Grundig Yacht Boy 210 - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

Backtoreality · 7th Nov 2007, 9:16 pm

Hi,
Ive just bought a Grundig Yacht Boy for 99p with the intention of repairing it. Its not in very good cosmetic condition but i would just like to hear it working.
When Ive dismantled it the ferrite rod aerial has fallen away from its plastic ties and has snapped. Some of the wiring from the coils have also been disconnected from the switch blocks and i am struggling to determine where they should be connected to. I have the circuit diagram but its not much help. Can anyone help me out with any connection info please and is the length of the ferrite rod critical or can I just mount the third coil on the shortened rod?
Cheers,
David

Nickthedentist · 7th Nov 2007, 9:50 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Backtoreality

...is the length of the ferrite rod critical or can I just mount the third coil on the shortened rod?

Hi David,

Yes, it IS critical. But you can usually glue a broken rod together with Superglue

Nick.

Backtoreality · 7th Nov 2007, 11:06 pm

Hi Nick Thanks for that I will have a go at doing so. There is a chunk out of the break point but should be enough area left to get a good join. Will it be ok to fill the chunk with epoxy resin for strength or should I just tape it?
David

GJR 11L · 8th Nov 2007, 12:14 am

I had exactly the same problem with a YB210 that I bought, working(ish), for spares some time ago, as an experiment (and possibly unnecessarily), I ground up a pencil refill or three and mixed those in with some of the Araldite that takes ages to set hard, not the "Rapid" stuff.

The positions on the rod of those coils are critical to correct performance but the point here is that my bodge didn't affect the function of that aerial which was fine when tested, though sadly the set was parted out as it had a torn speaker and various, severe, cosmetic faults.

Backtoreality · 8th Nov 2007, 9:55 pm

Hi John thanks for that i will try that too. Can anyone help me with the coil connections to the switch banks?
David

Darren-UK · 8th Nov 2007, 10:31 pm

Hi David,

Service data for the 210 is available from Paul Stenning via the link at top right of this page (£1.99 via Paypal). I've not seen data for this model myself, but I would assume it gives the info you need re the connections.

Tom_I · 8th Nov 2007, 10:56 pm

I'm not sure the service sheet will help with the physical connections. However, a number of us will have intact examples, and I'll be quite happy to pull the back off mine and try to answer any specific questions. What is not connected?

Tom

Tom_I · 9th Nov 2007, 2:05 pm

Well, having had a shufty at it, I can appreciate the problem.

The photo below is just for orientation purposes - you can't see much detail in it.

So with the tuning scale facing you, the switches, from the left, are on/off, LW then MW. The connections are all to the LW and MW switches. Each of these has 12 terminals, in 2 rows of 6. I'll refer to them as left or right, and numbered, with 1 being at the top, and 6 at the bottom.

Starting with the MW coil (on the left), there are 4 wires:
Single red to LW switch, left 5.
Single orange to MW switch, right 3.
Red and white twisted together to MW switch, right 6.

Similarly with the LW coil (on the right, with the wires in the green sleeving):
Single red to LW switch, left 5.
Single orange to MW switch, right 1.
Red and white twisted pair to MW switch, right 4.

The small coil clipped to the ferrite rod has 2 wires:
The one from the centre of the coil to LW switch, left 2.
The one from the edge of the coil to LW switch, left 5.

Hope that helps. Good luck with it!

Tom

Backtoreality · 9th Nov 2007, 9:36 pm

Thanks Tom, Thats fantastic! My MW coil appears to be fully connected. The flat coil is completely disconnected and the LW coil has two wires snapped off at the coil end with no visible broken ends at the coil, I thought it was just one wire broken but the other had slipped into some sleeving. I should be able to reconnect the flat coil using your instructions and then i will have to dig into the wax on the LW coil to see if I can find the broken ends. Any idea what the flat coil does / is ?
Cheers,
David

Tom_I · 10th Nov 2007, 1:02 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Backtoreality

Any idea what the flat coil does / is ?

I think it just couples the socket for an external AM aerial to the ferrite rod. The radio should function perfectly well without it, though obviously the socket couldn't be used.

Tom

geofy · 10th Nov 2007, 3:09 pm

Hi
I bought my Yacht Boy 210 brand new in '73 and it is still in new condition, I don't know what some do to make them such a mess!

I have the original circuits if these can be of help, I will dig them out of the cupboard.

The wires from the broken aerial should still match the switch for lenght and shape of break as to where they broke off from and this might help in determining where they go, take a few photos before starting work for record purposes!

One mod I did carry out was to bypass the fixed filter capacitors around the tone control to do away with the artificial bass boost and cut as the volume control is moved, and just let the tone control do the work. It made it a more natural sound as the audio was not being modified before amplification. The original circuit can easily be restored.

I have used flexible polyurethane 'shoe sole repair' glue for repairing old speakers either the cone or cone edge, and rigid epoxy if the coil needs reattaching to the cone. A speaker shouldn't be junked because of a bit of cone damage.

I still use my Yacth Boy nearly every day.

Geof

Backtoreality · 22nd Nov 2007, 11:42 pm

Thanks everyone hoping to get it working this weekend.
David

GJR 11L · 23rd Nov 2007, 1:23 am

Good luck with it, my YB210, the good one that has been with me for nearly 3 years now, is my bedside radio and is good at that job for a number of reasons; the set works extremely well at low volume settings, so won't disturb the neighbours yet has no background hiss even without cutting the treble, the mains supply doesn't cause any hum at all, the light helps me to fall asleep and it is quite simply the best tool for listening to FM broadcasts that has ever graced my home!

Geofy, I hear what you're saying about repairing a damaged speaker such as that in my spare YB210, but that one really was too far gone to mend.

Any chance of putting the info about your tone control mods in the "Hints and Tips" section please? I'm sure that I'm not the only one who would be interested in giving this a go! Do these mods allow the bass control to work in the intended manner? It would still be useful to be able to reduce bass at night.

geofy · 23rd Nov 2007, 2:12 pm

Hi John

I will put the mod of the volume control in the 'hints and tips' as long as you don't mind altering the originality of the set, though it is easy to reinstate. But also remind all new Yachtboy owners that the tone control can be pulled out to reduce the bass! The circuit around the volume control is a sort of loudness filter consisting of four resistors and four capacitors tapped almost at the top and bottom of the volume control.

regards

Geof

paulsherwin · 23rd Nov 2007, 2:28 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by geofy

But also remind all new Yachtboy owners that the tone control can be pulled out to reduce the bass!

Absolutely. It's easy to misunderstand how the bass control works on these sets. The treble control incorporates a push switch which switches bass boost in and out. When the switch is in what most people would consider the 'normal' position, i.e. with the knob flush with the surface, the bass boost is switched in. Pulling the switch out switches it off.

I'm sure this is the reason that many people consider Yachties boomy and over bassy. They are indeed very bassy with the bass boost in place, but they sound very good to my ears with it switched out.

Paul

Tim · 23rd Nov 2007, 3:39 pm

Quote:

But also remind all new Yachtboy owners that the tone control can be pulled out to reduce the bass!

I have had mine for years and never knew that!

GJR 11L · 23rd Nov 2007, 3:52 pm

I found it when I first took the knob off to clean the set, had I bought a clean one in the first place, I would possibly have spent three years working out how to reduce the bass.

Or I could have read the owner's handbook......

The light on mine is courtesy of an amber LED, so I'm not worried about being able to dim it.

Thanks to Paul for the LEDs and to Geofy for the info re the tone control mods in the other section.

geofy · 24th Nov 2007, 2:07 pm

Dave

I am curious to know how the repair is going, any luck.

Hi Tim

You can also push the MW LW buttons together to enable the gram/tape Din socket: thumbsup: (In the hints and tips thread).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim

I have had mine for years and never knew that! :-
[

Not alota people know that

The amber LED is a good idea, though my filament bulb has lasted thirty four years.

Geof

Tim · 24th Nov 2007, 7:02 pm

Quote:

You can also push the MW LW buttons together to enable the gram/tape Din socket

Thanks,I knew that one! There is a little symbol above the buttons, so I worked thatone out. Similar on other Grundig transistor sets of the period.

7th Nov 2007, 9:16 pm	#1
Backtoreality Hexode Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Ossett, West Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 406	Grundig Yacht Boy 210 Hi, Ive just bought a Grundig Yacht Boy for 99p with the intention of repairing it. Its not in very good cosmetic condition but i would just like to hear it working. When Ive dismantled it the ferrite rod aerial has fallen away from its plastic ties and has snapped. Some of the wiring from the coils have also been disconnected from the switch blocks and i am struggling to determine where they should be connected to. I have the circuit diagram but its not much help. Can anyone help me out with any connection info please and is the length of the ferrite rod critical or can I just mount the third coil on the shortened rod? Cheers, David

7th Nov 2007, 11:06 pm	#3
Backtoreality Hexode Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Ossett, West Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 406	Re: Grundig Yacht Boy 210 Hi Nick Thanks for that I will have a go at doing so. There is a chunk out of the break point but should be enough area left to get a good join. Will it be ok to fill the chunk with epoxy resin for strength or should I just tape it? David

8th Nov 2007, 12:14 am	#4
GJR 11L Heptode Join Date: May 2004 Location: Ellington, Northumberland, UK. Posts: 815	Re: Grundig Yacht Boy 210 I had exactly the same problem with a YB210 that I bought, working(ish), for spares some time ago, as an experiment (and possibly unnecessarily), I ground up a pencil refill or three and mixed those in with some of the Araldite that takes ages to set hard, not the "Rapid" stuff. The positions on the rod of those coils are critical to correct performance but the point here is that my bodge didn't affect the function of that aerial which was fine when tested, though sadly the set was parted out as it had a torn speaker and various, severe, cosmetic faults. __________________ John.

8th Nov 2007, 9:55 pm	#5
Backtoreality Hexode Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Ossett, West Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 406	Re: Grundig Yacht Boy 210 Hi John thanks for that i will try that too. Can anyone help me with the coil connections to the switch banks? David

8th Nov 2007, 10:31 pm	#6
Darren-UK Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Blackpool, Lancashire, UK. Posts: 4,061	Re: Grundig Yacht Boy 210 Hi David, Service data for the 210 is available from Paul Stenning via the link at top right of this page (£1.99 via Paypal). I've not seen data for this model myself, but I would assume it gives the info you need re the connections.

8th Nov 2007, 10:56 pm	#7
Tom_I Heptode Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: North Herts. UK. Posts: 549	Re: Grundig Yacht Boy 210 I'm not sure the service sheet will help with the physical connections. However, a number of us will have intact examples, and I'll be quite happy to pull the back off mine and try to answer any specific questions. What is not connected? Tom

9th Nov 2007, 2:05 pm	#8
Tom_I Heptode Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: North Herts. UK. Posts: 549	Re: Grundig Yacht Boy 210 Well, having had a shufty at it, I can appreciate the problem. The photo below is just for orientation purposes - you can't see much detail in it. So with the tuning scale facing you, the switches, from the left, are on/off, LW then MW. The connections are all to the LW and MW switches. Each of these has 12 terminals, in 2 rows of 6. I'll refer to them as left or right, and numbered, with 1 being at the top, and 6 at the bottom. Starting with the MW coil (on the left), there are 4 wires: Single red to LW switch, left 5. Single orange to MW switch, right 3. Red and white twisted together to MW switch, right 6. Similarly with the LW coil (on the right, with the wires in the green sleeving): Single red to LW switch, left 5. Single orange to MW switch, right 1. Red and white twisted pair to MW switch, right 4. The small coil clipped to the ferrite rod has 2 wires: The one from the centre of the coil to LW switch, left 2. The one from the edge of the coil to LW switch, left 5. Hope that helps. Good luck with it! Tom Attached Thumbnails

9th Nov 2007, 9:36 pm	#9
Backtoreality Hexode Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Ossett, West Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 406	Re: Grundig Yacht Boy 210 Thanks Tom, Thats fantastic! My MW coil appears to be fully connected. The flat coil is completely disconnected and the LW coil has two wires snapped off at the coil end with no visible broken ends at the coil, I thought it was just one wire broken but the other had slipped into some sleeving. I should be able to reconnect the flat coil using your instructions and then i will have to dig into the wax on the LW coil to see if I can find the broken ends. Any idea what the flat coil does / is ? Cheers, David

10th Nov 2007, 3:09 pm	#11
geofy Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 1,798	Re: Grundig Yacht Boy 210 Hi I bought my Yacht Boy 210 brand new in '73 and it is still in new condition, I don't know what some do to make them such a mess! I have the original circuits if these can be of help, I will dig them out of the cupboard. The wires from the broken aerial should still match the switch for lenght and shape of break as to where they broke off from and this might help in determining where they go, take a few photos before starting work for record purposes! One mod I did carry out was to bypass the fixed filter capacitors around the tone control to do away with the artificial bass boost and cut as the volume control is moved, and just let the tone control do the work. It made it a more natural sound as the audio was not being modified before amplification. The original circuit can easily be restored. I have used flexible polyurethane 'shoe sole repair' glue for repairing old speakers either the cone or cone edge, and rigid epoxy if the coil needs reattaching to the cone. A speaker shouldn't be junked because of a bit of cone damage. I still use my Yacth Boy nearly every day. Geof

22nd Nov 2007, 11:42 pm	#12
Backtoreality Hexode Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Ossett, West Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 406	Re: Grundig Yacht Boy 210 Thanks everyone hoping to get it working this weekend. David

23rd Nov 2007, 1:23 am	#13
GJR 11L Heptode Join Date: May 2004 Location: Ellington, Northumberland, UK. Posts: 815	Re: Grundig Yacht Boy 210 Good luck with it, my YB210, the good one that has been with me for nearly 3 years now, is my bedside radio and is good at that job for a number of reasons; the set works extremely well at low volume settings, so won't disturb the neighbours yet has no background hiss even without cutting the treble, the mains supply doesn't cause any hum at all, the light helps me to fall asleep and it is quite simply the best tool for listening to FM broadcasts that has ever graced my home! Geofy, I hear what you're saying about repairing a damaged speaker such as that in my spare YB210, but that one really was too far gone to mend. Any chance of putting the info about your tone control mods in the "Hints and Tips" section please? I'm sure that I'm not the only one who would be interested in giving this a go! Do these mods allow the bass control to work in the intended manner? It would still be useful to be able to reduce bass at night. __________________ John.

23rd Nov 2007, 2:12 pm	#14
geofy Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 1,798	Re: Grundig Yacht Boy 210 Hi John I will put the mod of the volume control in the 'hints and tips' as long as you don't mind altering the originality of the set, though it is easy to reinstate. But also remind all new Yachtboy owners that the tone control can be pulled out to reduce the bass! The circuit around the volume control is a sort of loudness filter consisting of four resistors and four capacitors tapped almost at the top and bottom of the volume control. regards Geof

23rd Nov 2007, 3:52 pm	#17
GJR 11L Heptode Join Date: May 2004 Location: Ellington, Northumberland, UK. Posts: 815	Re: Grundig Yacht Boy 210 I found it when I first took the knob off to clean the set, had I bought a clean one in the first place, I would possibly have spent three years working out how to reduce the bass. Or I could have read the owner's handbook...... The light on mine is courtesy of an amber LED, so I'm not worried about being able to dim it. Thanks to Paul for the LEDs and to Geofy for the info re the tone control mods in the other section. __________________ John.