Hi, Shango! I built a solid state vibrator that's pretty reliable. I used a 555 oscilator and a dual comparator (one in inverting and one in noninverting configuration) who's following the charge and discharge of the capacitor of the 555, then driving two FETs. In my case, I had 12V cars. With two small pots you can precisely set the conduction points for each of the FETs, and by choosing the resistors for the 555 you can vary the frequency, in order to obtain the correct B+. The voltage for the 555 should be regulated, I choose 9V. The schematic is a bit more complicated, but is very reliable and flexible. I built 3 of these about 2 years ago and are still working. And, for the laughs, I've put it in an emptied aluminum capacitor. 😁
The cool thing is since the radio's vertical like that, it prevented anybody from hacking up the dash to put a replacement in since they're all horizontal! Every old car or truck I ever bought somebody had hacked a CD DIN size player in there...
You underestimate the car radio hillbilly. As long as they have working fingers and some electrical tape to loosely join wires together they will find a way to install an ugly head unit into anything.
I seem to recall a lot of old metal dash trucks having a standard single din head unit installed on brackets below the dash along with a rats nest of wires, wire nuts, and electrical tape.
I've had a couple of dozen forties and fifties mopars Over the past 50 years And they've all been 6 V positive ground until 1956 where they went to 12 V negative ground..
Brings back wonderful memories! I was about 12 in the early 60s, when my brother in law gave me one of those from an old bus that was rotting away at the bus garage where he worked. I'm in the UK, by the way. I used it in the house from a mains PSU. That thing was so heavy! The best radio I had. Happy days!
Hour long video on a 1948 (before most of us were born) Mopar AM radio repair????...... YES PLEASE MAY WE HAVE ANOTHER MR SHANGO G0D-LIKE REPAIR MAN PERSON
JOE! I didn't know that you watch Shango too!! That is awesome I am glad you do, I see we are interested in some of the same things... Shango makes such awesome educational videos I believe everybody should watch if anything just to learb some basic repair and diagnostic skills along with a little history about old school electronics while they are at it. OOh I also want to tell you about a free open source pinball program on pc... Its called visual pinball and they literally have over 100 old school SS & EM pinball tables made for it! The program literally runs the table virtually even using their original ROMs, sounds etc. Its pretty epic. I finally got to play that Flight 2000 table this way after seeing you fix one on your channel. I thought maybe you would be interested in that program since it is free.
That vibrator step up transformer primary is designed for a +/-6 volt square wave applied across the entire primary, not half of the primary. The vibrator alternately connects one half of the primary to ground (center tap at +6 volts) then the other half of the primary to ground. I think if you just apply the filament transformer output to the entire winding (not half the winding) then you will get a much closer B+ output voltage. True, replacing the OZ4 with silicon diodes will boost the B+ even more and a resistor will be needed to compensate.
Awesome as always. Looking forward to part 2. I've got three radios for a 58 Ford Fairlane 500 I need to work on and the vibrator has been the hold up.
Back in 1978 my uncle had that same truck and radio, every time it rained water would come running down the center above the windshield like a waterfall right on top of the radio
I bought a "parts set" once that had a metal ballast "tube" in the circuit. The whole set was severely water damaged so I submerged the ballast tube in my bucket of evaporust for a few days. It worked 100% to remove all the rust. What I didn't account for, was that the ballast tube was one of those 50s-60s era universal replacement types where you configured it to the application by pulling pins off of it, which left behind some holes that allowed the evaporust to fill the inside of the ballast. I let it slowly drain out for about two months and believe it or not, the ballast tube still worked but it stank to high heaven every time it was turned on. After about a year of using the ballast for a few hours a week in the garage it eventually lost its god awful smell. It was enough to make a dying selenium rectifier smell like the world's best perfume.
Missing windshield or very leaky windshield gasket and water dripped right on the dash and top of the radio. Even at that they are very durable and decent performing radio. They made that model in various configurations for hundreds of thousands of cars. I've re-capped a few and never had an issue with the sockets if the chassis isn't rusted out.
Excellent going, Mr Shango. That radio was in quite good shape technically. I uploaded a video on YT recently where I got stuck with the same problem on a early 50s Becker car radio. Used a solid state vibrator made by Aurora, worked very well indeed.
In some radios the 0Z4 socket may have the filament pins connected in that case you can use a 6X5, plate and cathode connections match the 0Z4. Also 0Z4s can get weak, the symptoms can be failure to conduct, radio quits playing when the car idles and starts playing again when accelerating.
0Z4 tubes do not have filaments-they are cold cathode rectifier tubes-essentually a form of neon lamp-but with argon gas.The tube has a metal shell-under the metal case is the gas filled bulb hat glows blue when the tube is working.Used to take off the metal case when I worked on these radios as a teen.Vibrtors-sometimes you can get them going by giving them a sharp whack with a screwdriver handle.Its worth a try.If not then try taking the vibrator case off and cleaning contacts.So many years ago you could get replacement vibrators from any electronic or car parts stores.
Hey, we really can relate to this video, I have the Philco C4608 (Mopar 802) version of that kind of radio from my dads 1947-48 Plymouth car he had, when I was a kid. I begged my dad to have the radio and speaker removed before he got rid of the car, so we could keep the radio which did not work at the time. I still have the radio with its original electro magnet speaker, glade we convinced my dad to save the car radio, it's in very good shape yet. I used to have the car radio working decades ago, but today it needs recapped for the original caps are the Bumble Bee type and the push-pull output transformer needs replaced. Shango you can hardly beat the performance of those old tube car radios from back then! This car radio has 8 - 6.3v loctal tubes, push buttons with individual tuning coils for the presets as well as manual tuning slugs, the tuning mechanics is a bit different then the Mopar 602 your working on. SO they had mechanical activated push buttons back in the 1940's!
impressive engineering on this radio for it to be so sensitive. Designed with driving out in the country in mind I would think....cool video man I enjoyed it.
I wish I had all those clapped out 40s and 50s car radios I replaced with "modern" transistor sets. I didn't know how to fix them. Much different from a table radio, I thought. Good job staying with it. I learn a lot by watching you cajole these old beauties back to life.
"Sounds like someone is having a good time in there, but no climax!" LMAO! I was surprised you got that beast loosened back up, and that most of it actually still works!
It's completely rusted all to hell, everything's frozen shut, the whole damn thing is full of Loctals, can't even tell what voltage it definitely runs on .... but it's got an intact DIAL STRING so Shango's down to fix it :)
I look forward to the vibrator substitution video. When I had to substitute a 5U4 rectal- fryer with 1n4007's I used a 250 ohm 10W wire wound resistor in series with the B+ and the voltage was really close to the tube voltage drop under the same conditions. Thanks for showing.
I remember working on a similar radio back in the 1970s it definitely drew the current. Six volts. It had amazingly good reception and sound. The vibrator was bad and some tubes were broken. Back then I went to a junkyard got another six volt positive ground radio robbed the vibrator and got some tubes, got it working.
Your friend has a nice truck. My personal favorites are the Dodge Sweptsides with fins on the bed. Those are very rare though. Those flathead six motors are super reliable and amazingly smooth and quiet when running right. I had one once in a 1957 Savoy and in a 1957 Dodge Coronet,both with Powerflite 2 speed push button automatics. Chrysler used those flat six engines until 1959. In 1960 the legendary Slant Six was introduced which would be used until 1987. I had vibrator problems in that 57 Plymouth radio too. The vibrator would stick.
Some really good ideas here. I have a 1949 6 volt car radio that got stuffed in the back room due to power supply issues. Just pulled it out and looking at it again. Will be looking forward to part 2. Now I need to find a transformer that can handle 6.3 volts at 3 amps. I do have a spare power transformer out of a 1967 GE color TV I can use with a variac, that solid state tube adapter, and perhaps a light bulb to current limit.
Rainwater thru open cowl vent can cause lots of rusting. Even with the vent closed, and if the drain tube from the vent runoff channel is missing, water will still get thru. I've seen it happen in '49 Plymouth, radio was playing and suddenly went dead during rain storm. Cracked output tube (6AQ5) from dripping water. Drain tube missing.
AM Radio, what a wonderful technology and blessing it has been to us ! I look at all the work, time, and effort you have put into bringing this radio back to life ! And what a pathetic shame it is that virtually everything one picks up with these receivers is garbage and propoganda !!!!!
Hey Shango066 👋 You are my #1 favorite RU-vidr. I can't tell you how therapeutic your videos are and your sense of humor is hilarious. Keep those videos coming!
Turns out these were originally for Chrysler model vehicles made by Colonial Radio Co. and were made around 1946 - 1948. The great thing about these radios is that they're quite tough against wearing and can last a long time. Something I don't like about them however, is how much current and how much power they consume (~15amps and ~90W at full line voltage) as well as the noisy vibrator, which drained the 6V battery quickly in older cars.
Said it before and I'll say it again. When you popped the cover, I said "No way!". I need to have a little more faith I guess. Nice job man and Thanks as always
That Vibrator's trying so hard, it's all it can do to make enough noise so Shango doesn't part the thing and buy another one off Ebay, it's the last little bit of effort it had left "help me! I'm still trying in here!"
I did pretty much the same thing to an old farm radio some years ago. Haven't read all the comments. But from what I could tell from your video you used only half of the primiry winding of the centap step up xformer. Change to use both halves of the center tap xformer it will cut the output voltage in half. Chris
I been a electronics technician for over 40yrs. Fixed about anything and everything over the years. A friend brought me a old school inverter and it used a vibrator. I rebuilt it completely and tested it real good before giving it back . The main reason it failed was the electrolytic capacitors and a resistor that cracked.
Jan 2023: Wow, on a similar wavelength triggered via your channel , last week I found a 1985 Chrysler radio in the quest to find a C-QUAM AM receiver. Found a bargain basement model with AM only and digital presets and two speaker output (as opposed to four), which is weird in and of itself. :)
I have an am stereo radio in my 88' Mitsubishi truck. I don't know of any am stereo stations in my area though to try it out though and I'm not sure what stereo system it uses.
Working with original electrolytic and paper caps no less using crappy Chinese power supply. Impressed by Shango's tenacity and knowledge of these vintage radios. Liken that the new vibrator works. No clue about replacing the old with a solid state one. I must see part 2!
Very good possibility here where I work we have some of those radio sitting on the shelf I would about guarantee that LOL probably got more Mopar radios then there are cars still on the road that use them
I saw it pop up in my notifications and was going to watch it when I got home from work but found it was gone! I thought I was imagining it or something 😂
I don't know what's more entertaining, Shango's sense of humor or the resurrection videos. The "vibrator"-related comments are too much! 🤣🤣🤣 You'll need a cigarette and several tissues after watching.
Urmăresc cu placere tutoriale dvs. sânt lucruri vechi foarte interesante pe care nu le am văzut decât la dvs . am avut de învățat multe de la un electronist profesionist mulumesc
Chrysler was the first auto maker to offer an all transistor car radio in 1955 (mopar model 914hr). It was an option on the 1956 Chrysler and Imperial models. They boasted it used 90 per cent less battery power than tube models and that it eliminated the vibrator which was the number one point of failure in car radios at the time. The all transistor radios were discontinued due to cost of manufacturing and poor sales. Chrysler then introduced for 1957 optional hybrid radios that used tung sol’s 12v “space charge” tubes eliminating the vibrator and using a power transistor in the audio output circuit.
Cityboy /Countryman fix is one of the 6 volt headlamps that ya changed out for the 12 volt ones using the high or low beam filament what ever dumps the difference so ya get 6 volts on the radio still works after 35 years on my 49 Roadmaster
This is really cool. I'm not old but old enough to have played in old cars that were abandoned in the woods or someone still had when I was a kid. I like analog.
Back in the 80's I worked for a Motorola shop. One day a guy came in with one of those vibrators wondering if we might have one. We got the owner to come out and he said "Yea, I think I still have some of those in the attic." He came back from the attic with a box half full of these brand new. The guy, startled, asked how much? My boss said "If you can use them, their yours".
Oh wow, had one of those in a '46 Plymouth I used to own. I have a '40 Dodge now, that has a Philco made MoPar model 800 or so, my radio is like mint, may even work but haven't tested it yet.
Always like the old car radios. This must have been a pretty upmarket truck to get a radio, probably not a cheap option and in a time when trucks didn't have air conditioned seats and heated steering wheels. I was given the amplifier / power supply portion of a '55 Chev car radio, it is similar to this using an OZ4 cold cathode rectifier (I had to google it) and 12V6GT push-pull finals. I had to crack in to the vibrator as the contacts were oxidized and it wouldn't start up. It's on the shelf now 'cause it's short one 12V6GT and it's almost as filthy as this one. Speaker was built in and the voice coil was open. Any surviving radio from a car of this vintage is likely going to be in rough shape. I'm surprised the chrome caps for the pushbuttons were all still intact on this truck unit. As a kid I had a transistor unit from a '69 Dodge Monaco and I was impressed with the sensitivity and selectivity of that old beast. I think it had five ferrite slugs ganged together. A long wire strung up along the joists of the basement and I was pulling in all kinds of stuff that I'd never heard before. I doubt the modern car radios are like this, maybe some.
Radios in trucks in that era are pretty rare in my experience. Even then, if they have one it would often be aftermarket. The deluxe push-button 8 tube radio in my '53 Studebaker (radio made by Philco) had a list price of $86 that inflation calculator says is now $996 !!!!
Shango066, i've read this in the past that when convering from a vacuum tube or selenium rectifier that you should put a 220 ohm resistor rated for a couple watts in series with the anode of each diode, that way the voltage doesn't raise up too much on the output
Just this week, Kevin of Junkyard Digs used a product called Metal Rescue Rust Remover Bath to clean out some really gnarly rust from inside a snowmobile tank. It worked amazing, even at one fifth the recommended concentration. That could be an option for the large metal parts of the case and chassis that can be removed and soaked. A commenter also recommended Evaporust.
When I was in my 'teens, I had a tube AM car radio in the house. I found that I could take the vibe (which worked) out of the circuit and feed the plate pantswarmer with AC 60hz. The receiver worked and had less noise. The rectal fiber was some kind of gas tube. It had an aluminum cover, but I removed that. So I went to sleep often to that purple glow. I had a long aerial that I strung over the house between two trees. I was in central Georgia, US, and the receiver would pick up WWL New Orleans fine.
Great, excellent video about a fantastic radio. There's some serious engineering there. It's appears to be using Bill Lear's car radio circuit, but the schematic flashed by pretty quickly. Love the ergonomic design with the tuning and volume controls on the same side.
Man, I had a Sony Walkman back in the 90s that used kind of a "vibrator": there was a OKI micro-controller working down to 1V driving the servo-mechanism. The motor was started by the OKI, too. On the motor there was a second coil that generated some 3V for LEDs and audio amplifier. In my opinion a transformer based on a motor makes a much more reliable inverter but they found a different solution back in the 40s. The noise and vibration of a motor would be inferior to a clicking sound, too. The downside is the necessity to change brushes all the time. But, an intelligent design would make this downside easy to manage. The sensitivity and selectivity of this radio are amazing! There was a time when the made real stuff... Cheers!
I used to complete the maintenance of this type of radio on a previous car that had circuits that contained heat lamps, and it was somewhat annoying in the maintenance due to its age because it contained electronic elements.
"0Z4 and 0Z4G are primarily used for vibrator-type B-supply units of automobile receivers. Utilizes a starter electrode and an ionically heated cathode. RF filter circuits placed close to socket terminals are required to reduce rectifier noise. Shell of 0Z4 and external shield of 0Z4G should be grounded. 30 to 90mA dc current. Originally developed by Raytheon and announced in "radio Engineering" November 1935. It originally had a four prong octal base. The 0Z4 was re-registered to RCA on Jan. 2, 1961, with minor spec changes." -- Radiomuseum
Should be made by Philco for Chrysler. Keep on tapping the vibrator to get it to vibrate again. Think it is Tubes Rule on video karma makes the Aurora solid state vibrator. I have not tried the aurora SS vibrator.
Radio does not look that bad beyond the rusty case. Spraying the sockets & wiggling before removal coùld minimize any harm to the sockets. I hope Shango gets it working 100%....
All the six volt locktals have a 12-volt counterpart. It will be the same tube number except 14 instead of 7 as the first numbers. So, the 7A7 will be a 14A7, for example. Etc etc etc.
I learned about those on a 50s jeep, weirdest thing I have ever heard of and I guess it was common back in the day. Lots of strange things on old vehicles that are being forgotten, like polarizing a generator so it will charge!