Hacker rear vent replacement - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

stevehertz · 20th Aug 2015, 11:04 am

My Hacker VHF Herald is missing it's rear vent. The chances of finding a replacement are perhaps more difficult than finding hen's teeth or rocking horse droppings. So I decided to look at plastic louvres and grilles and found this one that is not much bigger than the original (at least it's bigger not smaller) and not a million miles away in the looks department. It's made by 'Map Hardware' - see photo of packet - and they're available in brown or white. Mine needing to be red I thought the brown one would overpaint easier. As supplied there's a bit of moulding 'flash' here and there that will need to be carefully trimmed, but all in all not a bad fix I thought. For the purpose of the photo I have just held it in place with double sided tape but I'll use the screws holes when I finally install it after painting. Oh, it was £2.99 and size is 6x3 inches.

Karen O · 23rd Aug 2015, 7:36 am

That's a really useful tip: my Hacker Sovereign II is missing its vent!

stevehertz · 23rd Aug 2015, 7:47 am

It's not a 'perfect' - as in original - fix, but it does the job much better than a couple of large holes in the cabinet surrounded by flapping Rexine! Also, the finished job will look much better when the vent is sprayed the correct colour. I'll post pics of mine when sprayed. Anyone seen a 'red' colour (spray) that's the same tone as the original, or thereabouts?

Lloyd 1985 · 23rd Aug 2015, 10:56 am

That looks pretty good! I'm in need of a speaker grille of similar design for an Ekco TV I have here, that is missing. One of these may be the answer.

As for painting it, I think your best bet would be a trip to Halfords, they have a good selection, and their spray paints always seem to work well for me.

Regards,
Lloyd.

stevehertz · 23rd Aug 2015, 11:02 am

Lloyd, if you google ' plastic vent grille ', and also the same words on an auction site, you will get lots of results in many different sizes. Map brand (as mine) make different sizes too. Check out your search results under the 'images' option rather than 'web' or 'shopping'.

stevehertz · 23rd Aug 2015, 2:24 pm

Actually I may fill the screw holes in the grille with Araldite or plastic padding before spraying it, and then use impact adhesive to fix it to the back of the set as that would be more original than screws.

stevehertz · 24th Aug 2015, 7:34 pm

Today I went to Halfords and purchased a can of spray paint to use on the grille. After much deliberation and almost going colour blind having perused and compared seemingly dozens of shades of red, I decided on Rover Damask Red. I was looking for a bright yet 'heavy' shade of red that had a hint of plum in it, and this appeared to be the one. Back home I've sprayed some onto a piece of paper and you can see the results in the photo attached. It hints at the colours used on the control panel and knobs (which are very 'plumish'), and from photos that I've obtained of red coloured rear vents, it's not a bad match there either. Actually, the colour obtained is better than shown on the spray can lid which although it was the best one that I could find, seemed a bit too dark, and I had my doubts that it would work. BTW, ignore the lighter coloured spray towards the bottom of the paper, the top inch or so is the real colour. So, in due course the grille will be prep'd and sprayed. Watch this space..

stevehertz · 7th Oct 2015, 5:12 pm

Update.

I prepared the surface of the grille by first chiselling off the raised logos and then rubbing down any flash on the plastic moulding. I then smoothed it off with a very fine (pre-used) sponge sanding pad.

First photo: plastic primer applied.
Second photo: First colour coat applied - more to come..

stevehertz · 8th Oct 2015, 3:05 pm

We're getting there. Perhaps one more coat then a polish.

stevehertz · 10th Apr 2016, 2:10 pm

And finally, the finished job. As is normal, the colours as perceived by the camera (and flash!) are not quite right. In hue, the vent actually matches the other red plastic parts quite well, and it also 'matches' - if that's the word in this case - the rexine covering much better than is portrayed by the photo. See my earlier 'colour match' post and photo that shows the match to the unfaded red rexine.

Lloyd 1985 · 10th Apr 2016, 7:22 pm

That looks pretty damn good! I can see that the colour matches the tuning dial very well, some camera's always do funny things with colour when the flash is on. Really must get one sorted for that Ekco telly when I get my new workshop...

Regards,
Lloyd.

Ti Pwun · 11th Apr 2016, 7:24 am

Nice job!

G6Tanuki · 14th Apr 2016, 5:04 pm

Nice one! That's a rather satisfactory colour match; the slight difference in shade's nothing to be worried about - I'm sure that after years of use the original grille would have faded at a rate different to the background Rexine in any case!

The range of these little plastic vents is really quite amazing - apart from the ones sold as "Soffit vents" at the usual DIY stores, there's another smaller variety sold to the caravan/motorhome community for venting their gas-powered refrigerators and the like.

20th Aug 2015, 11:04 am	#1
stevehertz Dekatron Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK. Posts: 8,830	Hacker rear vent replacement My Hacker VHF Herald is missing it's rear vent. The chances of finding a replacement are perhaps more difficult than finding hen's teeth or rocking horse droppings. So I decided to look at plastic louvres and grilles and found this one that is not much bigger than the original (at least it's bigger not smaller) and not a million miles away in the looks department. It's made by 'Map Hardware' - see photo of packet - and they're available in brown or white. Mine needing to be red I thought the brown one would overpaint easier. As supplied there's a bit of moulding 'flash' here and there that will need to be carefully trimmed, but all in all not a bad fix I thought. For the purpose of the photo I have just held it in place with double sided tape but I'll use the screws holes when I finally install it after painting. Oh, it was £2.99 and size is 6x3 inches. Attached Thumbnails __________________ A digital radio is the latest thing, but a vintage wireless is forever..

23rd Aug 2015, 7:36 am	#2
Karen O Rest in Peace Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Bridgnorth, Shropshire, UK. Posts: 787	Re: Hacker rear vent replacement That's a really useful tip: my Hacker Sovereign II is missing its vent!

23rd Aug 2015, 7:47 am	#3
stevehertz Dekatron Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK. Posts: 8,830	Re: Hacker rear vent replacement It's not a 'perfect' - as in original - fix, but it does the job much better than a couple of large holes in the cabinet surrounded by flapping Rexine! Also, the finished job will look much better when the vent is sprayed the correct colour. I'll post pics of mine when sprayed. Anyone seen a 'red' colour (spray) that's the same tone as the original, or thereabouts? __________________ A digital radio is the latest thing, but a vintage wireless is forever..

23rd Aug 2015, 10:56 am	#4
Lloyd 1985 Nonode Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Coningsby, Lincolnshire, UK. Posts: 2,819	Re: Hacker rear vent replacement That looks pretty good! I'm in need of a speaker grille of similar design for an Ekco TV I have here, that is missing. One of these may be the answer. As for painting it, I think your best bet would be a trip to Halfords, they have a good selection, and their spray paints always seem to work well for me. Regards, Lloyd.

23rd Aug 2015, 11:02 am	#5
stevehertz Dekatron Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK. Posts: 8,830	Re: Hacker rear vent replacement Lloyd, if you google ' plastic vent grille ', and also the same words on an auction site, you will get lots of results in many different sizes. Map brand (as mine) make different sizes too. Check out your search results under the 'images' option rather than 'web' or 'shopping'. __________________ A digital radio is the latest thing, but a vintage wireless is forever..

23rd Aug 2015, 2:24 pm	#6
stevehertz Dekatron Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK. Posts: 8,830	Re: Hacker rear vent replacement Actually I may fill the screw holes in the grille with Araldite or plastic padding before spraying it, and then use impact adhesive to fix it to the back of the set as that would be more original than screws. __________________ A digital radio is the latest thing, but a vintage wireless is forever..

24th Aug 2015, 7:34 pm	#7
stevehertz Dekatron Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK. Posts: 8,830	Re: Hacker rear vent replacement Today I went to Halfords and purchased a can of spray paint to use on the grille. After much deliberation and almost going colour blind having perused and compared seemingly dozens of shades of red, I decided on Rover Damask Red. I was looking for a bright yet 'heavy' shade of red that had a hint of plum in it, and this appeared to be the one. Back home I've sprayed some onto a piece of paper and you can see the results in the photo attached. It hints at the colours used on the control panel and knobs (which are very 'plumish'), and from photos that I've obtained of red coloured rear vents, it's not a bad match there either. Actually, the colour obtained is better than shown on the spray can lid which although it was the best one that I could find, seemed a bit too dark, and I had my doubts that it would work. BTW, ignore the lighter coloured spray towards the bottom of the paper, the top inch or so is the real colour. So, in due course the grille will be prep'd and sprayed. Watch this space.. Attached Thumbnails __________________ A digital radio is the latest thing, but a vintage wireless is forever..

7th Oct 2015, 5:12 pm	#8
stevehertz Dekatron Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK. Posts: 8,830	Re: Hacker rear vent replacement Update. I prepared the surface of the grille by first chiselling off the raised logos and then rubbing down any flash on the plastic moulding. I then smoothed it off with a very fine (pre-used) sponge sanding pad. First photo: plastic primer applied. Second photo: First colour coat applied - more to come.. Attached Thumbnails __________________ A digital radio is the latest thing, but a vintage wireless is forever..

8th Oct 2015, 3:05 pm	#9
stevehertz Dekatron Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK. Posts: 8,830	Re: Hacker rear vent replacement We're getting there. Perhaps one more coat then a polish. Attached Thumbnails __________________ A digital radio is the latest thing, but a vintage wireless is forever..

10th Apr 2016, 2:10 pm	#10
stevehertz Dekatron Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK. Posts: 8,830	Re: Hacker rear vent replacement And finally, the finished job. As is normal, the colours as perceived by the camera (and flash!) are not quite right. In hue, the vent actually matches the other red plastic parts quite well, and it also 'matches' - if that's the word in this case - the rexine covering much better than is portrayed by the photo. See my earlier 'colour match' post and photo that shows the match to the unfaded red rexine. Attached Thumbnails __________________ A digital radio is the latest thing, but a vintage wireless is forever..

10th Apr 2016, 7:22 pm	#11
Lloyd 1985 Nonode Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Coningsby, Lincolnshire, UK. Posts: 2,819	Re: Hacker rear vent replacement That looks pretty damn good! I can see that the colour matches the tuning dial very well, some camera's always do funny things with colour when the flash is on. Really must get one sorted for that Ekco telly when I get my new workshop... Regards, Lloyd.

11th Apr 2016, 7:24 am	#12
Ti Pwun Heptode Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 888	Re: Hacker rear vent replacement Nice job!

14th Apr 2016, 5:04 pm	#13
G6Tanuki Dekatron Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 13,996	Re: Hacker rear vent replacement Nice one! That's a rather satisfactory colour match; the slight difference in shade's nothing to be worried about - I'm sure that after years of use the original grille would have faded at a rate different to the background Rexine in any case! The range of these little plastic vents is really quite amazing - apart from the ones sold as "Soffit vents" at the usual DIY stores, there's another smaller variety sold to the caravan/motorhome community for venting their gas-powered refrigerators and the like.