1953 VACUUM TUBE CAR RADIO Pt1 - THE VIBRATOR POWER SUPPLY - CHEVROLET PUSH BUTTON MODEL 986668 [4K] 

Vintage tech to get from 6 VDC to over 600 VAC! What's that buzzing?
Let's check out this old tube car radio which has been worked on with upgraded capacitors in the recent past but let take a look at its condition and see if it works.
This radio belongs to the owner of a beautifully restored 1953 Chevrolet Deluxe Two-Ten he has owned for decades since a teen. He picked this radio up not long ago but has not attempted to power it up. In this Part 1, we will check out the power supply, see if the transformers, vibrator and rectifier are ok and if it will develop B+.
At the end of this Part 1, we reach the end of the capabilities of my bench power supply in terms of power output. This unit requires 6VDC at 5.5 amps and my current supply tops out at 3 amps. I would rather use a variable supply rather than a battery so that I can have better voltage and current control. I will need to get a different piece of bench equipment to continue. Then we can see if we can get this classic car radio ready for a genuine classic car.
So there will be a video of the repair and refurbishment of that piece equipment before continuing on with the diagnosis of this old tube radio. When that piece of equipment is ready, this series of videos on this radio will continue. Please check out the Playlist for this radio for those videos after they are published.
See the checklist which appears when status changes, for tracking what is discovered that needs addressing in Red, followed by Green when resolved.
NOTE: This is not instruction, it is for entertainment for people like me who enjoy watching projects and the experiences gained. If you attempt to do any of the things in this video you are at your own risk. I am using special tech-bench safety equipment not detailed here so don't take for granted you can just plug these old items in safely without them being checked and repaired correctly. Check out the link below to Mr Carlson's Lab video below.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND REFERENCES:
[note: am in no way representing how these folks have shown doing these things - I don't even think they would approve.]
Thanks to shango066 for championing the approach of "fix it first", before mass re-capping. See shango066 for many examples of that approach.
@shango066
Special thanks to Doug at DERB for the shout-out here:
• Something Different - ...
‪@DERB_Seymour_Indiana‬
Awesome discussion of bench safety including variacs and isolation transformers by Mr Carlson's Lab (highly recommended):
• Tech Tips Tuesday, Iso...
‪@MrCarlsonsLab‬
Modification method for a commercial Tripp Lite isolation transformer for tech-bench use by Todd Harrison, his channel is called ToddFun:
• ToddFun.com: Isolation...
‪@ToddFun‬
Camera: Canon G7X Mark III
Mic: Rode Micro
Video Editing Software: Power Director
Video Editor: just me