@skycarl]

That came out great. Very nice work on those windings. We all learned from this one pal.

[@RestoreOldRadios]

I really appreciate that Carl. Enjoy your Thanksgiving. Best, Don

[@TheRadioShop]

Really glad you showed this Don. I picked up a Zenith 6D202 and the speaker is all but toast. The cone is completely destroyed. Will try my hand at repairing it.

[@RestoreOldRadios]

Buddy, I really enjoyed your repairs and creative solution on the voice coil height issues you had to overcome too. Hope you have a great Thanksgiving. Best, Don

[@jdmccorful]

Immmmmpressive !Great piece of work you got going there.

[@RestoreOldRadios]

Thank you John. All the best, Don

[@Backtothefutureradios]

Great job Don! You made that look easy! Sounds good too! Thanks for sharing.....Take Care-Larry

[@RestoreOldRadios]

Much appreciated Larry. Happy Thanksgiving my friend. Best, Don

[@i82996]

This video goes into my archive - great video for this.

[@RestoreOldRadios]

Thank you Al. Hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving. Best, Don

[@VintageElectronicsGeek]

Wow, very impressive! Never rebuilt a speaker but I think I may have one I need to do...one of my round-to-its! :) ~Jack, VEG

[@RestoreOldRadios]

Being it was broke and no harm could be done, it was worth the effort and since my labor is free why not try I ask myself. Thanks again for watching Jack. Best, Don

[@TheRadioShop]

Excellent work Don.

[@RestoreOldRadios]

Much appreciated Buddy. Best, Don

[@hestheMaster]

Wow impressive and professional speaker job Don! Hope you test fitted the dial face up against the edge of the speaker so they aren't overlapping!

[@RestoreOldRadios]

It’s a little wrinkled due to no surround, but hopefully it will perform okay. We’ll know soon on the dial... Thanks again and all the best. Don

[@greggsvintageworkshop8974]

Beautiful work on that speaker Don, awesome! Thanks for showing us what is possibly with time, patience, knowledge and TALENT.

[@RestoreOldRadios]

Gregg - it’s far from perfect, but it should make noise LOL. Enjoy your Thanksgiving my friend. Best, Don

[@jamesbruno5896]

Great job Don, that was lots of work!

[@RestoreOldRadios]

Thank you James. We'll see how it sounds once we get the receiver powered up and decide if it’s a keeper or not. Take care and all the best. Don

[@dontknowbrian]

I regret to admit to how many of those speakers that I’ve thrown out in the trash. If I knew then what I know now. Your a great teacher there, I only wish I found you 40 years ago. By the way, what was that beautiful song played on your rebuilt speaker? That touched my soul and most music doesn’t.

[@RestoreOldRadios]

Brian - I threw many away myself before attempting such repairs. The music was from KZbin to avoid copyright issues: Lonesome Avenue by The 126ers. Thanks again for your kind words. Best, Don

[@lfowkes11]

Don, your skills never cease to amaze me! Over the years I have replaced surrounds and patched up some pretty beat up speakers but I have never completely rebuilt one in this manner. I have a couple beat up ones hanging on the shed wall, going to give them a try. Appreciate the link to the template maker site as well. Always enjoy you videos.

[@RestoreOldRadios]

Larry, I appreciate your kind words. The way I look at it, nothing to lose but time and it definitely provides a learning opportunity and test your patience at the same time. LOL I would enjoy hearing back from you down the road after you tackle one. All the best and have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Best, Don

[@rciancia]

Don, well done !! I've never done a speaker but I think I have to add one to my list.... thank you !!

[@RestoreOldRadios]

Ron - I know you’ll be successful and I look forward to seeing your results. Best, Don

[@davidknight3643]

Yeah first, love your videos. Learning a lot thank you, stay safe and well.

[@RestoreOldRadios]

I appreciate that David. Stay safe as well and all the best. Don

[@polkiju7]

You made a great diy cone, why not go the final yard and make a whizzer too? BTW, Something about what you do on this channel makes the world seem a little bit brighter. Thank you!

[@RestoreOldRadios]

Will a whizzer improve the bass or just the opposite? Thanks again for you kind words. Best, Don

[@polkiju7]

It won’t do anything for low frequency. It will make a tweeter unnecessary ( not really needed with a speaker this small anyway). I just think that they look cool. ;)

[@RestoreOldRadios]

I’ve got a vintage 6” with a whizzer and a modern day 4”. A better surround may have improved the bass response of this 4”... like you said, the smaller speakers are lacking that bass punch. Best, Don

[@polkiju7]

Vintage radio speakers with paper surrounds can produce decent bass provided that they are not in sealed or even ported enclosures. Speakers got rolled rubber surrounds when amps got more powerful because speakers required greater excursion due to changes in music (rock). Power was cheap and technically feasible unlike the case with tube gear. My open baffle 1950’s and 60’s drivers barely move: 1-2mm and produce plenty of bass with a 3w tube amp. You do need more cone surface area however. Bose uses small drivers in a small folded horn in their radios. That is how that get all that boomy bass. These are my wildly unsubstantiated opinions largely untested or researched.

[@EngineeringVignettes]

Thanks Don, useful info (I have a Zenith speaker to re-cone on my to-do list... metallic spiders, yuck). Interested in how the cone attached to the outer ring. It looked like a direct fit of the cone to the edge, can the cone move sufficiently if done that way? I'm thinking I missed something there... Stay safe now, Cheers,

[@RestoreOldRadios]

Eddy - Doug was making the same reference and my reply to hime. I know a foam surround would improve the bass response, which this small loudspeaker is missing. It didn’t show up on the video, but the cone height was extended a few millimeters above the frame and then attached. After spraying the cone with a a couple of misty coats of rubber, it wrinkled a bit, but seemed to hold its form and was an experiment as a sub for the surround so the cone could move freely. Hope this helps and enjoy your Thanksgiving. Best, Don

[@EngineeringVignettes]

@@RestoreOldRadios - Thanks Don for explaining. Have a good Thanksgiving yourself as well. Cheers,

[@tectalabyss]

Hi Don. Outstanding job ! Has always I Liked,shared. What was the Music playing ?. I Liked it. All my very best. Be safe.

[@RestoreOldRadios]

I appreciate it Bobby. Hope you and your family have a blessed Thanksgiving. Best, Don

[@eugenetheodore2956]

Do you have a video on making a voice coil?

[@RestoreOldRadios]

Eugene - my most recent effort: Musicaire Radio - Building a New Voice Coil & Spider kzbin.info/www/bejne/apWTinR8h6l1hdk

[@RestoreOldRadios]

Eugene - another video for reference. Building a Voice Coil kzbin.info/www/bejne/jl6al2ypo9Z4esk

[@Rainbow__cookie]

Whats the song used when testing

[@RestoreOldRadios]

As noted in the show more/video description: Lonesome Avenue The 126ers Thanks for reaching out and taking time to watch. Best, Don