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Tommgb
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Post subject: Re: Radio Restoration Diary 2 ( post photobucket) Posted: Jun Tue 12, 2018 4:20 pm |
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Joined: May Mon 30, 2011 10:12 pm Posts: 1514 Location: Glendale, CA
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I really like the Craftsman vice you've got. You did a nice job cleaning it up.
Tom
_________________ "A challenge to be met, rather than an obstacle to avoid." - Mr. Data
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bobwilson1977
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Post subject: Re: Radio Restoration Diary 2 ( post photobucket) Posted: Jun Tue 12, 2018 4:45 pm |
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Joined: Dec Mon 08, 2008 8:27 pm Posts: 11162 Location: alameda,CA
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This vice replaces a cheap Chinese one that I literally broke. It was made out of cast iron and one day just literally broke into pieces when I was trying to straighten out something. The one I fixed is probably from the 40's or 50's and made of cast steel, which is pretty indestructible. I also reinforced the work bench so I can do heavier work.
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azenithnut
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Post subject: Re: Radio Restoration Diary 2 ( post photobucket) Posted: Jun Tue 12, 2018 8:55 pm |
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Joined: Jan Mon 18, 2010 2:13 am Posts: 22105 Location: Dayton Ohio
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Amazing what a little carbon will do!  -Steve
_________________ Radio Interests -Zenith -Sparton -Pre-War FM Consoles and floor models, the bigger, the better!
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bobwilson1977
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Post subject: Re: Radio Restoration Diary 2 ( post photobucket) Posted: Jun Tue 19, 2018 4:21 pm |
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Joined: Dec Mon 08, 2008 8:27 pm Posts: 11162 Location: alameda,CA
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bobwilson1977
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Post subject: Re: Radio Restoration Diary 2 ( post photobucket) Posted: Jun Wed 20, 2018 5:52 pm |
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Joined: Dec Mon 08, 2008 8:27 pm Posts: 11162 Location: alameda,CA
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Last week a big pile of German sets came in. Here's the first. Its a very large Grundig set that has actual built-in stereo. Uses a set of ELL80's, meaning that's a set of push-pull audio per channel. I forgot to take pics of the underside but it was a damned rat's nest in there. Took a full day to get it all done. As with most larger sets I do these days it too has installed bluetooth.   
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bobwilson1977
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Post subject: Re: Radio Restoration Diary 2 ( post photobucket) Posted: Jun Thu 21, 2018 3:50 pm |
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Joined: Dec Mon 08, 2008 8:27 pm Posts: 11162 Location: alameda,CA
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Now on rare occasion I'll work on a set that really makes me scratch my head. This is one of those radios. It is a very large table set marked with the " E. Lebert" brand and other than a stamp of the brand up front and the back there's no other identifying markers. Features a "Vega" brand speaker and US-style octal tubes.  At first I thought the cabinet was some sort of homemade piece but inside are a number of stamps and chalk markings that indicates its factory-made. The wood is fairly rough and of overall poor quality. The chassis itself is made of thin galvanized sheet metal. Its overall sort of a crudely made thing.  The underside shows a set that's as bare-bones basic as one could imagine. The style of the caps inside is very similar to the ones I've seen in both French and a Belgian set I own.    So far I've found basically nothing about this brand anywhere. There's no model Numbers or any other form of identification other than the name. If I were to take an educated guess I'd say this set might be a post-war set made either in Belgium or France. The scarcity of materials immediately after the war meant many manufactured items were made of very cheap materials. I've seen this repeatedly with post war Philips and various other Euro brands where the wood was close to being scrap lumber and the chassis were a hodge-podge of components, interestingly sometimes with American tubes. I assume because perhaps there was a surplus leftover from the US's presence there. EDIT: I am almost certain its French. Nantes is a city in France. In any regard its now up and working. Actually it sounds pretty decent for what it is. Its not exactly an attractive set but I think worthy of preservation for the sake of an historically interesting piece.  
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azenithnut
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Post subject: Re: Radio Restoration Diary 2 ( post photobucket) Posted: Jun Thu 21, 2018 4:39 pm |
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Joined: Jan Mon 18, 2010 2:13 am Posts: 22105 Location: Dayton Ohio
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It certainly is a fascinating radio. I love that galvanized chassis. Looks like it was made from a furnace duct  -Steve
_________________ Radio Interests -Zenith -Sparton -Pre-War FM Consoles and floor models, the bigger, the better!
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bobwilson1977
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Post subject: Re: Radio Restoration Diary 2 ( post photobucket) Posted: Jun Thu 21, 2018 4:51 pm |
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Joined: Dec Mon 08, 2008 8:27 pm Posts: 11162 Location: alameda,CA
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Its super crude. But its different and I enjoyed working on this more so than radios from well established makes.
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DCW
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Post subject: Re: Radio Restoration Diary 2 ( post photobucket) Posted: Jun Thu 21, 2018 5:26 pm |
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Joined: May Mon 14, 2018 6:14 pm Posts: 218
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I like the rough aesthetic.
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mgrant
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Post subject: Re: Radio Restoration Diary 2 ( post photobucket) Posted: Jun Thu 21, 2018 5:53 pm |
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Joined: Nov Mon 06, 2017 7:45 pm Posts: 851 Location: Sherwood, Oregon
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Never seen a tin jigger cup used as a half-shield before 
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Tommgb
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Post subject: Re: Radio Restoration Diary 2 ( post photobucket) Posted: Jun Thu 21, 2018 10:28 pm |
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Joined: May Mon 30, 2011 10:12 pm Posts: 1514 Location: Glendale, CA
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How well does this radio perform?
_________________ "A challenge to be met, rather than an obstacle to avoid." - Mr. Data
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Jiri Placek
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Post subject: Re: Radio Restoration Diary 2 ( post photobucket) Posted: Jun Thu 21, 2018 11:49 pm |
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Joined: Feb Fri 19, 2016 1:57 am Posts: 294 Location: Boyertown, PA
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bobwilson1977
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Post subject: Re: Radio Restoration Diary 2 ( post photobucket) Posted: Jun Fri 22, 2018 4:22 pm |
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Joined: Dec Mon 08, 2008 8:27 pm Posts: 11162 Location: alameda,CA
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Believe it or not the radio works great. Its pretty sensitive. I added an audio input to the record player input as well. It actually has a nice, full-range sound. Jiri, Thanks for the info!
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bobwilson1977
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Post subject: Re: Radio Restoration Diary 2 ( post photobucket) Posted: Jun Mon 25, 2018 5:06 pm |
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Joined: Dec Mon 08, 2008 8:27 pm Posts: 11162 Location: alameda,CA
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Tommgb
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Post subject: Re: Radio Restoration Diary 2 ( post photobucket) Posted: Jun Tue 26, 2018 12:05 am |
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Joined: May Mon 30, 2011 10:12 pm Posts: 1514 Location: Glendale, CA
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Well done! I didn't realize how big this radio was until I saw the picture of it sitting on the corner of the pickup truck bed.
Tom
_________________ "A challenge to be met, rather than an obstacle to avoid." - Mr. Data
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bobwilson1977
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Post subject: Re: Radio Restoration Diary 2 ( post photobucket) Posted: Jun Tue 26, 2018 6:02 pm |
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Joined: Dec Mon 08, 2008 8:27 pm Posts: 11162 Location: alameda,CA
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Yup. The last 4-5 German sets have all been monster-sized sets. Some really sound more like a console. Anyway... ANOTHER German set, this time a small NordeMende set. Not much to do on this one: Someone had replaced all of the caps except for the electrolytic which was leaky and causing AC hum. This set uses a PCB board and was very fragile, meaning I had to gently remove the can without cracking it. Cabinet was cleaned and waxed.    Anyway, I have two German sets with problems that need more research. But I'm going to pull back and do a few more basic sets as these german sets are more difficult and take more time. So I'm a little tired of working on them right now
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Jimmler
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Post subject: Re: Radio Restoration Diary 2 ( post photobucket) Posted: Jun Tue 26, 2018 9:13 pm |
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Joined: Jan Mon 29, 2018 5:58 pm Posts: 284 Location: Nipomo, CA 93444
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So people give you cool old radios for free and you get to spend your days fixing them? How do I get a job like that?? 
_________________ -Jim W6JCR
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bobwilson1977
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Post subject: Re: Radio Restoration Diary 2 ( post photobucket) Posted: Jun Tue 26, 2018 9:30 pm |
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Joined: Dec Mon 08, 2008 8:27 pm Posts: 11162 Location: alameda,CA
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Well, I shouldn't complain. This isn't my day job. I do all of these after work for our museum. If anything its addicting. If I don't have a pile of radios to work on then I feel something's wrong. But sometimes doing the same kinds of sets gets repetitive. So I'll pop out a few generic AA5's next as those are cake and don't require looking at teeny drawings on a big schematic...
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bobwilson1977
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Post subject: Re: Radio Restoration Diary 2 ( post photobucket) Posted: Jun Wed 27, 2018 4:25 pm |
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Joined: Dec Mon 08, 2008 8:27 pm Posts: 11162 Location: alameda,CA
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And now for a shift back to Murcian' radios. This one a late 30's GE. I forgot to take before pics but the finish was pretty bad looking. I really don't have the time or skill to refinish these and this one used a lot of photo finish. My "trick" for dealing with worn out finishes is to start with old english, then apply beexwax, then several application of Meguier's caranuba paste wax. You'd be surprised how well even the worse finishes will clean up.  Not much "under the hood". About an hour and the recappin' job was done.  Actually its a good sounding set. I added an audio input too. The value is probably not exactly high so no bluetooth on this one. 
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Tommgb
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Post subject: Re: Radio Restoration Diary 2 ( post photobucket) Posted: Jun Wed 27, 2018 8:24 pm |
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Joined: May Mon 30, 2011 10:12 pm Posts: 1514 Location: Glendale, CA
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Hi,
What part of this radio is photo finish? I think I've got the same radio (GE F70) and I thought the finish was all-wood veneer.
Tom
_________________ "A challenge to be met, rather than an obstacle to avoid." - Mr. Data
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