Fixing a stuck vibrator is easier than all that. Place a towel on a solid surface, turn the vibrator up side down and give a good solid smack on the table. Right on the flat surface of the top of the can. That will break them loose and they work for another fifty years. This trick has worked for me, every time, dozens of times over the yeas. I was taught this trick by the smartest TV repair person I ever knew, Mr. ??? Hammer of Hammer and Ort music and electronics in Red Bluff California when I worked for him the 1970s. Not exaggerating, the fellow had a PhD in electronics! May he rest in peace. I miss him.
A good ol' shot of "Mothers Oats" to wake it up! That will work but I guess I don't smack em' hard enough! lolThanks for watching! RW BTW - Dave is well, and I'll probably see him this Friday!
Bob, glad to see this video on car radio repair and the vibrator restoring part. On the bench I noticed the Heathkit Apache transmitter. I run one of these monsters from around 1969 to 1973 when I sold it to get money for an HW-101 kit. I even had the SB-10 sideband adapter for it. Wish I still had it now. 73, Harvey, KM4JA
Very nice video - memories of my Dad's Radio/TV shop back in the '50's. Best place in the world for a 9 year old fellow to hang out and learn. My first project was a Nash 6 volt car radio purchased from the local junk shop for $1.00. Dad showed me how to use side cutters to open the vibrator can, use his prized "platinum point file" to burnish contacts. (Your video made me remember that funky smell inside the can.) Replaced buffer cap and with some serious (supervised) troubleshooting got it working. I was on top of the world!
Thanks Mark for the kind words. I learned from some very smart and talented people. The feeling you get when you wake up a quiet carcass is priceless! This burnishing technique will save time, and of course - odor. I think the buffer cap is equally if not more important than the vibrator. Your vibrator may be working but is useless without a good buffer cap. Thanks for stopping by! RW Bob
Hey Bob, nice work on the 47 radio. It sounds great. I actually disassembled the vibrator on my 57 Buick radio and got it to work. But it still needs cap replacement. I settled for an FM in the glove compartment. Many years ago, I built a solid state multivibrator using 2 transistors in the same vibrator case. It worked and eliminated the "hum". Great vid.
Hello John. Glad you liked the video, and thank you for watching. The gent I did this for I ultimately charged 120 dollars for parts and labor. I would at the very least test tubes and replace all the capacitors in the set. His set was very nice and clean when I got it. Radios that aren't so nice typically require more work. If you wish, I could do it for 100 bucks plus parts/or tubes.If the set is unrepairable, then no charge to you.
my first car was a 48 chevrolet style master 2 door. It had a radio just like this. very good radio with great sound.that was 1960 and the radio was all original.
Hey Bob, nice job on the repair. That is a very clean nice radio, it deserves to be working! Nice touch at the end of the video when MTR identifies and plays a Beatles oldie.
Somewhere I've got one of those! I used to take it to Hershey and play it but I haven't powered it up for over 20 years now. Probably still has a good vibrator. HA! Aaron
My favorite auto radio experience: my uncle gave me the radio from his 1949 Chrysler and that he had traded in. I got it home and bought 4 of the #6 dry cells ( which seem to be extinct today) . I put the cells in series for 6vdc and hooked it up to the radio and it worked perfectly after I rigged up an antenna. I wanted to keep listening to the 8- tube radio as it was sensitive and sounded great. I bought a 120 to 6.3 vac at 10a filament transformer from allied radio . I figured out that the vibrater switched DC between two halves of the primary of the plate transformer. So I connected the 6.3 vac to one side of the vibrater plate trans primary. The radio played . So why was the sound from the speaker garbled? The filters must not have been bad because there was no distortion or hum running on the dry cells. Than I figured out that for whatever reason, Philco who produced the radio was still using field coil speakers on car radios that ran on 6volts DC rather than function as DC power supply filter chokes. . The distortion resulted from AC on the field coil modulating the signal going to the voice coil. So I hooked up a random 6x9 PM speaker and everything worked perfectly. Now, since vibrators switched at 115 cps , the plate trans got a bit warm on 60cps but it never failed in all the years I had the radio. It was 1962 and I was age 12.
That's awesome! I've shared my experience with old car radios with other people in the 2 antique radio clubs I belong to. AM car radios have to endure some rather extreme hardships that consumer quality radios do not. For one thing, cars are not stationary. They also have to endure lots of RF noise from ignition systems, and overhead power lines, etc. To overcome this, they are built like a tank with lots of shielding. I even made a car transistor GM radio into a battery/AC portable I use for DX'ing the AM band. Funny thing is, during the war years, Philco made some home radios (even a chairside model) that were initially car radios. You can still find lots of tube car radios from the 40's, and 50's fairly reasonably, and some have push/pull audio that sounds fantastic! Thanks for stopping by!
Harvey - First , thanks for subbing! Mrs. RW is a keeper, that's why i married her! I use the Apache for AM phone when I need a litle more signal! When I key up on 75 meters, the lights on my TV cabinet come on! BTW, the car this radio came from was a stunning 41,000 mile original car! 73's Bob KC2RDU
This radio was actually fun to get playing. I vaguely remember having a fuse in a platic connector that connected to the + of the set. I just don't remember what the value was of the fuse. The radio used a 6V6 output tube with a transformer that matched (I think) a 10 ohm speaker so the aftermarket one should be fine (assuming it's a 8 or 10 ohm speaker. The antenna had a small coil with a really small wire running to the center conductor of the antenna socket as you note.
Radio wild hello, good job on getting that radio back to life, really cool and informative. Can you please tell me what I need to get a car radio from that era to work at home provided it is in working condition . the radio I have had one wire sticking out . The radio is also tube from the 1940's Thanks
ANY radio is fixable if you really want to. I am in process of repairing the same model. It has been outside over 20 years and the before pictures I will use for Halloween! The vibrator and transformer are toast, so I will attempt using a small inverter and build a voltage doubler circuit. Once filtered, that should provide a nice, clean 240VDC for the high voltage either that or I will get another transformer and build an electronic vibrator.
Isn't the buffer capacitor across the secondary of the transformer? Isn't the one that protects the contact points the one called a "hash capacitor" across the primary side of the vibrator transformer, which in this series of radios is a 0.5 mfd, and I believe it is potted down INSIDE the vibrator transformer?
A buffer capacitor is usually connected across the secondary of a vibrator transformer or between the anode and cathode of a rectifier tube to suppress voltage surges that might otherwise damage other parts in the circuit. A hash capacitor(s) are there to filter the noise generated by the vibrator. Thanks for stopping by. Bob
Sir i would like to know a around cost to have a old radio fixed. I have a 1949 Chevy Fleetline Deluxe with an AM radio in it. and the car itself is still 6 volt. if you know anyone here in Fla or possible shipping it to you for the service. Thank you
Thanks very much. The thin copper wire on this set extends 10 inches outside the radio chassis through the center of that antenna socket. Thanks for the info on the speaker. I'll have to check--the new speaker is 8 Ohms, but is PM, and i think the old was was Field Coil? Fuse is listed at 14amps, but I don't know where to get the power lead for this set. Is our speaker PM or field coil? Got a pic of the power lead/fuse holder? Thanks very much.
first station had a deranged libtard on it. to bad you don't have KVLZ like I do. These radios expect about 7 volts with the car driving at reasonable speed. the car generator on those chevrolets was 45 amps and easily ran the radio with everything else on. Am I sad the 48 is gone. No, modern cars like toyota echo-yaris are so much better its not funny.
Fixing a stuck vibrator is easier than all that. Place a towel on a solid surface, turn the vibrator up side down and give a good solid smack on the table. Right on the flat surface of the top of the can. That will break them loose and they work for another fifty years. This trick has worked for me, every time, dozens of times over the yeas. I was taught this trick by the smartest TV repair person I ever knew, Mr. ??? Hammer of Hammer and Ort music and electronics in Red Bluff California when I worked for him the 1970s. Not exaggerating, the fellow had a PhD in electronics! May he rest in peace. I miss him.
A good ol' shot of "Mothers Oats" to wake it up! That will work but I guess I don't smack em' hard enough! lolThanks for watching! RW BTW - Dave is well, and I'll probably see him this Friday!
Bob, glad to see this video on car radio repair and the vibrator restoring part. On the bench I noticed the Heathkit Apache transmitter. I run one of these monsters from around 1969 to 1973 when I sold it to get money for an HW-101 kit. I even had the SB-10 sideband adapter for it. Wish I still had it now.
73, Harvey, KM4JA
Very nice video - memories of my Dad's Radio/TV shop back in the '50's. Best place in the world for a 9 year old fellow to hang out and learn. My first project was a Nash 6 volt car radio purchased from the local junk shop for $1.00. Dad showed me how to use side cutters to open the vibrator can, use his prized "platinum point file" to burnish contacts. (Your video made me remember that funky smell inside the can.) Replaced buffer cap and with some serious (supervised) troubleshooting got it working. I was on top of the world!
Thanks Mark for the kind words. I learned from some very smart and talented people. The feeling you get when you wake up a quiet carcass is priceless! This burnishing technique will save time, and of course - odor. I think the buffer cap is equally if not more important than the vibrator. Your vibrator may be working but is useless without a good buffer cap. Thanks for stopping by! RW Bob
Hey Bob, nice work on the 47 radio. It sounds great. I actually disassembled the vibrator on my 57 Buick radio and got it to work. But it still needs cap replacement. I settled for an FM in the glove compartment. Many years ago, I built a solid state multivibrator using 2 transistors in the same vibrator case. It worked and eliminated the "hum". Great vid.
Hello John. Glad you liked the video, and thank you for watching. The gent I did this for I ultimately charged 120 dollars for parts and labor. I would at the very least test tubes and replace all the capacitors in the set. His set was very nice and clean when I got it. Radios that aren't so nice typically require more work. If you wish, I could do it for 100 bucks plus parts/or tubes.If the set is unrepairable, then no charge to you.
my first car was a 48 chevrolet style master 2 door. It had a radio just like this. very good radio with great sound.that was 1960 and the radio was all original.
Hey Bob, nice job on the repair. That is a very clean nice radio, it deserves to be working! Nice touch at the end of the video when MTR identifies and plays a Beatles oldie.
Somewhere I've got one of those! I used to take it to Hershey and play it but I haven't powered it up for over 20 years now. Probably still has a good vibrator. HA!
Aaron
My favorite auto radio experience: my uncle gave me the radio from his 1949 Chrysler and that he had traded in. I got it home and bought 4 of the #6 dry cells ( which seem to be extinct today) . I put the cells in series for 6vdc and hooked it up to the radio and it worked perfectly after I rigged up an antenna. I wanted to keep listening to the 8- tube radio as it was sensitive and sounded great. I bought a 120 to 6.3 vac at 10a filament transformer from allied radio . I figured out that the vibrater switched DC between two halves of the primary of the plate transformer. So I connected the 6.3 vac to one side of the vibrater plate trans primary. The radio played . So why was the sound from the speaker garbled? The filters must not have been bad because there was no distortion or hum running on the dry cells. Than I figured out that for whatever reason, Philco who produced the radio was still using field coil speakers on car radios that ran on 6volts DC rather than function as DC power supply filter chokes. . The distortion resulted from AC on the field coil modulating the signal going to the voice coil. So I hooked up a random 6x9 PM speaker and everything worked perfectly. Now, since vibrators switched at 115 cps , the plate trans got a bit warm on 60cps but it never failed in all the years I had the radio. It was 1962 and I was age 12.
That's awesome! I've shared my experience with old car radios with other people in the 2 antique radio clubs I belong to. AM car radios have to endure some rather extreme hardships that consumer quality radios do not. For one thing, cars are not stationary. They also have to endure lots of RF noise from ignition systems, and overhead power lines, etc. To overcome this, they are built like a tank with lots of shielding. I even made a car transistor GM radio into a battery/AC portable I use for DX'ing the AM band. Funny thing is, during the war years, Philco made some home radios (even a chairside model) that were initially car radios. You can still find lots of tube car radios from the 40's, and 50's fairly reasonably, and some have push/pull audio that sounds fantastic! Thanks for stopping by!
Very cool !!! Love the dial and thank you for the info on the vibrators....always wondered what they were for, now I know ! :-)
Harvey -
First , thanks for subbing! Mrs. RW is a keeper, that's why i married her! I use the Apache for AM phone when I need a litle more signal! When I key up on 75 meters, the lights on my TV cabinet come on! BTW, the car this radio came from was a stunning 41,000 mile original car! 73's Bob KC2RDU
I imagine it has a second use as a car heater! Nice job!
This radio was actually fun to get playing. I vaguely remember having a fuse in a platic connector that connected to the + of the set. I just don't remember what the value was of the fuse. The radio used a 6V6 output tube with a transformer that matched (I think) a 10 ohm speaker so the aftermarket one should be fine (assuming it's a 8 or 10 ohm speaker. The antenna had a small coil with a really small wire running to the center conductor of the antenna socket as you note.
Radio wild
hello, good job on getting that radio back to life, really cool and informative. Can you please tell me what I need to get a car radio from that era to work at home provided it is in working condition . the radio I have had one wire sticking out .
The radio is also tube from the 1940's
Thanks
If the buffer goes bad, The vibrator contacts will burn up quickly.
ANY radio is fixable if you really want to. I am in process of repairing the same model. It has been outside over 20 years and the before pictures I will use for Halloween! The vibrator and transformer are toast, so I will attempt using a small inverter and build a voltage doubler circuit. Once filtered, that should provide a nice, clean 240VDC for the high voltage either that or I will get another transformer and build an electronic vibrator.
To bad they don't make.after market parts for that vibrater,best you can hope for is nos parts
Isn't the buffer capacitor across the secondary of the transformer? Isn't the one that protects the contact points the one called a "hash capacitor" across the primary side of the vibrator transformer, which in this series of radios is a 0.5 mfd, and I believe it is potted down INSIDE the vibrator transformer?
A buffer capacitor is usually connected across the secondary of a vibrator transformer or between the anode and cathode of a rectifier tube to suppress voltage surges that might otherwise damage other parts in the circuit. A hash capacitor(s) are there to filter the noise generated by the vibrator. Thanks for stopping by. Bob
Radio wild
Thanks for the response! Which capacitor is the one most critical to keep the vibrator points from arcing and burning up?
Sir i would like to know a around cost to have a old radio fixed. I have a 1949 Chevy Fleetline Deluxe with an AM radio in it. and the car itself is still 6 volt. if you know anyone here in Fla or possible shipping it to you for the service. Thank you
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Thanks very much. The thin copper wire on this set extends 10 inches outside the radio chassis through the center of that antenna socket. Thanks for the info on the speaker. I'll have to check--the new speaker is 8 Ohms, but is PM, and i think the old was was Field Coil? Fuse is listed at 14amps, but I don't know where to get the power lead for this set. Is our speaker PM or field coil? Got a pic of the power lead/fuse holder? Thanks very much.
You don't gadden a dress like the other Guys?
You can't gadden an Oscillating Diode tree?
What tubes you gadden for use?
first station had a deranged libtard on it. to bad you don't have KVLZ like I do. These radios expect about 7 volts with the car driving at reasonable speed. the car generator on those chevrolets was 45 amps and easily ran the radio with everything else on. Am I sad the 48 is gone. No, modern cars like toyota echo-yaris are so much better its not funny.