|   Vintage radio's help! | Mwalsdor@cscc.edu
Apr 23, 2001 12:48 PM | | What should I look for when shopping for a vintage radio at antique shows? I found some nice RCA, Victor's, Silvertone's that were "rebuilt" and in "working order", but inside the building could'nt get them to pick up a strong signal. Of course, most of the tubes used I was not familiar, so I'm unsure how difficult replacements would be. Yes, being a vlavle-head, I'm sticking to tubed gear. I'll bring one of my nos tube lists next time. This one guy had manuals and schematics, plus some nice tubes for sale. Most of the 30's/40's/50's radio's for sale were under $100 and looked pretty nice, and he claims they work. But I'm interested in more than eye-candy. Radio rookie needs help!
MikE |
| re: Vintage radio's help! | estan
Apr 23, 2001 3:14 PM | | Mike...it's all about antennas on AM. Bring a 50 foot roll of bare braided copper wire with you and stretch it out straight. AM signals are not good indoors in some environments. If you can bring a small battery powered AM radio with you then you will at least be able to make a comparison. If all the tubes are working the chances of poor performance being tube related are very small. Bad caps are the #1 cause of problems and very easy to fix. Resistors will also be out of spec at that age so the tuning circuits will most definitely need an alignment...again an easy task for anybody with a bit of knowledge and the right test gear. Some of those radios are so good when they are aligned properly that with a good antenna can pick up stations nationwide at certain times of the day.
These radios are very easy to fix so if you find a decent one you should be ok...
Remember also that tuning an AM station is not the same as FM and requires some fine adjustment of the tuning knob. If you can find a radio with a "fine tuning" knob that would be cool. |
| Good advice, may I add... | SteveW
Apr 26, 2001 12:32 AM | | If it powers up and works it's very likely OK inside. It may need some tweaking, replace a capacitor here and there or maybe a resistor or two. The main components will be the variable tuning capacitor and the power transformer. If a unit powers up and works, you can be fairly certain these components are in good working order. The rest of the compnents (if needing replacement) should be readily available. The only parts that may be hard to find would be the tubes themselves.
I haven't messed with one of these gems in quite a few years but as I recall there still a few manufacturers of tubes out there. Most of these old jewels used similar tubes in them so substitution shouldn't be too impossible.
Philco made some nice units in beautiful wooden cases...
Steve |
| re: Vintage radio's help! | YECH
Apr 26, 2001 5:09 PM | | I went thru my tube radio phase two years ago
I have a 37 Philco Model 37-116 console and a variety of table top models.The Philco set me back the most.It is(or was before my daughter came along)in mint shape.15 tubes,4 speakers(one large 15" and three tone control type speakers)
In the 50 -100 dollar range you must be looking at table tops
I have a nice little bakelite 38 Philco that I paid 25.00
Or a nice 52 Zenith that has a cool art deco style for 65.00
or my large 50's Grundig with three speakers and a tuning eye that I paid 165.00 and a few in the basement collecting dust
What dictates pricing?
Style,rarity and condition.Anything in a deco style seems to get premium prices
Sound quality is irrelevent.These radios are very old and probably sounded likeshit new.
NEVER pay sticker price at an antique store.If you are paying cash offer a price 20% less than sticker price
Any good antique store should have a catalog with pricing and models in stock.The prices in the catalog are lower than you will be paying
My advice?Take your time,enjoy the hunt,look for a good deal and enjoy your new radio when you pull the trigger and buy one
YECH |
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