Your knowledge, drive, tenacity is beyond description. All that watch, and me, are thrilled to have you as a friend. Thanks David. I'm anxious to watch the player and restoration!
Wow, what a transformation !!! great job in bringing another radio back from the dead. Now the fun will start with the overhaul of the record player turntable. I was surprised when the record player motor burst into life !! I will look forward to the next instalment. Once again a credit to you for hanging in there and seeing this set through the transformation. Sounds like your wife knows you better than you do yourself.
Hi Stephen, thank you. I think if the TT motor was beyond repair it may have been the tipping point, I was happy it still worked. I think you are right about my wife, I just asked her and she said yes 😉🙂
@@DavidTipton101 Hi David, you may be able to remove the winding from the motor and check with a mega. You may also be able to RE sleeve the field winding. Just depends how far you want to go with the tt.
Fantastic transformation. It's really satisfying to see something that looked so far gone restored. Looking forward to seeing the record player tackled!
The term "buzz it out" brings back many memories. When I worked here in the UK in the telecoms industry we actually used to use a buzzer to identify individual wires in a multi-core cable .
Hi David, I don't know where I picked that saying up, from work maybe but I've said it for years. Your experience using a buzzer to identify wires sound like a good source 🙂
David!!! So very good to see a new video from you again!!! This one is a great radio! I love the design...even though there are some "nightmare" aspects to it. I agree with you about the grill cloth. I think it will work, but it would be best if it looked like a curtain hanging down. Your method of cleaning and polishing the cans that go around the "valves" was brilliant. I am sure that it saved you a lot of time in cleaning and polishing them. OH, and THANK YOU for not giving up on this one! This is one case I absolutely love the fact that your wife can "play you like a piano" to get you to keep going at it. There was one thing it appeared that you didn't do that I thought you might have. The brass works that turn the tuning capacitor were a bit tarnished...thought you might be taking them apart and cleaning, polishing, and lubricating them, but it didn't appear that you did. It probably would have been a real monster project to do that, but I have come to look to your work as downright magical. When you look at the degree that varmints damaged it, what you have already done is a bit magical. The turntable is going to take a bit of magic too, isn't it? I just tried to find a source of cartridges for that tonearm...MAN!!! The prices went up to about $400.00 U.S. The lowest prices were still around $100.00. I am very curious to see how you overcome this issue! When you get right down to it, all 3 aspects of this project are a bit magical. Looking forward to the magic you work on the case too! Again, THANK YOU for not leaving this one to the mice! I look forward to seeing the finished product. I realize that it would be asking too much, but I really wish your videos were about 3-4 hours long!!! I love to watch your magic Dave!
Hi Wayne, thank you. It would have been easy to give up there is so much damage but I was lucky to have another chassis very similar to this one. When I go to radio club sales I but as many wrecked chassis I can and it pays off. I didn't think about cleaning the tuner shaft, I could have since the string was off anyway but you can't see it when the radio is in the case. The turntable will be interesting and I don't know how it works, I have someone near me to supply a cartridge but it won't be a direct replacement. I hope the case will come up nice too, it will be interesting to see 🙂
I would never believe that it was the same chassis, what an excellent clean up job and some excellent work around on it. Give that man a medal or a chocolate cup. That sense of humour, don't loos it, it is so funny!
Great work David. Been very busy in the house for a few weeks, but managed to restore a radiogram for my son’s partner. Radio and cassette player weren’t too much trouble but the turntable was all seized up! All serviced now with new cartridge just waiting for a new drive belt. Sounds really good. Going to present it to her to say thanks for all the help she has given us during all the virus restrictions. Cheers Lynton
Hi Lynton, thank you. Aww, that's nice of you to do that for her and no doubt you will have done a nice job of it. Grease is the bane and saviour of turntables, that and rubber components. Well done and keep safe over there 👍🙂
Hi David The gram was made by Dynatron in the 70’s. They were known as a “snobs radiogram” as all their products were enclosed in really nice cabinets. My father and I clubbed together and bought one brand new in the 1970’s. I still have it in my room in working condition. It has a very nice Goldring deck and I think it sounds superb. Take care young man and keep those excellent videos coming. Stay safe Lynton P.S. I see Mr Carlson is one of your fans now. A just reflection of your hard work and exceptional talents.
@@lyntonprescott3412 I Googled Dynatron and indeed they made some nice sets. I can't say Mr Carlson would be a fan but he has followed me for a while and I very much appreciate him doing that considering he is way above my level. I enjoy his videos as well. Thanks Lynton, nice to hear from you, take care 👍🙂
One of your more challenging restorations it would seem, not helped any by our cheddar eating friends! Look forward to seeing how this progresses. A very interesting set.
Gday Dave. I'm enjoying this one even more than usual. Probably because I've got one of these KKs waiting to be restored and I'm learning heaps from this video. Really looking forward to the next instalments as well. Thanks. Gordon.
It’s all about the chase isn’t it David ? , big challenges can give the best rewards. Hopefully the projects that have been the most challenging , have given you the rewards you deserve.
First off, you are an extraordinary technician...... And, I commend you for answering all of the comments and taking time to be gracious to anyone who comments.....!!!! More you tubers should take a lesson from you. In today's world, it's not always easy to find the time, Thank you. Frank.😉
Thanks Frank, I'm getting better at it 😄 I enjoy talking to the folks that take the time to comment and it seems the right thing to do particularly now with movement restrictions in place. Thank you Frank your comment is very much appreciated 👍🙂
Another lovely resurrection of an unusual set. I like your video effects in post production, too. Looking forward to Part 2 -- that old gramophone looks like a real challenge, but we know you're up for that. 👍
Thanks James, wish me luck with the record player. Video post production takes longer than the radios, thanks for recognising the effort and I'm trying to improve as I go. Cheers 👍😀
Thank you Mr. Tipton for your videos. I love your presentation and your how-to method of restoring these old radios. I'm from Portland Oregon USA and have been enjoying the restoring of old radios for about ten years now... and I'm just starting to become proficient at it... largely because of what I learn from gentlemen such as yourself. Again, thank you.
Thank you for watching Karl and I'm happy you get something from my videos. I also watch other videos and get most of my knowledge from them so I know what you mean 👍😀
Crikey, Another video from Dave. Everything stops in my shed when that happens. It's really good viewing, & learning too. Great project, looking forward to seeing the final result.
There’s nothing like the Liberace method to motivate one’s desire to concur against all odds. Start at middle “C” and work your way outwards. And after so much beautiful repair work, the problem was a nut, who would have thought. We have the same problem here in Victoria. Great work mate.
The combination of steel wool and a mild abrasive like VIM works very well on stained metals. I remember my late mum used this method to clean pots & pans when I was a little boy. God knows how much I miss her.
Gotta say that I have rarely laughed so much with a restoration video. Congratulate your missus at successfully emulating Liberace. I look forward to the next installment. It does show you that mice are omnivores.
Hi Chris, I can understand you laughing at me I make a lot of mistakes 😉 (I know what you really mean) I have passed on your congratulations, thanks. I don't know why the mice have to eat the wire too 🙄🙂
Another Masterpiece from Master of the Astor’s Congratulations David your wife gave you Spirit in never give up I would have given up the repair Astor Congratulations Again David full Marks for perverence Mate.
I'm already amazed with the results so far. The before and after pics speak for themselves. Also the sound is already very good, so i have absolutely no doubt this set will become another one of your master pieces. I know you will get the turntable working nicely again but i must admit it is always the re finishing of the cabinets that bring the biggest smile on my face. Really looking forward for the next video. Thank's again for sharing and keeping us entertained and teaching us so many things at the same time David :-)
Thanks Sarge, things are progressing well except the school holidays have slowed things down a bit with a visit from the grandkids. I think the case will come up pretty good, it's in very good condition and the record player should be OK I hope. Thanks SargentRay 👍🙂
Interesting fault finding... I love the way you bring the case up so that it glows again. Thank goodness for spares off another similar model... the old adage of 'never throw anything away'. Looking forward to the rest of the restoration - the record player mechanism intrigues me. I was just thinking a couple of days ago how good it would be to see another restoration project from you :)
When you were demonstrating the difference between polarity on the wires from the speaker area your comment was that we could probably not hear that but in reality, that difference in tone output by the radio is significant, even on this video. That circuit greatly improves the sound quality of that old radio. The eucalyptus oil is something I have never seen sold here in America, at least in my part of the country. It may be there of course, but i have not seen it before. It worked well on the volume control and would be a good purchase to have around for cleaning those things if need be. Thanks for another good video, very well made and easy to follow and understand, even for an old guy like me.
Thanks Jeff, yes I could hear the difference in tone when I edited the video. I did wonder if eucalyptus oil was widely available, I guess not. Thanks Jeff 😃
This Astor KK radio i never seen before in Brazil. The designer is fantastic, will be a big challenger to run the player disc. Have a nice enjoining. Congratulation - Sao Paulo - Brazil
Dave, That is a very superb shaped table top radiogram my friend. I like the arch top, the dial light arrangement, and the end-feed record deck ...In fact there are a whole load more features I like about this unit. I definitely see why you traveled all those miles to get your hands on this beauty: likely I’d have done the same if I’d have had the opportunity LOL. I almost want to say, “That record deck might prove to be a bit of a challenge to get working right,” but, if past experiences are anything to go by, and provided you are dealing with general wear and not some other person’s incompetence, those types of record player decks are usually fairly straightforward to get back into shape. You might well need to fabricate a few spare parts on you lathe, or via your 3D printer but I feel confident you are the right man to do, and make whatever is required. And in my humble opinion that little radiogram is worth the effort. Probably, at some later date off camera, you might want to add blue tooth facility like Manuel, from the Island of Madeira, adds blue tooth to his German radios? Just a thought my friend! All the very best, Phil.
Hi Phil, thanks. I like this radio and have been looking for one for a while so worth the drive, we had a nice lunch up there as well 😉 The deck looks simple but it does trip me up in a few areas as you will see. I used to add an AUX input and switch to radios and then plug in a phone to play music or a Bluetooth dongle. I have Bluetooth modules here but hum was an issue, powering it proved to be problematic and low volume output as well but I haven't given up. Manuel has a number of videos on Bluetooth but I don't remember him being 100% successful with fully built in designs 🤔 Thanks Phil for your support 😀
Thank you Stephen, I'm so glad you enjoy them. This radio was in a bad way, I was disappointed when I saw it but I had driven so far and paid so much I had to see it through, it turned out to be a fun project 😀
Sure, I wait for an hour last week and nothing but then I am half an hour late this week! You DID say two weeks after the last video :P I love the look of that set, I am always looking but it is rare to see a diamond in the rough such as that one. Rodents are the bain of living in the country like we do, I am at the moment repairing 2 cars with rodent damage to the wiring. Every spring they come out and multiply hungry for more wires to chew! The spindle bushing sounds like it has not seen a drop of oil in decades and is worn out. Isn't it amazing how our wives know just what button to push and for how long? :D Very nice job on the coil rebuild and re-waxing. A pinched wire.. been there :D Again, an excellent job on the radio. I can't wait to see the refinishing of the cabinet and the record player! Very enjoyable thank you.
Hi Wayne, it is two weeks isn't it or do I have my dates mixed again? 😀 Mice seem to like these Astor sets the most, they must use a tastier wax. The bushings in the motor are OK but the platter bushing is worn but not enough to worry for the amount of use it will get. What I said to my wife in the video and what is said was verbatim, I just need a kick in the pants to keep me going sometimes 😄 Yes, pretty embarrassing pinching a wire, lesson learned 🙂 Thanks
41:55 The mrs. wants to know where her nailpolish is 😁 David, it is a joy to see a new episode popping up, it brightens the day. I enjoy your sense of humor, and that of your wife. Must be your English roots shining through 😊 43:30 Enough light from the 4 lamps to read the newspaper with. Maybe that is why the mice liked this radio so much. A little puzzle for the folks here: " There are four lights " Quote from ??? At the end of the video, what a huge difference between the state it came in and the current state ! Looking forward to the next episode 😊 Cheers 💪👍🤝🍺🇳🇱
Hi Nard, that's my nail polish, I like to look fashionable 🙂 we both enjoy a good laugh 😄 It's pretty bright alright, I guess they sit behind the case normally. Quiz 'Picard'? Thanks Nard 🍻😀
Lets face it guys we may wear the trousers, but with out the 'other half' doing up the belt for us we would trip over the damn things most of the time. As for the radio, that is looking great Dave. I am of two minds on the fabric. The lights give an interesting 3D wave pattern ... but only time will tell and a restored cabinet.
At first I thought what an ugly radio but it's growing on me especially as it plays records in an unusual way too. Your wife really knows how to get you motivated David. I'm already looking forward to part 2
Love those classic looking radios you find David ,makes our radios over here look boring , fantastic work there again and you have made excellent progress , also look forward to hear that old record play the old time tunes ,Well done there.
Hi Dave, this an unusual radio and it would have been expensive to build, I hope I can make it look good again, the record player has a few challenges 😀
Absolutely marvelous job restoring the radio portion. You seem to have a great stock of "parts" radios. Never seen a TT like the one in this set. I'm really waiting on the cabinet restore...that looks to be a beauty!
Fabulous work David, as always such a pleasure to watch - your engineering skills and gentle humour make for very engaging viewing. Really looking forward to the end result.
David, I am so amazed at the difference you have made to the chassis, buckets of elbow grease over many many hours must have gone into it. It looks fresh and new again, bloody amazing ! Everyone makes mistakes, yours are very minor indeed. I liked that wirewound pot, made to be serviced (unlike modern crap). Your wife knows which buttons to push lol.
Thanks zx8401ztv. It's coming along nicely, so far so good. The pot was a resistive strip not wirewound, that is why I was concerned as how to clean it but happy it came out ok. Wives are like that 😄
@@DavidTipton101 Sorry i jumped to conclusions when you showed the wiper coming out so nicely. i'm sure my brain is getting a bit soggy with all the rain we are having lately :-D I love things that are accessable/repairable, i didn't have much as a kid and i used to go to the local dump and find all sorts of electronic/mechanical stuff, loved tinkering with stuff :-D How i didn't pick up nasty germs i just don't know lol. I did mess with some crap ha ha :-D
@@zx8401ztv You are lucky to be getting rain, we are very dry but the wet season is coming soon... we hope. I didn't have much either but loved going through all my Dad and big brothers stuff and pulling things apart. We didn't have germs back then, that's a new innovation 😄
Hello David. I'm running behind a bit, but I finally got to watch your video. Excellent work, as always. Catching a wire under a nut or washer seems to happen to everyone, I've done it more times than I'd like to admit. I look forward to your next video... Cheers!
I don't have a wife to play me like a piano but my German shepherd has me wrapped around his front paw. So far it looks like it's going to shape up beautifully.
Goodness Dave, you made some complex analyzing/repairing/explaining look simple! Well done! And I mean that sincerely. Time shared with you is always time well spent!
Great job so far! I love the grill cloth you chose, when the lights hit it it sparkles nicely. Not sure how close to original it is though. Can't wait to see what you do with the cabinet! Interesting to see your experience with a rodent-infested set, I've been working on a 1939 Zenith 6S321 which had a huge mouse nest underneath. Thankfully other than replacing most of the wiring and the capacitors, the only visible damage was the wavetrap coil which is no longer necessary (filtered out communications from planes, boats etc). Too bad the transformer didn't have a metal housing, it probably would've been saved. Glad you had a spare.
Hi a587g, thank you. I'm going to rotate the grill cloth 90 degrees so it runs vertically, it should look better that way I think. The original cloth was a gold colour too. Rodents seem to like old radios unfortunately, sounds like you were lucky with your Zenith. Metal transformer covers would have been nice and saved a bit of grief, cheers 👍😀
Loving David! I realy was impressed with the way you brought this one back to life young man! Going to live dangerously for the next 2 weeks! Going to go visit the grand babies in Washington state ! My first vacation in about 10 years! With airline practically giving away seat ! I've got to do it! Wish me luck!
That's great Ronnie, I hope you enjoy your vacation and grandbabies. We always take sanitising wipes on aircraft and wipe down the armrests and tables when we fly even before Covid. Thanks Ronnie, good luck and stay safe 😷👍🙂
I was completely flabbergasted by this result, Dave! At first look I must agree with your wife for 100%: throw it away and do something useful with your time. But you proved me (and her 😊) wrong. You made a real radio out of it!
Hi An Ja, Haha... I should have chucked it but I had to prove my wife wrong, which is what she wanted of course and which made her right? 🙄 Thanks An Ja the radio works really well now so I'm glad I stuck with it 🙂
Hi David. That's another weird and wonderful project you have there. I've never seen one before and don't remember anything like that being available here in the UK. Good luck with the turntable, I've got a feeling that could prove to be a challenge. Can't wait to see the results when it's all done. Cheers Chris.
You must have wanted this radio pretty bad considering the hours you had to drive to pick it up. You really did a wonderful job cleaning up that Chassis. The rodents sure do like to chew whatever they can find in radios. Really great bit of troubleshooting to get that radio working. Shorts do make us scratch out heads sometimes. Have to remember eucalyptus oil to clean the volume pot.
A week late for me on this one, but now I get tow watch Part 2, so not a bad deal Nice work on this one David. The before and after is like night & day
Brilliant resto David . Brave man with that one . Enjoy all your vids but that one was one of the best . I just finished an hmv 1106 . A nice easy one this time . Makes a change ! Looking forward to seeing you sort the record player etc . Regards from Thomas ... UK .
Thanks Thomas. I just had look at the hmv 1106 on Radiomuseum, it's quite a beast, good that it's an easy one 😲 The record player should be interesting 🙂
Amazing transformation David and nice diagnostic's,as the the nut pinching the wire,that's an easy mistake to make so don't be too hard on yourself. "Renewed vigour" I could do with some of that lol,excellent video,as always,looking forward to the next episode,all the best mate.
Thanks Mick, the nut was an easy mistake but I should have checked 🙄 Haha... my wife is good at dishing out 'renewed vigour' and a good sounding board as well 😀
Very unusual machine, never seen a record player of that vintage which works as this does (or hopefully will 😂). Looking forward to seeing how this operates and looks after restoration, oh and a bit more of your dry humour along the way David.
Dave your good: technically, good video production, camerawork the framing frame is particularly helpful, and you are special effects before after reveal shows such a big difference. Can hardly wait for the on core the radio's stage effect.
Another beautiful job, I wouldn’t beat yourself up about the crushed wire though I’ve done it a ton of times it’s one of those things that just happens every once in a while.
I didn't think the radio chassis would defeat you. Scrubbed up well too. That record deck though...One of the stranger devices I've seen. I don't think it's beyond you, should come round ok. Looking forward to the next instalment!
Gday Dave., Im enjoying this series even more than usual. Probably because I have one of these little beaut ASTOR KKs waiting to be restored, but my skills probably aren't up to it just yet. But I'm learning heaps from these videos. Really looking forward to the next instalments. Thanks Dave!! Gordon
G'day Restorers Shed, thank you. Good luck with your KK, it's a very unusual design and has been fun so far. The record player is interesting and took a bit of working out. I'm happy to offer any tips if you need them and I don't cover it in the video, cheers 👍🙂
@@DavidTipton101 G'day Dave, Thanks for your kind offer :) You can be you'll be hearing from me once I start on the KK. I can't see how to privately message you, so can you please drop me an eMail at ( Polybus at homemail dot com) - with your eMail contact - there are a couple of ASTOR KK I documents I have that I thought you might like. Its probably a bit late, but it won't hurt. Cheers. Gordon
so I got into my Oxford dictionary an looked up Dave Tipton on a whim; the following is what I found: Da-vid | \ ˈTip-ton \. From the Latin for radio restorer extraordinaire. Definition of David Tipton 1 : an extraordinary renaissance radio restorer manifesting divine intervention in human affairs the tube healing miracles described in the radio journals. 2 : an extremely outstanding or unusual electronics restorer, person, or accomplishment. 3: the radio repaired by Dave Tipton is a miracle of engineering. Use in a sentence: “That radio is a David Tipton”. The usage to indicate that the vintage radio was restored to perfection or restored to a David Tipton standard. Cheers, geoff in Vancouver
Haha... you put a lot of effort into that Geoff, thank you. I'm just doing what I enjoy and so happy others enjoy watching. We have a fun and happy little radio community here and I am enjoying every minute of it 👍🙂