FC Posted November 26, 2013 Report Share Posted November 26, 2013 The wife and I have a couple of antique booths now. I bought two vacuum tube radios, ca. 1950s for $40 and got them working. Brings back memories. That box would light up, the tubes would warm up, and far away signals would bring the world into your room. Now it's nothing to turn your smart phone on and get a foreign station. These old radios though- you'd stare at them like a TV while listening. Times sure have changed! It causes me to remember never to touch a hot vacuum tube, turning it to get the best signal, and reminds me too of looking for a burned out tube in our old TV, taking the tube to the repair shop, and putting the new one in. Saved a trip from the TV repairman! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlunity Posted November 26, 2013 Report Share Posted November 26, 2013 Yep. Soon as I was old enough to figure things out, I pulled the tubes went to the store, used the tester and got new ones. A 10 or 15 buck service call was big money then. : ) it was worth fixing what you could. Saw the dust in the picture. Dust coats the tubes and clogs the air vents. Get a can of air at Walmart and take the radio out in the yard and blow out the dust. Best to take it out the the case but if you are not sure about getting out without damage.Don"t Just keep applying air through the open back till no more dust comes out. There may be a lot, thus the outdoors, your lady will NOT be happy if you do in her clean house.... Guess how I found that out???? : ) Keep your FACE away from the back while you do it. The old dust is not good to inhale. Cleaning It will extend the life of your radio by years. Can't count the number of "dead" computers folks gave us that a bit of air got working. Oh, yeah, make sure that there is a air flow. You don't want to stick the radio against the wall. karl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FC Posted November 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2013 Yeah, there is some dust there. I've got an air compressor that should do the trick. Here I am in SC and picked up Philadelphia on a.m. last night! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlunity Posted November 26, 2013 Report Share Posted November 26, 2013 Never used a compressor. Canned air is made for electronics and they say has no moisture. I would check the pressure on the compressor, first. Don't want to blow anything loose. I do love old radios..or old guns. I just cannot bring myself to buy a AR or a Glock type plastic gun. "Here I am in SC and picked up Philadelphia on a.m. last night!" FC Bet the sound was good. : ) karl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzRednek Posted November 26, 2013 Report Share Posted November 26, 2013 Did any of you listen to the Wolfman back in the 60's?? He broadcast out of Mexico with as much as 250,000 watts. I had a 57 Chevy with tube radio and had it hooked to a reverb unit. He could be heard from southern California through Texas. He was also heard as far south as Australia and New Zealand. Wolfman broadcast with a bit of reverb and his howls through my unit used to sound really cool. He also played the oldies people wanted to hear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlunity Posted November 26, 2013 Report Share Posted November 26, 2013 You mean Wolfman Jack? karl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzRednek Posted November 27, 2013 Report Share Posted November 27, 2013 You mean Wolfman Jack? karl Yes, Wolfman Jack. His signal came in loud and clear into the Phoenix Area at night time. The target audience was southern California but as he caught on another transmitter was set up somewhere near the Texas/Mexico border. I'll avoid being politically correct in my next sentence. About 67 or 68 in the colored part of Phoenix they had Wolfman on loudspeakers and like the Martha and the Vandellas' song people really were dancing in the street. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlunity Posted November 27, 2013 Report Share Posted November 27, 2013 Here you go AZ. karl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzRednek Posted November 27, 2013 Report Share Posted November 27, 2013 About a week or so after the slaying of Martin Luther King I won two tickets to see the Wolfman live in Phx. I was turned away by police in the parking lot. Wolfman came out on stage and when it was discovered he was not as they said back then "colored". Fights and near rioting broke out between whites, blacks and Mexicans.The dance hall Wolfman appeared was at the time a Mexican hangout. Wolfman came out on the stage before starting his show tried to lead the crowd into prayers for MLK. The blacks being shocked and disappointed that Wolfman wasn't black did not want a white man praying for MLK. The show was canceled and I exchanged the tickets for an oldie show about a month later in a much safer part of town. I don't recall hearing Wolfman on loud speakers after the event. A Phx radio station attempted to fill in the gap. Religious music and sermons in the daytime but at night time the programing and music was aimed at blacks. A couple months later I won another set of tickets to see Dave "Baby" Cortez of Happy Organ fame at the same location. I didn't bother to attend fearing getting in the middle of black and Mexican fist fights. Guess I should add I didn't really win the tickets. A family friend was a DJ. I would call him before he announced the 3rd or 4th caller would win. He'd leave me or my brother on hold then pick it up "Number 3". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FC Posted November 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2013 Bet that was station XEG. I used to hear them. They were shut down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzRednek Posted November 28, 2013 Report Share Posted November 28, 2013 If you're referring to Wolfman's station he broadcast out of Mexico. Later a taped program was also broadcast out of Texas. Occasionally there would be a 10 or so second announcement in Spanish. Likely following Mexican regulations identifying the station. Without US FCC regulations the station would often peak at 250,000 watts. The signal was so strong it messed with telephones and nearby residents claimed the broadcast could often be heard in bathtubs and chain link fences would vibrate. In the USA I'm pretty sure the max for any AM station is 50,000. The station where I got the tickets from was KRUX. Their main competitor KRIZ got in trouble with the FCC over fixed contests. More often than not, the radio contest winners were some well stacked, hot teenage girl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swamp_thing Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 Tony, If you are running old tube radios from the 40s,50s,60s and they have not been used in some time you need to be aware of the fact that it will be short lived and you are going to do additional damage. These radios, as with all new radios, have electrolytic capacitors in their power supply to smooth out ripple from the ac power supply. Over time, these old electrolytic caps dry out, shorting begins and they will take out the power supply as well as other components. Do you hear a low to loud hum when the radio is on? That is ac 60 cycle hum created from the failing capacitors. You may not remember from my old posts, but I build and rebuild old tube radios and amplifiers. I would hate to see you end up with an early demise on you newly found treasure. Electrolytic capacitors are much much smaller these days and much cheaper as well. They can easily be replaced under the chassis while leaving the old can capacitors in place, unconnected of course, thereby not changing the looks and appearance of the original radio chassis. If you wish to know more about this I would be happy to tell you what I can. I have radios from the 20s through the 50s and very much enjoy them all. Winter will bring you the best reception and longest distances of stations while atmospheric conditions will less this in summer months. The long distance reception in the summer and winter is a result of skip. This is where the radio waves will strike the atmosphere, bounce back towards the earth, and then bounce back towards the sky. Have fun and enjoy your new found pleasure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swamp_thing Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 Sorry, not trying to hijack this post, but after viewing the pictures of the radio, I see that it is a transformer power supply. Many of the old radios were ac/dc sets and did not use a power transformer. The radios like yours are far safer, Read this as not an electrocution death trap due to unisolated power supplies. Having said that, the transformers in these old radios are not extremely strong and thus are very susceptable to burnout from a bad electrolytic cap. Please do yourself and your radio a favor by having those old caps replaced. If you cannot do it or find someone whom can then I will offer to do so for you. You would of course have to ship it to me and I would ship it back. I'll furnish the parts myself. Don't want it to become a wall ornament. Swamp_thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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