Troubleshoot And Repair Electronics - 1950's Radio Receiver! 

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Hi Paul. Please perform a full restoration on the radio. I'd love to see how well it works afterwards.

A great shout-out to RCC, Paul! I took one of their courses in (about) 1964, but that radio was not included! I would very much like it to have been, as I took Electronics for three years in High School (Burnaby Central Senior Secondary) and was much into tube radios, TV maintenance and ham-radio-lite all through h.s. and my first three years at college. During the h.s. course (all three years) we studied DC, AC and tube circuits in each of the years, and built an all-american five as a display with each major circuit on its own 12x18 hardboard card, which slid into a horizontal frame and were connected by banana-plug leads. It worked fine! All my classmates went on to get Masters and PhD's, but I didn't! Still, very much enjoying electronics mainly as a hobby, along with music and astronomy, and had a side job for many years fixing the electronics in electronic accordions (I don't play!) from all tube through the years to very modern, if 2010 is 'modern'! Thanks for the video!

Excellent job. Pay attention kids and take his classes if you want to be the best. Mr. Carlson is a highly qualified teacher. Take care, Mike, in the USA.

Thank you Professor Carlson and what a nice build whoever did this. When you think of the 50's you also think of a lot of "art-deco" look of the 20s-30s. Except the 50's was all about tons of chrome on the cars and creative looks for some of the radios. This radio is a well-built, old school, plain jane radio that works (after repaired by you). Thank you for sharing !!!!! PS, yes, restore it !

I would love to see a restoration

Hello Paul...what I liked about this video is the use of 'basic' troubleshooting methodology, (remember your 'old time' bench you were going to set up)? Plus you didn't even use a schematic. I agree with others about a 'full restoration'...time consuming for you...but so beneficial for us.

I'm always going to be in favor of full restoration. Nice work troubleshooting the problem.

Nice to see Roberson screws holding the back panel in place. A great Canadian invention.

I personally think it would be amazing to see that unique radio fully restored back to the original creator’s finished product. It’s so rustic yet polished! Great video!

If I’d were you I’d would restore the radio, it’s always nice to see made in Canada electronics being restored instead of going to the dump or being recycled, love your ideas and videos on electronic repair and keep up the good work, thanks again, Mr. Carlson. I’ve been in electronics since 1980.

@MrCarlsonsLab I would love a repair of an early RCA Theremin. Primarily due to the elegance of the minimal design and a lovely look at how it works. Thanks.

Thanks for the video. Watching this is nostalgic for me. In the early 70s I took a Bell and Howell home study electronics coarse in which I built a multimeter and an oscilloscope that involved utilizing vacuum tubes and transistors. I ended up welding as a career, but was always able to repair my own welding machines as well as a few for other people. Now being retired, I find myself helping others with automotive electrical and recently fixed a mig welder for my grandson. So the coarse has served me well. I have always been fascinated with radio theory. I subscribed to your channel today.

Paul: Definitely restore! If it's working this well now, think how well it will work when fully restored and aligned :-)

That was a good job by the builder. He would have been proud to present it as his assignment. Put it back together and move on 👍🙂

OMG ! all of that test equipment in your opening shot - amazing.

Yes, would love to hear it!

Good ole RCC. Graduated from there myself 20 years ago. In the Computer Network Engineering program though. Still have and use my RCC issue multimeter all the time.

Well, since you already had began with it... Just go all the way. Thanks for this very didactic video.

Been waiting for another one of these. It all goes over my head, but it fascinates me. Awesome.

I love your videos. You are like the Einstein of electronics. Thanks for all your teaching and information.

A full restoration would be great! 👍

I think it would be nice to see a full restoration Paul.

To restore or not to restore? Interesting decision to make in this case. As this was built by someone for their exam/qualification it is (to me) more than just a standard radio from the era. This is a record of how people were taught and learnt electronics back in the day. I would just replace the grid coupler to the output valve and also replace the output transformer (if it can't be rewound/repaired - I guess time would be a factor here). The rest I would leave until it failed - maybe put a fuse inline with the rectifier to protect it from a failing electrolytic smoother. Great video - I've never seen an exam project radio before. I did have to fault find on a radio for a practical electronics test back in the early '80s to pass my RTEEB (Radio Television and Electronics Examination Board) exam, but that's the nearest I've come to doing something like that in an exam situation.

Hi Paul another great video well done and so enjoyable. been a week or so but glad to see another video and YES Restore this with new audio Xfrmer. would be like to see it fully restored I am sure it will be a great performer. Million thanks

If it were mine I'd do a full restoration on it as it will sound quite nice with such a large speaker and timber cabinet plus the dial is in good shape.

Yes, Paul. You must perform a full restoration. I love your videos. 73 de PY5MM from Brazil

Do it the guy that built it up in the first place, he's rooting for it!

A full restoration is always Good !!

Restoration is definitely the answer for this radio

Count my vote for full restoration. I'd even say finish the case too.

Καλησπερα σας Η γνωμη μου ειναι...οτι δουλεύει....δεν το πειράζεις...!!! Εξαιρετικο βιντεο....για αλλη μια.φορα..

Yes full restoration please Paul

I would love to see a restoration on this very neat radio!

Please, please restore this beautiful radio. 😊

Great radio! Restoring would be nice to see. 🙂

Took me back to my apprenticeship days in the UK's MOD. We had to contruct a simple valve TRF radio among other projects. 2MHz Oscilloscope, Regulated PSU, Multimeter and a stereo amp. We had to make the chassis, install and wire the components and then test. Great sensitivity but the selectivity was poor. We could purchase the results for our home use once we had achieved a pass mark and were encouraged to make a suitable case in our own time. Mine ran for some years, until it went missing during the period when I married and started my own home. That RCC radio was a much better project and I would like to see a full restoration. Hate those hunts caps. British radio manufacturers used them in everything.

You should restore that Nice piece

yes, my vote would be to rebuild this, I think rebuilding this wouldn't be a major event, but who knows as we go through the rebuild, you can point out some things if they come along. Because this type of knowledge needs to be shared, and of course after the rebuild if there's any adjustment we can talk about that, I do have kind of a question.. Was the chassis and all its parts part of a instructional kit ? obviously the case was created by the student. I would like to see this finished so it can be put on the shelf and displayed as a working radio, not just something put on the shelf to finish later which generally speaking ... Means, it's probably going to sit there for a while 🙂 Let's just finish it and move on to the next project.

Did you ever finish the cabinet of the Supreme Vedolyzer? I wouldn't mind seeing it again in all its glory. Truly your magnum opus.

Make it new again ! Give that maple leaf raido the best ! Mill spec tubes, low noise resistors. No wax bumble bees for that pride of canada. With it's speaker and a single end audio transformer worth wrighting home to mom . A transformer made from the home land. This raido will sound like golden maple syurp. Paul with your skill and determination Canadain Collage Raido lives again. Best Regards Jack.

Like to see it restored. Thank you.

I would like to watch a full restoration.

Of course we should do a complete restoration! 😄

Yes, restore the radio!

Im used to modern components being all neat and clean. Point to point circuitry ratchets up my anxiety but I'm always anxious at first. I'd like to watch a restoration of this radio too.

With so many projects, how do you decide where to focus your attention?

thanks for the video

i've had output transformers fail not due to overload but 'green spot' corrosion eating through the copper wire, strangely 3 cases very recently , with same brand manufacture of equipment

Yes, It needs a full restoration perform.

I stopped the video @14:13 before you troubleshooted it. I noticed the rectifier was chalky. That could be why no sound. Well now to watch the rest of the video and find out if i'm wrong.

Paul, Paul, Paul ... of course it should be restored

Hey Mr Carlson i'd love to see a new video with a full restoration of recapping and all the other good stuff on this beatifull old girl sounded amazing keep up the awesome content thankyou 😊

Yes, restore that radio

I would like to see the total restoration.

Hi Paul, are you going to finish the receiver restoration and test them against each other to find if there are any winners or are they all equally good.

That power transformer appears WAY oversized for an AM radio! Maybe it was used in other projects and wanted to stock fewer parts.

unplug the 6v6 check the rectifier. should be around 400 500 volt if it is no that voltage check rectifier tube. probably the filter caps

Restore, Paul!

I love the bulbs on your dim bulb supply... i'm assuming they are real antique carbon filament lamps?

Full restoration please

Hi Paul, very curious about how the output transformer failed since the coupling cap doesn't seem too bad. Are you as suspicious of the headphone jack as I am? Could that have been shorted out by a user and cause the primary to fail? If not shorted, perhaps something inappropriate (guitar?) or faulty plugged in? The owner, in frustration at realizing it had blown the transformer, would have pulled it out of the face and never gotten around to the transformer replacement? Interested in theories about what happened? Thanks

My vote is for restoration.

My vote is to restore it, you are already more than half way there, just some caps to replace, the audio transformer to retrofit or replace and likely some resistors to check.

Is there something that you could put in series with the audio transformer to protect it incase a cap or tube goes bad?

To beautiful, restorate it

Restore! Restore! Restore!

Do the restore please sir!

Sir can you tell me how to make low power MW transmiter that can cover 30m area. Most MW radio now gone make old radio this just sit like stone without radio station.

I want that volt meter, i think your on external speaker jacks

What failed inside the audio transformer ?

move on to the next - always a fun though.

How difficult would it be to diagnose and repair the audio transformer? That would be fascinating content as well. That is, unless it's not at all worth the effort.

Restore it!!

12:37 Uh. Can i assume those are transistors and not light bulbs?

I’d love to know how to sensitivity and audio quality of that school project radio. Would it be something to use in a kitchen or office to listen to AM radio or FM?

Yes, sir. I would love to see a complete restoration. That old thing deserves a little TLC. Really nice job so far.

Thanks for this video. I'm guessing it's old hat for you by now but for me (having restored a few tube radios) it's still valuable to watch the process. That radio is a very cool find and, like any other tube radio, I think it pays homage to past builders and engineers to do a proper restoration. Maybe it's not worth a bunch of money but these old radios are a statement to the ingenuity of mankind and I feel like they should be treated with as much respect as we can muster. Your whole channel is a testament to that! Thanks again for spreading the knowledge!

Definitely a full restoration! I've been screaming at you all through the video to replace that coupling capacitor before you lose another audio transformer! It would be great to hear your observations on the design as well.

Mr. Carlson, where did you obtain so much Excellent Electronics Knowledge Please? From a RCC School maybe? I am in the USA and NOT Familiar with RCC.

2:05 - It DOES have a very 'home-brew' look to it. especially the off-center dial!

When going through the "short" tests with my tube tester, I like to tap on the glass to see if there is anything intermittent while switching through each test. I have found bad tubes this way that otherwise tested good. Also, thanks again for including a nixie tube piece of gear in every video. Have a great day!

This is a piece of history for the Canadian College of Radio. It should be restored and well publicised into RU-vid for the prosperity. If you dont do it, who would? Yes, it is a small radio, that have no real special thing for itself BUT from being built by a tech. It shows what electronic people needed to do and learn to be accepted into the radio field way back when. This need to be known. Please, restore it ;-)

Dear Paul, From what sounds you managed, I was impressed. Please do restore it. It is a sweet thing, seemingly made with great care and attention. The maker will never thank you unless he is a centenarian, but I will! Best wishes from George in Herefordshire.

repairing the long past electronics is my favourite 😊👍

When I went to tech school we had to build a Heathkit VTVM and a black and white television. It was plenty of work and I enjoyed it. I remember seeing the box and bags full of parts for the TV and thinking, this will never work. I used it for years after building it. The Heathkit VTVM served me for years but got destroyed in a magnitude 7 earthquake. That's right, it took an earthquake!

I just wanted to say that I enjoy your videos tremendously. I also agree, whoever built this did a fine job just on creating the metal chassis alone.

A full restoration would be great to see Paul, love to see it's final performance.Very neat little radio ! Cheers from Oz Baz

Let this radio have a new lease on life Mr C. It does work as designed 70yrs ago and as you said the builder did a good job so... restoration time. Tubes/valves amaze me at how they were visualized and invented. This was a great video showing the troubleshooting and diagnosis, thanks for another invaluable episode. See ya next time.

Good morning Mr. Carlson; This RCC Radio electronic course kit radio, soo cool. Be a showpiece in any living room dining room. The simple yet fine grain wood ply cabinet is very pretty. A KEEPER Radio for shure. Nice sound from that big speaker too. For sure The "Carlson" Treatment all New caps, and check for noisy resistors. So new polarized AC power cord and The SAFETY CAP be added ? Are you going to retube also ? Great find Paul. Really SHARP lookin AM Radio with HI FI Sound !! Cheers Kristy

Hi Paul! Again, you presented a very nice video. And yes, let's do a complete restoration and alignment of the radio! Concerning this trouble-shooting part of the video, when at first there is absolutely no sound to be heard, I have found that the very first thing to check is the reliability of the speakers. How many times do we find a broken speaker wire in the cone? You never mentioned the integrity of the speaker first. Then, secondly, one should check the continuity of the audio transformer. If there is an open winding, sometimes we can unwrap the paper and reattach the transformer windings. When fixable, one does not have to fish around in the junk box or buy a new transformer, thus, saving a little time and money. I hope this gives you some more ideas for your approach to trouble-shooting older radios.

Paul, you explain the radio circuitry so effortlessly a lay person can understand. Please perform a full restore.

I’m for restoration for simple fact that it was hand built by someone a long time ago. A tribute to the days of hand built and that individual and his dreams…

I'd like to see it restored to working order. Having such few tubes, it would be interesting to hear the sound quality that comes out of a Radio of that design. It reminds me of a 1935 Detrola Radio I have that only has I think 3 tubes and a rectifier that I had restored once, but it fell out of the car seat onto the floorboard and has had a loud hum since. A friend looked up the design and said it was a Grid leakage detector type receiver.

I love the idea of restoring someone's old class project just in general, so I vote yes, absolutely. And it's obviously hard to tell across youtube, but it sounded to me like it had pretty good tone, so I'd kind of like to hear how good a job they did at that part, too! Also it reminds me of one of the old computers I built which had a rather similar if larger plywood outer case so that's pleasing to me. It's like "hey! I recognise this style of construction! I _did_ it!" xD

This brings back memories ... I went to RCC and had to build one of these ... 5 tube superhetrodine AM radio ... WOW ...

another awesome all American five adventure . Mr C is the best

I went to R.C.C school in 1982-83

Thumbs up for the full restoration idea!

I just checked in to see what condition my 6V6GT was in. Ya ya ya oh yeah! She’s cooked captain! Very tired. The audio transformer is gone! Argh! Those wax caps are junk! If an old radio is found first thing is you SHOULD’NT plug it in to LINE voltage or current! Use a current limiting light bulb and outlet or a variac transformer. Never play an old radio that’s sat for a while, even if it works! Replace the wax caps first then the electrolytic ones. Even if they esr and or reform. In my restorations I just don’t question old electrolyte and replace. I’ll replace with a new or known esr tested and proven computer grade or a Panasonic brand high hour, low esr, high temp 105c. Also I like metal oxide resistors for durability and noise. I love the videos. How clearly you explain how and what’s going on. Also, how one should go about troubleshooting the circuit. I’d definitely restore the radio. It’s troubleshooted and the problem is found. Remove the coupling capacitor and replace with a good one. New tube and transformer will get it playing. But a full restoration isn’t all that much more once you’re there? Is the radio useful and or worth it in the end? Can you get anything back for your time? Did it teach someone something? We do it cause we love it! ❤ For the love of wireless (everything RF)! For the love of electricity and electronics! Love your vids and I appreciate your time and effort to share your knowledge and experiences with us on here and on patron! Thank you!