Actually AM Can go that far even during the day on clear channels. I live in South Dakota, we listen to KFYR out of Bismarck for most of our radio news and such. When we were snow-birding it, and going to Arizona for the winter, my Jeep had the AM radio button still set for Bismarck. One afternoon, while my wife was in the Dollar General in Topock, I turned on the radio that was still set to Bismarck, and damned if the radio didn't play Bismarck. I listened for over 30 minutes while the wife was buying food, the next trip I tried and it still worked a week later. Then we drove over to Bullhead City, still worked, and at Lake Havasu City, same thing still worked while parked in the Walmart Parking lot, and at the London Bridge. 550 on your Radio Dial, KFYR Bismarck ND
I’m one of those “ new guys “. Started collecting a couple of years ago, know absolutely nothing. It will take me some years before I can attempt anything. But I will learn🙂
I had a radio like that except it was red. The reception wasn't that great. It is what it is. I'm impressed how your radio is working since you fixed it. Mine never worked as good as that!
Had one the same in the early 70's - Teleton branded? Used it at school to listen to the pop chart run down on a Tuesday. It packed up and IIRC we ended up playing cricket with it....
I thought that by the time those rice ball radios had migrated from Ge to Si transistors, they also had gone to OTL audio output stages using complementary transistors. I checked in my junk box and I have so many of those 455khz If transformers salvaged from junker radios and a drawer full of Ge RF and AF transistors (two different part numbers that will work in the converter, if, pre driver and output stages of any BCB Ge transistor radio. I really need to just build one of these things from scratch, just for the hell of it. I do have an old Zenith "Owl Eye" 8 transistor set that works fine. It has an rf stage, mix/osc (TWO transistors), 2 IFstages, af driver and p-p output. All NPN Ge transistors IIRC.
I'm always amazed by all the diagnosing equipment these guys have. Especially shango066 and radiotvphononut. I probably have six portable radios and none of them have batteries. I also live in earthquake country. I have one of those hand crank radios if I really get into an emergency.
Had one of these, in -74? Exactly the same, but a different colour and name, very high sensitivity and good sound for the size. Nice find Listened to Radio Luxemburg at the time, they thei transmitted at 1MW or something..
Glad to see the radio test for the local oscillator. I remember doing that when I was younger and having no clue what was going on. Hope you had a nice Xmas, Shango.
I had the same radio when i was a kid in the 80's, i think it was under the brand of Goldstar, but i'm not shure. It sounded good for it's size! :-) love your video's, keep up the good work!!
I had a similar one, made by STEWART, many years ago. I think I got it at one of the drug store chains, or maybe Kmart. I like your method of using another (known good) radio to see if it picks up the oscillator frequency, thanks for the tips. The 2N3904 seemed to work well. You are correct about those dome topped transistors, I had a couple of HH Scott receivers that had those in them, luckily HH Scott used transistor sockets in some of their receivers so replacing them was easy. Thanks Shango66 for all of your videos, I love all of the tips. Hope you have a Healthy & Happy New Year.
I have that radio in cherry red under the Amisonic brand. Got it for Christmas in 1973. It's 42 years old, works fine but a mediocre performer. I also have that old GE in turquoise from 1959. It's 56 years old, works fine, made in USA, no SMD and a great performer.Got it for 99 cents at a Salvation Army store. The only problem was corroded battery terminals. A little sand paper and WD-40 got it up and running.
Barely a superhet, the " pop" tells me it's a class a amp. The noise is a "dirty, worn pot. Cleaner/lube helps. Get radios from good will all the time. I take polka dots from craft shop to cover dial damage. Always room for learning. De kv4li tks
@0:17 Amen to that. I always carry a transistor set with me. I get a few funny looks when I'm carrying the Realistic Patrolman 4 but idc, it'll come in handy one of these days.
You say that there is nothing much to these radios more than once in this video but I have never been able to make a Self oscillating mixer stage (you call it a Converter) using home wound coils.There are at least two configurations for these stages one of which is called Reinartz.While Ferrite rod aerials can be home wound fairly easily for Medium wave (although shop bought ones tend to have Litz wire to reduce skin effect) and I.F.T.s can be improvised it would seem that it's the Local oscillator coil (red slug) that is the hard part to make.I wonder if it would be possible for you to set up one of these Self oscillating mixer stages or Front ends on a bread board using a home wound Local oscillator coil and connect it temporarily in the place of the existing Front end in a working radio to prove that it can be done.Seeing this and hearing it function (with schematic and winding details) would be of huge educational benefit to myself and I guess many others.
Merry Christmas. Love your vids. Reminds me of doing things when I was younger. What transpired to make you put your name in your vids now. The other thing I love about your videos is that it makes me remember what it was like living out west. I got my engineering license in SoCal a long time ago.
I have a similar radio, it's a Victory, completely different cabinet, but same chassis. It even shares the same back cover as these generic radios.Probably same volume knob, tuning knob is different. Kinda has an army feel to it, army style in a dark green cabinet. This video gave me an idea of how to fix mine, it had low volume. I took it apart and jumped a capacitor across one on the board and the volume jumped up and stayed jumped up. Just like radiotvphononut's video of where he fixed 3 pocket transistor radios where he jumped the capacitor onto one on the board and the volume jumped up.
Nice little radio! Since i don't have one, I just ordered a kit on ebay. It's complete with a cute little red case and everything. Old style transistor superhet. AM only. Merry Christmas and all that stuff..
I have a new in box example of this pocket radio. It has TO1 cased devices and works properly. I got it because another example was my first ever radio. They don't sound too good, but it is amazing how you forget such things. I do have a Hong Kong made portable that has these wayward black transistors. It had low volume and a lot of hiss. The converter was OK, so I swopped the unmarked 1st IF transistor for a 2N3904. Bullseye. Volume pot is a bit noisy, but contact cleaner ought to cure that. The radio is as scuffed as some old trainers & looks like garbage. I had to replace a trace on the circuit board with some wire.
OH I do have a small transistor radio for such use, however it is AM/FM/Shortwave by Grundig, wonderful little digital tuned radio runs off 3 AA batteries and pulls in stations extremely well. Not much bigger then the pocket radios, in fact it will fit in my pants pocket, even better in cargo pants.
Way to go! You are awesome and I enjoy everyone of your videos! It's fun to see all the techniques used to repair equipment. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I had one of these radios with same symptoms, local oscillator was working, but nothing in the IF. And it was the IF transformer was open in the primary.
I’m not a technician, but looking at a couple of NOS pocket radios. Both state “ high sensitivity “. One[“claims”] 15 transistors. The other,10. Do you (or “y’all “) have any tips or advice concerning buying these old radios? Would love to find one that receives good AM. How can I determine when a Radio is not worth working on or blowing money on? [i know there are a lot of variables]. Thanks And I really enjoy these posts.👍🙂📻
2:34 This sounds like a very cheap radio from the early 1970's, The xsistor with the yellow dot is called the "autodyne converter stage". Only one IF stage? Even in the 1950s they had at least two IF xsistor stages
If-n yo need to remove that Aluminium from the dial, Yo could try to apply a little heat "Hot air station" or Hair dryer" to it before trying to pry it off..
I have a similar radio that I'd like to restore. It's red, doesn't have a headphone jack and the parts are in a different configuration. One of the wires to the speaker was disconnected, but I have a pretty good idea of where it goes. My biggest problem is that the radio has no battery clip, and even if I got one, I'd have no idea where to solder it to. I can supply pictures, if you're willing to help.
This little AM radio seems to run just fine with one IF stage. What then is the point of having a second IF stage in a radio such as the HX 108-2 Chinese radio which was also covered?
Hi wonder if you can help me iv got a steeple tone SAB9 m2 from the early 90s and it seem to have a week reception iv tried to find an alignment procedure on line but no luck can you help plz
Further to my previous comment on these radios I thought I'd try a little bit of experimentation.I wondered if a 470KHz I.F.T. with it's fixed tuning capacitor removed could be used as an M.W. Oscillator coil in a self-oscillating frequency-changer or autodyne-converter as you like to call it.Well this didn't work at all and I guess that's because the tap on the primary is too near to the nearest end of this winding to get it to oscillate.What did work as an oscillator coil however is a ( shorter than the aerial one) ferrite rod with three homemade coils of 38 S.W.G. E.C.W. with one similar to the aerial tuning winding (say 100 turns) and two 5 turn coupling windings all on separate movable formers.The oscillator rod should be at 90 degrees to the aerial one to avoid unwanted magnetic coupling.This would have to be altered for the Reinartz version as the two coupling windings need to be different although I've not tried this.Here in Britain our now sadly gone Maplin shops used to sell a ready made oscillator coil for the Reinartz version and I think that it was called the TOCC1.
Those transistors are TO106. They are a ceramic material around the lead in wires with epoxy over the top. This is why they are shiny on top. I don't know if they fail because of micro-cracks allowing moisture to penetrate to the sliver of silicon. I also wonder if using completely un-marked devices denotes the use of out-of-spec transistors that'd otherwise go into the manufacturers trash.
I was a teenager when this stuff was new. Stewart brand devices were definitely 2nd tier quality. Not bad, usually, just not as solid as Sony, Panasonic.
That's exactly what the unmarked transistors are, they're out of spec manufacturer rejects. Sometimes they're marked with coloured dots, that's where someone in the HK radio factory, as gone through and tested them before been put in the cheap radios. They're out of spec for computers, or guidance systems, or whatever, but work well enough for cheap radios. I believe these dome top TO105 and TO106 types were made by Fairchild.
i love it when you SHOVE YOUR DAMN NAME IN EVERY VIDEO SHANGO066. for the last time its CALLED A STARMATE ST1 same size as the AM RADIO but no static and alll 100% commercial free music (LIFETIME SUBSCRIPTION ON IT) SO it may help put the AM-FM radio stations out of business!!!!
Um, no satellite radio is dying. I subscribed from 2005 to 2015, I stopped the service because so many other choices were becoming/ had been available. Better sound quality better choices and much lower pricing. All available on hardware that I already owned.
bye bye AM/FM radios!! and all the worthless stations that know nothing more then TO SHOVE AS MANY COMMERCIALS AS THEY CAN IN YOUR EARS!! I will use my STARMATE ST1 hardly no talking and HAS CLASSICAL CLEAR UP TO TODAY!! thank you shango for making it possible for me to listen to SATELLITE RADIO by paying all the ROYALTY FEES & TAXES FOR ME!!!!!
What was that station playing the 50's Christmas tune around 12:30? I suspect we live in the same general region, but I know of no music station in that frequency range.
thanks for the video! i have an look a like radio in red outside similar branded vanica stamp on the speaker says made in taiwan. works ok but useless since the am (mw) transmitters are suspended. It has no earphone jack and a different print configuration.
Since the Panasonic r-1077 is a germanium radio and this one is silicon they are not the same. Does anyone know where I can get the schematic of this radio?
The case design is an obvious classic (imo). Was a knockoff of a popular Panasonic model. Panasonic stuff cost a fair percentage more than Stewart but was worth it; was always excellent quality for the device's type and price point.
Shango066 fixes a POS radidio! So how much would a tech cost for 1/2 hour labor to repair this radio? LOL. Hmmm, EOL, have an elephant step on it. Merry junkmas Shangomeister, thanks again for some great vids. Don
This comment is a bit late... But try heating the metal cover plate a bit with a hot air gun to loosen the glue. Too much heat will melt or distort the dial wheel though... Cheers,
Dirty pot! For one. Ps Chinese radios. Put to gether. ended in my bed. In the cold wx. The expensive rigs were not of much INTREST. As the Chinese kit rigs ran cheep. Tks Fer good shows on Chinese kits. Kv4li
Mine would be to get a dremmel and eat away at the plate"center"to get the screw. Then get a marker gold color. To dummy up. And dial is not marked up.
I don't like to say this, but you can probably find a new pocket radio for €2.99, imported from China, battery not included. The time you spend on repairing this doesn't make sense, other than for entertaining and educational purposes. Still, I like the video :)
