radio repair

R

richard crow

Well-known member
there was a man that ran an add that he would fix am radios for under 100.00 he was in fl is he still doing it. does any one have his phone number or address
 
What I usually do is listen to the sweet music my flathead makes while it cruises down the road at 55 mph.

There is a guy in Tennessee I think he goes by Old Car Radio. 423-344-8357. It will cost you more than $100 however.
 
The old capacitors used back in the day tend to pop like popcorn after they get old. The chassis is relatively easy to work on though. I'm good enough at soldering that I wouldn't be afraid to do something like that but I still work a day job. Clean it out real well. Test the vacuum tubes & replace as necessary, replace all the old capacitors, and test the ********. Sometimes the old vibrators just need the points cleaned but it's not an easy job. There is not a lot more that can go wrong with them unless some resistors burn out but you can usually detect it visually when they burn up. Get a new speaker and it will work like a charm. The only problem is the lack of AM radio stations worth listening to.
 
I agree with rotorwrench. All you get a static and talk shows even with a new car..
My son bought me this unreal little black wireless speaker box has two magnets for like
12 bucks at home depot or lowes. Then he put the Pandora App in my phone. Any
music you can ever wish for wireless. I don't have radio but this with its magnets sticks
to my radio delete plate. What a sound, sounds like a boom box.....sam
 
I took my 39 radio to a "restoration shop" paid 100.00 for estimate which was 750.00. took it to a one man shop and he fixed it for about 150.00 with a new ******** and all new caps. orriginal tubes were all good. Mark
 
The gentleman you originally asked about that repaired radios for $100 was a member here but unfortunately passed. I can’t remember his name but was from Florida. He did great work
Cheers
Tony
 
Hi; I got burned by a big name V8 times advertizer on my '53 8 tube repair. He even demaned a second core and then refused to return the second core with the 'repaired' radio.' Repaired' radio hardly works on AM. No mas Local only. Newc
 
If I was still in the radio business, I would repair tube type radios all day for $100 each and laugh all the way to the bank. That is repaired to working, NOT RESTORED.
It never took more than a half hour to get one working unless it had been in a car fire.

There are only 3 requirements you need to have for a guy to fix your old tube car radio cheap.
1- He has to born BEFORE 1935.
2- He has to be a ham radio type.
3- He has to be interested in fixing vintage radios.

Find this and you will have your $100 repair jobs.
 
I have a friend who’s first job was in a radio repair shop back in the 50s. Between me and him we figured out how to add an aid cord to pre-transistor radios. So you can plug your phone into original radio and use pandora or YouTube from you phone. Any good repair shop should know how to do this.
 
They are still an excellent amplifier. The solid state stuff sort of lost the capability for the richer sound. Electric guitar players love the old tube type amps. You-Tube has some videos on adding a switch & jack for MP3 player for use on the old vacuum tube amps. It may also work with the I-phones if the signal is compatible. It's not all that hard to do.
 
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When I was in high school I would make non-functioning vibrators work again by opening the case, filing the contacts and then closing up the can. Word got around and I did quite a few. That was a long time ago!
 
As long as you know your way around tubes they are very easy to adapt to another audio source...if the input level is low changing a couple of resistors will usually fix that.
What is a bit scary is when people watching youtube starts hacking into a tube circuit not understanding that a coupling capacitor and a grid resistor is a must....and the tube kicks out 200v into their MP3 player :eek:.
The "richer" sound that people refer to is distorsion...2nd order mostly which human ears accept easily.
 
The guy in TN is Charles Frogey and he can repair, convert to AM-FM or what every you need done. I know Charles, he is a good guy. Charles and his wife usually come to the cruise - in on Mon in Ooltewah.
 
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