Restored GEC Starfinder 3

[Andrew c]

Hello All my latest project is this 1970`s GEC Starfinder 3 this radio had a broken aerial and very noisy controls some switch cleaner did the trick and the chassis was removed so the case could be cleaned and polished.
One interesting point on this radio is the preset medium wave control as presets are usally on FM this radio will run on both mains & battery.
Anyway another old radio saved and will have many years left in it

Andy

[Nickthedentist]

Hello Andy!

Wow, I've got one of these too, never seen another one before. Yours looks mint apart from the usual worn-off screen printing by the controls

Mine came from a Scouts jumble sale in about 1985 (20p) and was my parents' kitchen radio for a decade or so. Then it became my decorating radio so now it's in a sad state.

Perfromance is quite good though the volume control's action is very fierce (zero to full volume in about 4mm of slider travel) so adjustment is tricky. Also, the sound is rather muffled, even with the tone control fully advanced and on VHF. But not at all bad for what must have been a pretty cheap set (made in H-K, I think)

It's never gone wrong and I can't recall ever opening it up.

The single preset on MW is certainly an odd feature, and is of limited use to me as it doesn't cover the whole MW band and tends to get de-tuned very easily because of the size and position of the adjuster

Noter that these linear pots can be a swine when they get noisey - if you squirt them with loads of Servisol, the lubricant gets washed out and then they become very stiff indeed It's sometimes best to dismantle and clean manually with a cotton wool bud slightly moistened in switch cleaner.

Nick.

[stephanie]

Originally Posted by Nickthedentist

Noter that these linear pots can be a swine when they get noisey - if you squirt them with loads of Servisol, the lubricant gets washed out and then they become very stiff indeed It's sometimes best to dismantle and clean manually with a cotton wool bud slightly moistened in switch cleaner.

Nick

Sometimes I've used a toothpick to add a tiny dollop of silicone grease in the slider. It helps keep the pot from stiffening up.

I don't like opening controls if I don't need to. The biggest nightmare is when you break one of the little fastening tabs on the metal body.

[Nickthedentist]

Originally Posted by stephanie

Sometimes I've used a toothpick to add a tiny dollop of silicone grease in the slider... I don't like opening controls if I don't need to. The biggest nightmare is when you break one of the little fastening tabs on the metal body.

Good idea, Stephanie. I know exactly what you mean about the tabs; you can get away with it once or twice, but you'd be pushing your luck to try any more than tha.

Nick.

[Nickthedentist]

Just changed the batteries in mine and seen that it's made in MALAYSIA rather than Hong-Kong as I thought

They'd become so weak that only the AM bands would work, and the novelty of listening to the cricket on R4 LW was wearing off rapidly

Nick.

[Andrew c]

Hi Nick I've just put mine in the bathroom as the fidelity rad23 has gone to a friend who likes radio4 I don't see the GEC Starfinder 3 as a collectable classic but as a every day radio

Andy

[Nickthedentist]

Originally Posted by Andrew c

Hi Nick I've just put mine in the bathroom

That's where mine's lived for the last year!

I've got plenty of spare Hackers, but somehow it would be wrong to make such a good radio endure a steamy bathroom.

The GEC is surviving the humidity very well, although tuning on FM has become a bit "crackly" as the months have passed

Nick

[howard]

Hello Andy,

Nicely restored radio ! I saw one like this on eBay and if'd and ah'd about it .....

Howard

Almost good enough to eat even ? Is that why its sitting on the stove ?