LaSonic Funny Electronics AM Transistor Radio Repair 

About 20 years ago I was at a garage sale and saw a bright red plastic radio about the same dimensions as this, maybe a little bit bigger. Its a Westinghouse, and from what I've been able to find out, seen a couple for sale on ebay, it a 1967 or 68. Fortunately it runs on a 9 volt battery which lasts about 4 months! I bought it for 5 bucks. AM ONLY, this radio works, and sounds great. Its in my bedroom and every morning when I wake up I turn it on while getting ready for the day, I listen to the news for about 10 minutes. I mean this thing basically gets used every day!! Always works and sounds good. Definitely got my 5 bucks and more from this old red radio!!

I cannot get over that they just blobbed solder on the letter "O" in Funny radio MODEL. Classy

Some of these “bottom-feeder” radios are better than a lot of the junk made today. 📻🙂

According to what I learned in college, the "transistors" used as diodes in these radios were floor sweepings that were not usable for amplifying current. The transistors in question were typically alloy junction devices. The base was a small wafer of n-type germanium. A piece of indium was held onto one side of the wafer, and the assembly was baked to cause a heavy concentration of indium to diffuse into the germanium, thereby forming the emitter (indium is a p-type dopant). A second piece of indium was later held on the opposite side of the wafer, and the assembly was run through a second bake cycle that had the goal of releasing a much smaller amount of indium into the germanium, thereby forming the collector. This manufacturing process was not very precise. As the emitter and collector regions came closer and closer together, the result was a transistor with improved beta. However, if the emitter and collector were too close, the result would be a transistor with a low collector-emitter breakdown voltage. If the emitter and collector touched, the result was a diode. Technicians tested each transistor coming out of the production line. A manufacturer might have used several different part numbers, depending on whether the device tested as low beta/high breakdown voltage or high beta/low breakdown voltage. The shorted devices sometimes had one lead snipped off at the factory to identify that they could only be used as diodes.

Hanging cardboard cutouts on vintage radio = retrochads

Some little girl from 1969 is wondering what ever happened to that cute yellow radio she used to have.

Ha-ha. That was awesome. I think these bottom end sets can be just as interesting to work on as super high end.

This bias connection is very common with these complementary push-pull amplifiers. It is connected there as the bootstrap, to maintain the bias over the full output voltage swing - during the positive halfwave the resistor is fed from the sum of battery and speaker voltage. Most IC amplifiers intended for such applications are designed to allow this connection as the cost optimized BOM variant (TBA810, TBA820,...), as that way you can save the dedicated bootstrap capacitor and resistor. Most such cheap electronic uses that connection. It disappeared only with the modern low voltage rail-to-rail capable amplifier IC's (do not need bootstrapping to achieve full swing; 90's and later) and most recently the CMOS BTL amplifiers (HXJ8002,...; 2000's and later), which need even less components around (mainly the bulky speaker output coupling capacitor). And judging about the sound quality, it seems some capacitors are still weak there...

The comment you made about the Teflon wire exceeding the value of the radio is exactly what I was thinking before you said it. The reason they did not put values on the schematic is that particular genre of set was made out of any surplus components that the low end manufacturer could lay their hands on. How could you provide a value when it may change on a daily basis? Design calls for a 220k resistor but there's a deal on 270k's in the surplus chain use the 270s. Can't get rectifier diodes use surplus switching transistors. Can't get miniaturized capacitors use oversized axial. Hong Kong in the 60 to 70s era was some of the worst build quality electronics that functioned I have ever seen. Even the junkiest Japanese stuff was light years ahead of the Hong Kong products.

19:33 It was very common in transistor radios to let the driver current (2-3mA) through the speaker, the solution is called "bootstrapping": When the driver transistor closes down, the upper resistor (under the label "TR6") pulls the power amplifier up, which drives the speaker to positive. If the upper resistor was connected to Vcc, it would run out of driving current, as the voltage across it would decrease. But since the voltage on the speaker rises, the voltage on the upper resistor won't change, hence it's able to drive the power stage constantly. The exact same thing is happening in virtually almost all output transformer-less radios (e.g. Sokol 308, yesterday's Hazar 403, etc..).

3:20 Sometime during this period, the FTC cracked down on marketing that touted a "transistor count" that included transistors that were wired as diodes, or not connected at all. A lot of these imported sets were made with surplus military transistors that didn't make the cut, so it was easy to use them frivolously. They might have built the board this way, then found out they could only call it a "7 transistor" design.

Love the "Funny Electronics" on the board, even they know it.

“The hell with it let’s fix the damn thing. I wanna see this happy times electronic company very nice sunshine radio very good work” 😂😂😂

Shango needs to head east to the desert and give this quality receiver a good sensitivity test.

I remember seeing Lasonic brand radios in discount stores back in the ‘80s and early ‘90s. They really were bargain basement, but worked.

I wonder if the same people made the large cheap boom boxes in the 80s, branded Lasonic as one word.

Even when I was a kid, the "Battery or Electric" designation seemed a little silly, as if batteries were not electric.

I really like this. It looks a little like a waffle. Takes me back to my childhood years. The speaker is permanent magnet. Your friend, Jeff.

I sent one to my Girlfriend in Ohio. She said she wanted it! They all have basically the same board. Even when it is turned off part of it will be live. Risky by today's standards but they do sound good. Who needs a Zenith when you can use Funny Electronics?

I love that they used a whole one screw to attach the tuning cap.

I can’t even tell you how much I enjoy your videos!!! I like them because we think alike. Why did they do it this way? Lazy, Plastic, junk that might work after fixing it, but, what ever. It keeps you busy, and all of us entertained. Keep on keeping on!!

Always nice to see these retro radios. I just love the old school stuff. I have a variety of old school radios. I just display them in my shed. Thanks for posting.

As a young boy I would have thought of that radio as gold. I'm surprised that I didn't become a radio DJ when I got older.

Video was great. That radio looks like something you would get from grant's in the late 60's

Looks like a solder-yourself radio kit my dad gave me in late 70's. Minus the enclosure. Soldering looked similar too. Lol

G'day from Australia

Ooooooh! A LA Sonic! I bet that brand is more better than Sorny, Magnetbox or Panaphonics.

Lasonic was famous for their giant boomboxes in 80’s

This is just amazing. "Funny Electronics". Just awesome. Shango's diagnostic skills are spectacular...

The electricity consumed by your soldering iron cost more than what that badly designed radio is worth.

You 100% blow me away at how you can fix things..........I look at the screen and say WOW...

*I swear this radio was a prop sitting in the bedroom of the Brady Bunch girls!*

The video exceeds the value of what's being video'ed. Btw, that resistor biasing through the speaker is a too simple bootstrap connection. It uses the ac signal of the speaker to artificially increase the drive of the power transistor. It ends up delivering a few more milliwatts of power to the speaker, which using such a low voltage supply can be of help. More elaborated desings use a resistor network and an extra capacitor to do the bootstrap and avoid passing dc through the speaker (and avoid the circuit to go unbiased if the speaker is disconnected or the user inserts a crystal earphone).

Stupid mistakes are sometimes the best teachers (don’t ask me how I know that...). It’s amazing that you can even get something like that to work. Great video!

Yay! a triple header weekend! Love the genuine simulated plastic yellow pleather.

I can swear I remember LaSonic branded Boom Boxes in the early ‘80s. They were huge, but not too sure the build quality was.

Thank you very much for sharing your quest with us Sir. This surprising lesson about audio output transistors is priceless!

Historically speaking, selling a radio with a needlessly large number of transistors in it made sense to purchasers in the late sixties. Transistors were much more expensive items at the time, whilst being an unknown technological factor to much of the general public.

Thank You Shango for making these videos. You should be on TV. I watch (and-rewatch) your videos, so my TV gets less mileage than my iPad.

Nice to still see the 'S' in Sonic capitalized, as it should be! On later boomboxes, from the 1980s onward, it was "Lasonic". Assuming that was the same company

Darn you're human! Still you're videos are my favotites. The thing is you always figure it out. Wave64 and Michael Robertsons comments gave it even more impact! "Bootstrapping" Hope you never get tired of doing this, cuzz I love em.

Great video as always Mr Shingo

Sometimes the junkiest radios will surprise you with superb sound and DXING.

LaSonic made my sister's first vibrator. She got her kicks back in '66!

I just about quit watching in the first minute, but each minute thereafter got more fun (and interesting) than the one before. Well done!

The two transistor by the output transistors are for the bias of the output transistors, this would always be done with diodes but my guess they had tons of transistors and it was cheaper just to use them instead of buying diodes.

'The Sounds of Love' - is this K-TEL? Gotta LOVE IT!

I have to setup a bench one day and start fixing those basic electronics. Thanks for letting us learn with you!

State of the Art Quality Radio you lucky thing.

Another loss soul brought to life by the blue wonder of transistor radios! Enjoyed watching.

A gem in the rough! Actually a nice radio!

Very cool vintage well done.

Lasonic was around at least till early to mid 90s, but manufacturing in Korea as oposed to Hong Kong. I had a Lasonic HD2000 black and white portable from 1991 and it worked quite decent (for what it was).

My Realtone AM-FM has a similar schematic I think. Thank you for explaining this.

I have watched hundreds of hours of Shango, and this circuit board has to be the most dogs**t POS I have ever seen!

Great work! I just subscribed.

Love Sounds is the sort of music I expect to hear from Pages from Ceefax when the BBC broadcast that for decades.

Yes, it should be a guitar pedal! You’ll get rich selling that vintage telephone tone!! $299.99 for the model with grab bag, out of spec transistors and $25 for the one built properly.

Funny made circuits from a Funny company out of HK. Thanks for sharing your experience with this radio. Cheers 🙂

I do love the cheesy woodgrain and yellow with chrome combination That is such a 60s look!I’m kind of sad because On ebay I could not find any radios like this radio!

Very cool radio!

Great work

This radio would have looked great on the set of 'Trailer Park Boys'.

Thinking about the bias circuit I wonder if the engineer was actually more clever than initially thought. Since the speaker is in series with the bias Network, when you would plug in an earphone (which is usually a higher DC resistance than the speaker) could the change be a primitive power saving function? It would definitely reduce the bias and the output stage would draw less quiescent and active current when using the earphone. If this is truly what the engineer was thinking he's pretty damn clever.

Those two transistors in front of the audio output transistors are bias "diodes" for the output transistors.

That works fairly well! Good lessons for me. I'm guessing someone who bought that at the check-out line at the grocery or pharmacy might have been satisfied if they all worked like yours.

Much Funny, Lot Quality!

Nice going shango066 Yeah, what a strange circuit. Funny Electronics is right Looks oh so pretty in sunshine yellow

It's what grandmother bought a teenager for birthday when they didn't know what else to get

Funny Electronics what an appropriate name.

Indeed, Nothing But the Best

Another great 👍🏻 video and another radio saved!

"We'll never know if that one was shorted, because it fell apart when I took it out" 😂

I literally laughed down to earth when you say 'happy electronic' instead of funny!!

Great video

Genuine simulated vinyl .

Still better than a Crosley.

24:59 Alexander Borodin ... String Quartet No. 2 in D major, 3rd movement This music was used in the musical Kismet for the song, And This Is My Beloved.

20:08 funny electronics at full glance 🙂 What a funny way to get power to the transistors 😆

1968 or '69 sounds about right for that radio, given how it looks. It's an el cheapo portable radio of its era, I could see it costing like $7.99 at TG & Y, or someplace like that.

These cheap radios were a masterpiece of brilliant design , using every fudge and method to cut costs. The circuitry was fluid enough to use any and all components that were available at that time. These output stages were very common, the bias from the speaker also applied NFB to the driver and used no extra parts. The cost cutting was just an extension of the same economy with the earlier valved sets, thats why they all tend to be very similar in design.

I just love that Gruen Amp meter, It's got soul...

Funny Electronics lol. Nothing but the best!

R1 feedback bootstrap makes its ac impedance much higher. Check that the voltage at the output emitters is mid supply, and adjust that lower dc feedback resistor if needed.

As far as I know there are two ways of arranging a Bootstrap Circuit for an Audio Power Amplifier and this is the cheaper one which involves passing a little bit of direct current through the Loudspeaker and it's quite conventional. I have never seen Transistors used as Rectifier Diodes for the Mains P.S.U. before though.

Shango, you got upset about your mistake but many would have made that same mistake, and, probably wouldn't have figured out what they did wrong. One thing you can say about that radio. It may be cheap but it is still working after all this time. That is not bad.

Cheesy crusty radio. LOL 😂 Laughed my arse off when I actually read "Funny Electronics" on the circuit board..........Priceless!

I like it no bad solder connections works good your to hard on the little thing

Luscious solder excess!

Yeah,just as the speaker said, thumbs up, don t talk Hong Cong cheese down!

I think Funny Electronics is still around, I believe they made some stuff for NAD in the 80's or 90's. They're one of many contract manufacturers where essentially a marketing company will ask them to build a radio to go in the cabinet they've designed. Bright yellow seemed to be popular for radios in the late 60's, I've got a vertical FM/AM portable marked "Douglas" also in bright yellow, laying around here somewhere. Made in Japan though.

SUPER

Very nice my friend

Great Job. BUT Tecsun, may not sell too many new radios after you show how to give life to old junker radios. Keep up the good work!

What some of my fellow electronics hobbyists referred to as 'Hong Kong Horrors' back in the 1960s, they looked as though the assembly method was to fire a blunderbuss filled with components as a bare PCB and just solder up the result.

My first solid state shortwave radio was a massive multiband thing with FM, shortwave, and aircraft, I forget the brand, I believe it was indeed Sonic-something, but what will always stick in my memory is that it was made by "Funny Electronics." And yes, it was very sloppily built, but after alignment worked quite well. I believe, by some convoluted path, its manufacturing facilities became part of Samsung. There were a LOT of radios made by Funny in the 1970s, they could be bought very cheaply in bargain stores. And yes, I've seen transistors used as diodes or rectifiers before in consumer electronics.

I miss the Rockford Files.

Like☝️

Looks like one cheesie gizmo from Hong Kong or beyond. Still enjoyed your video.

Funny Electronics, duh. I laughed my arse off as soon as you opened that huge case and I saw that tiny board in there with the cheap components sloppily soldered onto it.