I picked this US made radio with some other radios and wasn't going to restore it but the public demanded I do it. The case is awful and I need to make a new plastic dial lens. This could be my undoing... will I succeed?
Hi Dave, just want to say I'm a big fan. I don't know anything about electronics but I worked at an electronic supply house back in the year of our Lord 19 hundred and 75. What I really enjoy is the work you do on the cabinets, especially the bakelite. You, sir, are a wizard! Love to see old things brought back to life, especially in this grow away society. Please keep it up.
They wired the power to be sent through the filament in the rectifier so it can be used as a fuse. Wasteful by today’s standards but back when valves were common place I guess it wasn’t looked upon as a bad design. Always good to rewire the power switch to switch the live or hot side rather than the neutral side of the mains so bravo for getting onto that. Edit: Fantastic work there making the new clear plastic dial piece! Couldn’t have done a better job. Those I.F. Cans with trimming caps always tend to drift off frequency much further than the later slug tuned ones however they also don’t really get silver mica disease. They can get dust in the caps which may cause a similar effect to SMD which I experienced on a old ekco 30’s radio with 4 volt pre-octal valves.
Replacement dial faces are available from several sources in the US, including eBay. Those IF transformers rarely give trouble and do not use silver mica like later ones. The screws adjust open-air trimmer caps. They may be peaked during alignment but usually stay where they are set. The outer plates of each section of the tuning capacitor were often bent outward to adjust tracking, especially the oscillator section. Some were segmented to make it easier and more precise. The pointer is original. It was made to point to the frequency on one side and the wavelength on the other. The same pointer was used on AM/SW models and its use on AM-only sets was mainly a cost-saving measure during depression years. This was a popular design and also came in a wood cabinet. The handle was a big feature since people liked to carry small radios to other parts of the house and outside in hot weather to listen to ball games. Other brands quickly copied that (Philco, Motorola).
Hi Ray, luckily the dial face was Ok and the pointer although it was fit for function it looked like it came from a Corn Flakes packet, my printed one didn't look much better. The handle was a great idea, my Mum used to carry the radio from the kitchen to the bedrooms to the laundry, in later years she used a portable transistor radio, much more convenient 🙂
@@DavidTipton101 I just mentioned the face for the benefit of others running into the issue. Your method would always work but some aren't as handy as you. I lucked out a couple of times by finding a couple of blister packs of small objects with just the size I needed. I keep promising ones now when I buy something. You never know what scrap will come in handy.
Well done David, a pleasure to watch you do your magic on these radios. As far as that red indicator jewel, my guess is that it was added on. The schematics for these 500 models which you showed, listed a dial crystal, which I believe refers to the dial cover(dial lens, etc) since photos of these models show no indicator jewel. Haven't read all the comments so this may have previously addressed , if so, sorry for the repeat. Looking forward to the next adventure
HI Bob, thank you. Yes, I think you are correct about the crystal being the glass and the red lens being an add on. I also think it was a replacement dial and pointer. Other comments also helped cleared that up but it had me confused. Thanks for your help 👍🙂
@@DavidTipton101 He, I’m a “ Professionally trained Auto Detail TECHNICIAN “ with almost 24 years experience,( and while it was open-THE Official Detailer of the Jacksonville Antique Automotive And Motorcycle Museum), so I know quite a bit more than the average Detailer, - - and I’m still learning, too. [ and I can never claim to be the “Best”]. It’s when we say to ourselves, “ I know it all”, we get into serious problems ❗️ 📻🙂
I do enjoy the way you put these old sets back to like new condition. Such a love for the art of restoration is rare indeed, and I greatly enjoy the videos. I am no longer able to do such work, but I do still dabble with the newer things, just to tinker and keep my soldering skills in line. I am presently working on building the perfect wifi radio using the little ESP32 controller and a I2S decoder to bring in the wonderful sounds of my youth. I grew up on an old homestead, the house built by my grandfather in 1910. The place was never wired for power, it used to drive me nuts to see that damn REA Power Poll in the center of our yard, wires leading from the road in, but none to the house or garage. Dad had a small wind charger set up on the garage so he could charge his old wet cell batteries to light up his work area, where he rebuilt engines for the neighbors since he was a quite good mechanic. Dad also got me interested in electronics by letting me look over his shoulder as he serviced out old battery pack radio. It was of modern design, at least in my young eyes, and had a red flag that pupped up in the middle of the dial to show that the set was on, so you didn't walk away and leave it running on an off station with the volume turned down and waste that precious battery power.
Thanks Jerry. Interesting story, thank you for sharing that. It's hard to imagine no power in these days, I wouldn't last 5 minutes. That's a good idea having the flag pop up in the dial and pretty easy to implement. Thanks 🙂
@@DavidTipton101 Indeed, the old days are gone forever I guess. The closest I have been to them was a few years ago we were touring the Desert Southwest USA, in particular Arizona near the border with Mexico. The area is one of extreme beauty if you love the desert as much as we did back then. It was populated by a strange breed of cactus named the Organ Pipe Cactus, I am sure you can imagine the way those intermingled with the huge Succaro Cactus some reaching nearly 100 feet into the air with arms to remind you of an old gunman surrendering to the Sheriff these plants are very old, I was told by a ranger that it takes over 100 years for one to develop an arm, many of them were very old and had six or more arms. The campground in the midst of this area was about 40 miles of poor roads leading to a clean area where camper pads had been poured, they were indeed wonderful for parking, very level making setup quick but there was no power available in the park. There were restrictions covering the running of onboard generators. Our rig has a nice generator that pulls gas from our fuel tank so all that is needed was to switch the generator on, press the start button and she was off, giving us the power needed for modern life. We were allowed 2 hours of generator use, those hours were designated and you would loose your camp site should by run the generator at any other time. This really added to the experience of the area. It was so very peaceful and with no power to take one's attention away from the outdoors, made the place even more enjoyable. We spent one week there and that memory of the time with my lovely wife just sitting beneath our awning drinking bottled water and just living the moment in such a magical area is a memory I shall cherish for the rest of my days. We intended on hitting that park on the way home for what would be our last year of traveling for the winter but the illegal immigrant problems stopped us, we never got back because Cancer interrupted our wonderful retirement, and took my lovely wife from me. Anyhow I did have some solar panels, small ones , one was made for backpacking and was mounted on a canvas pad that could be laced onto your pack. I lay that on our picnic tale and used it to charge our cell phones and tablets. It was really sort of funny when the morning and evening generator time would start. First one generator would come to life, then another and so on till all the rigs were humming away charging their batteries, while the coffee brewed and cell phones charged, then after an hour of maddening whirrrrr and engine noise, the clock would hit the hour mark once more and quiet was once again the rule and all was quiet, peaceful and people began emerging from their homes on wheels to walk in that wonderful desert till the sun disappeared and all was quiet for the night.
@@JerryEricsson My wife saw a News report about Frank Sinatra's house in the desert being sold, she said why would you want to live there? I'll show her you story.
@@DavidTipton101 Just watched this video again, I do enjoy them. What did your wife think of it? Oh by the way, my Great Uncle, the closest thing I had to a grand father as my grandpa died before I was born was a batchler. He had worked for the Railroad and drew some retirement. He had a little 2 room shack atop a hill on the poor side of town and was getting up in age, his house just a block up the hill from our house. I used to walk up the hill twice a day to empty his swill pail and in the winter carry in a couple buckets of lump coal for his little pop belly stove then carry out the ashes from the last days heating. He had a radio that looked very much like the one in this video I will always recall that radio sitting on his kitchen table where we would spend an hour or two playing rummy in the spring and summer when there was no school or springs work on my uncles farms.
Great job David with the old Emerson. Emerson was a large maker of Low End consumer electronics. The name is still around but its not the same company. In the early days of radio Emerson's business model was to make radios as inexpensive as possible so as to keep the retail price low. They cut many corners in the manufacture process from the case to the electronics. Emerson made radios for the masses. They sold large numbers of radios throughout the depression. In many ways Emerson was the pioneer of the disposable radio. Other than tubes replacement if something major went wrong it was cheaper to buy a new Emerson radio then to have the old one fixed. If Atwater Kent was at one end of the radio market. Emerson was at the other end of the market. BTW the case of your Emerson was indicative of most Bakelite cases Emerson used. Same goes for the pilot lamp and dial pointer. 73 Joe
Thanks for the information Joe. The case was rubbish, I assumed it was a one off but maybe that was their standard. The general quality of the chassis was good except the speaker held with one screw, I meant to put a bit of adhesive behind it when I refitted it. Thanks Joe 🙂
I think the brand lives on but only as a brand and not a company. Most of the stuff comes out of China and Hong Kong now. I saw quite a few Emerson-branded transistor radios here in Australia in the 60s and early 70s...all generic Hong Kong units.
Emerson is very much still alive... based in Missouri. I believe more industrial stuff than consumer. I have a few transformers, motors e.t.c. made by Emerson or subsidiaries at work.
I love that little radio! I think it turned out really well. Perfect little radio to listen to a baseball game on the porch while you work on the Sunday crossword.
Well done David. Great job again. You are working your way around the world with all these different radios. I’m working on a transistor radio for a change. It’s a Hacker Hunter. UK made and very well thought of over here. They were quite a small company who sold most of their stuff to the home market so I would be surprised if you found one in Aus. Don’t mention the rugby! My team lost the grand final last night. Cheers Lynton
Hi Lynton, thank you. Yes, I'm enjoying something a little different. I haven't heard of Hacker, good luck with it, I saw there are a few videos on one. Would that have been the Wasps?🏉 Cheers Lynton 👍😀
@@lyntonprescott3412 I know how you feel Lyndon. My Broncos lead all the way in the 2015 grand final only to have an impossible sideline conversion kicked against them after the bell 😥
I was so excited when I saw that you were supposed to have connected that capacitor to pin 2 and you accidentally connected it to pin 3. It felt good that I was actually following along enough to figure that out. Another excellent job Dave. Buyers beware... you'll never know what's in that electrolytic tube if Dave worked on it because it looks 100% original. LOL
Hi William, I rewatched that part and it was fun to see me slowly realise what I had done wrong. Thanks William, I'm glad you were able to follow along 👍🙂
You have very interesting finishing tips. I've only ever thought of Brasso as something to polish brass but I can't argue with your results. I also like the way you use turpentine, and your trial and error with molding plastic. So fun to watch! Even your dedication to the printed dial and it's final appearance and colour remaining steadfast with the research you've done. A pleasure to watch!
Yet again your attention to detail never fails to impress and delight. Reviving a lacklustre case, the excellent dial glass and the carefully rebuilt/restuffed capacitor.
Dear Mr. Tipton, Nice looking radio, I have two Emerson radios in my collection, they work excellently, I can not wait to see how nice you make this.... Have a nice day.
Awesome restoration , the Yanks made some lovely looking radios , unlike us Brits , but then we were still paying for the war effort and nobody had much money for luxury items. really enjoyed it keep the videos coming , Tim ,Blackburn England.
I would have watched last night, but yesterday was Thanksgiving, and I was in a food coma. Another thoroughly enjoyable journey into things I still don't really understand. You know, tubes and wires and such. But I am starting to cotton on thanks to you. I was really digging the capacitor re-stuffing and the molding (It's a US radio, I'll use the US spelling.) of the dial lens. Also, I got an odd little thrill seeing the glow in the tubes. Great vid. Thank you, sir.
Hi Dave, thanks for the video. The IF frequency could be deliberately changed from the original 455 kHz. In the 60's some radio's sold in the Netherlands used an IF frequency of 472 kHz. The maritime radio station "Scheveningen Radio" was broadcasting at nearby frequency 461 kHz (among others). The strong signal would swamp out nearby radio's and listeners would hear Morse code coming out of the speaker regardless of where the radio was tuned. Radio repair shops would change the IF frequency of the radio to solve the problem. As long as the oscillator is changed accordingly the dial would still correctly indicate, I guess. Keep up the good work, always looking forward to your video's!
Hi Steven, thanks. That would have caused problems with a broadcast near the IF frequency. I don't know if that's why this one was misaligned so much 🤔
I was fascinated by this repair. BTW the oscillator padder capacitor is calculated according to the IF frequency. If the IF is too far away from the designed value then station tracking could be out. But the dial scale on this set is so imprecise that it probably wouldn't matter much. Thank you for this video
I think the dial came out really well. I like the glow of the gold surrounded by the dark bakelite. My great grandmother had an Emerson tube radio that I now have, though it's not currently working; it's AM/FM model, also bakelite.
Exceptional work again.....last week when you were working on the Arvin, I went to an estate sale where the fella was an antique radio collector among other things. He had several old 1920's sets with the large curved horn speakers. I bought the Arvin radio from them, turns out to be a Model 927 Rythem Queen apparently a fairly rare radio. On another note, I had told some people on the Antique Radio Forum about gluing Electrolytic caps to the chassis and they told me NEVER glue the back ends because if they blow and you have it covered up they will blow out the sides. they are designed to blow out the back end. In a box of stash I may have a real Emerson pointer if you want it.
Hi Mike, thanks. That Arvin looks good, I just looked it up. You did well there. You are right about the caps with the weak diaphragm on the back, I will take note in the future. Thanks for the pointer offer, if you have a double ended one that would be cool, thanks 👍🙂
Hi David, Another Great Video. A low valve certainly can produce some big issues. An amp i restored I lazaly didn't check the 6V6's thinking they will still work after replacing all the caps and faulty resistors. On powering up the Audio was low, distorted and barely recognizable so frustrated I went over the whole unit checking everything, signal tracing the audio up to the 6V6's. Last was checking the Valves where the 6V6's tested very low, replacing them the amp ran to perfection. Have kept the dud valves as a lesson learned. You definatley never stop learning restoring this stuff.
Another Magnificent repair David we didn’t see many AC/DC in Australia they were by the Authorities as unsafe but that said David another Tip Top repair again Full Marks Mate.
Hi David. Superb job yet again. I think the filament acts as some sort of circuit protection, I have seen this before in some other old radios. It may have been better with an Inline fuse and would also be cheaper to replace. You were lucky with the chassis being in a good clean condition for its age. It's always enjoyable watching your work. Again thoroughly enjoyed. Keep safe and well. Cheers Chris.
Enjoy your restoration videos, enjoy the electronic and the case restore as well . Please continue with the great videos and instruction as well . Many great tips .
Another David Tipton work of magic! Keep up the excellent work! By the way, on most AA5's the capacitor on the loop antenna should be a safety cap...not sure if this one was.
What I especially like about/learn from your videos is that you detail cabinet restoration (what works what not) too. Oh, I am in love with your intro music/photos and the way you use the cameras. Thank you :)
That was the best cap restricting I have seen. Very neat. I was telling you you were on the wrong side of the 15meg resistor but you worked it out anyway. Nice job and looks great.
MR TILTON, David thanks for very clear explaination about restoration works, amazing enough i like so much how definitely you handling the works done, hope Come for another next.....
Another great job, Dave! Your dial pointer and dial cover recreations are masterful! Emerson made LOTS of very charming All-American Five radios for decades. I remember the huge Emerson sign atop the factory in Jersey City, NJ. The sign was there into the nineties. It looked similar to the trademark on the front of your radio.
The circuit showed that the secondary side of the sound output transformer was floating in respect of chassis, but even so, it would be foolhardy to trust your life to the transformer's insulation. And even if that was OK, you'd also have to hope the loudspeaker could safely handle mains potential between its metalwork and speech coil. The diaphragm can sometimes warp, causing the speech coil to scrape against the magnet.
Very nice restoration Dave! You're a man of great patience. Even when things aren't going well, as in the first few dial glass attempts, there's not a hint of frustration in your voice.
Great job making the plastic dial cover! Emerson made tons of these bakelite sets from the late 30's through the 40's. This is a 1946 model. The original dial was printed directly on the plastic cover, and the pointer was a white teardrop shape on a red background (you can see the red beneath the gold dial someone added). The red light isn't original, neither are the knobs as you mentioned. With your new pointer though, this looks a lot more like the Emerson's made in 1938-39, and it's a great look! This is a typical AA5 circuit (licensed from rca, all basically the same regardless of brand), but Emerson's seem to always perform a bit better than average!
Thanks a587g. you may be right there, I think the whole dial is from an earlier radio, probably Emerson, that would explain the new glass and out of place pointer. This radio is a bitza, bits if this, bits of that 🙂.
Another quality restoration David, I love the way you reproduce the dial glass, full marks for perseverance and the cap is excellent as is the dial pointer, I really like the look of that little radio, Brilliant mate. All the best.
I knew you would make that Emerson 518 into a superb little radio. I very much liked the replacement Perspex dial covering, and the dial cursor you made. aesthetically, those two new items definitely set that radio off. What more can I say here Dave beyond, “I wouldn’t expect anything less from you my friend.” Although I own two working valve testers, I hardly ever use them. For the large part, I only take what my testers say as a guide to how good, or bad a valve might be. Occasionally I get caught out when the tester provides a reading that is absolutely accurate - but generally speaking, I’ve a very good idea the valve is totally shot before I test it. Over time, you develop a kind of instinct when valves, as well as other components, are good, or bad. Hopefully I will be uploading my videos mid next week. They feature two American Philco radios, and I’ve accomplished pretty much what you accomplished with your two American radios. As you indicated, AA5 & AA6 radio circuits are generally straightforward enough. Their speakers, dials, and cabinets etc. can present time consuming challenges. Having said that, I do like American radios, and (if the Bell Planet Colt is anything to go by), New Zealand radios also. Best regards, Phil.
Thanks Phil, I appreciate your confidence in me 😄 I agree about the valve testers, I was more concerned with shorts in them than their actual function, with all the current going through the rectifier filament I didn't want any unknowns. I received a new 12SQ7 and tested it wondering if it would test the same as the old one but it passed with flying colours. looking forward to your videos next week, cheers 😀
Good method using a lathe to drill out the old 'lytic filter. I had not thought of using a lathe. Emerson made radios, fans, heaters and such way back when before they were sold out to the Asians. Awesome job on making a proper pointer.
Long time, 👎 no 👀 see. I don't think I've commented ya since June. I 💘 love that you're saving yet another nice radio from the dump. This just may be a hot chassis, or series string set, so use an isolation transformer. I 👍 like the gold dial face, and the red dial pointer. I think I'd have your Australian dial glass place send you a glass dial cover. Just 👀 this this 🌄 morning, within an hour of you writing the 📹 video. I 👌 know this radio has a dial cord, and a dial light, but I don't 👌 know if it's field coil, or permanent magnet. Please 👌 keep these GREAT radio 📹 videos coming.
Top class restoration...I've never seen a vintage set like this nor the Arvin in your previous video in America anywhere. Besides a set of top-notch technical skills, you are an accomplished craftsman as well. A tip of the hat to you!
David, You connected a capacitor to the wrong spot. Crikey. I like that. Some time back whilst building an Amateur Receiver, I actually soldered the antenna, directly to earth. The receiver wozz as dead as a Dodo. Anyway, a beautiful restoration as usual. Looking forward to tour next RADIO ADVENTURE
@@DavidTipton101 Yes Dave, Even with all the care, there is an unknown factor in there or something, and then it happens. I've pulled some rippers over the years.
Another triumph! I was wondering what that blob was on the tube tester. Be careful not to bleed ketchup. That dial "glass" was a real wonder too. I can't wait for the next installment--Fridays are something to look forward to. Thanks for a great video.
Arrived home from Black Friday (Christmas) shopping, driving my wife and her wheelchair bound friend from store to store to mall to store to outlet mall; all day long. Fired up the ole PC and sure enough, Dave is fixing a radio! Always enjoyable and informative for me anyway. Thanks again for your efforts to keep teaching and entertaining us a little bit more.
Well it was worth the wait : I enjoyed every minute of this one David from beginning to end. I also agree you're getting better and better at remaking those caps to perfection. You've got it down to an art. But also i like how you went about this one, trouble shooting the potential problems before even plugging it. There wasn't much to do once you hooked it up to power. Bravo ! My friend, that's another one worthy of going in your incredible collection. Thank's for sharing as always.
Thanks Sarge. I was forced to do the restore before plugging it in due to lack of parts and concern that the filament would blow in the rectifier if it had a fault. Yes, another one for the radio shelf, it's getting mighty crowded though, cheers 😀
@@DavidTipton101 Oh yeah right you've got a point, wasn't thinking about the filament (seemed strange a set up to me, but then again what do i know about electronics) ?. I would surely buy one of your radios if you ever felt the need to move some for space :-)
Victor Emerson was a recording engineer & executive at Columbia Graphophone, until he formed his own record company around 1914 to produce "Little Wonder" records (recorded & stamped by Columbia, but his co) - 5inch discs which sold @ ten cents. That became the Emerson Phonograph Co, then Emerson Radio & Phonograph, etc. Little Wonder records are the ideal collector's item, as you can fit the whole catalogue of over 1500 records on one set of shelves !
You do a great job David. I often think that problem solving is a lost art in our throwaway world but it’s so gratifying to have the years of knowledge that allows us to actually fix things. P.S. I love my 3D printer as well. To be able to make all these bespoke bits and pieces is just gold. I enjoyed that.
Thanks Graham. I do enjoy a bit of noodle scratching. The printer is very handy, it sits there most of the time but when I need it it's well worth it 🙂
Just a little note. I've had great results using brake cleaner (the non-flammable type) it is the same chemical used for dry-cleaning. It doesn't remove paint, but is a wonderful solvent for dirt and Greese.
Another beautiful job. It's so nice that these old radios can be restored. I've been reading about modern electronics manufacturers serializing their components so their stuff can never be repaired, which is sad.
And what a great video, you blew me away with the effort that you went to, even the new plastic dial lens. A pat on the back from me and of course take two beers out of petty cash. Can't wait for the next one. Is there anything you can't repair !! take a bow David.
I follow an odd 150 RU-vid channels, but I've notifications for only two of them. And yours is ofcourse one of those two. A new video is always a treat, and I enjoyed this one very much again. Great job Dave. And a wonderful solution for replacing the dial screen. I only wonder if gold is the right color for the dial needle? Ah well, another wonderful addition for your collection. You must have an impressive collection. Maybe you can show it in another video. Cheers!
Hi Rene, thank you. The pictures of my radio on the internet had gold pointers but the gold I chose wasn't the right shade, I will redo it. I might do a look around video one day 😀
Another great video. I almost felt like I was watching it backwards because you did the case before the radio. Getting to be an old pro at stuff in those capacitors for the American radios.
Hi Ripley, Haha... sorry for the confusion there 😀 Yes we don't have capacitors like that, ours are usually in a metal canister so that might be the last one I do 🙂
Very nicely done! Your ability to turn a turkey into an eagle (if you'll forgive the American Thanksgiving reference) amazes and inspires as always! I like the restuffing job. Those caps are thoroughly captured with all that hot glue in there. I really like how you made the molded dial lens as I did similar things back in my RC modeling days, though usually with a hand-me-down toaster oven. Wish I had a great temp controlled oven like yours! Maybe for X-mas...
That big electrolytic came around a treat! Dial glass and pointer hugely improved, case is as good as you'll get a dodgy moulding to look! In fact it's probably better than when it was new. Whether you're going for a mint "as new" look or keeping the patina, your attention to detail is inspiring! You give the cosmetic appearance as much importance as the electronic restoration. Not everyone has the patience for that but your attitude to restoration is aspirational! In other words, you set the bar and you set it high!
Wonderful work, Dave! So mesmerising and relaxing to watch! You are unflappable! I don't know what you did in your working days but you would make a heck of a good teacher. Patient and even-tempered. Have you ever considered swapping out the old power supplies in these US radios and putting in a modern switchable power supply that allows 110 and 230v usage? You see quite a few older Japanese radios and cassette recorders with a switch on the back which allows a voltage change.
I enjoy working on 'stuff', if it doesn't work, it's a challenge, if it does, I go and watch TV... I don't watch much TV 😄 There just isn't enough room to fit a transformer in most sets, I can use a big resistor but the heat dissipation is an issue. I could maybe fit a switch mode power supply but that would interfere with the radio. It could be done but not worth the effort on the small sets, bigger sets like consoles wouldn't be a problem though 🙂
I think you missed your calling. The aviation world could have had a world class Radiotrician but you went and became a mechanic! Excellent stuff as usual, proving that some turds could do with a polish.
Hi Derek, I applied for avionics training in 1971 but they said I would be better on the mechanical side. I actually got my 737-800 avionics licence on the last day before I retired, I used it once 😄 There was a lot of polishing going on there 🙂
Another great restoration David - along with some nice little video effects and of course your commentary. Your 3D modelling impresses me... I'm waiting until you move into the league of the 3D concrete building machine I saw on the news tonight😉 .
Congratulations Dave! You are a bloody marvel. Through my 55 years of radio repair has shown me that idiots who try to fix their own radios tend to "tighten all the loose screws" valve radios and transistor radios. Keep them coming mate!
