Tag Archives: antique radio

Antique Radio Shop near Kunming, Yunan, China

My friends over at Crimson Lotus Tea sent me this photo of an antique radio shop near Kunming, Yunan in China they ran into during a recent trip. They’re stacked to the ceiling in the shadows. Looks like a fun … Continue reading

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1937 Zenith 5-S-126 Tune-Up

From the Rain City Audio Repair Blog: This very nice Zenith 5-S-126 came through the shop a little while ago. It was originally purchased by a local collector from eBay already restored and playing, and served well for a couple … Continue reading

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Philco 39-45 Retrofit to 40-201 Cabinet Vintage Radio Repair

Cross-posted from the Rain City Audio Repair Blog: A local customer approached me with his family’s Philco 40-201 vintage radio to be restored back to working condition. It had sat for several decades, very well preserved, but ultimately needed some … Continue reading

Posted in Electronics, Radios and Tubes, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Parts of a Vintage Radio – Middle Tube Era

Photos with parts diagrams of a vintage tube radio – the Crosley 10-139, from about the middle of the tube era. Click each photo for full size.  

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1958 Zenith HF1284 (Chassis 12Z20) Hi-Fi Console Repair

This 1958 Zenith Hi-Fi came into my shop for a full overhaul including an electrical repair, dial re-stringing, and some work on the turntable. These vintage hi-fi consoles are some of the best sounding pieces of vintage gear around, and this one’s no exception with a pair of 12″ woofers and a pair of electrostatic tweeters. Read more for details!

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1930s Vintage Detrola 335 Radio Repair

Repairing this Detrola 335 was a major detective project with only a partial schematic after it was hacked on was a major project, but this radio cleaned up nicely and came back to life after tracking down all the faults, including replaced components, undocumented modifications, and a failed thermal switch. After adding an eye tube per the owner’s request, this fantastic art deco style tabletop radio is going to play beautiful music for many years to come. Click through for many more photos and schematic snips of the repair process!

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1936 FADA 270T Vintage Table Radio Repair

This FADA 270T radio which came through the shop lately was a beautiful, very high end radio back in 1936. It has a huge airplane dial with dual-speed tuning and a magic eye indicator, and a beautifully organized under-chassis layout. Repair was pretty straightforward with a few surprises at the very end, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed. Click through to read more – there’s dozens of detailed, colorful photos of antique resistors and the magic tuning eye.

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1959 Zenith C845M High Fidelity AM/FM Radio

This radio repair is cross-posted from Rain City Audio

This classic 1959 Zenith C845M radio came into the shop for a full repair after sitting unused for some time. It has the classic late ’50s styling, and a dual speaker high-fidelity design.

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It’s an 8-tube radio with a 35C5 output tube good for maybe 3W of maximum output, but it has great sound quality.

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Inside, it’ Continue reading

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1937 Westinghouse WR 226 Vintage Radio Repair

This 1937 Westinghouse radio was the second highest in their tabletop line-up for ’37 and featured 7 tubes and a large, eye-catching dial for easy tuning. After a full overhaul including capacitors, resistors, an eye tube socket rebuild, new power cord, dial cord re-string, line input addition, and a full alignment it sounds great and pulls in stations across the dial. This model had the alignment trimmers all on the underside which was annoying, but peaked up nicely nonetheless. Read more for photos of the rebuild!

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1936 Zenith 5-S-29 Electrical Restoration and Alignment

This 1936 Zenith 5-S-29 was in the shop for a complete overhaul with all new resistors and capacitors, a new dial lamp socket, tube testing and alignment. After all that service, it looks and sounds fantastic and is going to last for a long time to come in a local collection.

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