Delco High Performance Radio Receiver! [Repair]
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- Опубликовано: 28 июн 2024
- A Delco AA6 Radio that really works well. See a new alignment device that makes tuning these radios very easy, and much safer! To learn electronics in a very different and effective way, and gain access to Mr Carlson's personal designs and inventions, visit the Mr Carlson's Lab Patreon page here: / mrcarlsonslab
#restoration #electronics #repairing 
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To learn electronics in a very different and effective way, and gain access to Mr Carlson's personal designs and inventions, visit the Mr Carlson's Lab Patreon page here: www.patreon.com/MrCarlsonsLab
Awww i'm in New Bedford, Mass! Is that what it reads on the side of that cap?
When i was a freshman in Electrical Engineering back in the 90s we took a tour of Aerovox.
I thi k at that time they only produced large industrial capacitors....
I'm only 4min in, but if you're going to throw out that cap, i'd actually like to have it :D
is that lil repeter part 95 ? hahhahah o wait ur above the line hahhahahah.... nice lil tool. i wish they had one for cell phones lol.. here near champlain cell service sucks lol
A complete restoration would be great to watch and then listen to it.
Great job. These are not just old radios, they are functional works of vintage art.
FYI I worked for Delco Electronics in Kokomo, Indiana my entire career (1977 - 2008), and we made some of the best radio receivers, along with several firsts in the auto industry (first in-dash radio receiver, first push button receiver, first electronic ignition module). I would have been surprised if you weren't impressed by this radio. It's also possible that all cases were made in ivory and painted brown at the factory.
Since there is just an AM band visible on the radio, what is the purpose of the red push buttons. Just curious. Thanks in advance.
@@fozzlac preset stations.
Dude Motorola and or Bosch/Blaupunkt made the.first auto radios
@@e.emerald3224 he said first IN DASH radio. In 1936, Delco began producing the first dashboard-installed car radios
Delco built many high quality, well engineered products over the decades. Most people don't know anything about Charles F. Kettering today, but he fran Delco Labs and was a creative genius and a giant in the American auto industry.
Excellent job Paul! Your genius antenna booster device works like a treat. Not having to physically connect equipment to the radio makes it the absolute ideal way to align a radio. No influence on the test radio, & perfect safety for the test gear!
The huge difference after alignment demonstrates the sensitivity of the radio, & the perfection of your test gear!
A restoration video of this receiver would be an excellent watch, where I'm sure you could make it perform even better, if that's even possible. Thank you!
Your stress relief on the power cord is a great idea!
WOW!..indeed. Can only imagine how full restoration of this receiver will improve the performance. This is going to be a solid project. Thanks for the video and work.
I really like when you work on these types of radios!
I don't know half of what you're saying, but I love it. Haha!
Thanks a million Paul, for working on this great radio. I love old tube type radios. I will be anxiously waiting for the restoration on it. All the best from Gene in Tennessee. 😄
I think I'm going to start shopping for one of these All American 6 radios. They sound great. Although there aren't nearly the number of AM broadcast stations around as there were, There's still enough to make getting one worth while. Thanks Mr. C for another great video.
US buildings that used 110VDC, I found the Electra Hotel in downtown Chicago. It had a steam plant for heating, domestic hot water and to Generate its own electricity. In the room that I rented had a sign above the one outlet stating caution 110 direct-current.
Got a tour of the boiler room it was quite impressive. (Talk about off grid)
Yes, the Edison DC house power was used for many years in the Chicago and New York area. The prime reason for series circuit tube filaments was to make a radio that would operate from both AC and DC.
@@billharris6886 The early electrical history is entreating, like the reason for 1st elect R&R line voltage.
@@mackfisher4487 Thanks for your response but, I can't make sense of some of the words. "Entreating" is a forceful urging or begging. "Elect" means chosen. I'm not sure what R&R means. I guess my working vocabulary is quite a bit different than what you are used to.
@@billharris6886 I’m guessing he meant “intriguing” and “electrical”
@@JohnGodwin777 Thank you for your response, that makes a lot more sense! I suspect in the early days of electrical power generation, a city would buy an engine and generator head, then run it at whatever speed seemed to work best for their particular setup. For instance, 15 years ago, I was living in Hamilton, Ohio. I discovered they were originally running a line frequency of 133 Hz. My guess is they discovered that you can get more power out of the generator if you spin it faster. That power was being used to power arc lamps, incandescent light bulbs, and brush motors (non-frequency dependant loads).
Can you align, and peak up a radio, without test equipment or very limited cost test equipment. And if so do a video on how you would carry that out. Obviously not expecting the results to be as perfect but still put the radio in to a good state of usability.
Keep up the good work on the channel, just recapped my first Ekco U319 radio, inspired by you channel. And it works!! Or at least receives channels on all bands!!
Thanks from the Norfolk Broads UK
29:20...Your "Power Antenna" lightly Inductive Coupled alignment creation is Deff the best "Non-Loading" non-Disruptive Rf/If alignment method ever seen !! ...Big thx for showing this Superior technique...
These old tube sets work a lot better than many people today would think. I've lined up many radios like this, and yes you can do it by ear. To get the signal into the set without connecting the signal generator directly to it, I just take a lead from the sig. gen., and make a loop of a few turns and simply place it near the set. I keep the signal low, so the a.g.c. in the set doesn't kick in, and line up the IF like that. So a signal generator and a good ear is all you really need!
Very interesting part about those caps / elco's.
Like you, I have the experience that most "cans" are "gone" after more or less 50 years. Even less, depending of the heat (from nearby tubes) they had to endure during their life.
Thanks for uploading!
Hooray!! Old radio restoration coming!!!!
That's a great gizmo you've invented, Paul. Nice radio too.
Looking forward to the restoration.
I've been missing these kinds of videos so thanks for making one. It's a trip down memory lane for me for when I first got into your channel about 4 years ago. I've really come a long way (and I've got a long way to go) with my electronic knowledge in that time. Thanks for being such a great teacher!
You're very welcome, and thanks for your kind feedback too!
Wow Paul great video! Keep them coming! I learn so much from you.
Very informative video. I didn't understand everything, but I'm learning. The more comprehensive the explanation, the more learning. Looking forward to the restoration. Thanks.
Great job Paul you make it look so easy.
Hello Mr. Carlson. I just got home after having triple bypass surgery. As you can imagine I have a lot of restrictions. But I enjoy you and you videos so much. I get to learn new things. For a while I was a Patreon member but had to stop for financial reasons. I have been watching you for around five years. I appreciate the older equipment BECAUSE they can be repaired and modified. It is probably my imagination but I think they sound better.
The harder to find Delco model R-1236 with pushbuttons circa 1946. It actually came only in the ivory finish. The non push
button version came in either ivory ( R-1234) or brown ( R-1235). Interesting "junk box" power booster antenna none like I
have ever seen! Impressed by your cleverness using a Compactron Mr. Carlson. Of course I don' t want to possibly send a
signal out to the whole neighborhood. Or do I? LOL. Excellent revival and alignment of an old tube receiver!
Two weeks have passed,since i have finished my last tube radio project, a nordmende Carmen 57,last Job was restuffing the power supply filter capacitor, 3x 50uF, restuffed with 3x 47uF 400 volt ones,and polishing all brass parts at the Front of the radio. Works perfect, no hum at all,amazing Sound quality. Even the original schematic is still intact, which is really helpful, for checking resistors, and all the voltages.
Another superb presentation. Looking forward to the restoration.
Finally a normal mr.Carlson video Also Richard from the channel Learn electronics repair tried to contact you about a rare tube filled thing if you were interested in it but your Email did not work or could not find it ... anyway you may want to contact him .. if he still has it .. tell him dutch told you about it it was a german device
Nice radio Paul! The push-buttons instantly date the radio as the 1940's. The RF amp was a huge performance upgrade for the 5 tube RCA tube set. The pentagrid converter stage generates a huge amount of noise, de-sensing the radio but, with the RF amp, that noise is reduced 10 to 20 dB. To correctly fuse this radio, each line should be fused, and the fuses should be in the plug but, to my knowledge, no one makes such a plug. I like to double the value of the cathode resistor on the audio output tube of any 5 or 6 tube series string RCA tube set to reduce heat dissipation. The audio output is by far the hottest tube in the radio and generally cracks plastic cabinets. The filter electrolytic in this radio was obviously replaced at some point, those radios used paper cased electrolytics originally.
Tanks Paul! Looking forward to this restoration!
As always, A+ Mr. Carlson.
Very helpful restoration & Alignment tips...Very interesting how Delco Economically incorporated the Rf Preamp stage while using just a standard "2 Gang" AA5 non Rf preamp type variable capacitor Without losing any hot, sensitive, long Distance reception performance !! ...I would've Assumed a much Lower sensitivity performance with the compromised Un-tuned preamp Plate coupling design but it seems to deff work Very well !!
Great video Mr C. Wish we made things like this agn.
LFOD !
Those old tube radios predating the NRSC mask by several years have such good audio even with the dumbing down of the transmitter audio chain. I believe that a radio like this coupled with a well matched antenna at the transmitter site can come really close to fm ! Great audio bandwidth! Sometimes newer isn’t always better
Thanks as always Carlson.
Thanks Paul for your detailed instruction. I’m amazed how well an untuned rf stage works. The rf amp would appear to have a 3300 ohm resistor as a load
our UK plugs all have a fuse . Awesome repair
Yes we do have fused plugs in the UK, but unless fused correctly by the equipment supplier, many will be found with too high a rated fuse. Also they are no substitute for a fuse installed in the radios at a rating more closely levelled at the consumption plus (over and some way above starting current). I often use 500ma or smaller fuses. The Uk 240V means lower current than in the US 110v equipment.
really enjoyed this... as I do all of your videos... Many thanks Paul... Great little radio...look forwards to the full restoration in due course.
General Motors has been using Delco radios with Bose speakers for a very long time...both are great by themselves but awesome when combined :)
I could receive radio stations from the Yucatan capital (at night) which was over 2500 miles away...it always amazed me how well they picked up signals.
Sometimes i don’t know what he’s doing ,but I do enjoy it !
An awesome video and a real piece of electronic artwork. I absolutely love watching your videos and learning new tips and things I didn't know previously! A huge thank you!
What a great radio, your knowledge is amazing, thank you for making these great videos Larry Owens
Those old radios are fascinating. With that nice, high-quality I.F. section, this is the perfect kind of A.M. radio for tapping off the I.F. output and feeding into a synchronous detector. Many years ago, I had a six octal tube radio similar to this. Wish I had hung on to it.
Always interesting!
Thanks Paul 🙂
Enjoyed this video, Paul and always look forward to keeping up with your latest installment. Love your new shop and your lift truck!! I wish the testing gear that you put out on your own was in kit form as I would purchase all of them just for the experience of putting something together that you designed but I do know there are just so many hours in a day and I do appreciate that you even make these inventions available to us. Thank You!!
Thanks for the video. I learned a lot. I have a similar Delco and you're right about performance, It's really a great performer. Take Care! 😀
Man I wish I could download all your knowledge into my brain!
Awesome as Always... Another Quality Vid Thankyou.
I love that the dial goes to 1700.
That's a cool little radio.
I see a not straight capacitor plate.
I look forward to the restoration and multitude of tech tips you provide. Hopefully when testing at night you can receive KNX1070 from Los Angeles.
Good morning, this radio that you restored is very nice. I am amazed at the sensitivity it has in reception. I have some radios of this type, one of those is a Bendix 526 A. Greetings from Italy
Great Mr Carlson sir nice I enjoyed the show thanks for this video sir you are awesome ❤️ ❤😊❤
Restore it! I love the antenna device!
this piece of electric actuated art deserve a restoration!
30:23 - I had a problem with 455Khz IF years ago. I was living in Bangor, Me. One of their AM stations, WABI, broadcasted at 910 KHz, *exactly double the IF* ! So, when tuning in, you'd get a beat-frequency that would go to 'DC' if tuned in correctly :) To fix the problem, I just jacked up the IF of the receiver and tweaked to oscillator to compensate.
thankyou sir for sharing your knowledge, experience and the best home lab, a dream home lab i wish i had. Your a gentlemen and i love watching your content,
I like the brown case with the white/ivory knobs!
High performance technician makes all the difference !!!!
Cool! I've got an old 6 tube Motorola with the RF stage as well. She plays great after I changed out the filter capacitor.
Easiest. Radio. To. Rebuild. Love. Them. Very. Reliable
I can do anything except restringing the tuner, or rewind IF/RF coils. I'll pull the tubes and knobs then off to the curb it will go.
Mr C, you need to try the radio at night with an external antenna to see how many stations you can get.
I did an ivory paint removal on a 1937 Bakelite Philco a few months back. Back in the 50s to 70s when the Lady of the home wanted a paint over restoration of the kitchen, the mother in laws wedding gift brown radio on top of the fridge received the color of the walls.
yay more content! 😆👍
35:40...The post-Realignment lab/basement sensitivity performance is Incredible !! ...Even without the Outside antenna connection, If you had turned Off all your other lab Equipment & other nearby Interference generating Sources, I bet it Would've picked up many Distant stations better than most "Today's" newest radios !!
Zap straps! Is that because they are attached to something electrical? 😜 And then you said zip ties! I can count on no fingers that I have heard of zap straps before I saw this video! Cable tie & zip-tie for the people of down under! 😁 Learn something new every day, besides the electronics that I love to watch! 👍
Nice rx. It almost looked as if the two condensor vanes were moving at different rates!
That's how I aligned my Elecraft K2 Rig after I built it!
Zip-tie works for me.
I am really looking forward to seeing the Full Restoration of this radio.
Mr. carlson that is a perfect way of feeding the R.F. test signals to a radio, with built in antenna, via a remote antenna coil. I have done the same thing in my alignment of AM radios.
Do you think that it would be doable by simply connecting a loop antenna to the 50Ohm output of a signal generator, without a tube in the middle?
@@willjackson1955 YES! All the tube does is boosts the signal so the loop can be farther away from the radio being tested. Even several turns of wire to form a simple loop will work too.
@@JCWise-sf9ww nice, then I suppose that the tube is just an IF amplifier, a bit more broadly tuned to let all frequencies from 430 to 480 Khz pass?
Thanks!
@@JCWise-sf9ww What amplitude are we talking about? My generator can do 50mV max...
@@willjackson1955 I would say that Mr Carlson's device is a broadband RF amplifier driving an ordinary AM antenna coil without any tuning capacitor involved. With my knowledge, I would say the tube circuit & antenna loop is capable of amplifying & passing frequencies from about 100 khz into the HF (shortwave) range. Depending on the gain of the tube used, 50mv, from your generator, would easily be multiplied many times over. BTW: Carlson was also using the device as an Antenna re-transmitter.
Is “Zap Strap” some Canadian brand of zip ties? Never heard that in my 55 years.
There is a brand that calls them Pan-Ty, but they're a bit on the spendy side.
Great stuff love the vidoes. After starting to watch your videos some years ago I have since renovated many valve radio sets, sadly in the UK there is almost no MW or LW. Of an everning and using one of my ham antennas I can often pickup up chinese stations, for some reason.
I shall be joining Patreon at some point soon. I really want to build a super probe, your capacitor tester and now you have that aerial thingy too.
Keep your grounds close, and your neutrals closer.
I would love to see a restoration of this radio. Yes, you could leave it repaired and functional but if the option is there then why leave it at just a repair. A restoration would bring this radio back to its former glory as it was meant to be. I hope you decide to restore this beautiful piece of art from a simpler time. Greetings from Nevada, USA.
Hi Paul .. I've been following you about 3 years, full of enjoyment. In fact you unwittingly motivated me to join the Ottawa Vintage Radio Club and talk up some of your creations. Awhile ago I loved your re & re of a Knight local AM transmitter ('intercom or baby monitor), and now I see your power amp is rather like a low-power a.m. transmitter. We're interested in the low-plate voltage 'space-charge' mode tube receivers, and now I'm wondering if low-voltage transmitter would work. Would be so much fun to see you explore space-charge tube radios: good projects for youngsters are in reach there. There were very early 'hikers' sets with one or two s.c. triodes.
You can use an ESR meter on caps the “seem” to have gone up in value.
They switched the chassis side because the service receptacles and plugs were not polarized. Therefore, if the chassis side was connected to the hot side of the line it would be at full line voltage 24/7.
Another excellent video, Paul. I love the way that you explain your procedures, for diagnosing and repairing electronic equipment. If my country wakes up, and votes for a businessman to run things again, then maybe I can afford to be a patreon in the near future!!
So when you end up with hum after replacing the multi-section capacitors, what sort of things should we look for to make it go away? I run into this when I'm doing my amateur restorations of radios like this or things like tube CB radios. I love the antenna 'caster' device! So handy and useful when you're working down in the basement like many of us are.
The remaining hum can be caused by heater-to-cathode leakage, poor lead dress, or in a 6 volt filament string, the same lead being used to ground the filament and cathode, particularly in the audio circuit.
High Performance Radio Receiver!
Paul! I have been watching all your videos and they are so, so good! One thing: On your capacitor checker that has the LED lights. Would it be possible for you to put labels on the switches? It would be a nice touch got such a valuable electronic tester. Thanks and you are so good at trouble shooting!
Well that electrolytic cap, either was bad or good, was completely normal to test as "leaky" after 40+ years of disuse. It is of course good to replace it anyways, but it would be even better to try to reform it via a HV current limited power supply, and then test it for leakage and capacitance :)
Interesting that it tunes all the way to 1700 kc as old as the radio is.
Thanks for this video of an awesome radio from my youth,, Am waiting now to see how you eliminate that annoying 60cycle hum,, and make it pretty,, :-)
Paul, please include some information on what string would make a good string for the dial string replacement.
16:26 Maybe it can pick up the modern rock station at my workplace haha.
I kinda wanna send my AA5 AM/FM set in for a restoration. Maybe I'll poke ya on patreon about it further?
Thank you for doing the radio alignment on this Delco. I’ve had some difficulties learning how to do it. You made it simple to understand. If I may I’d like to ask a question not related to this video. I have an 1950 Buick with a 6 volt battery. I’m unable to jump start the car because the newer cars are 12 volt. Can you provide some information on how to drop the voltage to 6 volt if I use a 12 volt battery? Many thanks
I know of several people that do retro-computer repair. They test ESR but, they won't ever test for leakage because the ESR is good. So you don't see them do a lot of recapping. I'm talking Tantalum caps from the 70's and 80's. would those 50yr old caps be notorious for leakage. I know Tantalums can go bad. They are basically used as filter caps for the IC's in the circuits. myself I just don't take the chance and do a recap in any case. Capacitors are so much better today then they were when I was growing up. Electrolytics are almost always still good. I won't replace those unless I see them leaking or bulging.
Sir can you detailed video on cap tester machines
YFW: running this thing on DC (Batteries) Presumably 1.5v D-Cells at that, would require up to 80 of the retched things, and likey only give 10 15 minutes tops of actual runtime before enough of then went flat!
Wish I could find someone to rebuild my paps little Philco. It's in a nice small wood cabinet and has tubes. That's all I know about it.
Sometimes the AA6 works dramatically better than the AA5. You wouldn't think that just one more tube would make such a huge difference.
WORLD FAMOUS BALONEY BURGERS!? I'LL TAKE TWO!! 🍔🍔
I want to understand "hot receiver" in context with radios I actually own -- is it hot compared to say an ic-705 or is it hot compared to say an 80s pocket transistor radio ?
Was 'high performance' back then equate to 'high-end' today?
that's what the inside of my thermin i built looked like, until i decided to make a circuit board for it. a bit ball of resistors, caps, diodes and transistors didn't work out so well
Comment for the algorithm.
Sometimes the hum is caused by a heater-to-cathode leak or short in one of the tubes.
Awesome video Paul.. Question., when you're trying out the radio and tune across the bands, do music corporations or the youtube algorithm knock on your door when you stay on a station with music for too long? It seems you deliberately stay longer on voice stations.. is that why?
Mrister Carlsons lab it is interesting when you look at schematics on antique radios my friend