HMV 61 51 Radio Repair - 1954 

Well Dave I can see from all the comments below just how much every one appreciates your work and effort. I can't express enough words to thank you for the work you did on my radio. It looks great in the kitchen and it has already turned many heads. Thanks again and keep putting out the videos . I was really looking forward to this one for obvious reasons. You are a very special person and the relaxed way you describe what you do and how you present your videos seems to captivate most of your viewers. It seems as though we are all a bit like "Little Nipper" listening to "His Masters Voice"🔊😃 Looking forward to seeing your next radio adventure. Thank you very much.

I liked with way you showed exactly what you were doing testing the tranformers, nicely done.

I always admire the cosmetic improvements you achieve on the radios. The plastic surgery you performed on this unit was really a very impressive result compared to the state of it when you started. Thanks for the video.

Just got my vaccine and feeling under the weather. Took some cold medicine and it was no help. Turned on RU-vid and found the Tipton entertainment hour (47 minutes) and now I feel great! Cheers, David and thanks!!! Ha, heard the old Star Trek door opening sound at 11:28, good one.

Dear Dave, there is nothing Dave cannot fix, using JB Weld, aceton thinned plastic and lots of wet grinding. There is always something to learn from. Amazing, whenever you switch on the radios, after a first rough inspection, they usually work - this is magic! Eagerly waiting for the next Radio adventure - greeting from Germany, Thomas

I love this channel. Always easy to understand everything because you explain everything so well. Always a hilight of my day when you post a new video. Can't wait for the next one. Lovely job again. Best wishes Terry uk 🇬🇧 👍

"I'm not going to do mad on this one!" (Spends probably more than a week cleaning off nicotine, replacing all caps including the ones that were still good, replacing dial string, replacing dial glass, replacing volume potmeter twice and rigging up an identical radio just to see how the volume works on that one, aligning, glueing millimeter size pieces back together on plastic case, custom-shaping aluminum and gluing them to the case sacrificing a clamp in the process, spray painting the inside so the reinforcements look good the next time someone opens it, followed by probably a few days worth of video editing with material from at least two cameras, possibly more, that were recording for the entire time). "Meh that could have looked better. That was probably not that interesting, I apologize". 😆 Thanks for posting, Dave. Great work as always.

Another radio given a new lease of life, a very relaxing (for me) way to spend an hour or so, thanks David!

That radio case is one of my favourite colours! I,m glad you found a glass for it. That case was definatly worth fixing. It is is now strong, which is reasuring. Strength and beauty go hand in hand in any classics. It,s not enough just to trust the bond of the glue when it comes to plastics. The only time frailty and beauty go together is in something that is delicate and not for everday use. That kind beauty is termed elegant. That said don,t give up. The repair on the case worked very well, but there must be a way to hide those cracks seemlessly. Even if there isn't away though, I would still treasure it, if it were mine.

I watched the video in the kitchen, and my eight-week old puppy thought that you doing the alignment was a singalong! It's a really nice job and I think you did an amazing job on the case given the state it was in when you got it.

I love how you make it look so easy to repair that mangled case. It feeds all my Walter Mitty dreams of becoming a masterful hobbyist.

Nice job. Your working with the dial pointer gave me a flashback to a lab manual at university: "AVOID PARALLAX ERROR!" (I had to look it up... no idea what it meant.)

I think this video was very interesting mate.

Dear Mr. Tipton, I am so impressed to watch you repair these radios, You are just so good. I notice that nothing gets you down you always figure out how and what to do to solve the problem.. My hat is off to you. You are very talented, nice job.

Great video again Dave, looking forward to the next one 👏

No need to apologize! Your content is always interesting and amusing. It's always gratifying to see something that was once an important part of a family's life 60 odd years ago returned to proper function. I also wouldn't worry overly about the cracks. The Japanese have a concept called "wabi-sabi" It means that nothing is perfect, nothing is permanent and nothing is ever complete. To fully enjoy life, you must embrace the inevitable imperfections. Or as the master philosopher Voltaire said, "le mieux est l'ennemi du bien." The perfect is the enemy of the good. Keep it up! I enjoy the videos.

Well done Dave another miracle. The owner should be more than happy, I would be if it was mine.

You know I have to say with what you started with and what you had to work with you actually did a nice job on the case how many people would actually reinforce the handle on the radio no one they would glue it together with superglue and then just put the JB Weld on the backside and not reinforce it so nice to see someone do it correctly and repair it correctly thank you for a wonderful video

Excellent work, as always David! Your attention to detail and perseverance are always impressive and inspiring. A little Animals, a little Eagles, a little Boz Skaggs....

The word "Perfectionist" exactly goes with you....❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️...

David your videos are always worth the watch young man! Thank you for sharing and allowing use to come along and learn!

Not only an excellent repairman, but also a pretty good sculpturer..😄....well done David!

Beautiful job at saving what looked like a scrapper. Always enjoy watching your work as it is both entertaining and soothing in a way as well...

Restoring a few old radios would be excellent stop-smoking motivation therapy. Every time I do one I just keep think "what must your lungs look like?" David, for cheap small audio coax I buy a bunch of RCA style audio cables at the thrift store and snip the ends off. I enjoy your videos and learn something from each one. Thanks.

This video was just as good as all your others. I always learn something new when I watch you work. Your skills are always appreciated here.

David, we always find new and helpful hints and techniques on every video you do. Thanks for posting and take care!

Your videos relax me after a day at the practice, the way you work to the detail. Pandemic forgotten for a bit. Thank you!

David, the radio is so attractive. I enjoy seeing how you approach cleaning and fixing the chassis / case as much as I enjoy your work on the electronics.👍👍

Excelent work. You saved everything originaly and nothing is overrestored!

I can not believe you actually got that negative wire slid under the outside sheath of the cap if that were me it would never have worked. Great job on repairing that radio David.

Great video on that HMV, you were lucky to get hold of another as new dial glass and the work that you put into the cabinet is outstanding . Great work and look forward to your next installment. Now time for a beer and the footy.

Enjoyable, as always. That new dial certainly was a nice find and made it look so good in front! I enjoy both the electrical and the cosmetic repairs in equal measure. Thanks!

Hi Dave my mother purchased one of these in 1954. I seem to recall it costs 27 pounds? not cheap . We listened to it for years and it rarely broke down and sounded good. we also took it camping in the caravan too, I remember hearing on it the announcer saying goodbye 1955 and welcome 1956 on new year's eve while pretending to be asleep in the caravan. Alas, it suffered the mandatory cracked cabinet especially after my mum had a switch and phono terminals put in the back, so it also played heaps of records from my mum's phillips playgram record deck and my sister wore out her beatles records as well. So i have a sentimental lean to this model. Ours was held together with tape and was in use up till the mid 1980's when my mum took it to vinnies without warning?? I wish I had known how to fix the cabinet back then.

It sounds pretty darn good Dave. The repairs you made to the cabinet were really good and will outlast the rest of that plastic cabinet! Yes it is too bad that the cracks could not disappear. Unfortunately on this one I think a repaint of the entire cabinet would be the only way. Since the rest looks so good, though I think that the broken areas just give character to the old girl. Great job as always.

Another great repair, always interesting and informative. Always some interesting tips, I'm sure your friend will be very happy. Ron, Perth.

1954-1955...Me too!...Thanks for another informative and entertaining video...I always learn something from you!

Another good job David just love your attention to details thanks for sharing.

Another great video Dave. I love your attention to detail.

Hi Dave! Definitely enjoyed the video. It's good to see a wide variety of different models. I like the red color of this one, different from what I'm use to seeing.

David that was great. All your videos are always very interesting and a joy to watch. Thank you for putting them out.

Nice job David..... lovely to see the old girls come back to life....

Great job again Dave. I actually thought you’d paint the entire thing, but of course you had to go the “melt the plastic in acetone and avoid any of the simple solutions that most normal humans would try” route 😊 The pots here in Europe are normally: A for log, B for linear and C for reverse log. I have come across inés like yours that don’t obey the rules, however. Thanks again.

You have some unusual tools there Dave. I have not ever seen the small narrow belt sander you used in cleaning up the JB weld left in the case. It came out really well as always. Thanks for sharing it with us!

Turned out so much better than I had hoped! Thanks David.....Walt in Miami

Again, a very awesome job, attention to detail.... I’m impressed what you manage to to do despite the condition it was to begin with...

Gluing the case together and seeing your massive thumbs was clickspring scale work. Great work.

Hi Dave, Another stupendous Vintage Radio refurbishment. I’d say it’s fair to assume it’s performance is pretty much as good as it was in 1954 - a good year, though I first saw the light of day during the last week of that year LOL. Those mustard caps, though exceptionally good during the late 1950s, and well into the late 1970s, are now tired - even those that are ONS. In recent years, I’ve discovered a few that are defective. Talking of mustard caps, they were Philips/Mullard brand. Their production started off as a shiny green, I don’t know why the manufacturer changed their colour to mustard - I thought the shiny green looked okay! I too save old coax cable for the same reason you used the braided outer in this video LOL. I had to smile when you began replacing the dial cord. It took me back to sometime during the mid-70s when a fellow service tech decided to do similar by hooking up the old cord to the new, and pulling it through. Although it appeared to be a brilliant idea in theory, it didn’t quite work in practical terms. Talking of IF alignment, though I’ve seen a few techs apply an analogue multi-meter for measuring gain, or amplitude, I’ve never been totally successful doing it that way. I either use a scope, or a VVM - which ever one is closest to me at the time LOL. I was looking at the price of ceramic screwdrivers. They are not cheep items! Now gluing plastic, Bakelite, glass etc. for me is definitely a black art. Doubtful I get 1 in a 100 attempts right - or very near right. On the very rare occasions it turned out right, it was definitely luck, not management. Yet, it can be done! I’ve seen repaired broken plastics, Bakelite, and glass where the repair is invisible - looking at it, no one would know it had ever been broken. The minute I ask how such a first class repair was achieved, the conversation in that respect drops like a stone. They are happy to restore my broken Bakelite radio cabinets for an exorbitant fee, that is why they flatly refuse to divulge their technique. If you find out their secret, please let me know LOL! Lovely chatting to you my friend, Phil.

Hi David enjoy your videos especially those cabinet restorations, keep up the good work looking forward the next one

I love your videos, I always learn something from them. Thanks for posting your adventures!

Nice work Mr. Dave, you made it tons better than what you started with. Thanks for the look.

Mustard capacitors : if I remember correctly those are polyesther capacitors. Never had a failing one. The A and B type potmeters : very confusing indeed. Here, in the Netherlands, the A type used to be linear. B is log. And then there was anti-log. May have been used in tone control. Nice, that capacitor mimic 😊 Still have to watch the rest .... If you wish to "slow down" the volume pot , make it less agressive, just load it with a 1M resistor between wiper and ground. It was a nice video, Dave. Great result, considering the state it was in. Thanks 👍🤝🇳🇱

I would like to utterly dismiss the "This video was not very interesting and I apologize for that..." part! It was every bit interesting and joyful to watch as all your videos. I personally took away several great ideas from it, so thank you very much! :) It's a pretty set, and sounds very well. I have always been so jealous of the plethora of MW stations you got there, they make repairs and restorations much more enjoyable.

100% thoroughly enjoyed it. Great work as always.

Dave, well done all around. I use forceps when doing dial string, makes it very easy to do. Really nice job !!!!

Dear Mr. Tipton, You have done an excellent job on this radio, I wish now I could sent you a few of my radios for you to make look and sound new.... very nice job..............

Always worth watching your vids Dave - thanks

Very interesting video and great job in restoring the radio. you are an excellent old radio technician Greetings from Charles .

The skills, tools, techniques (including Jedi powers, transporters, pizza feasts) you use and master is amazing, and always with great results. Too bad this case was rather stubborn, but a lovely radio and result nevertheless. Thank you again for brightening the week!

Your videos just keep getting better and better.

Most people probably won't notice the cracks because they're at the rear and they'll be too busy looking at the shiny front! It was in a sorry state (although I've seen you resuscitate worse examples) and now it's a perfectly useable radio and looks tidy. To many restorers it would've been a parts donor. If it were mine I'd be thoroughly pleased with it! Great educational entertainment as usual.

Hi David. Your videos are so enjoyable to watch. We don't understand the electronics which is a shame as we've got two valve sets that need attention! Pity we are on the other side of the planet! Its just amazing how good the radios look when you've finished. So much attention to detail too. We always look forward to the next radio adventure... 😊 Many thanks.

Cheers David, Friday night a chilled watch before bedtime, always good thanks,

Excellent work, Dave... couple of comments: Never feel bad about a good repair that remains visible; the cracks are structurally sound and their visibility is an honest indication that work was done. Some other repair person will understand what you did and work with it. I notice most of your Aussie radios have less dial/frequency numbers and more call letters; in this one, the dial is divided by states! A surprise to me in the US. Cheers!

Top class stuff as usual Dave. All very interesting. Cheers.

Brilliant work David. Andrew.

Good job David as always, I love watching your U-tube video's

Darn it Dave! Quarter to 2 AM, one last look at my fav people and this was up! OK, up longer tonight LOL. Broken glass, ohh tough luck but it sounds like not a lot is wrong to start with, lets watch and see! Smokers UGH, I have had so much gear with that nasty smell. YUCK! A bad volume pot was my first guess too, wrong pot, that explains it :D Wooden jews in the vise I have used that a few times, nice job! If only actual work was as fast as a fade between two video clips! Nice improvise with the 1 meg resistor that was much better. I don't know what you are using for dial cord but some time ago, Mr Carlson mentioned using about 50 pound test fishing line. It works great and the sporting goods stores here that sell line often have the ends of spools available at a very good price. I got something like 50 yards (meters) of line for under twenty dollars U.S. That is enough for a long time. Locktight is a good product though I just use whatever I have at hand. Very often I use a gel glue with a spray accelerator when I have the parts in alignment. LOL the leftovers and the groan. BEEN THERE :P :P Nice buy ont he radio! My radio club had to skip our annual auction this year due to .. you know. I would have done a quick voltage check between the two radios just because I am interested. Nice find on the old unit though that solves the glass issue very nicely. I have seen you work some miracles on plastic cases so when you said you had the parts that were broken off, no worries! I wonder if you could have used the chip of plastic as a filler material and could have used heat to weld with. Just thinking out loud. I have a plastic welder that uses a very small jet of hot air, perhaps you could use a small nozzle on your air station. Again, just thinking out loud not criticizing. Another excellent job done and working! The owner should be very happy with the result. He gave you a real pile of ..... parts and you gave him back a gem!

Another great job. I love all radios, valve or transistor types. I'm just a few years older than you David and repaired many old radios in my time, but never rebuilt the damaged radio cabinets like you've done. looking forward to your next assignment.

Dave, I've never been disappointed by anything you've done. It's interesting every time. BTW I loved the Mick Dundee knife.

Great job. Very nicely done.

I love the music they play down there. As a footnote, when guitar techs need to fill in the string slot on a nut that is cut too deep, the use baby or talcum powder and super glue/ C-A glue. Then they can recut the slot correctly. Perhaps that might work on cracks like that. You may even be able to use some colored chalk pastel dust to reduce the line. Just a thought. And I honestly have never seen anyone have the tools like you have. That sander was about as esoteric a tool as it gets. Great video. Always a high point of the week.

Hi Dave. As far as that repair on the case goes, you did your best. Still a nice radio. See you on the next.

Another lovely restoration. Personally I would have left the mustard caps as I've never seen a crook one but that's just my preference. I'm sure the owner will be very happy. Looking forward to your next one.

I had a good chuckle when I heard you grumbling to yourself how you should have done it better. It looks marvellous! I actually like it when the finished product shows a few battle scars. These radios have seen a whole lot of history pass through their speakers. Louis Armstrong, Neil Armstrong, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Cold War, JFK, The Berlin Wall.. I always marvel at that.. I have some radios that probably had Hitler's voice come through them. Maybe Churchill and de Gaulle too!! Well done Dave. I know why you do this :)

Great job David.

HMV, AWA RADIOLA, KRIESLER, PHILIPS all magic brands from my boyhood. What a shame it had all that nicotine coating. Imagine the lungs of people smoking while sitting around the radio listening to Dad and Dave from Snake Gully, Greenbottle from Yes, What? it would take a lot of cleaning to get that yellow muck off! Another great video Dave, thanks again.

Not disappointing to me. Always an above-board job!

Great job Dave, hope the Pizza and Movie night went ok. You certainly earned it.

Right on, David... beautiful work on a beautiful radio. Thanks for sharing. :-)

I'm a late comer to your Channel. Catching up on your vids is very enjoyable Dave. I love these red/white/cream radios. That 58 Astor you filmed with the "arrow" on the front is my favorite. I don't know who did the design work on these radios back then, but they are all fabulous. Classic designs from a time long past :(. Thanks again, love your work.

from what you started with i think you did a great job

Interesting? The case repair was brilliant Dave! Well done!

I never seen someone who has a lot of patience as you have Dave ;D

Superbe travail . Merci d'avoir ressuscité ce magnifique appareil .Merci pour lui ! " Be Seeing You" ! 👌 N°6

Amazing work , i am amazed how you 'r dedicated to your work, what a passion . god bless you , greetings from Egypt

Great video David...enjoyed it very much. I know what you mean about leaving the plastic exterior repair in rough looking condition. I think I'd still be mixing up bondo and working those cracks 🤨 (and all with the same result!)

Another great and entertaining video Dave. Since stumbling onto your videos I now look forward to each new one with anticipation. I am seriously thinking of going back into this type of tinkering again. Perhaps a little more difficult in the central west of NSW though.

Excellent as always!

Sounds like Star Trek bridge door opening ! haha

Of course interesting, no doubt about it. Love the relative simplicity of this radio design. The way you enforced the cracks is exact how I (would) do it. Sometimes I drill a few holes in the metal to force some epoxy trough to act as rivets. I mix the 2 components a bit different; I always imagine that hand mixing misses a lot of molecules to combine in the mix, so I use a small plastic sample pot (5 ml or so, 2 cents), and from the round end of a bamboo chop stick I made a spatula. I stick that in my small Dremel drill, and at a slow speed (!) it mixes nicely, in the hope of a stronger result 😉 and it is not as tiresome when you want to mix for a few minutes. I use 'Bison combi power', just as grey and pricey.

Very good David.

I think it came out great considering what you had to start with. That little long skinny sander is really cool. I've never seen one like that before. Thanks David. 73 de KB7ICI....Bill

I must say that I enjoy your editing as much as I do the video itself. Someday, I will figure out how to be so crisp.

You are the best! Nobody else makes such great videos.

Your a bloody genius Dave.

Well done, David... Especially the enclosure turned out good. I was worried at the start of the video that it would be harder.

"Stop WINING for God's sake and just eat your pizza", that's what she said. Seriously, great job Dave as always and I don't know that you could have repaired the case any better. I have an after thought, if you had some of the same colour casing and filed it into a powder like form mixed with some type of glue, that may work as a filler. Don't know but perhaps worth a thought. I know you wanted better but it still looks great. Just blame your mother for giving you "Perfection" as a middle name.

really so nice work dive 👌

Hi David. Superb job yet again. The cabinet repair turned out really good considering that you had to glue it back together. It has a very nice sound quality for an A M set. I hope the owner was happy with it. Your comment at the end wasn't quite true, all your videos are very interesting. Another enjoyable video as always. Cheers Chris.

Great job David, they all can't be diamonds.