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Vintage Radio (domestic) Domestic vintage radio (wireless) receivers only. |
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21st Apr 2017, 4:40 pm | #1 |
Retired Dormant Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Posts: 32
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Roberts R505 VHF tuning range off
I bought a Roberts R505 transistor radio from Ebay. It works nicely, however the lowest frequency that it tunes to is 89.7 MHz instead of 87.4 MHz. also a 100MHz station comes in at 97.7 MHz on the dial. I thought this will be simple, just tweak the oscillator coil to shift the frequency range to match the dial. Unfortunately tweaking the oscillator coil or trimmer cap does not have any affect. Could it be related to the AFC voltage on pin 8 of the Mullard LP1402/2 VHF tuner module?
Any ideas? |
21st Apr 2017, 6:28 pm | #2 |
Octode
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Guildford, Surrey, UK.
Posts: 1,959
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Re: Roberts R505 VHF tuning range off
Does the tuning pointer traverse the full range of the dial?
I repaired a R505 that had the drive cord strung incorrrectly, so that the tuning range of the set was restricted. If you want to disable the AFC as an experiment, you could just temporarily short out pin 8 to chassis with a jumper. Ron |
21st Apr 2017, 7:09 pm | #3 |
Retired Dormant Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Posts: 32
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Re: Roberts R505 VHF tuning range off
I checked the pointer travel and it covers the entire dial length. I will try shorting the AFC.
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21st Apr 2017, 7:19 pm | #4 |
Octode
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Guildford, Surrey, UK.
Posts: 1,959
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Re: Roberts R505 VHF tuning range off
Failure of one of the discriminator diodes could cause an incorrect offset to the AFC voltage, but there would also be considerable distortion on the FM audio. Does the audio sound normal on FM?
Ron |
21st Apr 2017, 8:32 pm | #5 |
Retired Dormant Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Posts: 32
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Re: Roberts R505 VHF tuning range off
The audio sounds great. After some research it turns out that the oscillator coils adjustment hole in the tuner module is covered by the part number label. I removed the paper label to access the coil but the coil slug won't turn. I suspect the slug has some sort of Loctite or other material to prevent adjustment. Where do I go from here?
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21st Apr 2017, 8:54 pm | #6 |
Octode
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Guildford, Surrey, UK.
Posts: 1,959
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Re: Roberts R505 VHF tuning range off
Core breakage is a serious risk. Get the correct trimming tool that fits the core slot, but don't use excessive force. Don't use a normal screwdriver. You could try a little acetone in the core threads if they have used locking compound, but usually some sort of rubber string is used to secure the cores and a small squirt of switch cleaner will lubricate the core or soften wax, if used.
In your first post you said that adjusting C2 has no effect. Do you want to experiment with adjusting C2 now to see if the high frequency end of the band can be calibrated to nearer the correct scale position? I take it that disabling the AFC had no benificial effect - is that correct? Ron |