Post by peter on Nov 27, 2021 2:38:19 GMT 12
Went out to the shed to get on with fixing my Master Voltohmyst project and like many of us I have a shed radio to listen to the music, or sometimes the fun of talkback. So reached up and turned it on - being an old valve 50's kitchen Ultimate it takes time to warm up but this time even after 10 or so mins nada! silence??
Pulled it down and had a look - nothing obvious so decided to take chassis out. I don't know whether the makers of this particular set hated servicemen but getting it apart was 'orrible. Finally got it all apart although I seem to have trashed the cord drive and sliding indicator in the process. But who cares - it's a shed radio and usually sits on just one station.
Nothing obviously wrong - checked a few obvious things like resistors close to valves (bases mounted directly on printed circuit so the nearby resistors can get cooked up), blew all the filth and dust out with a compressor air hose, resoldered a few suspect joints and some that come apart during dissembly. Nothing seemed fried up or defunct.
Reassembled, plugged in, all the valve heaters lit up and - nothing!! not a peep. Said lots of colourful words and the cat, who happened to be visiting at the time, looked suitably shocked. Decided to put it on the 'round tuit' pile (as in when I get a round tuit). Then remembered I had another spare radio up in the garage.
Bought it down the next day and looked inside. Ugh!! one of those Phillips mains AC/DC valve sets with the dreaded autotransformer - however all the front was plastic and well insulated from the chassis so it would be OK. Gave its guts a blast with the compressed air to remove beetles, fluff and general filth. Scraped the many paint spots off the top and reglued the front trim that had come loose. Carefully traced the phase line in the power cord using a multimeter and made sure that was attached to the correct plug terminal (get them around the wrong way and the chassis becomes live - whoopeee!). Plugged in, switched on and after a minute or two a lovely mains hum burst forth. Yay would soon be hearing the woes of the seven worlds on talkback radio - but hang on! what's that smell?? Quick glance inside showed a 10 watt resistor smoking, while turning a beautiful shade of black in record time so hastily turned off.
So yet another day sans shed radio AND a Phillips set now to repair which can be a bit of a fatherless son to fix. boo hoo! etc.
Pulled it down and had a look - nothing obvious so decided to take chassis out. I don't know whether the makers of this particular set hated servicemen but getting it apart was 'orrible. Finally got it all apart although I seem to have trashed the cord drive and sliding indicator in the process. But who cares - it's a shed radio and usually sits on just one station.
Nothing obviously wrong - checked a few obvious things like resistors close to valves (bases mounted directly on printed circuit so the nearby resistors can get cooked up), blew all the filth and dust out with a compressor air hose, resoldered a few suspect joints and some that come apart during dissembly. Nothing seemed fried up or defunct.
Reassembled, plugged in, all the valve heaters lit up and - nothing!! not a peep. Said lots of colourful words and the cat, who happened to be visiting at the time, looked suitably shocked. Decided to put it on the 'round tuit' pile (as in when I get a round tuit). Then remembered I had another spare radio up in the garage.
Bought it down the next day and looked inside. Ugh!! one of those Phillips mains AC/DC valve sets with the dreaded autotransformer - however all the front was plastic and well insulated from the chassis so it would be OK. Gave its guts a blast with the compressed air to remove beetles, fluff and general filth. Scraped the many paint spots off the top and reglued the front trim that had come loose. Carefully traced the phase line in the power cord using a multimeter and made sure that was attached to the correct plug terminal (get them around the wrong way and the chassis becomes live - whoopeee!). Plugged in, switched on and after a minute or two a lovely mains hum burst forth. Yay would soon be hearing the woes of the seven worlds on talkback radio - but hang on! what's that smell?? Quick glance inside showed a 10 watt resistor smoking, while turning a beautiful shade of black in record time so hastily turned off.
So yet another day sans shed radio AND a Phillips set now to repair which can be a bit of a fatherless son to fix. boo hoo! etc.
