The Guy here is correct that a quick repair might delay the problem for a day or to but it is much better to recap the whole radio and stop the problems in their tracks.
It's not just a recap, but old cracked isolation on wires, dirty powerswitch to name a few. Many of these old sets dont even have a fuse on the mains. That should be added too. Along with a new powercord.
HI Manuel, that's quite a radio you have there, it will be an interesting restore. I had an online conversation recently with a guy starting into radio restoring and he said he would leave the old paper caps in, I suggested that was a bad idea as they can fail at any time and cause overheating in other components, he was quite adamant. I hope his insurance is paid up. Thanks Manuel 👍🙂
@Simon Archbold Not wanting to hijack another's thread. I started out with late model common radios with circuit diagrams and were easy to work with, if I damaged it it wasn't a big loss.
Some of us listen to you. I quite like the style you have adopted with the intro and outro. It makes it feel more personal, almost like we are being invited into a part of your life, rather than being just a restore video. I really appreciate what you do and your videos, along with Paul Carlson (Mr Carlson's Lab) are the main driver for me getting into this and helping save this part of history.
I really appreciated this one because of the serious and important information you shared concerning the difference between a "repair" and a "restoration" and why it matters! I have heard people say that you should never replace all the paper caps because that way you don't know just what part was causing the problem. I am more concerned with making sure the radio is going to work for years to come and not be destroyed by leaving in a faulty component! I can hear it already "But it isn't faulty now...it's working so it is fixed". I appreciate your values of what needs to be done.
Your philosophy concerning restore over repair is great. I believe that any repair is total restoration or it not done correctly or completely. Keep up the fascinating work and making videos. I always learn something when I watch and listen to you even though I have been working on radios for 50 years.
Hi there , as one who worked in aviation for over forty years SAFETY was PARAMOUNT and still is, An old radio can be a lethal weapon in the wrong hands my avionics friends tell me , Many thanks for such interesting projects , Take care ,from a retired old mechanic .
Hello again I am about to start renovate an Opus 7. Please let your videos stay on You tube. It is very good! I am slow worker. I also built me a gluebulb security unit. Regards from Bjorn Sweden
Everytime you show one of those it makes me want to get one to repair. Then I give it a couple of days and my mind drifts away. Which is a good thing because my wife would nag me about it :D glad to see you are doing good. Dont forget to practice some chords.
Anything built in the last century should be considered an antique. It should be repaired as such, meaning you have to go through everything and I mean everything. Some things weren't meant to last as long as you think! (Yes , just like rubber break lines!) Even today, you change out your car's windshield wipers once a year otherwise they "leak out" rubber on the windshield and you get streaking. Don't burn your house down taking shortcuts! Great video Manuel and I hope those hobbyist take note of what to do and not to do!
A smaller sibling of this (AEG 5076WD - same as a Telefunken Concertino 7) was the reason I got into the hobby. It was my grandparents radio they bought shortly after getting married. After 65 years it needed to be restored. As those are quite complex, I decided to cut my teeth on some cheap second hand models before diving into something with sentimental value... So I got a Nordmende, then a SABA and then the rabbit hole only got deeper and deeper.
Peak youtube material; sharing knowledge and experience in hopes of providing safety for others! As someone how recently has oddly enough woken up an interest in these old radios (oddly enough cause my cousin inherited our grandpa's telecommunication talents, while i inherited talent for mechanical things and am dumb as brick in all things electronic) i want to say you make excellent points about these old machines! If i get one, i'll be sure to look for a restauration and not just "make it sound and fingers crossed".
I saw your youtube channel for the first time today and found your pre-announcement on tube radio repair very well explained. I cannot agree with you more. Also maybe a useful tip. When I have my tube radio on, I never let it play alone. I'm always around
One of the first radios I owned was a tube radio from my parents, and it was much older than I was. It worked great for many years. But it's easy to forget that by now, that radio might look the same as it did back then (and most radios in your videos look like the one I had) but it would have been almost 70 years old, so it would probably have some problems and potential problems like that capacitor that shorted out, and that might kill it at any time. Even technology that's much newer can often have problems that may lurk for dozens of years, like erase-heads in tape recorders whose plastic suddenly gets sticky, or gears whose plastic shrunk too much to fit on the shaft so they split and have to be rebuilt. Sure, those might not cause a house fire but they sure can cause other damage. Thanks for posting! Looking forward to seeing the restoration of this one.
An old video but will comment anyway. You, sir, are 100% on the money. I do work on these old sets, especially the German ones, and the word "repair" is not in my vocabulary when it comes to dealing with them. Any radio that comes to me has to get a full restoration of the electronics. You can measure any wax paper capacitor or electrolytic capacitor, and there's better than a 90% chance that it will be way out of specification. I simply tell my clients that all capacitors of these types have simply gone beyond their EOL (end of life). This, plus bad tubes, selenium rectifiers, certain resistors, dried up lubricants, dirty controls and switches, etc. and the job gets pretty involved. Sure, it isn't cheap, but what restoration is? The end result will be a radio that works as good as new, and will hold up for a very long time.
I'm totally with you on the policy of no simple repairs on old tube stuff like these radios. I do some repairs for a local shop that sells used things including old electronic stuff. But I will not do any "Quick fix" on a old radio like this. On a 80's radio or tape deck, that's fine, but not on old things like these. I have explained the safety concerns I have with that, and have also adviced the owner to tell buyers of these old radios to not just connect them to mains and expect them to work. A 70 year old radio was never intended to last that long in the first place. Actually I have used your old car analogy myself to explain the safety issues with these things, and the fact that applying power might destroy a radio that could have been ok if it had been restored first.
I’m with you there. People have become so accustomed to getting everything cheap that the costs of restoration scare them off. That’s OK because it’s better not to use it at all than burn the house down 😊
Very good explanation of why you do full restoration of radios. I get the same from people on old vintage Fender and Marshall guitar amps from the 50’s and 60’s. I tell them the first thing is the filter caps have to be replaced, promptly get the argument I want to keep it all original. I ask are you going play it and gig with it or use it for a show piece? Well they say I’m going to play it! I tell them you might get some time out of it and all the sudden it will quit with some magic smoke following it. After a lengthy discussion they usually give in. You and David Tipton are the two best radio restoration guys on RUclips. Your electronics chops are impeccable, David does great on that too but his cabinet and cosmetic repairs are amazing. I was a certified tool and die maker and CNC machine programmer for years. I taught myself electronics repairs out of necessity of be a gigging guitar player for the last 42 years. 20 years ago all my repair guys started retiring or passing away unfortunately. There was nobody left within a 100 mile drive to repair anything so I decided to jump into the game. Now it has become a nice little side business as I am the only game in town for tube amps. There is a friend who is 12 years older than me that is a true EE but doesn’t like humping 80lb amps down to his basement shop so he sends it my way. He repairs keyboards and I also do complete guitar rebuilds so it works out for us both. I send stuff his way and he does to me. Keep up your wonderful videos.
Yes, the famous quest for “original sound” from guitar amps. I’m quite aware of that fever 😊 I’ve done quite a few and I agree, the argument is always the same. I think most of the time it’s their playing skills that need improving, and not the amps 😊 As for Dave Tipton, he truly is amazing in the workshop. I envy his tools (I’ve told him so personally). I’m happy to hear that you like the videos, and hope the viewers continue to enjoy them as much as I enjoy making them. This is now a double hobby for me: the electronics and the channel. Thanks again.
@@electronicsoldandnew There is one guy on here that does “radio repairs “ he is just clueless on what is bad as far as caps and alignment , doesn’t feel the need to change 60 year old filter caps as it is too expensive? His test gear is all out of whack from lack of calibration or him screwdrivering them out of calibration. He will not follow alignment procedures on test equipment or radios. If he picks up one station when he’s finished he says close enough. Many have tried to give advice and guidance. I personally have sent him at least 25 PDF downloads of radio repair and alignment procedure books. Still twiddles things which ever way he believes right. Right now he is on #36 video of the same radio trying to align it and still no farther along than video #1. He gets more dislikes than likes or 50/50. He just doesn’t seem to take advice well, fragile ego or something. This guy says he has a college background in the electrical field but Nobody can see it. I’m sure you know who I’m talking about, don’t want to mention his name even though he says he never reads comments to which he should. What bothers a bunch of us who comment to help him along, there are a few viewers who think he is good and picking up his terrible habits. He has had his channel up fo 10 years and is no more knowledgeable than his first video. Most of the viewers just watch to see how bad he will botch up the next thing. We have given him links to you, David, W2aew, Mr. Carlson’s Lab, Shango066………………falls on a blind eye. His channel should be changed to entertainment, not educational. Just one of those poor souls that never learn from their mistakes or improve their knowledge or skills. With all the great channels on here he should be watching to see what he’s doing wrong. Obviously not. I watch every great video I can and have learned more from that and books than I ever could in a classroom. I’m not trying to bust this old gents bubble, just would like to hear him admit he doesn’t know and ask for help on certain things. Most of the best want input from people who might know a better and easier way to do things. He “repairs radios” exactly the way you choose not to. I feel bad for the people he charges a fee for these cobbled up repairs that 99% of the time the radio is way worse after than it was when it came in.
What a luxurious set, thank you for sharing this. I like that it has station names in their original languages and it says ATHINAI instead of ATHEN and MOSKVA instead od MOSKAU, for example. It is very inspiring to see your work, I hope I can also get a big luxurious set one day. In Czechoslovakia, we only had one, it is the Tesla 805A "Filharmonie" from 1958.
Being a bighead and someone with as many years as the video maker in the business I am certain I could make this safe in a hour (or two). Might not work after that of course, that would be taken care of in the next few hours... but sure could make it safe in most cases.
Hey, such a fab and info safe video on how not to repair an old radio...Thanks for sharing, just so interesting, can't wait for more..Stay safe..Ed..uk.😀 ( love the fire extinguisher..! )
cool and helpful video - and you're right about the don't-just-repair-old-stuff argument - but it's just too often that we're too lazy or suffer lack of spare time :-D
I would suggest repair first, then restore checking as you go. Replace a cap or two then check your work. Testing the radio as you go. If you do it all at once could make a mistake or two that's harder to track down later.
I prefer shango066 method, or a variation of it. I just get it running at first, usually I remove the rectifier tube and clip in one silicon diode. This is so I don't stress the rectifier which can hurt it if the filament is too cold and drawing a lot of current. Then I wire a relatively low wattage lightbulb in series (40-75W) and see what happens. I usually also remove output tube when doing that. The radio will usually come on slowly, sometimes there is a short somewhere and a lot of times the main smoothing capacitor will need to reform (or try to). Next I measure the grid voltage of the output tube, which in most cases with leaky caps can be as high as 60V. Your reading of 5V is not that terrible, and if you are running it with a low B+ and just for few minutes it will hardly hurt the tube (or the tube might already have grid emission from when it was last running). I then replace that grid coupling cap if it is bad, and leave a 150W bulb in series. If the radio still doesn't play, I will start then checking voltages. Almost always a missing voltage means open resistor, not a shorted capacitor, which is a surprise. Next of course comes the full recap and test. I also prefer to test the tubes in the early stages of restoration now, as once I chased down a rabbit hole on one radio for few days, only to find out that one of the IF tubes was almost dead (having no substitution, being an UBF89 tube), at the time I didn't have a tube tester. With that procedure I managed to find a lot of problems before I spent money (and my precious time) on capacitors and restoration. If I find broken unobtanium components like speakers, output/mains transformers, open IF transformers, open antenna coils, then I will usually try to source a replacement or pass the radio for parts. On one occasion when I didn't follow my rule and recapped a radio before applying power (because it was stored in a damp cellar), it then happened to have an open output transformer, and silver mica disease in the IF cans. Also I sometimes restore old TVs. They are series string in 100% of my cases, so I just disconnect one tube (usually the CRT) and slowly apply power (via a lightbulb or a variac). If I don't get any current draw, I check if the rectifier is perhaps a tube (need to bridge it with a silicon diode) or if I have a blown fuse. The procedure that follows depends on the age of the TV, but if I see any paper capacitors with high voltages across them, I will replace them before I reconnect the heater string. A lot of times, the TV will then just work. Of course the best first thing to do before restoring the TV is to check the CRT. Lot of times and old TV was retired because of the weak CRT. One good thing with the TVs is that usually the replacement vacuum tubes are abundant and very cheap. I paid like €5 for 20 of random TV tubes (PCL82, EF80, PCF86, PY88, PL500, etc.). Just my 2 cents. If you tackle a vintage TV on your channel sometime, I would totally watch it :)
Thanks for your input. Vintage TV’s are very este here, because TV reception in Madeira literally only started after solid state equipment was the norm.
Memories of driving round Madeira on honeymoon. Spectacular and scary views. Would not like to have suffered failed brakes which driving round the island. Looking forward to restoration of the Telefunken Opus 8.
I have a Telefunken Andante 8 awaiting restoration, looks like the model down from yours ( single ended EL84, only 3 speakers & less elaborate tone switching) but the same cabinet. While I agree that it is far better to restore rather than repair, I do like to get the set working to a degree before restoration, changing the grid coupling cap is usually the first thing I do, I have had sets brought to me that have "Stopped working", usually these have been dug out from years of storage and just plugged in! Open output transformers & fried output valves are the usual problem, all for the sake of a cheap capacitor.
Absolutely true. Getting it working first is not a problem as it allows you to monitor the progressive improvement as you do the restoration. I used to do that with all my restoration projects, but now I often just jump onto the restore process right at the start. It’s a personal choice.
I have a Telefunken Allegro that I purchased online. I have used it many evenings listening to the radio. It was sold to me as restored but looking through the back rear cover I can still see older looking wax or paper style capacitors. I am assuming they are not in high voltage areas. The radio has been working great for years but I purposefully wanted a rebuilt radio just for that reason. I didn't want to burn my house down. Still, I never leave it plugged in. It says stereo on the front. I think this is for the inputs on the back as FM radio seems mono. However, the input on the back doesn't appear to give me stereo either so maybe that's not working correctly. Overall, I have been happy with my Telefunken. It appears to have all the OE tubes and was sold to me as a restored collectors piece.
Your not leaving it plugged in is a good step, and if you don’t leave it active when you’re not in the room, I think you’re probably fine. The greatest risk is when a radio that has been sitting inactive for many years suddenly gets put into service. That can have drastic consequences .
The word for a quick fix is "Botched" and we all know what happens to botched jobs, remembering a recent cable car disaster. Please stick with the restorations, I've learned so much about "good practice" in electronics from you. please don't pander to those with short a attention span. A 15 minute vid showing an old set, followed by hi speed vid of a so called fix, and oh! Look it's fixed. Educational value, zero. Finally, thank you for the time you spend making these videos to teach people (like me) the correct modus operandi when it comes to safely repairing electronic equipment.
Hello there I was impressed of your intelligent way of discuss, of the rigth way to a repair and the different with a restoration. I am a senior guy who have taken up an old interest again So I have a question: From your Ac rotarytransformer you have a box with four lamps and a instrument. How do these function? Regards! Bjorn
What antenna did you use in the video? I'd love get some more in stations and some better reception on my old Grundig, now that I can finally get to enjoy it after replacing the Caps.
...Aaand that is why I don't do repairs for other people. I tinker about with my own stuff, try my best to make it safe and non self-destructive and watch it like a hawk until I'm satisfied nothing awful is going to happen. If you only do half a job, you can't get tetchy when it bounces back and in today's litigious climate, electrocution and/or fire hardly bear thinking about.
A couple of questions about starting using these old radios. If I'm only planning to use the amplifier section is it reasonable to remove the receiver tubes to save energy and the tubes? Will it increase the voltage on the amp section and filaments too much? The power transformer has a 220V primary winding and the outlet voltage is 230V (tube rectifier). Also, if I'm using only the amplifier section and the radio has never been modified can I get away with only changing the amplifier capacitors?
You can remove all the tubes except those that deal with the audio, but the voltage can rise a little due to that, as you asked. How much is unknown until you actually measure it. As for the capacitors, you can see which ones are subjected to high voltages with the respective tubes removed and replace those.
Hi. Nice video ! I am not so good in English language so I did n't understand witch tube you change to get it fixed. You said it, but its to fast for me. I have the same problem with my radio as you had. very low volyme ,but I hear very low that it find some stations .So I wonder if you can write what tube you change to make it work. greeings , Roger /Sweden
Yes. Always be in the room when you have it on so that you can react if anything goes wrong. Also, keep it away from curtains or other flammable materials, just to be safe. We have to remember that, regardless of the extent of the work that was done on it, it’s still 60 or 70 years old, so some failure is possible. Having said that, I use one of mine daily and have never had a crisis in all these years.
True. Quite a few of the ones I’ve done belong to friends who have had the radios in the family for generations, and therefore don’t compare the costs to those on offer for new equipment at the local shops. They appreciate these as antiques and are prepared to invest in a thorough job. As I’ve said before, this is my hobby, so I don’t look for work. Enough of it seems to find me that I don’t have to always buy new radios myself.
Does this radio have stereo, because it has dual speakers? I worked for Granada Television Rentals UK for 4 years, one of the televisions I had to repair, failed because of over-heating due to all the components were completely covered with bird seeds. Somebody had a Bird cage sitting on top of the television, this could have caused a fire.
Well i think at least some very critical components should always be replaced. This means everything that gets in contact with high voltage Electrolytic capacitors may be fine though. So the coupling capacitor is #1 to look for. Didn´t replace everything yet but at least the input coupling capacitors should be replaced aswell, so that in case of any failures, connected devices won´t be fried. Some people go even further and add a 1:1 audio transformer but at least with a proper insulated power transformer, this isn´t needed in my opinion, as long as your input capacitors are good.
What you're saying can't be repeated too often. For every person highlighting the dangers of quick and dirty repairs on youtube, dozens - no hundreds - of others just post videos doing exactly that. Especially for cars, other heavy machinery, electrical devices or even furniture and house repairs etc. bad/quick repairs can prove lethal to someone - often someone other than the person doing the repair.
Hi I sew in your second program on Opus I sew that your Radio schedule is digital. Do you know where to find the app/ program Regards Bjorn ps just starting on a Opus
i am still surprised how similar the design is to the Tesla ones made in the then Czechoslovakia, shame it was only export models with the FM that matched the west, it would seem re tuning from orit would be quite a task.
I believe our Tesla engineers and designers closely followed the German electronics market fashions and often were inspired by those sets. Late 1950s Tesla radios are beautiful.
I disagree with the idea of a doing a full restoration being needed on these radios. First of all, anyone who starts up a car that has been sitting for many years should know to give the car a good look over and do a series of test drives before going out on romp. That just makes common sense. But when it comes to these radios, not everyone has the skills you do that they can just go through and repair everything on a whim. A repairman will charge about $100US for the 45 minute repair. 45 days? Forget about it!!! Best bet would be to try it out, monitor the radio with the back off. If it works well for several days you are good to go! There is risk involved with everything. Just don't overdo it! May God bless you.
Holy hell people are just astoundingly impatient. But if you don't have a reference point what is there to wonder? A quick repair on these things would be to install a solid state radio inside the cab and just be happy with it. That we know of course is sacrilegous sacrilege. The only thing though I don't agree with in restoration world is stuffing old components. Honestly like... Why? A good rule is that you never disguise electronic components.
Hello Manuel I guess you are portugues , with that name ! So I am ,!, O meu hobby é restaurar velhas radios !, Ja tenho mais de cem ! Moro em Toronto ,!
I have a radio like this I would like to have restored in Canada Toronto aria. I gave it to someone and it came back worse. so If you know someone in the GTA. If someone know thanks.
I would have gone for Telefunken Space Charge Vacuum tubes to replace the high voltage tubes and replace the resistors with appropriate resistor values to make it work on a B+ of 45-70V and a heater voltage of between 1.5 and 3V and get rid of mains operation and make it much safer i.e using 8x PP9 batteries in series and 1 or 2x D cells for the heater voltage.
Great video to make people aware of the dangers. Shango66 does repairs or resurrections as he calls them, but he does state that this is purely for the knowledge of the fault and not about calling it repaired and ready to use. If the set was 3 years old just repairing the fault and checking the relevant voltages would be good enough back in the day. But as you say this is getting on for over 60 or 70 years old. To just repair it and leave all the old electrolytic and hi voltage coupling/decoupling caps in place is asking for trouble and could be very dangerous. Even when these sets are fully restored if modern safety measures aren't applied then they are still dangerous. e.g. the across the mains safety cap needs to be x rated. A correctly rated inline fuse should be fitted. etc.. Even then I wouldn't leave one plugged in (even if it was switched off) and unattended for longer than I would leave an iron plugged in or an electric bar fire.
I actually watch Shango66 videos and find his diagnostics abilities amazing and highly enlightening to watch. As you say, he is very clear on his purposes.
Thus the quandary: undoubtedly those cookie cutter box European radios are best sounding stuff ever. But the looks define boredom and a lack of artistic creativity. Like watching paint dry.
People are ignorant, impatient, and selfish. Do a video that I want to watch and what I want is very simplistic!! All they want to see is you pop a tube out and in, a little finishing work on the cabinet, get a quick view of replaced caps, and come back from a cut scene to a completed project. So many people do not want to learn or do not want to see the entire journey, or even want complete silence in a video. It's ok though, you like what you like but to be insistent about how you make your own videos...... Why would a person continue watching if this isn't their style of content? Perhaps I am not supposed to understand?
Your "blabbing on" is most informative and enjoyable! Please "blab on" more! 😁👍
Will do. Thanks 😊
The Guy here is correct that a quick repair might delay the problem for a day or to but it is much better to recap the whole radio and stop the problems in their tracks.
It's not just a recap, but old cracked isolation on wires, dirty powerswitch to name a few.
Many of these old sets dont even have a fuse on the mains. That should be added too. Along with a new powercord.
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HI Manuel, that's quite a radio you have there, it will be an interesting restore. I had an online conversation recently with a guy starting into radio restoring and he said he would leave the old paper caps in, I suggested that was a bad idea as they can fail at any time and cause overheating in other components, he was quite adamant. I hope his insurance is paid up. Thanks Manuel 👍🙂
I hope so too 😊 but I’m sure the policy excludes devices not compliant with current safety code. Very risky 😊
@Simon Archbold Not wanting to hijack another's thread. I started out with late model common radios with circuit diagrams and were easy to work with, if I damaged it it wasn't a big loss.
Good advice.
Another clear and concise video full of common sense. Thank you from us complete beginners
My pleasure
Some of us listen to you. I quite like the style you have adopted with the intro and outro. It makes it feel more personal, almost like we are being invited into a part of your life, rather than being just a restore video.
I really appreciate what you do and your videos, along with Paul Carlson (Mr Carlson's Lab) are the main driver for me getting into this and helping save this part of history.
👍
I really appreciated this one because of the serious and important information you shared concerning the difference between a "repair" and a "restoration" and why it matters! I have heard people say that you should never replace all the paper caps because that way you don't know just what part was causing the problem. I am more concerned with making sure the radio is going to work for years to come and not be destroyed by leaving in a faulty component! I can hear it already "But it isn't faulty now...it's working so it is fixed".
I appreciate your values of what needs to be done.
Thanks Wayne
Your philosophy concerning restore over repair is great. I believe that any repair is total restoration or it not done correctly or completely. Keep up the fascinating work and making videos. I always learn something when I watch and listen to you even though I have been working on radios for 50 years.
Thank you 😊
Hi there , as one who worked in aviation for over forty years SAFETY was PARAMOUNT and still is, An old radio can be a lethal weapon in the wrong hands my avionics friends tell me , Many thanks for such interesting projects , Take care ,from a retired old mechanic .
My pleasure 😊
Hello again I am about to start renovate an Opus 7. Please let your videos stay on You tube.
It is very good!
I am slow worker.
I also built me a gluebulb security unit.
Regards from Bjorn Sweden
The videos will certainly remain there. Good luck.
Everytime you show one of those it makes me want to get one to repair. Then I give it a couple of days and my mind drifts away. Which is a good thing because my wife would nag me about it :D glad to see you are doing good. Dont forget to practice some chords.
I won’t. I often jump into Justin Sandercoe’s channel for a refresher lesson, and keep the music flowing.
Anything built in the last century should be considered an antique. It should be repaired as such, meaning you
have to go through everything and I mean everything. Some things weren't meant to last as long as you think!
(Yes , just like rubber break lines!) Even today, you change out your car's windshield wipers once a year otherwise
they "leak out" rubber on the windshield and you get streaking. Don't burn your house down taking shortcuts!
Great video Manuel and I hope those hobbyist take note of what to do and not to do!
Thanks
A smaller sibling of this (AEG 5076WD - same as a Telefunken Concertino 7) was the reason I got into the hobby. It was my grandparents radio they bought shortly after getting married. After 65 years it needed to be restored. As those are quite complex, I decided to cut my teeth on some cheap second hand models before diving into something with sentimental value... So I got a Nordmende, then a SABA and then the rabbit hole only got deeper and deeper.
I know the feeling. My first one was a Philips that had been my father’s
Peak youtube material; sharing knowledge and experience in hopes of providing safety for others!
As someone how recently has oddly enough woken up an interest in these old radios (oddly enough cause my cousin inherited our grandpa's telecommunication talents, while i inherited talent for mechanical things and am dumb as brick in all things electronic) i want to say you make excellent points about these old machines! If i get one, i'll be sure to look for a restauration and not just "make it sound and fingers crossed".
Always good to know that I've inspired someone. Good luck.
I saw your youtube channel for the first time today and found your pre-announcement on tube radio repair very well explained.
I cannot agree with you more.
Also maybe a useful tip.
When I have my tube radio on, I never let it play alone. I'm always around
That’s always good practice.
One of the first radios I owned was a tube radio from my parents, and it was much older than I was. It worked great for many years. But it's easy to forget that by now, that radio might look the same as it did back then (and most radios in your videos look like the one I had) but it would have been almost 70 years old, so it would probably have some problems and potential problems like that capacitor that shorted out, and that might kill it at any time.
Even technology that's much newer can often have problems that may lurk for dozens of years, like erase-heads in tape recorders whose plastic suddenly gets sticky, or gears whose plastic shrunk too much to fit on the shaft so they split and have to be rebuilt. Sure, those might not cause a house fire but they sure can cause other damage.
Thanks for posting! Looking forward to seeing the restoration of this one.
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An old video but will comment anyway. You, sir, are 100% on the money. I do work on these old sets, especially the German ones, and the word "repair" is not in my vocabulary when it comes to dealing with them. Any radio that comes to me has to get a full restoration of the electronics. You can measure any wax paper capacitor or electrolytic capacitor, and there's better than a 90% chance that it will be way out of specification. I simply tell my clients that all capacitors of these types have simply gone beyond their EOL (end of life). This, plus bad tubes, selenium rectifiers, certain resistors, dried up lubricants, dirty controls and switches, etc. and the job gets pretty involved. Sure, it isn't cheap, but what restoration is? The end result will be a radio that works as good as new, and will hold up for a very long time.
That’s the idea. Simple repairs are dangerous in these sets. Can really set your house on fire.
I'm totally with you on the policy of no simple repairs on old tube stuff like these radios.
I do some repairs for a local shop that sells used things including old electronic stuff.
But I will not do any "Quick fix" on a old radio like this. On a 80's radio or tape deck, that's fine,
but not on old things like these. I have explained the safety concerns I have with that,
and have also adviced the owner to tell buyers of these old radios to not just connect them
to mains and expect them to work. A 70 year old radio was never intended to last that long in the first place.
Actually I have used your old car analogy myself to explain the safety issues with these things,
and the fact that applying power might destroy a radio that could have been ok if it had been restored first.
I’m with you there. People have become so accustomed to getting everything cheap that the costs of restoration scare them off. That’s OK because it’s better not to use it at all than burn the house down 😊
@@electronicsoldandnew same concept with custom furniture. Seldom build for anyone except my wife.
😊 all you need is one person to appreciate it. Especially lucky if it’s your wife.
Very good explanation of why you do full restoration of radios. I get the same from people on old vintage Fender and Marshall guitar amps from the 50’s and 60’s. I tell them the first thing is the filter caps have to be replaced, promptly get the argument I want to keep it all original. I ask are you going play it and gig with it or use it for a show piece? Well they say I’m going to play it! I tell them you might get some time out of it and all the sudden it will quit with some magic smoke following it. After a lengthy discussion they usually give in. You and David Tipton are the two best radio restoration guys on RUclips. Your electronics chops are impeccable, David does great on that too but his cabinet and cosmetic repairs are amazing. I was a certified tool and die maker and CNC machine programmer for years. I taught myself electronics repairs out of necessity of be a gigging guitar player for the last 42 years. 20 years ago all my repair guys started retiring or passing away unfortunately. There was nobody left within a 100 mile drive to repair anything so I decided to jump into the game. Now it has become a nice little side business as I am the only game in town for tube amps. There is a friend who is 12 years older than me that is a true EE but doesn’t like humping 80lb amps down to his basement shop so he sends it my way. He repairs keyboards and I also do complete guitar rebuilds so it works out for us both. I send stuff his way and he does to me. Keep up your wonderful videos.
Yes, the famous quest for “original sound” from guitar amps. I’m quite aware of that fever 😊 I’ve done quite a few and I agree, the argument is always the same. I think most of the time it’s their playing skills that need improving, and not the amps 😊
As for Dave Tipton, he truly is amazing in the workshop. I envy his tools (I’ve told him so personally).
I’m happy to hear that you like the videos, and hope the viewers continue to enjoy them as much as I enjoy making them. This is now a double hobby for me: the electronics and the channel.
Thanks again.
@@electronicsoldandnew There is one guy on here that does “radio repairs “ he is just clueless on what is bad as far as caps and alignment , doesn’t feel the need to change 60 year old filter caps as it is too expensive? His test gear is all out of whack from lack of calibration or him screwdrivering them out of calibration. He will not follow alignment procedures on test equipment or radios. If he picks up one station when he’s finished he says close enough. Many have tried to give advice and guidance. I personally have sent him at least 25 PDF downloads of radio repair and alignment procedure books. Still twiddles things which ever way he believes right. Right now he is on #36 video of the same radio trying to align it and still no farther along than video #1. He gets more dislikes than likes or 50/50. He just doesn’t seem to take advice well, fragile ego or something. This guy says he has a college background in the electrical field but Nobody can see it. I’m sure you know who I’m talking about, don’t want to mention his name even though he says he never reads comments to which he should. What bothers a bunch of us who comment to help him along, there are a few viewers who think he is good and picking up his terrible habits. He has had his channel up fo 10 years and is no more knowledgeable than his first video. Most of the viewers just watch to see how bad he will botch up the next thing. We have given him links to you, David, W2aew, Mr. Carlson’s Lab, Shango066………………falls on a blind eye. His channel should be changed to entertainment, not educational. Just one of those poor souls that never learn from their mistakes or improve their knowledge or skills. With all the great channels on here he should be watching to see what he’s doing wrong. Obviously not. I watch every great video I can and have learned more from that and books than I ever could in a classroom. I’m not trying to bust this old gents bubble, just would like to hear him admit he doesn’t know and ask for help on certain things. Most of the best want input from people who might know a better and easier way to do things. He “repairs radios” exactly the way you choose not to. I feel bad for the people he charges a fee for these cobbled up repairs that 99% of the time the radio is way worse after than it was when it came in.
I know who you’re talking about 😊
@@electronicsoldandnew 😊
@@SIXSTRING63 That guy you speak of should give it up and take up gardening or do cat videos!
What a luxurious set, thank you for sharing this. I like that it has station names in their original languages and it says ATHINAI instead of ATHEN and MOSKVA instead od MOSKAU, for example. It is very inspiring to see your work, I hope I can also get a big luxurious set one day. In Czechoslovakia, we only had one, it is the Tesla 805A "Filharmonie" from 1958.
👍 That Tesla is quite a beauty.
I like my smaller Tesla Kvarteto T525A
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Being a bighead and someone with as many years as the video maker in the business I am certain I could make this safe in a hour (or two). Might not work after that of course, that would be taken care of in the next few hours... but sure could make it safe in most cases.
Hey, such a fab and info safe video on how not to repair an old radio...Thanks for sharing, just so interesting, can't wait for more..Stay safe..Ed..uk.😀 ( love the fire extinguisher..! )
thanks 😊
Absolutely correct about going the whole way. I always do the full Monty on all my radios bc I put them up for sale. Great advice.
thanks
cool and helpful video - and you're right about the don't-just-repair-old-stuff argument - but it's just too often that we're too lazy or suffer lack of spare time :-D
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Veeery good demonstration! Thats, what much people will not understand. It is not done with one ore two hours.
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I would suggest repair first, then restore checking as you go. Replace a cap or two then check your work. Testing the radio as you go. If you do it all at once could make a mistake or two that's harder to track down later.
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That's sad that only want it "just working". Especially when you do such extensive work!
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I prefer shango066 method, or a variation of it. I just get it running at first, usually I remove the rectifier tube and clip in one silicon diode. This is so I don't stress the rectifier which can hurt it if the filament is too cold and drawing a lot of current. Then I wire a relatively low wattage lightbulb in series (40-75W) and see what happens. I usually also remove output tube when doing that. The radio will usually come on slowly, sometimes there is a short somewhere and a lot of times the main smoothing capacitor will need to reform (or try to). Next I measure the grid voltage of the output tube, which in most cases with leaky caps can be as high as 60V. Your reading of 5V is not that terrible, and if you are running it with a low B+ and just for few minutes it will hardly hurt the tube (or the tube might already have grid emission from when it was last running). I then replace that grid coupling cap if it is bad, and leave a 150W bulb in series. If the radio still doesn't play, I will start then checking voltages. Almost always a missing voltage means open resistor, not a shorted capacitor, which is a surprise. Next of course comes the full recap and test. I also prefer to test the tubes in the early stages of restoration now, as once I chased down a rabbit hole on one radio for few days, only to find out that one of the IF tubes was almost dead (having no substitution, being an UBF89 tube), at the time I didn't have a tube tester.
With that procedure I managed to find a lot of problems before I spent money (and my precious time) on capacitors and restoration. If I find broken unobtanium components like speakers, output/mains transformers, open IF transformers, open antenna coils, then I will usually try to source a replacement or pass the radio for parts. On one occasion when I didn't follow my rule and recapped a radio before applying power (because it was stored in a damp cellar), it then happened to have an open output transformer, and silver mica disease in the IF cans.
Also I sometimes restore old TVs. They are series string in 100% of my cases, so I just disconnect one tube (usually the CRT) and slowly apply power (via a lightbulb or a variac). If I don't get any current draw, I check if the rectifier is perhaps a tube (need to bridge it with a silicon diode) or if I have a blown fuse. The procedure that follows depends on the age of the TV, but if I see any paper capacitors with high voltages across them, I will replace them before I reconnect the heater string. A lot of times, the TV will then just work. Of course the best first thing to do before restoring the TV is to check the CRT. Lot of times and old TV was retired because of the weak CRT. One good thing with the TVs is that usually the replacement vacuum tubes are abundant and very cheap. I paid like €5 for 20 of random TV tubes (PCL82, EF80, PCF86, PY88, PL500, etc.).
Just my 2 cents. If you tackle a vintage TV on your channel sometime, I would totally watch it :)
Thanks for your input. Vintage TV’s are very este here, because TV reception in Madeira literally only started after solid state equipment was the norm.
If the mains filter cap fails, the transformer or the tubes can be destroyed easily. Both can be very expensive, and that's if you can even find them.
My family has exactly the same radio when I was a kid in Hong Kong. As I recall it's sound was richer than the transistor radio or the transistor TV.
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Much enjoyed, Manuel...
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Memories of driving round Madeira on honeymoon. Spectacular and scary views. Would not like to have suffered failed brakes which driving round the island. Looking forward to restoration of the Telefunken Opus 8.
You were lucky you did not cross paths with an old landrover speeding down Encumeada, completely out of control, with a white-faced kid at the wheel 😊
I noticed the ‘crackling’ noise disappeared after you replaced that grid-blocking cap on the amp. Sounded just like silver mica.
I have a Telefunken Andante 8 awaiting restoration, looks like the model down from yours ( single ended EL84, only 3 speakers & less elaborate tone switching) but the same cabinet.
While I agree that it is far better to restore rather than repair, I do like to get the set working to a degree before restoration, changing the grid coupling cap is usually the first thing I do,
I have had sets brought to me that have "Stopped working", usually these have been dug out from years of storage and just plugged in! Open output transformers & fried output valves are the usual problem, all for the sake of a cheap capacitor.
Absolutely true. Getting it working first is not a problem as it allows you to monitor the progressive improvement as you do the restoration. I used to do that with all my restoration projects, but now I often just jump onto the restore process right at the start. It’s a personal choice.
Very well said. Congrats for the adequate explanation. I agree with you, but I am only a beginner. Alvaro.
Obrigado, amigo.
I have a Telefunken Allegro that I purchased online. I have used it many evenings listening to the radio. It was sold to me as restored but looking through the back rear cover I can still see older looking wax or paper style capacitors. I am assuming they are not in high voltage areas. The radio has been working great for years but I purposefully wanted a rebuilt radio just for that reason. I didn't want to burn my house down. Still, I never leave it plugged in. It says stereo on the front. I think this is for the inputs on the back as FM radio seems mono. However, the input on the back doesn't appear to give me stereo either so maybe that's not working correctly. Overall, I have been happy with my Telefunken. It appears to have all the OE tubes and was sold to me as a restored collectors piece.
Your not leaving it plugged in is a good step, and if you don’t leave it active when you’re not in the room, I think you’re probably fine. The greatest risk is when a radio that has been sitting inactive for many years suddenly gets put into service. That can have drastic consequences .
The word for a quick fix is "Botched" and we all know what happens to botched jobs, remembering a recent cable car disaster.
Please stick with the restorations, I've learned so much about "good practice" in electronics from you.
please don't pander to those with short a attention span.
A 15 minute vid showing an old set, followed by hi speed vid of a so called fix, and oh! Look it's fixed.
Educational value, zero.
Finally, thank you for the time you spend making these videos to teach people (like me) the correct modus operandi when it comes to safely repairing electronic equipment.
Thanks you. I have no intention of changing my methods. Glad you like them. Cheers.
Hello there I was impressed of your intelligent way of discuss, of the rigth way to a repair and the different with a restoration. I am a senior guy who have taken up an old interest again
So I have a question:
From your Ac rotarytransformer you have a box with four lamps and a instrument. How do these function?
Regards! Bjorn
It’s a dim bulb limiter: Here is the project:
ruclips.net/video/BjkRZN_4yG8/видео.html
The Opus 8 is a MONSTER!
Sure is.
What antenna did you use in the video? I'd love get some more in stations and some better reception on my old Grundig, now that I can finally get to enjoy it after replacing the Caps.
I always use my miniwhip antenna for these tests. It’s absolutely amazing. Search for the video I did on building one on the channel.
...Aaand that is why I don't do repairs for other people. I tinker about with my own stuff, try my best to make it safe and non self-destructive and watch it like a hawk until I'm satisfied nothing awful is going to happen.
If you only do half a job, you can't get tetchy when it bounces back and in today's litigious climate, electrocution and/or fire hardly bear thinking about.
They sure do. Everyone runs to their lawyer for the smallest slight.
27:38 Hilarious. Looking forward to this one .
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A couple of questions about starting using these old radios. If I'm only planning to use the amplifier section is it reasonable to remove the receiver tubes to save energy and the tubes? Will it increase the voltage on the amp section and filaments too much? The power transformer has a 220V primary winding and the outlet voltage is 230V (tube rectifier). Also, if I'm using only the amplifier section and the radio has never been modified can I get away with only changing the amplifier capacitors?
You can remove all the tubes except those that deal with the audio, but the voltage can rise a little due to that, as you asked. How much is unknown until you actually measure it.
As for the capacitors, you can see which ones are subjected to high voltages with the respective tubes removed and replace those.
Interested in that particular radio when restored
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Hi. Nice video !
I am not so good in English language so I did n't understand witch tube you change to get it fixed. You said it, but its to fast for me.
I have the same problem with my radio as you had. very low volyme ,but I hear very low that it find some stations .So I wonder if you can write what tube you change to make it work. greeings , Roger /Sweden
It was the ECH81.
Good luck with yours.
Hi, many thanks and good advice.
pleasure
Is that related to my German radio? looks just like my Grundig 3265
Thanks for fixing my radio work fine, but when I plugged it in my TV set stop working what did you do?
Tripped the breaker 😊 No extra charge 😊
Another excellent video. Do you have any suggestions for safe daily use of a radio that has been restored?
Yes. Always be in the room when you have it on so that you can react if anything goes wrong. Also, keep it away from curtains or other flammable materials, just to be safe. We have to remember that, regardless of the extent of the work that was done on it, it’s still 60 or 70 years old, so some failure is possible. Having said that, I use one of mine daily and have never had a crisis in all these years.
@@electronicsoldandnew thanks
Yeah, I usually just clean the controls and switches. ;)
True, dear Manuel, but who is willing to pay for a real restoration with adequate rates for the repair man? All has to be quick and cheap.
True. Quite a few of the ones I’ve done belong to friends who have had the radios in the family for generations, and therefore don’t compare the costs to those on offer for new equipment at the local shops. They appreciate these as antiques and are prepared to invest in a thorough job. As I’ve said before, this is my hobby, so I don’t look for work. Enough of it seems to find me that I don’t have to always buy new radios myself.
So these are just receivers. And how many people save on lawyers and doctors, which later lose much more ... An example with a car is also excellent.
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An old timer told me about capacitor reforming. Could you address that in a video?
I did a video on it.
Does this radio have stereo, because it has dual speakers? I worked for Granada Television Rentals UK for 4 years, one of the televisions I had to repair, failed because of over-heating due to all the components were completely covered with bird seeds. Somebody had a Bird cage sitting on top of the television, this could have caused a fire.
No, if is mono but with speakers galore. 😊
Please sir If u have national tube radio model GU 382, can u show its circuit board because some of my radio circuit wires are destroyed.
Unfortunately I haven’t done that radio. Sorry.
I 100% agree with you.
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Well i think at least some very critical components should always be replaced.
This means everything that gets in contact with high voltage
Electrolytic capacitors may be fine though.
So the coupling capacitor is #1 to look for.
Didn´t replace everything yet but at least the input coupling capacitors should be replaced aswell, so that in case of any failures, connected devices won´t be fried.
Some people go even further and add a 1:1 audio transformer but at least with a proper insulated power transformer, this isn´t needed in my opinion, as long as your input capacitors are good.
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I'm with you.
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What you're saying can't be repeated too often. For every person highlighting the dangers of quick and dirty repairs on youtube, dozens - no hundreds - of others just post videos doing exactly that. Especially for cars, other heavy machinery, electrical devices or even furniture and house repairs etc. bad/quick repairs can prove lethal to someone - often someone other than the person doing the repair.
WHAT A KOOL TUBE RADIO RECEIVRR TEX ME WHEN YOU HAVE THE TIMR
Yes, the others tend to pay the price.
YOU ARE Good
Gostei muito deste vídeo, e em especial do comentário referente ao extintor😁😁😁
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In case the reckless technician get fired
😊 or promoted 😊
Hi I sew in your second program on Opus
I sew that your Radio schedule is digital.
Do you know where to find the app/ program Regards Bjorn ps just starting on a Opus
Not sure what you mean. Are you referring to the schematic and service manual in PDF format?
@@electronicsoldandnew
Yes Have you just scan the shedule and
made a pdf file? I saw that you colored
some wires. Bjorn
The colouring is done with adobe reader, as shown in this video:
ruclips.net/video/oJtVijfc1Ds/видео.html
@@electronicsoldandnew Thank you for your answer. I will follow your video on RUclips. Regards
👍 good luck
Is that a PRS hanging up behind you?
No, it’s a Lag Imperator
Agree 100 %.
At least you replaced the coupling cap in the audio amplifier, the first 'brake' that would fail.
true
Some repair technicians might not even take the trouble to do that one, if the audio amplifier produces sound.
i am still surprised how similar the design is to the Tesla ones made in the then Czechoslovakia, shame it was only export models with the FM that matched the west, it would seem re tuning from orit would be quite a task.
A lot of similarities in the radios from that era.
I believe our Tesla engineers and designers closely followed the German electronics market fashions and often were inspired by those sets. Late 1950s Tesla radios are beautiful.
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@@I967 I have two... one made in Prague and one Bratislava
I disagree with the idea of a doing a full restoration being needed on these radios. First of all, anyone who starts up a car that has been sitting for many years should know to give the car a good look over and do a series of test drives before going out on romp. That just makes common sense. But when it comes to these radios, not everyone has the skills you do that they can just go through and repair everything on a whim. A repairman will charge about $100US for the 45 minute repair. 45 days? Forget about it!!! Best bet would be to try it out, monitor the radio with the back off. If it works well for several days you are good to go! There is risk involved with everything. Just don't overdo it! May God bless you.
I completely disagree
Compering your posts to the Rocky part 1.2.3.4 saying they are two long Cr#p . NO WE WANT THE COMPLETE STAR WARS INFINITY AND BEYOND LOL .
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I hope that you and your family are safe and out of harm's way after the volcano in your country erupted in the last 48 hrs.
We are fine, the volcano eruption is on the Canary Islands, Spain. I live o the island of Madeira, Portugal. Thanks for your concern.
Far enough from the volcano, but we know that Manuel is picking up the Canaries islands radios !
true 😊 radio waves are smokeless 😊
Holy hell people are just astoundingly impatient. But if you don't have a reference point what is there to wonder? A quick repair on these things would be to install a solid state radio inside the cab and just be happy with it. That we know of course is sacrilegous sacrilege. The only thing though I don't agree with in restoration world is stuffing old components. Honestly like... Why? A good rule is that you never disguise electronic components.
I do it for the can capacitors … sometimes, but not the remainder of the components under the chassis.
Thakyouverymuch good advice
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Hello Manuel
I guess you are portugues , with that name ! So I am ,!,
O meu hobby é restaurar velhas radios !,
Ja tenho mais de cem !
Moro em Toronto ,!
Vejo que sofres da mesma doença que eu 😊 Já visitei essa cidade várias vezes, e adorei. Inclusive tenho um ex-colega de curso a viver aí. Abraço.
I have a radio like this I would like to have restored in Canada Toronto aria. I gave it to someone and it came back worse. so If you know someone in the GTA. If someone know thanks.
I don’t, unfortunately. Maybe one of the viewers can suggest someone.
SSB? With BFO
we can try it 😊
@@electronicsoldandnew I have an old book with a lot of simple circuits but I would like to see that added on and see where it wires in
I did one recently. Not sure you saw it:
ruclips.net/video/YLHVP_WaM_U/видео.html
@@electronicsoldandnew thank you
Throw some new speakers and an amplifier into it and use et as a boombox!🤣
Could easily be done 😊 but not my plan.
I would have gone for Telefunken Space Charge Vacuum tubes to replace the high voltage tubes and replace the resistors with appropriate resistor values to make it work on a B+ of 45-70V and a heater voltage of between 1.5 and 3V and get rid of mains operation and make it much safer i.e using 8x PP9 batteries in series and 1 or 2x D cells for the heater voltage.
I love man I man and any time
Please we will be happy to see you add bluetooth to this radio
Will do so
Many people are shortsighted/stupid and your warnings on the outset will fall on deaf ears.
They probably will, but I’ll use my video as my answer when they ask for “a quick repair” 😊
Gênio
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Great video to make people aware of the dangers. Shango66 does repairs or resurrections as he calls them, but he does state that this is purely for the knowledge of the fault and not about calling it repaired and ready to use. If the set was 3 years old just repairing the fault and checking the relevant voltages would be good enough back in the day. But as you say this is getting on for over 60 or 70 years old. To just repair it and leave all the old electrolytic and hi voltage coupling/decoupling caps in place is asking for trouble and could be very dangerous. Even when these sets are fully restored if modern safety measures aren't applied then they are still dangerous. e.g. the across the mains safety cap needs to be x rated. A correctly rated inline fuse should be fitted. etc.. Even then I wouldn't leave one plugged in (even if it was switched off) and unattended for longer than I would leave an iron plugged in or an electric bar fire.
I actually watch Shango66 videos and find his diagnostics abilities amazing and highly enlightening to watch. As you say, he is very clear on his purposes.
WHAT WAS THE MFG.DATE ON THIS RADIO????
1957/58
Haha you picked up a moroccan station :D
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Less philosophy and more repair detailing and analyzing the root of the problem will help your channel immensely. Check out David Lipton's channel.
I like philosophy, and helping my channel is less important to me than having fun … so I’m afraid that’s not going to change anytime soon. Sorry.
Hey Mott, do you offer your valuable advice to other youtubers? I sure hope others benefit from your advanced intellect. Cheers.
Thus the quandary: undoubtedly those cookie cutter box European radios are best sounding stuff ever.
But the looks define boredom and a lack of artistic creativity. Like watching paint dry.
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People are ignorant, impatient, and selfish. Do a video that I want to watch and what I want is very simplistic!! All they want to see is you pop a tube out and in, a little finishing work on the cabinet, get a quick view of replaced caps, and come back from a cut scene to a completed project. So many people do not want to learn or do not want to see the entire journey, or even want complete silence in a video. It's ok though, you like what you like but to be insistent about how you make your own videos...... Why would a person continue watching if this isn't their style of content? Perhaps I am not supposed to understand?
You’re absolutely right: impatience is now the norm.
You get no argument from me about your rant. I agree 100 %. Thanks for the look.
pleasure