UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum - View Single Post

sprdsht · 4th Aug 2018, 6:24 pm

Hello, i am 16 and wish to embark on my first foray into the valve world. My knowledge of electronics is fairly limited ( i have made 2 effects pedals for electric guitar ) but after hearing that my great grandfather ran a radio repair shop and reading/watching things online, I've become interested in the craft. From the back of my cousin's barn me and my dad have managed to retrieve some of his, presumably unfinished, repair jobs including a Bush vhf 61. Possibly very naively, i decided that this seemed a good place to start as the unit is fairly small but spacious enough me to sort of see what's going on in there. I have tried to educate myself one the basic physics of how the components work together and what they do individually, but I'm still apprehensive about putting any electricity into the unit, mainly because it only has a two prong plug which confuses me as someone who isn't familiar with that with appliances without an earth pin. From what I've read this is a common fear which, generally speaking, isn't rational, however I'd rather go into this with a bit more knowledge. Nothing appears to be missing from the chassis but it was very dirty; after removing the valves I tried to brush off the worst of the dirt. I'm aware that the capacitors in old valve amplifiers tend to go bad for one reason or another over time and that they will probably need to be replaced. I am worried that turning on the radio without any prior checking could damage some of the components and cause issues that could be avoided.

My main questions are:

Is the two prong plug safe to use? if not, how should i wire the earth to the chassis?

What can i test before applying power to the circuit? ( I basically only have access to a multi meter )

If parts need to be replaced (capacitors and resistors) where can they be sourced in small quantities?

4th Aug 2018, 6:24 pm	#1
sprdsht Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Worcester, Worcestershire, UK. Posts: 2	Bush VHF61 restoration Hello, i am 16 and wish to embark on my first foray into the valve world. My knowledge of electronics is fairly limited ( i have made 2 effects pedals for electric guitar ) but after hearing that my great grandfather ran a radio repair shop and reading/watching things online, I've become interested in the craft. From the back of my cousin's barn me and my dad have managed to retrieve some of his, presumably unfinished, repair jobs including a Bush vhf 61. Possibly very naively, i decided that this seemed a good place to start as the unit is fairly small but spacious enough me to sort of see what's going on in there. I have tried to educate myself one the basic physics of how the components work together and what they do individually, but I'm still apprehensive about putting any electricity into the unit, mainly because it only has a two prong plug which confuses me as someone who isn't familiar with that with appliances without an earth pin. From what I've read this is a common fear which, generally speaking, isn't rational, however I'd rather go into this with a bit more knowledge. Nothing appears to be missing from the chassis but it was very dirty; after removing the valves I tried to brush off the worst of the dirt. I'm aware that the capacitors in old valve amplifiers tend to go bad for one reason or another over time and that they will probably need to be replaced. I am worried that turning on the radio without any prior checking could damage some of the components and cause issues that could be avoided. My main questions are: Is the two prong plug safe to use? if not, how should i wire the earth to the chassis? What can i test before applying power to the circuit? ( I basically only have access to a multi meter ) If parts need to be replaced (capacitors and resistors) where can they be sourced in small quantities?