As you are the only person not afraid of re-stringing, a short video showing how to tie those knots while keeping the tension (30:55), also the first knot (sping) would be very helpful :)
@@DavidTipton101 There is that sailors knot chart in every seaside fish and chip shop, plus I would have thought the Boy Scouts would have a web page with vids ? (also useful for the hoofguy)
It’s always a Good Friday when I come home and find you’ve done another video. Nice to see some ‘back to basics’ straightforward radio repairs. A great job on both of them, as always. If the owner doesn’t want that old speaker back maybe you could have a play with it. I’ve never managed to remove the spider from a speaker but if you succeed it would be worth watching. Nice cameo appearance by Graham the radio cruncher in his boat! Cheers.
Hi Don, it's the same when you put up a new video. It was good to just do some repairs, nice for a change. The owner took the speaker back, I think I could have fixed it and if it was the original speaker I would have had a go. The owner had a number of speakers fixed by a friend so I wasn't keen to pull it apart, maybe he can get it repaired again. Graham had a bit of fun didn't he 🤣 Thanks Don.
You know your radio adventure comment takes me back to when my wonderful wife was still by my side, we were down in Arizona for the winter in our 35 foot Class A motor home, it was perhaps the 3rd time going down there, over 1000 miles from our home in South Dakota. We had packed up the RV and removed all our shore power and water lines, ready to get on the road to explore deeper South into the vast Arizona desert, I turned to her, my wife of 50 years and said: We are off on another adventure! I meant that, and she loved it. God how I miss those days.
Hi Jerry, if only we could go back but we can't but we can still remember the old days fondly and bore our grandkids with the stories. As Frank said, 'That's Life' 🙂
Customers are nearly always happier when you go above and beyond the original fault and exceed their expectations. I like those Westinghouse radios, qwerky like a little fridge. Another great video. Enjoyed watching it.
I hope they are happy Radio-Ged, The fridge radio is quirky, I don't know how practical they were but a good one to have in a collection. Thank Radio-Ged 🙂
Well been some time now, last check, I was cancer free that is a relief. I was thinking about that Westinghouse radio, I remember when we moved off the farm in 62 and into a rented home, dad found a used fridge that looked about the same design as that radio, we used it for many years, on the farm that had no power or running water, we did have a kerosene fridge that we used in the summer, come winter we would shut off the two back bedrooms that had no heat and used them as a "cold room" to keep our food from spoiling. It usually froze back there. Mom and dad slept in the living room and we kids slept in the one upstairs room that had a vent from the living room where the coal stove sat heating the kitchen, living room and one upstairs bedroom. The ceiling upstairs was open to the rafters and we could see stars through the cracks where shingles had blown off the old 1910 farm house. It was a rough life but I do miss those days. Our only entertainment came from a battery pack radio sat atop a high shelf out of reach of we kids lest we wear out the expensive battery. I got my first touch of electronic repair watching dad replace tubes in that old set when it became weak and we could not listen to the old radio shows, and mom would miss the hospital report and her soap operas. I am going to keep an eye out for one of those radios, it would look great in our kitchen and add some music to cooking time.
Great video! I have seen those Westinghouse radios before. They are the same as the Westinghouse referagorators of that eaa. Not to sure how much longer I will be watching your videeos, I am awaiting my surgeon's call to see if the grapefruiit size tumor on my kidney is operaable. I pray it is so far they do not see a spread of the cancer. He just called and said to expct his clinic to call to schedule the surgery where he will rmove my right kidney and it appears that the cancer has not spred. THis is a relief! I have, in the past 3 years sufferd the loss of my 2 sisters to cancer, and 2 years ago lost my wife to Cancer so when I was found with the dreaded C I invisioned going the way they did. I was with my eldest sister as she passed from this earth holding her hand, and months later holding the love of my life by her hand as she breathed her last. While I am a bit amprehensive of the forecoming surgery, I do have faith in my Doctor and in the power of God in my life. Hope to watch many more of your videos. Thanks again.
@@DavidTipton101 Thanks, I came out much better then I expected. The tumor was very large and left a huge hole in my belly where the doctor reached inside me and pulled it out. The test on it have come back and show that it was contained inside the kidney so that is great news. He had to take 1/2 the adrenal gland but prior tests show I should be OK with that. Overall they tell me, right now anyhow that I got the best results that anyone could under the same circumstances. That does sound great, I am very happy that I did not go ahead and ask the Doctor who looks so very young, if he were going to prom in the spring. Man he is touchy about that! So now it is time to take it easy till heal a bit, lift nothing over 8 pounds till next year they tell me. Thanks for the great words and thank to those who remembered me in their prayers.
@@JerryEricsson That's great news Jerry, I hope you continue to improve and stay well. It's always a good idea to not get on the wrong side of your doctor who is going to stand over you with a knife 🤣
my advice to you is DONT its addictive, i thought the same, got one, then two, then two more, and now i have half the shop full of them! i kid you not!
I knew it. The minute he folded that paper template. This guy has every tool. Including a metal brake. In the next episode, Dave builds a windmill powered space shuttle. Lol. Great to see another cool video Dave! Thank You!
Great repairs on both radios David. Nice to have a replacement speaker when you need one. I appreciate your bulldog - like resolve when it comes to restringing the dial cords. Nobody does it better.
I sat here and laughed out loud for several minutes at about 5:30 when you did the motor boating thing. That is the most creative thing I've seen in a while! Bravo made my day!
Great job, David. You are learning very fast. When I look at your early videos, you had a lot to learn. It is a pleasure to watch your videos. I have never been to Australia, I must come and meet you and discuss for many hours. I am 64 now and intend to retire at 67. Australia would be a great place to visit. Well done and keep up the good work. Great video.
Thank you Andrew. I agree, I have picked up a lot in the last 3 years, there is nothing like experience and a bit of help from friends. Feel free to pop in in 3 years time 👍🙂
I imagine there are 2 very happy radio owners. Some more superb work. The Operatic, sounded so much better, those cricket commentaries coming through very nicely...😄. Poor Radio Cruncher have a rough time out in the boat! Thanks for posting, as always 40 mins of Tipton magic. Cheers and best wishes
Hi Ken, I believe Graham is recovering nicely, the doc says he will be good as new by Christmas 😉😄 The Operatic worked very well, a good design. Thanks Ken 👍🙂
Nice job on the repairs. The refrigerator one is pretty cool looking, but there is no beating the look of the old wooden ones. It really is such a shame you cannot get anything like them today.
Great detective work finding the cause of the motor boating on the first radio. And that second radio noticing the speaker problem was great. Thanks for the entertaining and instructional video.
I enjoyed that, as usual. Although I do not have the Westinghouse refrigerator radio, I DO have a genuine Westinghouse refrigerator keeping the food chilled down the basement. It was my grandparent's fridge, and has been in continuous use for closing in on 70 years!
Thank you Volktales. That's pretty amazing for a fridge to last that long, I've had moden fridges that barely saw 10 years. We bought a Westinghouse fridge last year, I wonder if that will be around in 2090 😀
Great Work as always, David!! I enjoyed this episode VERY MUCH!! As always, I really enjoyed watching the repairs that you did, to bring both of these radios back to life!! I must say that ever since I first learned of those "Little Jewel" "Refrigerator" Radios, a few years back, I've enjoyed watching videos of fellows like yourself, repairing and/or restoring them! 🙂 If I ever come across one, and have the money, (whether or not it's already been restored), I just may purchase it! 😊 Take Care & As always, I'll be looking forward to your next video! AND I'll work on catching up with all previous videos, which I've not viewed yet, as well!! 😊 Many Thanks Yet Again! Ron
Hi Ron, thanky, I'm very glad your enjoyed it. I wouldn't mind one in my collection as well if I find one. Thanks Ron, don't go too far back in the videos, they were pretty awful at the start 😄
Anyone who had made trips to the local Pharmacy or Hardware store in the 60's or early 70's to test your vacuum tubes for replacement, can appreciate how insightful this is. I worked on military aircraft that still had vacuum tube technology. Remnants of the cold war as our first line of defence.
Hi Neil, I don't remember them in Australia, I might remember them in Tandy (Radio Shack) stores but can't be sure. I used to take them to the local TV repair shop and he would test them for me 🙂
@@DavidTipton101 Here in Canada, it was almost part of the “good father” traditional skills. Most fathers had a wooden tool carryall with a brace and bit drill, a hammer, a hand saw and a few screw drivers. If your dad wasn’t fiddling with the rabbit ears on the tv with added balls of aluminum foil, he was swapping out burnt out valves at the local pharmacy. That was normal aside from popping the hood on the car and doing his own maintenance. How things have changed! The smart kids got their hands dirty learning the basic trades to garnish independence from having to send things to the “shop”. Thankfully I got my hands dirty and made sure my son had his pound of dirt at an early age. Unfortunately with today’s generation they have a limited attention span, and anticipate immediate gratification. I visualize the families that gathered around the radio broadcast at night and how important the radio was to tie a country together. Most families were rural and this was their only window to world events. I have a zenith, trans oceanic that I bought at a yard sale that my immediate neighbour had. And I couldn’t believe that he was selling it, since it belonged to his father when he was in the military working on the DEW line up north in Canada. The DEW line was our first line of defence from a Russian missile attack. Can you imagine being up north in a very small station watching a radar screen and you have your radio to your side so you can listen to music that might be broadcast from around the world probably from the BBC at the time or the CBC. I powered it up and it worked just fine and that was 25 years ago and it still works! Our smart phones got smart and we got dumb! It’s an absolute joy to watch your channel and follow your detailed process. Cheers!
I bought mine at Ollivanders shop in Diagon Alley London but you can get cheaper ones from China 😉🙂 www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004720502930.html?spm=a2g0o.ppclist.product.6.2b0bkDVQkDVQEy&pdp_npi=2%40dis%21AUD%21AU%20%247.74%21AU%20%242.24%21%21%21%21%21%40210312cf16689004618233064edec4%2112000030226649358%21btf&_t=pvid:7220a22b-f2bf-4460-b237-b6d0d2b9e888&afTraceInfo=1005004720502930__pc__pcBridgePPC__xxxxxx__1668900462
Very well done David. Great repairs and I liked the 'fridge radio that might have even looked retro when it was made in the 1940's. I know as a kid I had a money box done like it (presumably my parents couldn't afford the radio version! 🤣). Liked Graham in the speedboat too, although maybe Graham mightn't like the shark chase so much. Great video, and thank you.
Thank you Gerard. Haha... a refrigerator moneybox, the real thing would have been much better 😀 I sent Graham the boat segment for approval, he said with that enough encouragement he could outswim a shark, he was happy with his part, he's a good egg 🙂 Thanks Gerard.
Welcome back Prof. David, we missed your magic 🤩. I had that boat noise before, thanks to your video, now I know it's Mica. That American refrigerator looks odd in a cool way. You made it sing big time.👍👍👍
Hi Khaled. thank you. I think you can get the boat noise from paper caps, electrolytics, poor shield grounding, poor resistors and bad soldering or poor wire layout if you have replaced components. It is caused by instability in the circuit somewhere, you just have to find it. The Little Jewel was pretty cool. Thanks Khaled 🙂
That Jewel seemed so nice in that magazine or whatever, was hyped to see you had the case. Then that paint job got shown, and I immediately shrieked in horror. What a way to destroy a case.
Great work on that Little Jewel Westinghouse radio. I recently restored one and it too was quite an adventure. When it was aligned it really pulled in a lot of stations with its regular internal antenna. Really quirky to put all the cabinet parts back together with very close speaker tolerances to fit in the grill area and case. I love your videos and always await them. Keep them coming.
I always look forward to your videos. I spotted it last night and couldn't give it the attention it merits till this morning. Enjoyed it as usual. I hope your summer is going well. We are in the fridge, it's working towards winter for us up here.
Hello clasicradiolover, thank you. We are still in spring but hitting 95F today as was yesterday, at least the humidity is reasonable at the moment. Yeah... I'm not sure how I would go in a Northern winter 👍😀
@@DavidTipton101 Yes it's still fall but trying to be winter. Temperatures close to 0°C at night and having to run the water to prevent frozen water pipes. I don't fancy crawling under the house for a repair. I did re-plumb this place myself, twice. But I really don't want to fix it this time of year.
Hi Dave I have a little ‘fun’ story about that little chrome dome replacement speaker that you used in the second radio. When I was state manager for Jaycar W.A. we had a number of customers come to the store with failed Jaycar speakers wanting a refund. Most were car audio speakers , in particular subwoofers , and they presented with burnt voice coils that where were rubbing on the magnet. Jaycar policy at the time was to send them back to head office for inspection before giving a refund or replacement. That might be fine in the eastern states stores where they had pickups and deliveries every day , but over in the West we were much more ...’delayed’. (one of my pet peeves while there) Instead we would tell the customer that if the voice coil has got too hot , the enamel from the wire expands and causes the rubbing. The more rubbing reduces the movement of the cone , then you get less cooling , and in turn , more heat in the coil and , more burning. .until it locks up solid. … and the most common cause of this , is from the Amp which has been run into distortion , flat topping making a DC like waveform , and then its all over. 99% of customers were OK with this explanation , and between you and me , they all knew that they F'd them up through user abuse , and it wasn’t a genuine warranty claim. However some of my young staff at the store in Perth were a little uneasy with just the explanation , so one night after work I arranged a demonstration for them. I got one of those small speakers (I did pay for it) and then hooked it up to the shops 300W subwoofer amp , obviously a vast mismatch of amp power to speaker power rating , and I cranked it up. There was no enclosure , so no cone damping or movement restriction at all , it was totally the wrong way to run that speaker. Anyhoo , we had about 150W going into that for 15 minutes , and doing so the cone was moving so violently it was poling , hitting the fame or magnet base on its most inward travel , and then pushing out as far as the suspension would mechanically allow. It was a clakery machine , and a case of terrible abuse that would never be done in the real world. BUT , after 15 minutes , the speaker had survived .. there was no burnt voice coil , and the staff was amazed. Later we upped it to 300W and smoked it , but again that took perhaps another 15 minutes , which really was to be expected sooner or later. The point is that Jaycar policy was right , and that if the speaker didn’t have any pre-existing damage , then any burnt voice coils were most likely from user abuse , not from too many Watts. The staff were convinced by the demonstration of that poor little chrome speaker , a speaker that now is in heaven , fluttering along with his little angel wings. 😁
Haha...great story Greg, I can't imagine the noise with 300 Watts going into the little speaker, pretty incredible that it lasted that long. Thanks Greg 👍🙂
Thanks Dave for another GREAT video...Your craftsmanship is second to none...and I see that Don has chimed-in...I agree with Don that I am always watching for when both of you do videos...Thanks again...
Hi Dave nice work as always... As a child I had a Westinghouse little Jewel would listen to it all the time....I was lucky and found one on EBAY last year and did a complete restore on it ,, Everytime I listen to it it brings me back to the day... Also the handles on those Little Jewels never really work properly,, stay well ...look for your next video..
Hi Paul, thank you. I might keep an eye out for one here although I doubt there are many available in Oz. Everytime I work on a radio it takes me back in time, I think that's why I enjoy it, it is the same with you it seems 😀
What a REALLY great job you did on both of these radios! I really liked the pointer you created for that first one! You should have a couple of very happy radio owners!
Hello Gregg, thank you. Yes the pointer came out great, I expected to have a pile of out of shape piano wire on the bench but it worked first go. I sure hope the owners are happy 😄
And another great couple of radios live to see another day. I have to agree, that Westinghouse radiois certainly different and unuseral. Great work and looks like word has started to get out inregards to your ability to bring those old radios back from the grave. Keep up the good work and as always i will look forward to the next installment. And as other have said 'well done'.
Two nice fixes there David. Had a couple of things to do recently. My brothers vintage graphic equaliser lost one channel so I replaced both preamp chips and seeing a domed cap the power supply I replaced the smoothing caps. I also found an iPal radio at the op shop. It’s working ok but the NimH battery is only giving 5.4V it should be 7.2, so I’ll have to spend $60 to make a $5 radio portable again.
Hi David. Great stuff as always. The Operatic looks like a nice radio. The Westinghouse has an odd looking appearance for a radio, but it works well. Again thoroughly enjoyed watching. Cheers Chris.
Hey Dave, I love your channel and I always try to comment at least once on your videos. You nearly always reply, even if it's just "thanks" for the compliment. So please don't take this the wrong way.... The intro is brutal. I wear headphones because I'm hearing impaired and that BANG BANG BANG gets me every single time. The video before this one I was watching had low volume and my headphones were raised loud and when I clicked on the video that banging started. I've never mentioned it before because I was afraid you would take it in the wrong way..... like me just giving you grief for no reason.... but how would you know if nobody says anything. The volume of that clip is very high.
Hi tarstarkusz, I have no problem if you see something I can improve on my videos. I lowered the volume of the intro clip some time ago, I can lower it a bit more and maybe fade it in. I take an enormous amount of care to set the volume on my videos so they do not exceed -14db which is UA-cam's mandated top level, unfortunately some creators have their volume set too low and you turn up the sound and the next video is too loud. I will see what I can do 🙂
Always wonderful to see your videos David.. first I hope you are doing well? Very interesting radios esp. the US one.... as always great to see you in action!
Very nice work once again and very entertaining. That refrigerator radio was indeed a strange looking thing. It seems back in the 40's and 50's it was a contest to see who could make the most unique looking radio ie empire state, beehive etc. I think that one wins.
🤣🤣 That was a very nice speedboat I was in. Shame it blew up and I got eaten by a shark😂. Great stuff and thanks for the mention. Great work on the 1st radio. You are the ‘King of String’. Very nice bit of fabrication on the 2nd radio and yet more stringing 😮. It’s a lovely looking little radio. Well done getting them both running properly again. Cheers Graham
Hi Graham, clearly your boat picked up some interference from the malfunctioning radio, sorry about that 😄 I do enjoy a good restring if they are easy enough, these were easy and these were both quick repairs, I enjoyed doing them. Thanks Graham, see you Sunday night 👍🙂
Good restored David sir Sir you changed speaker New speaker head is not completely covered some times magnetic disturbance on valves sir you use a tv speakers or woofers speakers this type speakers are great sound and fully covered by speakers head. Thank you so much for sharing nice Video David sir.
An enjoyable lunch break watching a basic???? repair! You can't help yourself. "Just tinkering" and "Dave Tipton" cannot fit in the same sentence ha ha. Great as always and a bet the two owners are well chuffed. Have a good one mate.
Hi Stephen, I wouldn't last long in a real repair shop environment, I reckon I would be sacked by lunchtime 😄 I haven't heard back from the owners so that's good I suppose. Thanks Stephen 👍🙂
@@DavidTipton101 Please don's stop, I'll never stop watching your videos, they are just mesmerizing! Even from the other side of the world. I live in Norway, and I have a valve radio from just after WW2 that's still working, and I love it, even though FM has mostly been discontinued over here! There's still some channels found on the AM, though.
Good job David... the Westinghouse radio did not do it for me - very American and somewhat tacky. I was interested that you put oil in to the switches and controls after you had used the WD40... I did not do that so that is another lesson for me. Anyway always good to receive another "Tipton Special". And the motor-boating was a classic. 😄
Hi Kenneth, I believe there was a NZ copy made that didn't go well, it is a very American design. I usually drop soom oil on the shafts to make it a bit smother, I don't know what the long term effect will be as it drys out. Thanks Kenneth 😄
Hey David. Good job stringing and fabricating a dial pointer on the first radio...👍The Westinghouse radio was a cute little gem. Great job making a speaker mounting bracket. Got a link on where to buy that new speaker? It sounded great!. How do you keep your fingers from poking the cone? One good thing about the refrigerator radio, it will keep the tubes very cool, but the down side is that every few months you will have to defrost it! 😅..., I'm confused though...why did I hear Aussie accents coming out of an American radio. It baffles science!....... cheers, 🍺🍺
Thanks Buzz, I seem to be at odds with most people, I enjoy a good restring and I wouldn't mind a Little Jewel in my collection. I don't always keep my fingers out of the cone although you seem to do it at a more professional level 🤣 Haha... yes the refrigerator radio runs very cool inside 😄 It has a regional switch located under the aerial, you set it to 'Normal' for the US or 'Aussie' when downunder, it's quite a handy feature. I see Old Goat dropped in from your reference to my undies on your last video. This video is a few months old but I'll return the favour in a future video. The speaker came from our local electronics chain, they seem to have changed it in the last day or so but this is the replacement part, looks even better: www.jaycar.com.au/125mm-5-all-purpose-replacement-speaker/p/AS3007?pos=3&queryId=8b380d3005b90ad5ee40b94b815a0f23
I recently had to touch my first dial cord and it was quite a fight. A few years ago I was given a badly mangled Crown SHC-6100 stereo (the kind of wide plastic box with cassette and record players side by side and AM/FM radio on the front that was popular in Europe in the 70s and early 80s). The record player had the cartridge ripped clean off the wires including the little bullet connectors, the idler wheel was dented and glazed pretty badly, as was the pinch roller of the cassette section. After plenty of searching and getting help online I identified the cartridge as a CZ-800 (peculiar snap-on mount rather than the more common 1/2" screws) and after unsuccessfully messing with an old VGA connector, which was too small for the 1.3 mm pins of the cartridge, I eventually got some headshell wires off of a certain Chinese web portal for 4 Euros including P&P. Soldered that onto the existing coaxial wires inside the arm, managing to melt through the insulation of the inner core on one channel, creating a short (thankfully I checked as the joint already looked a bit suspect) and sanded the idler wheel. The record player should work now. THat left the radio section, which had a broken dial cord. Not really wanting to mess with the complex routing I tried mending the cord with the only thing I had on hand, dental floss. Crazy projects (like trying to fix an utterly worthless stereo) call for crazy solutions. Despite several near-breakdowns and beads of sweat running all over me because the string kept popping off and getting caught somewhere I did eventually manage to mend the cord but the floss isn't strong enough, I need to get some proper stuff. The big nightmare about this is that the pointer and tuning knob are fixed to the case while the condenser and several pulleys are on the main PCB, actually on the bottom of the PCB, between the board and case. There's an access hatch on the bottom but that only allows access to about 2/3 of the pulley and two long runs of cord are completetely inaccessible. I ended up removing three screws from the board so I could bend it up and get access from the side and get my fingers in between the board and case. The worst bit was that every time the cord slipped off the condenser pulley it got caught between the pulley and PCB, plenty of component leg ends keeping it from coming back out. The odd bit is that both ends of the cord are tied to the same spring, unlike any other tuner design I've ever seen. Yesterday I went to an old radio repair shop to see if they had any proper dial cord but they didn't, so I'll have to order it online.
Hi Ragnar8504. We wonder why we waste time on useless items like you describe but it's the challenge to make it work again. I use lots of tape to hold the string in place as I go past pulleys etc, it is painstaking but I stay calm and work out a better way if there is one. Good luck with your restring 👍🙂
@@DavidTipton101 I did manage to restring the tuner with limited stress and minimal injury (those component legs were quite long and pointy). Now the radio works perfectly but the record player mech acts up every time it should shut off, it goes into an infinite loop of lifting and lowering the arm and for my dead life I can't figure out what causes that or how the mech is supposed to work.
@@Ragnar8504 I don't have any idea why your record player is behaving as it is. I believe that is a semi automatic player with the tone arm returning to the rest at the end of the record. A fault like you describe is usually caused by dried lubricant, cleaning and relubrication will fix most problems. you may have to dismantle some parts to clean them properly. I found this on UA-cam, it's not your model but it may be similar. He appears to clean and lubricate his to get it to return. Do not apply oil to the little trip plate, which he appears to do, it should be dry and able to 'dangle' (poor choice of word, it needs to be free) so the tone arm can move it into the path of the trip 'toe' on the platter spindle casting or plastic gear when it gets to end of record. He seems to have removed the lever assembly from underneath the deck to clean it. www.google.com/search?q=Crown+SHC-6100+manual&source=lmns&bih=929&biw=1920&hl=en-GB&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiIvcHp54yAAxWIUWwGHSKOC-gQ_AUoAHoECAEQAA#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:fb8d3e80,vid:Tnp6gV3L5E8
Nice repairs, I rather like the little Westinghouse, I have a few American sets, will be on the lookout for one of these. The Operatic looks very dated for 1960, but over here in the UK, the Bush DAC90A ran from 1950 to 1961, a very popular set, even today!
Thank you markpirateuk. The Westinghouse is different, I thought the Operatic was from the early 50s too, I said so in the video but cut it out. I have a DAC90a 🙂
Crikey! wonderful video! I have 4 of those little jewel radios, they are very popular over here. I managed to get two working and I still need to fix the other two that are not cooperating......grrrr..... shotgun modification? God bless and keep it up!
You have four! I'll have to see if I can pick one up one day, there was a NZ copy made which didn't sell well I've been told, maybe I can get one of those. Good luck with your remaining two. Thanks Mike 👍🙂
I have heard the little Westinghouse radio was designed to look similar to a refrigerator. It was kind of a gimic by Westinghouse I think, but in good condition they are quite sought after even now. Unfortunately this one lost a lot of its collectors appeal by being painted...... Good result getting it working :)
Hi Brendan, I wonder if they gave away the radio with a Westinghouse fridge? I don't know what the story was with the painting, it could have looked better than that 🙂
I really like the Blue colour on that Westinghouse in contrast witht the Brass. I just recently watched someone else restore one of them. They are an interesting little unit
I didn't think graham had a speed boat lol, you have a great sense of humor dave :-D The simple philips style needle was perfect, and the white tube was excellent. Apart from your excellent repairs, you go to so much trouble for the owner. The vertical radio is not my cup of tea, looks like an old battery charger.
Graham DID have a speedboat zx8401ztv, it was his first trip too 😄 The pointer worked well, I was happy it worked first time. The little 'fridge' is cute, I would like one in my collection but it's not for everyone. Thanks zx8401ztv 🙂
What a great video to watch The dial needle for that radio called operatic was a very smart fabricated move The Jewel really is a jewel in my eyes , love the style Thanks for uploading David Best regards Shaun
Hi Shaun, thanks, the dial pointer worked first time, it was a surprise for me too 😄the 'fridge' was unusual and I would like one for my collection. Thanks Shaun, keep well 🙂
Hi Dave. Just a suggestion. Using a thin wooden skewer, like you often get at Asian restaurants when ordering food that needs a spit, would make a great and precise non-metallic pointer for your videos instead of screw drivers or thick paint brush handles. Try it. I love all your videos.. signed, Peter Dubno from Long Island, NY
I'm a shocker Retep Onbud, I use whatever I have in my hand. I have some knitting needles that I am supposed to use but they stay on the shelf and I point with anything close by. Thanks for the suggestion 👍🙂
Another Excellent Refurbishment David both suffering Motorboat problems I like the Animations I have never had Operatic cum Bland is the Workshop it was interesting they Philip IF fitted to then and AC/DC I didn’t see them in Workshop they I think were banned in Australia and needed 115 Volts ,The early Astor battery portable were AC/DC but were Double Insulted, Another Great Refurbishment David 10 out 10,Regards Ian.
Hi Ian, thank you. I thought it was interesting the Operatic had Philips caps too. Australia did produce soma AC/DC sets but I couldn't imagine there would be a market for imported American AC/DC sets 🙂
Hi David was looking for how to vintage radio repair, and found your channel, you are so helpful. Love your video, I a bit new to repair but at 65 disabled it's keeping me interested, my set are 1941 to 1955 and 60s tables top all are 5 value set,still looking for books and parts suppliers, any who thanks for sharing,
Thank you Richard. Good luck with your new hobby, it can be very rewarding. If you are in the US I did a couple of all American five radios videos as well 😊
I can't recommend any good books, the few I have are not available to buy these days. Google "books for tube radio repair" and you will get some ideas. I picked up most of my information watching UA-cam Videos. Google "AA5 radios" and you will get plenty of hits. If I wanted to know something I would Google it, "how does a radio tube work" etc. You should pick it up gradually as you go along. I knew nothing about radios 3 years ago but I learn something with each one I do. Online radio forums can be very helpful to get answers to questions. There are plenty about. Good luck Richard.
Another thoroughly good job and excellent video. I suspect the new speaker probably sounds better than the original ever did as well even if it is an inexpensive one. That's actually something I get hung up on. You do remarkable work fixing the old original speakers in your projects, but I have worked in the audio/hifi industry for many years, and I know the very real, huge differences that exist in the quality/clarity of sound in the different speaker components available today (woofers, midranges, tweeters, full range drivers etc.) because of materials, manufacturing, engineering and improvements over the decades, and I wonder if you have ever toyed with the idea of installing higher quality drivers from today's manufacturers in the old radios? Monitor Audio, JBL, Polk Audio, Tannoy, Vifa etc etc all have modern high performance speaker components that might be worth playing around with.. I would expect many of the older higher quality radios you have restored in the past would actually sound much better with modern high quality drivers installed instead of the vintage older ones.
Thank you socalav. I have fitted new speakers when I couldn't get a replacement but I prefer to keep the original look of the radio if I can. When I have replaced them with a modern speaker it doesn't improve the sound all that much, it is AM after all, not much can improve that. It might make a difference if you played Bluetooth or a record player I suppose. Thanks socalav for your thought provoking comment 🙂
@@DavidTipton101 Hi, am grateful for your reply! I just want to make sure my comment wasn't confusing. From my experience and background, there is a vast difference in the quality of sound modern well engineered drivers (or complete speakers) can produce, (especially when loaded in proper vented or sealed enclosures), but I would not expect to hear the kind of surprisingly vast differences when using inexpensive generic replacement drivers, (although I was hopeful that the ones you used might be better than average). The next time you work with one of those beautiful FM units that can be opened up to wideband performance, try to source a better replacement driver from Tannoy, Monitor Audio, (I would love to include Celestion but they sadly exited the market).. I promise you I think you will be surprised.
Good going there, Dave! The routine speed you have developed now in diagnosing and sorting out is on Shango level. The front brass faceplate of the fridge radio looks like someone had a go at it with an angle grinder and wire wheel, or was that just the lighting that makes it look so?
Hi Blitz, thanks. I am learning and I love troubleshooting, when you see the radio I am working on you may retract that statement, it lead me on a merry chase. The brass finish was exactly as it looked was in the video, I think they were going for the original brass look but it didn't look to good, it was smooth but they had added lines in a darker colour, it was pretty awful 😄
I can agree as to the Westinghouse radio. It is an odd design. I don't recall seeing one like it in any other video. Hope your doing well now that it is springtime for you.
It is odd but desirable to me as a collector. I have been told Glasslinger did one. It's warming up here as we head into summer, I'm in pretty good shape health wise, thanks Phillip 🙂
Westinghouse manufactured a lot of things but i guess refrigerators were a bug item for the company. The neat little radio was styled like one of their refrigerators for good reason, it surely promoted refrigerator sales. It would not surprise me to learn they gave that little radio away with the purchase of a top of the line Westinghouse refrigerator in `46. How many US and Canadian veterans returned from the war and started families? It was certainly a boom here in America economically.
Hi Jeff, I would be highly likely they would give away a fridge radio with a fridge. It would swing a customer to a Westinghouse fridge most of the time. My siblings and I are a result of that boom 👶👶👶👶
Hi David. Another enjoyable video. You could have done with Radio cruncher to do the dial strings, he loves them I don't think. Thanks again from Derrick. 👍🐾🐾
As you are the only person not afraid of re-stringing, a short video showing how to tie those knots while keeping the tension (30:55), also the first knot (sping) would be very helpful :)
Thanks Murat, I will do that the next suitable restring I get 👍🙂
@@DavidTipton101 There is that sailors knot chart in every seaside fish and chip shop, plus I would have thought the Boy Scouts would have a web page with vids ? (also useful for the hoofguy)
It’s always a Good Friday when I come home and find you’ve done another video.
Nice to see some ‘back to basics’ straightforward radio repairs. A great job on both of them, as always.
If the owner doesn’t want that old speaker back maybe you could have a play with it. I’ve never managed to remove the spider from a speaker but if you succeed it would be worth watching.
Nice cameo appearance by Graham the radio cruncher in his boat!
Cheers.
Hi Don, it's the same when you put up a new video. It was good to just do some repairs, nice for a change. The owner took the speaker back, I think I could have fixed it and if it was the original speaker I would have had a go. The owner had a number of speakers fixed by a friend so I wasn't keen to pull it apart, maybe he can get it repaired again. Graham had a bit of fun didn't he 🤣 Thanks Don.
_You, David, are like a magician. Everything you pick up sings._ 😊
Thanks Domenico 👍🙂
You know your radio adventure comment takes me back to when my wonderful wife was still by my side, we were down in Arizona for the winter in our 35 foot Class A motor home, it was perhaps the 3rd time going down there, over 1000 miles from our home in South Dakota. We had packed up the RV and removed all our shore power and water lines, ready to get on the road to explore deeper South into the vast Arizona desert, I turned to her, my wife of 50 years and said: We are off on another adventure! I meant that, and she loved it. God how I miss those days.
Hi Jerry, if only we could go back but we can't but we can still remember the old days fondly and bore our grandkids with the stories. As Frank said, 'That's Life' 🙂
Waking up after a nightshift and see a new radio adventure from David makes my day..! Excellent job as usual!
Thanks you Jacob, I did night shift for many years, I'm happy I have retired and don't do it anymore 🙂
Customers are nearly always happier when you go above and beyond the original fault and exceed their expectations. I like those Westinghouse radios, qwerky like a little fridge. Another great video. Enjoyed watching it.
we always called this a refrigerator radio , I had one in red and white good memories thanks for fixing it .
I hope they are happy Radio-Ged, The fridge radio is quirky, I don't know how practical they were but a good one to have in a collection. Thank Radio-Ged 🙂
Thank you Robert 🙂
Well been some time now, last check, I was cancer free that is a relief. I was thinking about that Westinghouse radio, I remember when we moved off the farm in 62 and into a rented home, dad found a used fridge that looked about the same design as that radio, we used it for many years, on the farm that had no power or running water, we did have a kerosene fridge that we used in the summer, come winter we would shut off the two back bedrooms that had no heat and used them as a "cold room" to keep our food from spoiling. It usually froze back there. Mom and dad slept in the living room and we kids slept in the one upstairs room that had a vent from the living room where the coal stove sat heating the kitchen, living room and one upstairs bedroom. The ceiling upstairs was open to the rafters and we could see stars through the cracks where shingles had blown off the old 1910 farm house. It was a rough life but I do miss those days. Our only entertainment came from a battery pack radio sat atop a high shelf out of reach of we kids lest we wear out the expensive battery. I got my first touch of electronic repair watching dad replace tubes in that old set when it became weak and we could not listen to the old radio shows, and mom would miss the hospital report and her soap operas. I am going to keep an eye out for one of those radios, it would look great in our kitchen and add some music to cooking time.
I hope you can find a suitable radio to restore Jerry. Thank you 🙂
Great video! I have seen those Westinghouse radios before. They are the same as the Westinghouse referagorators of that eaa. Not to sure how much longer I will be watching your videeos, I am awaiting my surgeon's call to see if the grapefruiit size tumor on my kidney is operaable. I pray it is so far they do not see a spread of the cancer. He just called and said to expct his clinic to call to schedule the surgery where he will rmove my right kidney and it appears that the cancer has not spred. THis is a relief! I have, in the past 3 years sufferd the loss of my 2 sisters to cancer, and 2 years ago lost my wife to Cancer so when I was found with the dreaded C I invisioned going the way they did. I was with my eldest sister as she passed from this earth holding her hand, and months later holding the love of my life by her hand as she breathed her last. While I am a bit amprehensive of the forecoming surgery, I do have faith in my Doctor and in the power of God in my life. Hope to watch many more of your videos. Thanks again.
HI Jerry, sorry to hear of your diagnosis but the prognosis sounds promising so I wish you all the best 👍🙂
@@DavidTipton101 Thanks, I came out much better then I expected. The tumor was very large and left a huge hole in my belly where the doctor reached inside me and pulled it out. The test on it have come back and show that it was contained inside the kidney so that is great news. He had to take 1/2 the adrenal gland but prior tests show I should be OK with that. Overall they tell me, right now anyhow that I got the best results that anyone could under the same circumstances. That does sound great, I am very happy that I did not go ahead and ask the Doctor who looks so very young, if he were going to prom in the spring. Man he is touchy about that! So now it is time to take it easy till heal a bit, lift nothing over 8 pounds till next year they tell me. Thanks for the great words and thank to those who remembered me in their prayers.
@@JerryEricsson That's great news Jerry, I hope you continue to improve and stay well. It's always a good idea to not get on the wrong side of your doctor who is going to stand over you with a knife 🤣
Smashing couple of repairs.
Love the animations!🤣
The more I watch you fix the more I'm tempted to have a go at a vintage radio myself.
Thanks Adelle, as long as you are careful with the high voltages, why not? 🙂
my advice to you is DONT its addictive, i thought the same, got one, then two, then two more, and now i have half the shop full of them! i kid you not!
I like how you explain what you are doing and not afraid to say not sure and try another route . Great teacher !
Thank you Melvin 🙂
Agree with Don! Loved the Power Boat... 👍 Only David could come up with a way to make a dial pointer. I'd have no clue!
Haha... thanks Tube-dude 😄
I knew it. The minute he folded that paper template. This guy has every tool. Including a metal brake. In the next episode, Dave builds a windmill powered space shuttle. Lol. Great to see another cool video Dave! Thank You!
My windmill powered space shuttle is top secret Midnight Wind, I knew I shouldn't have built it in the front yard 🤦♂️Thanks Midnight Wind 👍😄
@@DavidTipton101 Just glad to see you are still at it. You are my window into Australia. Lol. No pressure. Be well!!
Great repairs on both radios David. Nice to have a replacement speaker when you need one. I appreciate your bulldog - like resolve when it comes to restringing the dial cords. Nobody does it better.
Hi Steve, thank you. I don't mind restringing it's therapeutic. I always have a spare 5" speaker 😄
I sat here and laughed out loud for several minutes at about 5:30 when you did the motor boating thing. That is the most creative thing I've seen in a while! Bravo made my day!
Haha... thanks John, I got a little chuckle myself when I followed your link 😄
Great job, David. You are learning very fast. When I look at your early videos, you had a lot to learn. It is a pleasure to watch your videos. I have never been to Australia, I must come and meet you and discuss for many hours. I am 64 now and intend to retire at 67. Australia would be a great place to visit.
Well done and keep up the good work. Great video.
Thank you Andrew. I agree, I have picked up a lot in the last 3 years, there is nothing like experience and a bit of help from friends. Feel free to pop in in 3 years time 👍🙂
Top quality as always. The little fridge looks great.
Thank you so much for your support drewf64 👍😀
I imagine there are 2 very happy radio owners. Some more superb work. The Operatic, sounded so much better, those cricket commentaries coming through very nicely...😄. Poor Radio Cruncher have a rough time out in the boat! Thanks for posting, as always 40 mins of Tipton magic. Cheers and best wishes
Hi Ken, I believe Graham is recovering nicely, the doc says he will be good as new by Christmas 😉😄 The Operatic worked very well, a good design. Thanks Ken 👍🙂
Nice job on the repairs. The refrigerator one is pretty cool looking, but there is no beating the look of the old wooden ones. It really is such a shame you cannot get anything like them today.
Thank you tarstarkusz. I agree the wooden ones are the best 🙂
Hi Dave, it is always great to see you play with these old machines, fixing them, cleaning them so they look like new. Great job.
Hi De Mus, thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Great detective work finding the cause of the motor boating on the first radio. And that second radio noticing the speaker problem was great. Thanks for the entertaining and instructional video.
Thanks LuckyLarry. I'm getting better at troubleshooting which I find to be a lot of fun 🙂
Well done again Dave. Not only do you teach you entertain.
Thank you Ken 🙂
I enjoyed that, as usual. Although I do not have the Westinghouse refrigerator radio, I DO have a genuine Westinghouse refrigerator keeping the food chilled down the basement. It was my grandparent's fridge, and has been in continuous use for closing in on 70 years!
Thank you Volktales. That's pretty amazing for a fridge to last that long, I've had moden fridges that barely saw 10 years. We bought a Westinghouse fridge last year, I wonder if that will be around in 2090 😀
Great Work as always, David!!
I enjoyed this episode VERY MUCH!!
As always, I really enjoyed watching the repairs that you did, to bring both of these radios back to life!!
I must say that ever since I first learned of those "Little Jewel" "Refrigerator" Radios, a few years back, I've enjoyed watching videos of fellows like yourself, repairing and/or restoring them! 🙂
If I ever come across one, and have the money, (whether or not it's already been restored), I just may purchase it! 😊
Take Care & As always, I'll be looking forward to your next video!
AND I'll work on catching up with all previous videos, which I've not viewed yet, as well!! 😊
Many Thanks Yet Again!
Ron
Hi Ron, thanky, I'm very glad your enjoyed it. I wouldn't mind one in my collection as well if I find one. Thanks Ron, don't go too far back in the videos, they were pretty awful at the start 😄
Nice job as always, David! Love these old radios, and your skills are spot on !
Thank you Bob 🙂
Thank you David. Speedy and accurate diagnoses followed by top notch repairs - fantastic! 'Hope you're keeping well.
Thank you berniestep. I well thanks, I don't have any outstanding ailments at the moment 😄
Nice job on both radios Dave. I always thought those little fridge radios had a unique look as well.
Thanks Paul, very unusual, I think they were copied here and in New Zealand for the local markets. Cheers 🙂
Anyone who had made trips to the local Pharmacy or Hardware store in the 60's or early 70's to test your vacuum tubes for replacement, can appreciate how insightful this is.
I worked on military aircraft that still had vacuum tube technology. Remnants of the cold war as our first line of defence.
Hi Neil, I don't remember them in Australia, I might remember them in Tandy (Radio Shack) stores but can't be sure. I used to take them to the local TV repair shop and he would test them for me 🙂
@@DavidTipton101 Here in Canada, it was almost part of the “good father” traditional skills.
Most fathers had a wooden tool carryall with a brace and bit drill, a hammer, a hand saw and a few screw drivers.
If your dad wasn’t fiddling with the rabbit ears on the tv with added balls of aluminum foil, he was swapping out burnt out valves at the local pharmacy.
That was normal aside from popping the hood on the car and doing his own maintenance.
How things have changed! The smart kids got their hands dirty learning the basic trades to garnish independence from having to send things to the “shop”.
Thankfully I got my hands dirty and made sure my son had his pound of dirt at an early age.
Unfortunately with today’s generation they have a limited attention span, and anticipate immediate gratification.
I visualize the families that gathered around the radio broadcast at night and how important the radio was to tie a country together. Most families were rural and this was their only window to world events.
I have a zenith, trans oceanic that I bought at a yard sale that my immediate neighbour had. And I couldn’t believe that he was selling it, since it belonged to his father when he was in the military working on the DEW line up north in Canada. The DEW line was our first line of defence from a Russian missile attack.
Can you imagine being up north in a very small station watching a radar screen and you have your radio to your side so you can listen to music that might be broadcast from around the world probably from the BBC at the time or the CBC.
I powered it up and it worked just fine and that was 25 years ago and it still works!
Our smart phones got smart and we got dumb!
It’s an absolute joy to watch your channel and follow your detailed process.
Cheers!
@@nzs316 Thank you Neil 👍🙂
I need one of those capacitor-replacing pens! So much easier than the old method.
I bought mine at Ollivanders shop in Diagon Alley London but you can get cheaper ones from China 😉🙂
www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004720502930.html?spm=a2g0o.ppclist.product.6.2b0bkDVQkDVQEy&pdp_npi=2%40dis%21AUD%21AU%20%247.74%21AU%20%242.24%21%21%21%21%21%40210312cf16689004618233064edec4%2112000030226649358%21btf&_t=pvid:7220a22b-f2bf-4460-b237-b6d0d2b9e888&afTraceInfo=1005004720502930__pc__pcBridgePPC__xxxxxx__1668900462
@@DavidTipton101 🤣🤣🤣
Very well done David. Great repairs and I liked the 'fridge radio that might have even looked retro when it was made in the 1940's. I know as a kid I had a money box done like it (presumably my parents couldn't afford the radio version! 🤣). Liked Graham in the speedboat too, although maybe Graham mightn't like the shark chase so much. Great video, and thank you.
Thank you Gerard. Haha... a refrigerator moneybox, the real thing would have been much better 😀 I sent Graham the boat segment for approval, he said with that enough encouragement he could outswim a shark, he was happy with his part, he's a good egg 🙂 Thanks Gerard.
They were certainly different I enjoyed watching their restoration.
Hi Nigel, thank you 😊
Welcome back Prof. David, we missed your magic 🤩. I had that boat noise before, thanks to your video, now I know it's Mica.
That American refrigerator looks odd in a cool way. You made it sing big time.👍👍👍
Hi Khaled. thank you. I think you can get the boat noise from paper caps, electrolytics, poor shield grounding, poor resistors and bad soldering or poor wire layout if you have replaced components. It is caused by instability in the circuit somewhere, you just have to find it. The Little Jewel was pretty cool. Thanks Khaled 🙂
Yes you are great at this, your attention to detail is amazing . It's almost hypothesis watching you
Thank you Leo, keep warm 😃
You are to the humble wireless what Florence Nightingale was to sick & injured people - a great gift from the heavens above!
Haha... thanks Christopher 😄
That Jewel seemed so nice in that magazine or whatever, was hyped to see you had the case. Then that paint job got shown, and I immediately shrieked in horror. What a way to destroy a case.
Hi Manny, I agree the paint wasn't the best look, if it were mine I would have done something about 🙂
Great work on that Little Jewel Westinghouse radio. I recently restored one and it too was quite an adventure. When it was aligned it really pulled in a lot of stations with its regular internal antenna. Really quirky to put all the cabinet parts back together with very close speaker tolerances to fit in the grill area and case. I love your videos and always await them. Keep them coming.
Thank you Retep Onbud. I was wondering if it was going to fit too 😄 Thanks again 🙂
I always look forward to your videos. I spotted it last night and couldn't give it the attention it merits till this morning. Enjoyed it as usual. I hope your summer is going well. We are in the fridge, it's working towards winter for us up here.
Hello clasicradiolover, thank you. We are still in spring but hitting 95F today as was yesterday, at least the humidity is reasonable at the moment. Yeah... I'm not sure how I would go in a Northern winter 👍😀
@@DavidTipton101 Yes it's still fall but trying to be winter. Temperatures close to 0°C at night and having to run the water to prevent frozen water pipes. I don't fancy crawling under the house for a repair. I did re-plumb this place myself, twice. But I really don't want to fix it this time of year.
Hi Dave
I have a little ‘fun’ story about that little chrome dome replacement speaker that you used in the second radio.
When I was state manager for Jaycar W.A. we had a number of customers come to the store with failed Jaycar speakers wanting a refund.
Most were car audio speakers , in particular subwoofers , and they presented with burnt voice coils that where were rubbing on the magnet.
Jaycar policy at the time was to send them back to head office for inspection before giving a refund or replacement.
That might be fine in the eastern states stores where they had pickups and deliveries every day , but over in the West we were much more ...’delayed’. (one of my pet peeves while there)
Instead we would tell the customer that if the voice coil has got too hot , the enamel from the wire expands and causes the rubbing.
The more rubbing reduces the movement of the cone , then you get less cooling , and in turn , more heat in the coil and , more burning. .until it locks up solid. … and the most common cause of this , is from the Amp which has been run into distortion , flat topping making a DC like waveform , and then its all over.
99% of customers were OK with this explanation , and between you and me , they all knew that they F'd them up through user abuse , and it wasn’t a genuine warranty claim.
However some of my young staff at the store in Perth were a little uneasy with just the explanation , so one night after work I arranged a demonstration for them.
I got one of those small speakers (I did pay for it) and then hooked it up to the shops 300W subwoofer amp , obviously a vast mismatch of amp power to speaker power rating , and I cranked it up.
There was no enclosure , so no cone damping or movement restriction at all , it was totally the wrong way to run that speaker.
Anyhoo , we had about 150W going into that for 15 minutes , and doing so the cone was moving so violently it was poling , hitting the fame or magnet base on its most inward travel , and then pushing out as far as the suspension would mechanically allow.
It was a clakery machine , and a case of terrible abuse that would never be done in the real world.
BUT , after 15 minutes , the speaker had survived .. there was no burnt voice coil , and the staff was amazed.
Later we upped it to 300W and smoked it , but again that took perhaps another 15 minutes , which really was to be expected sooner or later.
The point is that Jaycar policy was right , and that if the speaker didn’t have any pre-existing damage , then any burnt voice coils were most likely from user abuse , not from too many Watts.
The staff were convinced by the demonstration of that poor little chrome speaker , a speaker that now is in heaven , fluttering along with his little angel wings. 😁
Haha...great story Greg, I can't imagine the noise with 300 Watts going into the little speaker, pretty incredible that it lasted that long. Thanks Greg 👍🙂
I knew they'd leave in considerably better shape than they arrived in!
Haha... thanks Paul 😀
Thanks Dave for another GREAT video...Your craftsmanship is second to none...and I see that Don has chimed-in...I agree with Don that I am always watching for when both of you do videos...Thanks again...
Thanks James. I enjoy Don's videos too 👍🙂
Two for one! Nice. The little Westinghouse is pretty cool. I like it.
Thanks Bill, opinion on the 'Fridge' radio seems to be divided 😄
These two both came up great. Well done
Thanks dogribmoon 👍🙂
Interesting pair of radios, and good to see them back to health. Good episode! Peter B
Thank you Peter 🙂
David,great repairs. I knew several people who got the Westinghouse new when they purchased new refrigerator after the war.
Oh, did they give them away with the new fridge? that would be a smart move by Westinghouse. Thanks Dennis 🙂
Yes they did,great way to sell new fridge,and entertainment device all in one package. After the war, people just wanted new items.
I like the way you change capacitors instantly just by pointing at them! Wish I could do that.
It takes a lot of training Timothy, video editing training 😄
Hi DAVID YOU did a great job
Thanks Haytham channel 🙂
Glasslinger did one of these a while back, and painted it metalic green from memory.
I'll have a look for it, thanks Graham 🙂
Must be very satisfying to be able bring radios back to life. Thanks for an entertaining video.
Hi birdie399, it is satisfying and especially early on when I started out. thanks birdie399 🙂
Hi Dave nice work as always... As a child I had a Westinghouse little Jewel would listen to it all the time....I was lucky and found one on EBAY last year and did a complete restore on it ,, Everytime I listen to it it brings me back to the day... Also the handles on those Little Jewels never really work properly,, stay well ...look for your next video..
Hi Paul, thank you. I might keep an eye out for one here although I doubt there are many available in Oz. Everytime I work on a radio it takes me back in time, I think that's why I enjoy it, it is the same with you it seems 😀
Thanks
Thank you kindly Brian 👍🙂
Thanks David. A treat as always
Thanks Peter 🙂
Good to see you and the radio's back up and running 💪👍
Thanks Maarten 👍😊
What a REALLY great job you did on both of these radios! I really liked the pointer you created for that first one! You should have a couple of very happy radio owners!
Hello Gregg, thank you. Yes the pointer came out great, I expected to have a pile of out of shape piano wire on the bench but it worked first go. I sure hope the owners are happy 😄
And another great couple of radios live to see another day. I have to agree, that Westinghouse radiois certainly different and unuseral. Great work and looks like word has started to get out inregards to your ability to bring those old radios back from the grave. Keep up the good work and as always i will look forward to the next installment. And as other have said 'well done'.
Thank you Stephen. It's an interesting design, I'm not sure what sort of market they were aiming for. Thanks 😀
Two nice fixes there David. Had a couple of things to do recently. My brothers vintage graphic equaliser lost one channel so I replaced both preamp chips and seeing a domed cap the power supply I replaced the smoothing caps. I also found an iPal radio at the op shop. It’s working ok but the NimH battery is only giving 5.4V it should be 7.2, so I’ll have to spend $60 to make a $5 radio portable again.
Thanks Wenlocktvdx. Nice when you fix something 👍 Haha, it's always the way, it costs more to fix than it's value 😀
Hi David. Great stuff as always. The Operatic looks like a nice radio. The Westinghouse has an odd looking appearance for a radio, but it works well. Again thoroughly enjoyed watching. Cheers Chris.
Hi Chris, thank you. It was fun working on both radios 🙂
Well done David, another terrific video. Never get tired of seeing your work
Thank you Mark 🙂
Hey Dave, I love your channel and I always try to comment at least once on your videos. You nearly always reply, even if it's just "thanks" for the compliment.
So please don't take this the wrong way.... The intro is brutal. I wear headphones because I'm hearing impaired and that BANG BANG BANG gets me every single time. The video before this one I was watching had low volume and my headphones were raised loud and when I clicked on the video that banging started. I've never mentioned it before because I was afraid you would take it in the wrong way..... like me just giving you grief for no reason.... but how would you know if nobody says anything. The volume of that clip is very high.
Hi tarstarkusz, I have no problem if you see something I can improve on my videos. I lowered the volume of the intro clip some time ago, I can lower it a bit more and maybe fade it in. I take an enormous amount of care to set the volume on my videos so they do not exceed -14db which is UA-cam's mandated top level, unfortunately some creators have their volume set too low and you turn up the sound and the next video is too loud. I will see what I can do 🙂
S’nice you’re back. Hope you’re all right.
Thanks Bernardo, I'm good thanks 🙂
Always wonderful to see your videos David.. first I hope you are doing well? Very interesting radios esp. the US one.... as always great to see you in action!
Thank you Chris. I'm good thank you 😊
My favourite channel. always look forward to your video's. Another great video from the master 👏. Best wishes Terry 🇬🇧.
Thank you Terry 👍🙂
Great repairs Dave. I really like the old bakelite radios. Loved the background Vegemite too.
Thanks slypig24, the Vegemite jar is my tuning tools holder 🙂
Amazing at your repair skills . Keep the videos coming . Learn a lot of general knowledge . Happy new year
Happy New Year Melvin and thank you 🎇🙂
Very nice work once again and very entertaining. That refrigerator radio was indeed a strange looking thing. It seems back in the 40's and 50's it was a contest to see who could make the most unique looking radio ie empire state, beehive etc. I think that one wins.
Thanks Ian, I guess manufactures are always looking for an edge 🙂
Quite a delight. You do such a fine job, always a pleasure to view
I must also give a shout out to your editing skills *awesome*
Thank you Craig. I enjoy the editing, thanks for noticing ☺️
🤣🤣 That was a very nice speedboat I was in. Shame it blew up and I got eaten by a shark😂. Great stuff and thanks for the mention. Great work on the 1st radio. You are the ‘King of String’. Very nice bit of fabrication on the 2nd radio and yet more stringing 😮. It’s a lovely looking little radio. Well done getting them both running properly again. Cheers Graham
Hi Graham, clearly your boat picked up some interference from the malfunctioning radio, sorry about that 😄 I do enjoy a good restring if they are easy enough, these were easy and these were both quick repairs, I enjoyed doing them. Thanks Graham, see you Sunday night 👍🙂
Hi David. Well done, as always. Kudos!
Thank you Otto 🙂
Good restored David sir
Sir you changed speaker
New speaker head is not completely covered some times magnetic disturbance on valves sir you use a tv speakers or woofers speakers this type speakers are great sound and fully covered by speakers head.
Thank you so much for sharing nice Video David sir.
Thanks nath, good point, that did occur to me with the valves so close but it didn't affect the radio as far as I could tell. Thanks Nath 👍🙂
I really like the looks of that refrigerator radio. Great video again Dave, loved watching it. The owners better be happy with your repairs.. 🙂
Hi Rene, thank you. The refrigerator radio is ummm... unique 😄👍🙂
An enjoyable lunch break watching a basic???? repair! You can't help yourself. "Just tinkering" and "Dave Tipton" cannot fit in the same sentence ha ha. Great as always and a bet the two owners are well chuffed. Have a good one mate.
Hi Stephen, I wouldn't last long in a real repair shop environment, I reckon I would be sacked by lunchtime 😄 I haven't heard back from the owners so that's good I suppose. Thanks Stephen 👍🙂
as always , a perfect repair and a well done video . nice work david please never stop
Thank you George, I'll stop when you fine people stop watching 🙂
@@DavidTipton101 Please don's stop, I'll never stop watching your videos, they are just mesmerizing! Even from the other side of the world. I live in Norway, and I have a valve radio from just after WW2 that's still working, and I love it, even though FM has mostly been discontinued over here! There's still some channels found on the AM, though.
Good job David... the Westinghouse radio did not do it for me - very American and somewhat tacky. I was interested that you put oil in to the switches and controls after you had used the WD40... I did not do that so that is another lesson for me. Anyway always good to receive another "Tipton Special". And the motor-boating was a classic. 😄
Hi Kenneth, I believe there was a NZ copy made that didn't go well, it is a very American design. I usually drop soom oil on the shafts to make it a bit smother, I don't know what the long term effect will be as it drys out. Thanks Kenneth 😄
Hey David. Good job stringing and fabricating a dial pointer on the first radio...👍The Westinghouse radio was a cute little gem. Great job making a speaker mounting bracket. Got a link on where to buy that new speaker? It sounded great!. How do you keep your fingers from poking the cone? One good thing about the refrigerator radio, it will keep the tubes very cool, but the down side is that every few months you will have to defrost it! 😅..., I'm confused though...why did I hear Aussie accents coming out of an American radio. It baffles science!....... cheers, 🍺🍺
Thanks Buzz, I seem to be at odds with most people, I enjoy a good restring and I wouldn't mind a Little Jewel in my collection. I don't always keep my fingers out of the cone although you seem to do it at a more professional level 🤣 Haha... yes the refrigerator radio runs very cool inside 😄 It has a regional switch located under the aerial, you set it to 'Normal' for the US or 'Aussie' when downunder, it's quite a handy feature.
I see Old Goat dropped in from your reference to my undies on your last video. This video is a few months old but I'll return the favour in a future video.
The speaker came from our local electronics chain, they seem to have changed it in the last day or so but this is the replacement part, looks even better: www.jaycar.com.au/125mm-5-all-purpose-replacement-speaker/p/AS3007?pos=3&queryId=8b380d3005b90ad5ee40b94b815a0f23
@@DavidTipton101 thanks David 🍺🍺
I recently had to touch my first dial cord and it was quite a fight. A few years ago I was given a badly mangled Crown SHC-6100 stereo (the kind of wide plastic box with cassette and record players side by side and AM/FM radio on the front that was popular in Europe in the 70s and early 80s). The record player had the cartridge ripped clean off the wires including the little bullet connectors, the idler wheel was dented and glazed pretty badly, as was the pinch roller of the cassette section. After plenty of searching and getting help online I identified the cartridge as a CZ-800 (peculiar snap-on mount rather than the more common 1/2" screws) and after unsuccessfully messing with an old VGA connector, which was too small for the 1.3 mm pins of the cartridge, I eventually got some headshell wires off of a certain Chinese web portal for 4 Euros including P&P. Soldered that onto the existing coaxial wires inside the arm, managing to melt through the insulation of the inner core on one channel, creating a short (thankfully I checked as the joint already looked a bit suspect) and sanded the idler wheel. The record player should work now.
THat left the radio section, which had a broken dial cord. Not really wanting to mess with the complex routing I tried mending the cord with the only thing I had on hand, dental floss. Crazy projects (like trying to fix an utterly worthless stereo) call for crazy solutions. Despite several near-breakdowns and beads of sweat running all over me because the string kept popping off and getting caught somewhere I did eventually manage to mend the cord but the floss isn't strong enough, I need to get some proper stuff.
The big nightmare about this is that the pointer and tuning knob are fixed to the case while the condenser and several pulleys are on the main PCB, actually on the bottom of the PCB, between the board and case. There's an access hatch on the bottom but that only allows access to about 2/3 of the pulley and two long runs of cord are completetely inaccessible. I ended up removing three screws from the board so I could bend it up and get access from the side and get my fingers in between the board and case. The worst bit was that every time the cord slipped off the condenser pulley it got caught between the pulley and PCB, plenty of component leg ends keeping it from coming back out. The odd bit is that both ends of the cord are tied to the same spring, unlike any other tuner design I've ever seen.
Yesterday I went to an old radio repair shop to see if they had any proper dial cord but they didn't, so I'll have to order it online.
Hi Ragnar8504. We wonder why we waste time on useless items like you describe but it's the challenge to make it work again. I use lots of tape to hold the string in place as I go past pulleys etc, it is painstaking but I stay calm and work out a better way if there is one. Good luck with your restring 👍🙂
@@DavidTipton101 I did manage to restring the tuner with limited stress and minimal injury (those component legs were quite long and pointy). Now the radio works perfectly but the record player mech acts up every time it should shut off, it goes into an infinite loop of lifting and lowering the arm and for my dead life I can't figure out what causes that or how the mech is supposed to work.
@@Ragnar8504 I don't have any idea why your record player is behaving as it is. I believe that is a semi automatic player with the tone arm returning to the rest at the end of the record. A fault like you describe is usually caused by dried lubricant, cleaning and relubrication will fix most problems. you may have to dismantle some parts to clean them properly. I found this on UA-cam, it's not your model but it may be similar. He appears to clean and lubricate his to get it to return.
Do not apply oil to the little trip plate, which he appears to do, it should be dry and able to 'dangle' (poor choice of word, it needs to be free) so the tone arm can move it into the path of the trip 'toe' on the platter spindle casting or plastic gear when it gets to end of record. He seems to have removed the lever assembly from underneath the deck to clean it.
www.google.com/search?q=Crown+SHC-6100+manual&source=lmns&bih=929&biw=1920&hl=en-GB&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiIvcHp54yAAxWIUWwGHSKOC-gQ_AUoAHoECAEQAA#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:fb8d3e80,vid:Tnp6gV3L5E8
Nice repairs, I rather like the little Westinghouse, I have a few American sets, will be on the lookout for one of these.
The Operatic looks very dated for 1960, but over here in the UK, the Bush DAC90A ran from 1950 to 1961, a very popular set, even today!
Thank you markpirateuk. The Westinghouse is different, I thought the Operatic was from the early 50s too, I said so in the video but cut it out. I have a DAC90a 🙂
Cute little radios. Enjoyed the repairs. Great video as always David. 73 de KB7ICI....Bill
Thank you Bill 👍🙂
Great radio work Dave. Hope things are well down under.
Thank you Jim. It's all tickety-boo down here 😀
Crikey! wonderful video! I have 4 of those little jewel radios, they are very popular over here. I managed to get two working and I still need to fix the other two that are not cooperating......grrrr..... shotgun modification? God bless and keep it up!
You have four! I'll have to see if I can pick one up one day, there was a NZ copy made which didn't sell well I've been told, maybe I can get one of those. Good luck with your remaining two. Thanks Mike 👍🙂
Very nice job on both radio's I really did enjoy this video like all your video's it's very educational to me because I love old radio's too!
Thank you Jammerk40 🙂
I have heard the little Westinghouse radio was designed to look similar to a refrigerator. It was kind of a gimic by Westinghouse I think, but in good condition they are quite sought after even now. Unfortunately this one lost a lot of its collectors appeal by being painted......
Good result getting it working :)
Hi Brendan, I wonder if they gave away the radio with a Westinghouse fridge? I don't know what the story was with the painting, it could have looked better than that 🙂
I really like the Blue colour on that Westinghouse in contrast witht the Brass. I just recently watched someone else restore one of them. They are an interesting little unit
It looked pretty good 1974UTuber, it's pretty amazing they managed to fit all that in the little cabinet 😀
You make my day, thanks, David.
Thank you Stephen 🙂
Called those refrigerator radios , pretty rare to see these around nowadays
Thanks Stephroll. not a very robust radio I would think 🤔🙂
Great video. Very interesting. Good to see you. Take care! 😀
Thank you batman387 😊
Great video what a fun little pair radio play.
Thank you Ripley 👍🙂
I didn't think graham had a speed boat lol, you have a great sense of humor dave :-D
The simple philips style needle was perfect, and the white tube was excellent.
Apart from your excellent repairs, you go to so much trouble for the owner.
The vertical radio is not my cup of tea, looks like an old battery charger.
Graham DID have a speedboat zx8401ztv, it was his first trip too 😄 The pointer worked well, I was happy it worked first time. The little 'fridge' is cute, I would like one in my collection but it's not for everyone. Thanks zx8401ztv 🙂
Hı David yine muhteşem, senin restorasyon işlerini izlemek büyük keyif
Merhaba Mutlu, teşekkür ederim, beğenmene sevindim 🙂
What a great video to watch
The dial needle for that radio called operatic was a very smart fabricated move
The Jewel really is a jewel in my eyes , love the style
Thanks for uploading David
Best regards Shaun
Hi Shaun, thanks, the dial pointer worked first time, it was a surprise for me too 😄the 'fridge' was unusual and I would like one for my collection. Thanks Shaun, keep well 🙂
Hi Dave. Just a suggestion. Using a thin wooden skewer, like you often get at Asian restaurants when ordering food that needs a spit, would make a great and precise non-metallic pointer for your videos instead of screw drivers or thick paint brush handles. Try it. I love all your videos.. signed, Peter Dubno from Long Island, NY
I'm a shocker Retep Onbud, I use whatever I have in my hand. I have some knitting needles that I am supposed to use but they stay on the shelf and I point with anything close by. Thanks for the suggestion 👍🙂
Another Excellent Refurbishment David both suffering Motorboat problems I like the Animations I have never had Operatic cum Bland is the Workshop it was interesting they Philip IF fitted to then and AC/DC I didn’t see them in Workshop they I think were banned in Australia and needed 115 Volts ,The early Astor battery portable were AC/DC but were Double Insulted,
Another Great Refurbishment David 10 out 10,Regards Ian.
Hi Ian, thank you. I thought it was interesting the Operatic had Philips caps too. Australia did produce soma AC/DC sets but I couldn't imagine there would be a market for imported American AC/DC sets 🙂
Hi David was looking for how to vintage radio repair, and found your channel, you are so helpful. Love your video, I a bit new to repair but at 65 disabled it's keeping me interested, my set are 1941 to 1955 and 60s tables top all are 5 value set,still looking for books and parts suppliers, any who thanks for sharing,
Thank you Richard. Good luck with your new hobby, it can be very rewarding. If you are in the US I did a couple of all American five radios videos as well 😊
@@DavidTipton101 yes in us Oklahoma to be sure, and can you recommend and books ,thank for any info,, keep up the good work,
I can't recommend any good books, the few I have are not available to buy these days. Google "books for tube radio repair" and you will get some ideas. I picked up most of my information watching UA-cam Videos. Google "AA5 radios" and you will get plenty of hits. If I wanted to know something I would Google it, "how does a radio tube work" etc. You should pick it up gradually as you go along. I knew nothing about radios 3 years ago but I learn something with each one I do. Online radio forums can be very helpful to get answers to questions. There are plenty about. Good luck Richard.
@@DavidTipton101 OK thank you for your help I look forward to sharing my old radio repair, see you on the Tube
My pleasure Richard, looking forward to it 👍🙂
Another thoroughly good job and excellent video. I suspect the new speaker probably sounds better than the original ever did as well even if it is an inexpensive one. That's actually something I get hung up on. You do remarkable work fixing the old original speakers in your projects, but I have worked in the audio/hifi industry for many years, and I know the very real, huge differences that exist in the quality/clarity of sound in the different speaker components available today (woofers, midranges, tweeters, full range drivers etc.) because of materials, manufacturing, engineering and improvements over the decades, and I wonder if you have ever toyed with the idea of installing higher quality drivers from today's manufacturers in the old radios? Monitor Audio, JBL, Polk Audio, Tannoy, Vifa etc etc all have modern high performance speaker components that might be worth playing around with.. I would expect many of the older higher quality radios you have restored in the past would actually sound much better with modern high quality drivers installed instead of the vintage older ones.
Thank you socalav. I have fitted new speakers when I couldn't get a replacement but I prefer to keep the original look of the radio if I can. When I have replaced them with a modern speaker it doesn't improve the sound all that much, it is AM after all, not much can improve that. It might make a difference if you played Bluetooth or a record player I suppose. Thanks socalav for your thought provoking comment 🙂
@@DavidTipton101 Hi, am grateful for your reply! I just want to make sure my comment wasn't confusing. From my experience and background, there is a vast difference in the quality of sound modern well engineered drivers (or complete speakers) can produce, (especially when loaded in proper vented or sealed enclosures), but I would not expect to hear the kind of surprisingly vast differences when using inexpensive generic replacement drivers, (although I was hopeful that the ones you used might be better than average). The next time you work with one of those beautiful FM units that can be opened up to wideband performance, try to source a better replacement driver from Tannoy, Monitor Audio, (I would love to include Celestion but they sadly exited the market).. I promise you I think you will be surprised.
Good going there, Dave! The routine speed you have developed now in diagnosing and sorting out is on Shango level. The front brass faceplate of the fridge radio looks like someone had a go at it with an angle grinder and wire wheel, or was that just the lighting that makes it look so?
Hi Blitz, thanks. I am learning and I love troubleshooting, when you see the radio I am working on you may retract that statement, it lead me on a merry chase. The brass finish was exactly as it looked was in the video, I think they were going for the original brass look but it didn't look to good, it was smooth but they had added lines in a darker colour, it was pretty awful 😄
I can agree as to the Westinghouse radio. It is an odd design. I don't recall seeing one like it in any other video. Hope your doing well now that it is springtime for you.
It is odd but desirable to me as a collector. I have been told Glasslinger did one. It's warming up here as we head into summer, I'm in pretty good shape health wise, thanks Phillip 🙂
@@DavidTipton101 Hope your getting over the difficulties after your melanoma removal. Do you feel like your back to full duty?
@@phillipmullins1643 I'm back in full swing, I have no real outstanding health issues at the moment but that can change in a minute 😄
Another satisfying rebuild video David.
Thank you Brian 🙂
Great work David.
Hi Lynton, thank you 😀
Great job as always.
Thank you Stephen 🙂
Westinghouse manufactured a lot of things but i guess refrigerators were a bug item for the company. The neat little radio was styled like one of their refrigerators for good reason, it surely promoted refrigerator sales. It would not surprise me to learn they gave that little radio away with the purchase of a top of the line Westinghouse refrigerator in `46. How many US and Canadian veterans returned from the war and started families? It was certainly a boom here in America economically.
Hi Jeff, I would be highly likely they would give away a fridge radio with a fridge. It would swing a customer to a Westinghouse fridge most of the time. My siblings and I are a result of that boom 👶👶👶👶
Exactly what I wanted. Thank you Dave!
Thank you yorktown 🙂
Hi David. Another enjoyable video. You could have done with Radio cruncher to do the dial strings, he loves them I don't think. Thanks again from Derrick. 👍🐾🐾
Hi Derrick, I haven't seen The Cruncher tackle a restring, it might be interesting 😀 Thanks Derrick.
Hi Dave. Bit late watching video. But good stuff as usual. In Perth with family for a couple of weeks. Take care. Look forward to your next video.
Hi Phillip, thank you. Nice, I hope you enjoy your stay in Perth with family, nice city 🙂
@@DavidTipton101 thanks Dave