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Radio_Dave · 2nd Aug 2019, 4:18 pm

I found this radio locally for just £25. Initially I planned to leave the electronics alone but knowing the rarity of this radio I thought I’d be best to tap into the wealth of knowledge on this forum and ask for advice. In that thread I was surprised when I was advised to change all the capacitors but once I took a few out and tested them I could see how bad they were and so went on to change the lot including electrolytics. Apart from a squirt of switch cleaner here and there no other work was needed to the chassis

The cabinet need more attention. The rexine was very dirty, had some chips and knocks, including a few dart holes. Washing up liquid didn’t touch the dirt. I so I reluctantly used Flash spray bleach to clean it with very soft nail brush. I did my best to fill the holes and damage with acrylic paint and then polished it with appropriately coloured shoe cream. The end result is far from perfect but I pleased with it.

The brass knob bright were polished and lacquered but the fittings for the carry handle were brass coloured steel so minimal cleaning and polishing was all I could do.

The white print on the tuning scale is incredibly delicate and it can be seen where it’s lifting from the glass. The gentlest brush over with a yellow duster was all I dare do, but it cleaned off the dust a treat.

The twin aerials were bent and had lost their red tips. I was really nervous bending them straight and many times I thought they were going to snap but I got away with it in the end. I made new tips from wooden dowel spun in a drill and shaped with sandpaper. I spayed them white and then dipped them in red glass paint that I had brought years ago to paint some nixie tubes. I am very happy how they turned out. There’s two bits of incredibly delicate plastic trim that go around the aerials and they were both cracked and broken. I repaired these with superglue and where there were holes I filled it with superglue and bicarbonate of soda. Strangely somebody in the past has brush painted them with some sort of varnish. I wanted to remove it but decided to leave them as they are because of their fragility.

The radio came with a home made battery eliminator but when tested under load the HT was a bit high at 120 volts so I decided to make a replica B103 battery using 60 AA’s for the HT and 4 D cells for the LT. Later on I may revisit that battery eliminator and make use of it.

Well here it is 5 pictures. It’s not perfect but I’m pleased with it. Sounds good too!

Regards
David

2nd Aug 2019, 4:18 pm	#1
Radio_Dave Nonode Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Norwich, Norfolk, UK. Posts: 2,543	Ever Ready Sky Emperor I found this radio locally for just £25. Initially I planned to leave the electronics alone but knowing the rarity of this radio I thought I’d be best to tap into the wealth of knowledge on this forum and ask for advice. In that thread I was surprised when I was advised to change all the capacitors but once I took a few out and tested them I could see how bad they were and so went on to change the lot including electrolytics. Apart from a squirt of switch cleaner here and there no other work was needed to the chassis The cabinet need more attention. The rexine was very dirty, had some chips and knocks, including a few dart holes. Washing up liquid didn’t touch the dirt. I so I reluctantly used Flash spray bleach to clean it with very soft nail brush. I did my best to fill the holes and damage with acrylic paint and then polished it with appropriately coloured shoe cream. The end result is far from perfect but I pleased with it. The brass knob bright were polished and lacquered but the fittings for the carry handle were brass coloured steel so minimal cleaning and polishing was all I could do. The white print on the tuning scale is incredibly delicate and it can be seen where it’s lifting from the glass. The gentlest brush over with a yellow duster was all I dare do, but it cleaned off the dust a treat. The twin aerials were bent and had lost their red tips. I was really nervous bending them straight and many times I thought they were going to snap but I got away with it in the end. I made new tips from wooden dowel spun in a drill and shaped with sandpaper. I spayed them white and then dipped them in red glass paint that I had brought years ago to paint some nixie tubes. I am very happy how they turned out. There’s two bits of incredibly delicate plastic trim that go around the aerials and they were both cracked and broken. I repaired these with superglue and where there were holes I filled it with superglue and bicarbonate of soda. Strangely somebody in the past has brush painted them with some sort of varnish. I wanted to remove it but decided to leave them as they are because of their fragility. The radio came with a home made battery eliminator but when tested under load the HT was a bit high at 120 volts so I decided to make a replica B103 battery using 60 AA’s for the HT and 4 D cells for the LT. Later on I may revisit that battery eliminator and make use of it. Well here it is 5 pictures. It’s not perfect but I’m pleased with it. Sounds good too! Regards David Attached Thumbnails __________________ http://www.youtube.com/ My Nixie Clocks