It didn't look too bad in the end Vern. I couldn't think of a better way to wind it except maybe remove the top plate and just have a metal guides at 45 degrees and parallel to the lower back sheet in each corner. Easy to say in hindsight. Some great tips about getting the inductance right, something you can only get from an experienced tech. Thanks Vern 👍🙂
This is why I bought a job lot of vintage antennas (some with backs ) two years ago. I'm all thumbs! Got one that should work for a radio phonograph missing it's back and AM antenna. Photos of other ones seen on the web (like selling sites) lead me to reconstruct the back itself which is just cutting out material. Found this stuff callled Binder's Board by LINECO. It's .082 inches thick ,you could double it up for a larger back if need be. It's made in the USA! I was sold. The work you did here confirms to me I did the right thing as this is not an easy process. Steve from IL
29:00 😂 I'm going to remember that one. I work in electric motor recovery, those coils could be made on our type of coil winder, it looks a lot like a bunch you'd make for a 30 hp motor. Winding in a flat plane would be a pita though. Always wondered how they knocked these out cheap on a line. Especially that square one. That's a thing of beauty.
20 ga magnet wire. Any thinner and it would have really been a mess of crossed wires. Thicker would have taken up too much space. Thanks for the kind words.
Hi Jim, the material is the same as the back of the radio back. Anything thicker would not work for the back, and trying to laser cut the top out of anything stiffer/thicker would present a problem with the laser cutting. (Until my 20 watt head gets here.) But the back panel for the radio which the antenna is wound on is still going to have flex. As I said in the video I was going to put 4 screws around the perimeter. We learned a lot and expect to improve.
Have a couple of sets with those. They usually are in sets with deeper cabinets as the antenna is separate from the back. These AC/DC sets want isolation from anyone touching the chassis. Shock hazard.
Was thinking you could mount that type of coil on the inside of a real back that keeps fingers away from the chassis. Another idea, later sets used a ferrite bar antenna. Would think that would work as well. There's a lot of old film of radio manufacturing but none showing how those antenna coils are wound.
