Author Archives: retrovoltage

1931 Westinghouse Columaire WR-8 Grandfather Clock Radio

Posted on July 15, 2013 by retrovoltage

I’ve had the privilege of working on this 1931 Westinghouse grandfather clock radio, the Columaire WR-8. These are a very beautiful and desirable early piece of radio engineering and featured a New Haven Westinghouse electric clock in the front and … Continue reading →

Posted in Radios and Tubes, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Fixed: Sansui SP1500 Speakers

Posted on July 8, 2013 by retrovoltage

A while back I found these Sansui SP1500 (SP-1500) speakers and I’m trying to finish some more projects as summer comes out. There are several radios on my bench right now being worked on, but during a natural break in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Overloaded 1931 Transformer [Fried Electronics]

Posted on June 7, 2013 by retrovoltage

I’m working on a 1930/31 Westinghouse WR-8 Columnaire clock-radio which had a bad transformer. The filter capacitors failed and shorted the high-voltage secondary, burning it open and causing a lot of heat and melting.   The replacement is a General … Continue reading →

Posted in DIY, Electronics, Projects, Radio, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

A Most Convoluted 1934 Philco 66B Antique Radio Repair

Posted on May 31, 2013 by retrovoltage

Recently, I took in a beautiful Philco 66B for repair. Manufactured in 1934, this chassis ended up in several different models – a couple of tombstones, a cathedral, and at least two console radios. They’re all 5-tube radios with the … Continue reading →

Posted in DIY, Projects, Radios and Tubes, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Coming Soon: KN0CK Rev B Integrated HF RTLSDR

Posted on May 1, 2013 by retrovoltage

Marty KN0CK developed a very interesting v1.0 HF converter based on surface mount technology that fits inside the casing of an RTLSDR tuner dongle. He’s recently sent me schematics for the revision, which should offer even better performance! This new iteration … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Projects, Radio | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

1934 Silvertone 1708A Repair and Restoration

Posted on April 23, 2013 by retrovoltage

I recently had the pleasure of working on a 1934 Silvertone 1708A which was brought to me for repair locally. This was great – having a radio repaired can be a big decision, so I’m happy to show off my … Continue reading →

Posted in DIY, Projects, Radios and Tubes, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

KN0CK HF Upconverter Fits Inside the USB Tuner’s Enclosure

Posted on February 19, 2013 by retrovoltage

Marty KN0CK sent me some details to publish about his great looking miniature HF upconverter board for the RTLSDR, the HF Alchemy DVB-T Active HF Upconverter. It’s an incredibly miniature SMT board with an SA612 mixer and SMT oscillator, and … Continue reading →

Posted in DIY, Electronics, Photos, Projects, Radio | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Thrift Store Jamo MPA-101 Repair

Posted on February 11, 2013 by retrovoltage

I started working on a Jamo MPA-101 amplifier back in August for a friend and after some early work it sat for a while. He’s re-doing his audio system at home so I spent a few hours to finish troubleshooting … Continue reading →

Posted in DIY, Electronics, Projects, Speakers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Klipschorn Meets Altec

Posted on February 8, 2013 by retrovoltage

I love old hi-fi stereo equipment, especially the larger stuff which really had a lot of personality. While doing some research on Klipschorns, I discovered a striking reinterpretation of the classic Klipsch design: An Altec Lansing multicell horn in place … Continue reading →

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Bad Capacitors Strike Again

Posted on February 5, 2013 by retrovoltage

I’m working on another Bose 901 Series 1 equalizer. It looks to be the same manufacturing run as the first one I wrote up last July, uses the same components, and those components look like they’ve had the same failure … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Hardware | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments