I've essentially got 3 of these. A silvertone model 1, Arvin 243, and an Arvin 540T just like the one you got. The 540T is still in the woodworks, the only thing stopping me from working on it is the volume control is defective beyond repair. I could use a 1meg instead of a 2meg but finding one with the proper shaft at a fair price has proven difficult.
Talking about GFCI units tripping, here is a good point to keep in mind when servicing old radio gear. I was rebuilding a Collins KWS-1 SSB transmitter one time about 8 years ago and was having a GFCI trip just when plugging in this large transmitter to the power outlet. Long story short, I found the problem was the old plug itself that the set came with!!! Well the old plugs rubber parts had become ever so slightly conductive and just the plug itself without any wires connected to it would trip the GFCI when it was plugged into the power outlet!!! Problem was resolved much to my joy lesson learned was that the old style plugs plastic and rubber parts can chemically change with age and can trip a GFCI with the inherent leakage they develop over many decades!!
Arvin 540T has the same circuit design as the 440T. You can look that number up to see the circuit diagram from Riders. The B- is separate from the chassis via a .05uF ( too big, use a .01uF safety cap) and a parallel 330,000 Ohm resistor ! Also there is a .05uF cap between the hot and neutral lines, that is also too big. Put a .01uF safety cap there too! I always thought that putting a polarized line cord on it and putting the on/off switch on the hot side would then ultimately solve the safety problem. Didn't think the metal tube being grounded to chassis would cause this and proved that wrong ! The electrolytic cap originally was a 40 -20 at 150 V with a 20 at 25 V. Always liked these little brightly painted little radios.
Nice work, love the careful use of insulation on the leads - seen way to much "restorations" this has been neglected with some, well, exciting results. And I fully agree with being a bit picky on the safety side, even if it results in modifications to the set that are not original. But there has to be a more elegant solution secure the wires than the big puddle of hot snot. Especially in a tube set that can get quite warm. Had two sets come in that had been "fixed" with liberal amounts of hot glue, creating a ugly mess after the sets had been used.
I found RE278 (according to the RadioMuseum it should belong to this 540T) schematic I see the suppressor grid of the converter connected to the chassis, which is very strange, I do not see how the radio is supposed to even work that way, not speaking about the electron current everytime it becomes positive... No idea why it was designed that way...
I have Sears silvertone. Basically same thing. Radio wild .serviced.1. I think he said floating ground. I have been Zapped Too Many Times to ever trust a metal case.
A 2-for-1 special, love it. I've had a few of these over the years....they were crappy performers, but they're still fun little radios because of the colors and style. They were short superhets, but they worked well enough in the city with a long wire antenna
Those metal cased sets always seemed like just asking for it to me, just a bad idea all around from a safety standpoint. Very cool looking though. Planet caps were very popular replacement caps all throughout the 60’s and they were often used in KLH hifi equipment and loudspeaker systems in the early years.
