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Vintage Radio (domestic) Domestic vintage radio (wireless) receivers only. |
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14th Aug 2020, 12:06 pm | #1 |
Nonode
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Stockport, Greater Manchester, UK.
Posts: 2,085
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Gooey stuff on tuning mechanism, Roberts RC-9907
Found this radio-cassette portable somewhere, looked good to be a worksite radio. The battery connectors had corroded beyond restoration but on mains all worked well, except the tuning pointer had disappeared off one end of the scale. All the signs were that someone had opened it up, can't think why, and had failed to understand how to assemble the dial mechanism.
Like many recent radios the messy pulleys and string system has been replaced by a flexible mouled rack and pointer driven by a pinion. I first saw these in several Sony portables. The tuning gang and the pointer should be set to the LF end, then when the pinion is inserted the job is complete. Doing this I found my fingers covered in sticky goo so I cleaned them and the pointer strip with white spirit before realising the guides for the rack were similarly covered, so it was intentional. I can now see that a degree of stickyness would act to prevent sympathetic rattling and buzzing in time with speech and music. I'm sure this goo must have been - still is being - applied to radio mechanism. It is also on the cassette eject-retain mech to give a smooth, slow release. Something similar is found on posh self-closing kitchen units. I imagine dust would be its enemy - what is it called and where do you get it to smear on newly cleaned and restored radios? This set is 20 years old and is unusually sensitive, on L/M/VHF. The high build quality is typical of Sangean who have been manufacturing for Roberts since they moved production offshore. I surmise that Panasonic had moved their radio production there in the 90s resulting in an accomplished offshore design department.
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14th Aug 2020, 12:15 pm | #2 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK.
Posts: 8,809
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Re: Gooey stuff on tuning mechanism, Roberts RC-9907
It was probably a low viscosity grease to lubricate the rack and pinion. Time and everything has turned the lube into goo. That's my guess.
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14th Aug 2020, 12:25 pm | #3 |
Nonode
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Stockport, Greater Manchester, UK.
Posts: 2,085
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Re: Gooey stuff on tuning mechanism, Roberts RC-9907
Forgot pics, Bah
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14th Aug 2020, 6:40 pm | #4 |
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 27,787
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Re: Gooey stuff on tuning mechanism, Roberts RC-9907
Sangean are an important manufacturer in their own right, but they certainly do a lot of OEM contracting.
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14th Aug 2020, 9:55 pm | #5 |
Nonode
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Stockport, Greater Manchester, UK.
Posts: 2,085
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Re: Gooey stuff on tuning mechanism, Roberts RC-9907
That's the big question, whether is was sticky from the start or just very viscous. Anyone got a new cassette deck with soft opening that they could take apart to find out?
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