Tag Archives: fried electronics

1934 RCA Victor 119 Antique Radio Repair

Posted on April 23, 2014 by jwk

I just finished a new project over at Rain City Audio – 1934 RCA Victor 119 Antique Radio Repair

An example of the 1939 RCA Model 119 radio made its way through my shop recently. I like RCA’s engineering – they were pioneers of radio and even their entry level models like this set had great performance. The styling is classic mid ’30s, too – great in almost any home….

Check it out at http://www.raincityaudio.us/blog/1934-rca-victor-119-antique-radio-repair! Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Radios and Tubes, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Craigslist and eBay Antique Radios – Be Careful!

Posted on March 19, 2014 by jwk

It’s not uncommon to run across antique or vintage radios on Craigslist, eBay and other sales site which are advertised as “working”, “repaired” or “restored”. Many times these are in fact professionally reconditioned items – just like you read about … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Electronics, Photos, Radios and Tubes, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Overloaded 1931 Transformer [Fried Electronics]

Posted on June 7, 2013 by jwk

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

Bad Capacitors Strike Again

Posted on February 5, 2013 by jwk

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

YAMR [Yet Another Monitor Repair] ViewSonic VP191b

Posted on September 24, 2011 by jwk

A little while ago, I picked up a set of seven LCD monitors in various states of not working  to work on repairing and maybe eventually reselling. The first one was quite easy – it just needed a wire reconnected … Continue reading →

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Westinghouse LCD Repair

Posted on August 28, 2011 by jwk

After seeing the repair I made on the Samsung LCD monitor, a friend gave me a few-years-old Westinghouse LCD/TV that had quit working – it wouldn’t power on anymore. It’s a Westinghouse SK-19H210S, 19″ LCD accepting VGA or HDMI up … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Photos, Projects, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Adventures in Dumpster Diving: Samsung 225BW LCD Repair

Posted on August 22, 2011 by jwk

I found a Samsung 225BW LCD sitting on top of my apartment’s dumpster, and figured I’d drag it upstairs. It’s a few year old model but it’s better than the current older Dell LCD that I’ve been using (1680×1050 versus 1440×900). … Continue reading →

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Burned Up Aiphone

Posted on March 10, 2011 by jwk

This is what happens when you connect the high level output of an audio amplifier, to an input designed to be hooked up to an MP3 player or other line level audio source. This Aiphone PA amplifier was incorrectly installed … Continue reading →

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Cost Engineering in 2011

Posted on January 18, 2011 by jwk

While the power transformer in my previous post may have lasted for years, it ultimately still succumbed to poor design and the transformer is widely regarded as a weak point in Zenith sets. Cost engineering to pick the exact right … Continue reading →

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Cost Engineering in the 1930s

Posted on January 15, 2011 by jwk

It looks like cost engineering was already happening back in the 1930s: In the foreground, the destroyed original power transformer from the 1939 Zenith 7-S-363 radio; the rear, an equivalently rated replacement built in October 2010 by Edcor Transformer. In order … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Radios and Tubes, Vintage | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments