Shango066 (YouTube)

[Tractionist]

Shango066 has submitted yet more videos on YouTube - detailing his North American adventures [Safari's!] unearthing yet more domestic electronic gear .... principally TV's and radios.

This guy certainly defines the distinction between 'resurrection', 'repair', 're-build' and 'restoration' !!

These quite lengthy videos are generally very entertaining - particularly the mans arid wit and social comment.

He certainly has a very good feel for vintage kit, and knows what he's doing and talking about - albeit that his methods are often very questionable i.e. 'hillbilly' .... and oft times down-right dangerous!! (The warning "don't repeat this at home" should definitely be appended to most of his offerings!!)

Anyway - check it out guys .... I hope you enjoy.

[unitaudio]

I've seen this guy. He certainly does know his stuff although as Tractionist pointed out, some of his techniques can be a bit, er, rum!

I've seen him pick things up that I wouldn't even bother with for spares. He even manages to get some of it going again! He often investigates (with permission) old abandoned mining towns and to his credit never gives away the locations of these places.

I like him, he's clued-up, he's knowledgeable and he can be very funny in an understated drawling sarcastic way. He's got good taste too.

Regards,
Paul

[Radiocruncher]

I have been following Shango066 for a couple of years. As already stated hes got a very dry sense of humor. He seems to relish destroying old TV's that are unserviceable so look out for his EOL videos. Hes a clever bloke that knows his stuff but cringe worthy when he gets real close to some pretty high voltages. Definitely recommend a look.

Regards

Graham

[Karen O]

I've watched most of this guy's videos and learned a lot from them. There are some interesting differences between us and the US, e.g. they had solid state radios powered through droppers! Imagine that on 240V!

I find his EOL 'End of line' videos a little disturbing at times but I suppose these items would have ended up down the tip in any case. I think his destruction methods, while impressive, really ought to come with warnings!

[Herald1360]

Originally Posted by Karen O

I've watched most of this guy's videos and learned a lot from them. There are some interesting differences between us and the US, e.g. they had solid state radios powered through droppers! Imagine that on 240V!

A solid state radio with a couple of watts output would need less power than an AA5 heater chain even dropped resistively. With a capacitor dropper it sounds like quite a reasonable way to go. Safety no different from the AA5 over there or DAC90A over here.

[Tractionist]

Hmmm ............

Well - thank God that they are actually on 120v A/C ..... given some of his antics eh?

The Americans certainly produced some very stylish kit ..... and I'm surprised how much comprised steel cabinet TV's/round CRT's/dropper cords [AKA 'curtain lighters'!], and hybrids ..... right through the late 50's and [in the case of hybrids] much later than that seen in the U.K. Also the fact that companies such as Ford and Firestone etc. were making domestic electronic equipment.

I suppose [given their predilection for mass production] they had significantly more 'war surplus' than us .... and similarly so 'production over-run' surplus too.

The other interesting thing is that some of these sets were deemed to be 'manufactured down to a cost' [featuring unscreened IF TX's / steel chassis'd 'portables' etc. etc.] - but I suppose in a vast nation with large rural communities and people living on 'subsistence', this too was understandable. His video featuring the abandoned mining village certainly indicated a 'dirt poor' community in that particular neck of the woods.

On the plus side - his 'desert finds' display little or no corrosion [unlike so many of our 'shed finds']!

[dave walsh]

These steady paced videos are very interesting. I've looked at the Hoffman 961 TV/Radio Unit in particular. Perhaps he's working with a surfiet of abandoned items but his approach is both methodical and maybe a bit gung-ho but there are differences in approach generally. He seems to be somewhere in the middle of repair or restoration conventions as applied here. In some ways it's similar to the the stories told re the UK repair trade of yesteryear when the emphasis might have been on getting the set going at some level, in some way or any way

He is [apparently] trying to "Triage" the sets before expending too much cash/effort on them and it's fascinating to watch this being done. Despite his pessimism re the Hoffman CRT the whole unit does appear to be a really high quality item and the "works" in general are in a great condition. I suppose climate may assist there? The radio section certainly sounds extraordinarily lively. He was ready to inject a cable signal into the TV at the end of P2 but is there a P3? I can't spot one.

I was hoping to see a strong picture by that point [Ion Burn or not]. In the UK enviroment an enthusiast might be looking for a better CRT as the unit is so good but perhaps it's a different deal Stateside? It's all really good viewing anyway and the chap with the Wittle engine is definetly worth a look .

Thanks for flagging this up Tractionist.

Dave W

[PsychMan]

Id never seen these before till now, great stuff! I'll be watching lots of these

[Tractionist]

Glad you guys are enjoying Shango's take on life, people, vintage electronic acquisitions, and ....... resurrections!

He seems to actually do full restorations and also repairs for others .... and seems to be very sociable ..... most videos feature the long-suffering 'Chris' - and indeed anyone else that he can round-up for his forays out in to rural America.

These films must take quite a while to make and are often quite informative [e.g. many people forget to mute their SG when carrying-out alignments etc. etc.] ....... it's certainly better than watching Coronation Street or East Enders !!

One of my favourites is his 'deep-fried LOPT' experiment .............

[Andrewausfa]

I'm a big fan, I started watching him years ago when I was looking for more visual instruction on radio repair so to speak. I find his unapologetic dry humour right up my street and he's had me in stitches many times. You never know what's going to come next radios, TV, amateur radio field day, explosions, fixing cars, house repairs. If you go way back there's video of him on LA TV showing his TV collection off.

Can I also mention Doug Harland, drh4683 who doesn't make too many videos but the ones he does will be very interesting for TV enthusiasts both repair and for the old industry films he uploads.

Andrew

[sexton_mallard]

I am a regular Shango066 watcher too. Great sense of humour and a real passion for old electronics and industrial heritage in general. I look forward to the repair and evaluation videos the most. How I would love to import a few colour 'roundies' to the UK. The long distance trips to abandoned/closed repair shops holding literally hundreds of abandoned vintage TVs is a prospect that is only a dream here in the UK.

[Superhet Si]

Shango is a great source of entertainment for me too, despite is alarming lack of respect for voltages I consider lethal. I have sent him a link to this thread, so maybe he will comment?

[Neil Purling]

He got a late '60s Zenith monochrome set from a dump behind a shop was it? "Rust Collection with vintage tabletop TV's". The chassis is very rusty of course. He only paid $2 and the CRT emission was excellent.
So you'd think the rest would get hurled into the trash? Nope, Shango thinks differently and shows it some volts after spraying the tuners with contact cleaner.
He gets a picture too.

His videos are very interesting, although he does not like to adopt the shotgun approach to waxies.

I have been introduced to the All-American Five type of radio from his videos.
The standard of wiring on some of those is abominable, which makes it surprising that they have lasted so long without self-destructing.

[Tractionist]

Neil ..... Your last sentence - Amen to that !!!!!