My first success, Hacker Democrat . - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

Tinman1 · 2nd Sep 2015, 3:47 pm

Hi. I'm new to the vintage radio scene, if there is such a thing?
Anyway I posted on my introduction that I had bought a "job lot" of Hacker radios , 2x RP18, one which worked and one which doesn't, and a Rp34 Democrat a nice little blue radio which when it arrived it was totally dead, the tuning cord was off and the MW LW buttons were stuck fast!
After searching the forums on here, And downloading a manual its now back to life and works !
I had to "zap" 4 of the transistors and replace some capacitors ...
It works well on MW and picks up quite a few stations and sounds nice and clear. Not so good on LW. It only seems to pick up one station and picks up a lot of interference .
I've still got a bit of work to do on the case but I'm quite pleased with myself

Paul.

Wellington · 5th Sep 2015, 11:13 pm

It's always a good feeling to get something that seems totally broken back into working condition - so well done!

I hope this is just the beginning…

Radio Wrangler · 6th Sep 2015, 6:28 am

That means it's working OK on long wave. A couple of other, more distant, stations can be found if you are somewhere there is less interference, but mostly long wave reception is ruined by rubbish from switch-mode power supplies in just about all electronic products plus all energy-saving lights, and if anyone nearby has internet-over-mains adaptors, they're even worse.

Try late at night, the radio wave propagation changes and some of the noise-making stuff will be off.

David

Tinman1 · 6th Sep 2015, 9:29 am

Thank you Radio Wrangler. Thats some reassuring information and explains why my working RP18 set is the same on long wave.
Yes I think This could be just the beginning. I enjoyed working on this little set and I have another RP18 not working( I bought 3 as a job lot).

mhennessy · 6th Sep 2015, 11:13 am

Nice result!

The Democrat has an amazingly complicated dial cord arrangement for a ostensibly simple set - but it works well to give the illusion of a single pointer that somehow cuts past the wavechange buttons

Mark

paulsherwin · 6th Sep 2015, 11:20 am

As David says, the west country doesn't have any particularly strong LW signals so it's possible the radio is working normally. All you can do is compare it with a known working radio. R4 198kHz will be your best bet. The other stations which are strong in many parts of the UK (RTE R1 on 252kHz and the three big French stations) are weak and prone to interference where you are.

Nickthedentist · 6th Sep 2015, 11:23 am

Take it with you next time you go for a long drive, and try it another location.

Tinman1 · 7th Sep 2015, 2:14 pm

And here it is. All finished and working. The serial number is 32715.

2nd Sep 2015, 3:47 pm	#1
Tinman1 Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Bath, Somerset, UK. Posts: 6	My first success, Hacker Democrat . Hi. I'm new to the vintage radio scene, if there is such a thing? Anyway I posted on my introduction that I had bought a "job lot" of Hacker radios , 2x RP18, one which worked and one which doesn't, and a Rp34 Democrat a nice little blue radio which when it arrived it was totally dead, the tuning cord was off and the MW LW buttons were stuck fast! After searching the forums on here, And downloading a manual its now back to life and works ! I had to "zap" 4 of the transistors and replace some capacitors ... It works well on MW and picks up quite a few stations and sounds nice and clear. Not so good on LW. It only seems to pick up one station and picks up a lot of interference . I've still got a bit of work to do on the case but I'm quite pleased with myself Paul.

5th Sep 2015, 11:13 pm	#2
Wellington Hexode Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Cheshire, UK. Posts: 363	Re: My first success, Hacker Democrat . It's always a good feeling to get something that seems totally broken back into working condition - so well done! I hope this is just the beginning…

6th Sep 2015, 6:28 am	#3
Radio Wrangler Moderator Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Fife, Scotland, UK. Posts: 22,876	Re: My first success, Hacker Democrat . That means it's working OK on long wave. A couple of other, more distant, stations can be found if you are somewhere there is less interference, but mostly long wave reception is ruined by rubbish from switch-mode power supplies in just about all electronic products plus all energy-saving lights, and if anyone nearby has internet-over-mains adaptors, they're even worse. Try late at night, the radio wave propagation changes and some of the noise-making stuff will be off. David __________________ Can't afford the volcanic island yet, but the plans for my monorail and the goons' uniforms are done

6th Sep 2015, 9:29 am	#4
Tinman1 Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Bath, Somerset, UK. Posts: 6	Re: My first success, Hacker Democrat . Thank you Radio Wrangler. Thats some reassuring information and explains why my working RP18 set is the same on long wave. Yes I think This could be just the beginning. I enjoyed working on this little set and I have another RP18 not working( I bought 3 as a job lot).

6th Sep 2015, 11:13 am	#5
mhennessy Dekatron Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Evesham, Worcestershire, UK. Posts: 4,244	Re: My first success, Hacker Democrat . Nice result! The Democrat has an amazingly complicated dial cord arrangement for a ostensibly simple set - but it works well to give the illusion of a single pointer that somehow cuts past the wavechange buttons Mark

6th Sep 2015, 11:20 am	#6
paulsherwin Moderator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 27,947	Re: My first success, Hacker Democrat . As David says, the west country doesn't have any particularly strong LW signals so it's possible the radio is working normally. All you can do is compare it with a known working radio. R4 198kHz will be your best bet. The other stations which are strong in many parts of the UK (RTE R1 on 252kHz and the three big French stations) are weak and prone to interference where you are.

6th Sep 2015, 11:23 am	#7
Nickthedentist Dekatron Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Oxford, UK. Posts: 17,846	Re: My first success, Hacker Democrat . Take it with you next time you go for a long drive, and try it another location.

7th Sep 2015, 2:14 pm	#8
Tinman1 Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Bath, Somerset, UK. Posts: 6	Re: My first success, Hacker Democrat . And here it is. All finished and working. The serial number is 32715. Attached Thumbnails