Vintage transistor radio repair8/31/2023 ![]() Start by inserting and removing a plug repeatedly. Use the same techniques described for cleaning volume controls and switches. If the earphone works, but the speaker doesn’t, then dirty speaker contacts in the jack might be the issue. Plugging in an earphone can help you diagnose this problem. For this to work properly the contacts need to be clean. When the plug is inserted it disconnects the speaker. When the earphone plug is removed both contact points touch, sending the sound to the speaker rather than to the earphones. Dirty/faulty Earphone JacksĪ surprising number of dead radios can be brought back to life by cleaning the small metal contacts in earphone jacks. Put some of it in a “pin oiler” bottle and apply it that way. You can even use liquid rubbing alcohol in a pinch. I like DeoxIT brand spray, but there are many other good ones. If this fails you should try squirting contact cleaner into the volume control. Sometimes simply moving the volume control rapidly back-and-forth ten or twenty times can clean up the two surfaces. Over time dirt and corrosion build up making the connection between the wiper and the coating unreliable. Volume controls are “variable resistors,” which consist of a circular resistive coating (the gray part in the illustration) and a wiper that slides over this material. Sometimes this problem is so bad that you will hear no, or only the scratching noises, making you think that the radio is not receiving signals, and is dead. When you move a volume control knob and hear scratchy, static-filled sounds it is likely due to dirty volume control innards. Dirty or damaged terminals will silence a radio. Old batteries were prone to leaking corrosive goo that forms an insulating insulator on the metal parts, preventing contact between the battery and terminals. Batteries, Holders and Terminalsīattery holders are probably the main enemy of old portable radios. ![]() As always, practice on less valuable radios until you feel confident. If you have never done these things, they are fun and easy to learn.Īppendix Two shows you the skills you’ll need. ![]() You might need to do some soldering and desoldering. Not only did the plastic protect the painting, but it also provided the illusion of depth.You don’t need to understand much radio theory or any engineering formulas to do many common AM transistor radio repairs. They would do this by taking the clear plastic dial from the front of the radio and painting an image on the back. ![]() One popular feature most common in Japanese radios was reverse painting. The company had supplied its sales teams with shirts with oversized pockets to enable this feat. Another collectable model is the Sony TR-63, which advertised as fitting in a shirt pocket. The 1954 Regency radio from the US was the first commercially released transistor radio and is popular with collectors the world over. Not only are Zenith and National radios popular despite their foreign origins, there are others that are collectable for their own sake. Another thing to look for is FM band support, which was later coming to Australian radios, as the country did not adopt FM radio until later than the US. Astor, AWA, Kriesler and STC are all popular brands and Australian models have some of the more popular stations already in print on the dial instead of just numbers. While foreign brands such as Sony played a huge part in the history of transistor radios, many Australian collectors prefer to start with homegrown Australian brands. Minor cosmetic issues like paint splatters are easy to remove, so they have a fairly small effect on value. Functionality is an important part of condition a radio that works is worth more than one that doesn't. Even a very rare early Zenith model will have its value determined by condition as well as rarity. What to Look ForĪs with any collectable radio the first thing to look for is condition. Music could finally go anywhere and the idea that summer could have a soundtrack was born. Unlike the larger collectable valve radios of the era, transistors made radio truly portable for the first time, and a whole new generation took that idea and ran with it. Following their introduction in 1954, transistor radios soon took the world by storm.
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