Vintage Electronics Find 

My Father built that very same Knight VTVM. He used it for years in his TV shop until he got a Digital meter in the 80's. I remember watching him building it on our kitchen table. The meter was really well worn when I found it in his old junk.

I'm just gonna be real with you. Your like me... 25 years from now! Your an inspiration to us all!

Dean, I just discovered your channel and have really enjoyed your work on here. I can remember when I was a kid (Got a couple years on you) one of my friends parents buying a stereo very similar to that one and I was in awe of the sound that came out of it. Mono AM radios was all I'd heard before that day! That was a great find to have been in such good condition. Most of those went to the curb in the 80's & 90's at the most. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and passing it along to all the younger ones that have no idea what the past was like. This stuff to them is like a telegraph or a hand crank Model T was to us. Keep it up!

What you first said is RF Chokes - I believe they're coils for different ham bands. They're made with just the right number of turns to work with that variable capacitor to make VFOs (variable frequency oscillators.) Combined with other fixed capacitors and a transistor OR a tube oscillate at the frequencies used by hams. They could also be have been used to make short wave receivers. Cool old stuff.

Talking about intermittent switches, the power switch in my old Fluke multimeter finally became intermittent after many years. It looked like it would be tough to replace, and it looked like it didn't have enough of an opening to get contact cleaner in, but I tried a drop of very old CRAMOLIN cleaner, and lo & behold, it came back 100%. It's still working fine 2 years later.

When I was a teenager, I somehow came across a battery-powered radio with a wooden case. If I remember right it used a large 1.5v cylindrical cell to power the filaments, and a 66.5v battery for the tube plate voltages. I thought it was fascinating, and purchased both batteries. The high voltage one was very expensive with my limited income, so when they were used-up I never replaced them. I think I built a power supply for it and used it for quite a while. I don't remember what happened to it. I probably used the parts for something else, not realizing it's value. Today, I take good care of things like that.

Oh, does that intro bring back memories of chasing code. Communications Technician in the USN in the mid-70's. You'd have been surprised as to how old some of the gear we still used then, as well as hand-keyed and automated/paper-tape morse code. "Dial it in" - I still find myself using that phrase. Thanks for posting!

Just thought I'd drop by to say how much I enjoyed watching this. Took me back to my childhood as I remember my Father used to love messing with electronics. I remember him building a stereo radio record player from scratch, including all the wood cabinet. I still have some of he's tins of old rotary switches capacitors and the like. may still even have some valves. Anyways I was absolutely fascinated, and love the green eye capacitor checker thingie. I still have he's universal Avometer that's very old bakerlite casing that I keep on a shelf in my living room. Keep up the Hackin'

love the sound of the tubes. i was born in the 90's but there is nothing like the sound of old tubes!

Stumbled upon this old video, then found a LOT more interesting stuff on your channel. Liked and subscribed!

LOVED the old tube stuff, especially that magic eye! I have an R-C tester that uses a magic eye for null adjustment and measurement. As far as that 8 transistor radio goes, those kinda look like old style germanium transistors. Many of those were not the modern planar type, but had tiny little point contacts. They were incredibly fragile if they received any manner of significant impact.

I have a cellar full of stuff like this, as a boy my mother would despair as i dragged various finds home on trash day. i still go to the MIT ham fest a couple of times a year and usually find something that needs a new home. My last find was a 1960's Systron Donner pulse generator that still works after 50+ years.

The coils at the beginning of the video are not RF chokes, they are pluggable coil forms used for different bands and are worth $$$. Actually the cigar boxes are worth probably more....a gold mine of antique gear there...

I am not a huge collector of vintage radios, but I do have a few and I know that these pieces have found a good home... to stay. Still, I would estimate that treasure trove to be worth a thousand dollars at a bare minimum and perhaps several thousand. But then I am stunned at what people toss or give away, I once found (sitting by the trash) a beautiful 1955 VM wooden cabinet Tri-o-Matic record player that was a VM company presentation piece for a top seller, and it still plays fantastically.

Great nostalgic video. I was born in the 40's and served a 6 yr apprenticeship as a TV/Radio engineer eventually obtaining a UK college award as being one of the top 7 in the country. But then look what happened, the entire consumer industry became a throwaway society and no one wanted repairs anymore. So there I was, one of the top 7 of a trade that no longer existed. Am also a ham, inactive, EI7HB, formerly G4WCX and enjoy the Morse

My Dad was in the Merchant Marines in WWII on a "Liberty Ship". Another brother was in USAF and served in Vietnam, another was a sub sonar man.

Those 1/4-inch TRS jacks are probably old W-E switchboard jacks; they were made in this manner because they had to be easily serviced. I've never experienced a series-string radio just burning tubes out, and I've worked on quite a few of them. There has to be a short somewhere in the filament string to cause that to happen.

Moore's Code will never die out. It's still a highly efficient means of transferring data in the analog world.

Subbed , looking forward to seeing the Radios tuned in to places as far away as you can get , Thank You for the Upload , was nice of them to donate these vintage items to you :) QC

I like the Capacitor tester best, since you probably do not know how rare, expensive these magic eyes are. And this is one of the most "looked after" magic eye tube ever. So wear a big smile in your face when using this. But do not leave it on for hours, since this sort of magic-eye tubes worn out pretty fast. But this particular tube is bright as a new one. So use this carefully and be proud to have such a lovely tube!

That WW2 morale radio is in Mint Condition inside, true time warp stuff.

The eye is indeed a vacuum tube. It works on the same principle as a CRT display (shooting and bending a stream of electrons on some phosphor, which then starts to glow). They are mostly called "magic eyes" and they were mostly used in radios to indicate whether your radio has been tuned to a station correctly. They also contain a filament, which explains why it takes some time before the display comes on.

That's pretty awesome! Glad you enjoy the video. Got a brother that was in the USAF for 8 years in the 60's. Thanks for watching Sir! :)

That site is awesome and inspiring! Thanks!

when I was a teenager I had an 50's/ 1960's blue, GE, clock radio I got at a second hand store for like $5. just like the one you showed, it had the convenience outlet on the back, and I would set it up to turn on a lamp and radio when the alarm went off, to get up school and later when I was in my 20's working at a hospital. I used till it finally died up to the late 80's. by then I had bought a newer one. and ended up donating it to another thrift store for someone else to mess around with. I dont remember if it had the RCA input Jack tho.

Very enjoyable! Thanks Dean.

hahaha! That capacitor checker is amazing! I never thought such things would ever exist.. incredible. Thanks for sharing all that. =)

I have an old Bendix automotive primary condenser tester which I have occasionally used to test old polyester and mica capacitors. It has a rather limited range, but it does have a mode to check leakage. And yes, it is tube based.

EL34 eyes in your cap meter are getting quite rare...A nice vintage collection of gear you showed, thanks!

I have been off the air so long that when I fired up my receiver a few years ago, I couldn't figure out what the heck was going on when I heard calls beginning with "N". Thought for a moment the Sun spots were going crazy and DX was booming in! I also found out that we had gotten some additional bands. When I had my fire I was building my code speed up to get my Extra; I was at 34 WPM. But the fire just ripped my heart out and after losing things I had built all my life I gave it up. continued

Pulled out my old Archer Kit meter, you have me wanting to work on it. I use it still from time to time

Really enjoyed this video. Thanks for showing us your neat electronics stuff. That non-functioning black transistor radio may just need its electrolytic capacitors replaced to get it working again. My Dad had the same radio back in the 70's.

The Zenith was one of their higher-end AM sets. The "Filter Magnet Antenna" circuit cuts down interference from RF signals, such as a fluorescent lamp. I used to keep the successor to this model right next to the computer and there was no interference.

Far out, did u get some sweet stuff for helping a friend or what? I couldn't help chuckling to myself as you kept producing all those neat vintage valve radios and then progressed onto the transistor stuff. It was like looking back through time to see all those things and as you got the valve stuff working well my jaw was on the floor. Great Vid :-)

what great finds!

Awesome episode. Love vintage tuberadios. :)

That copper-clad chassis is wonderful. I don't think it will grow metal whiskers as easily as my old capacitor tester did. I think it was zinc coated. What a mess to clean.

i love seeing old technology

I have your website bookmarked. Nice work you do!

I replied because I'm glad you pointed that stuff out. Thanks... really. :)

great find !

I'm self taught for the most part, but as I mentioned in the video, I had some great Ham Radio guys as mentors when I was in my early teens.

What video(s) were on learning schematics. I am disabled and have gain a great interest in restoring or repairing vintage electronics. I am Comp Tia A+ Cert but want to expand my interests I have watched a few videos on schematics but since I have watched you I find that you have a better way of explaining things. Thanks Wyatt

Very nice video, I really enjoyed it. The radio in which you described a tube glowing really bright and then burning out probably indicates that a power supply filter capacitor is bad in the set. It would probably be a good idea to replace all of the old capacitors in the set before you power it up again for long so as not to damage any of the other components. Again....Enjoyed it greatly as I too enjoy tinkering with the radios which glow in the dark. Best 73's and have fun shortwaving~N4TYX~

nice video, like going back in time.

Jesus Murphy!!!! Some of the sounds made by those old radios, OUCH!!!!!

The shortwave talkers are probably transmitting in SSB. One needs a BFO to add the missing carrier frequency. Another (super-)radio may do the trick. A super has a VFO that can act as the BFO by radiating a signal.

Good show. Thank You for doing it. I may have a tip to relay on those scratchy noisy switches. A fellow in another RU-vid video recommended Radio Shack's "Control Contact Cleaner and Lubricant" as a remedy. It has worked quite well. Apparently, the cleaner shines the old rheostats up and the lubricant keeps them that way for a good period of time. It is a little spendy but it promises to service lots of switches and last a long time.

Thanks!

Hey Dean. I have my dad's reel-to-reel player. I love how he focused so hard on tuning to the beginning and the end of a song. He used it to record music off of the radio. I do the same thing when I edit audio files, and am also a meticulous detailed person with many things. I have some of his other stereo components and speakers, but my uncle stole them at first before I could get them back, so am not sure right now if they work or not. He kept some of the components too. I have a couple turn tables and radios too. When I was young I was always very interested in how all of it worked, but since I'm a girl no one seemed to notice how I was interested. When I ask questions I was directed to not learn and go do something else instead. That is how girls are pushed away from learning this stuff. The curious mind who wants to learn such details never changes. Our brains are just wired that way and has nothing to do with gender. I had to deal with Barbies and housework instead. Am so glad the United States gave me the education in our school system :). Now I need to work on some things in order to lower stress, so that I can have some real fun with electronics and technology again. I can't thank you enough for your channel. I would do any work for you if there was a chance to learn from you while making or desoldering something in your shop :) but yea I know that's only a dream lol.

Love your vids

I couldn't believe I watch a 30 minute video on old radios I had forgotten how interesting old electronics was. I cut my teeth on vintage electronics you have to know where you been to know where your going. You need to post a video when you get an outside antenna on the shortwave radios.

THANKS!!

A Fun To Watch Video..Very Interesting,,,Thanks!!!

NEVER too late! 73's!

Cool... thanks!

Deoxit 5 for the switch ,and that coating looks like cosmolene,they use to coat dam near everything in it guns etc.

The National Receiver and the other radios will work well with an outside roof mounted aerial

A battery replacement unit was known here (in Denmark) as a "batteri-eliminator".

It looks like one of the previous owners of that moral radio serviced it at least a few times, I see what looks like some "Black Beauties" under the chassis. The "Black Beauties" were paper capacitors inside a molded plastic shell, they were popular from the late 1940s to early 1960s as replacements but still fail like regular paper caps. The battery eliminator is nice to find, very useful to power late 30s and 40s battery tube radios, but like the radios they need to be rebuilt

Hackaweek TV your shortwave radio Receiver is cool

U have some nice items there very colectable worth putting some research into them and selling them in the right place. Very nice

Very nice find! Cheers from Jamie, VK2TIM

i have a lot of those jacks, and yep, they're built like a tank!

73's back at you guys!

closest I come to knowing ham radio. is eating a ham sandwich listening to radio! but I would really like to know more. and maybe get a license. or just tune in. it be great to have in a emergency. with the weather things are happening more often! been kinda lucky here in western NC!

That Zenith desktop tube radio looks very neat. I sure hope you could fix it :D

I tried to make crystal radios, and just tossed stuff together, made loads of diff. sizes of coils (finally made one from wire from a power adapter, wound on ink pen tube), and worked v. well! I made another coil from the same wire, and 2 popsicle sticks (I now have a SW radio/receiver- it can get Havana cuba, and Nashville,TN SW!). my antenna is 2 straightened wire coat hangers, and 2 yardsticks on my wall. totally homebrewed!! nothing difficult there! (my GND conn. is from power strip ground). I've been harvesting parts for years now, and am glad to find your videos! any more homebrew projects for us? you have any favorite SW channels? (if I can, i'll make schematics for my xtal radio, SW radio, and antenna- all easy builds). thanks for the videos!

This is nice....good!

7:53 LOL "OMG its that guy !.. I love it :) cool radio.

The second device was a "wavemeter" A meter or bulb probably plugged into the front panel connectors. The coil (not a "choke") resonated with the capacitor and current would light a bulb or indicate on a meter on the front panel .A chart would convert the numbers on the knob to meters to indicate the frequency of the transmitter. In the 50's and 60's Ham radios were capable of operating on their "fundamental" frequency and on multiples of that frequency. For example, a Ham transmitter working on 3.5 MHz (80 meter Ham band) could be made to transmit on 2X3.5 or 7 MHz (40 meter Ham band) A wavemeter was invaluable to be sure the transmitter was adjusted for the correct Ham band. You have the same problem I do with an old AM receiver. Instead of old broadcasts it receives modern broadcasts (ugh!) Lacking any transmitter, it sound like that fellow, like many others, never learned the code well enough to get a license. It wasn't easy working alone. I was lucky enough to have a neighbor Ham who helped me and his son learn Morse.

I mentioned to the trash guy that I salvage junk electronics, for parts , and I got 5 radios (took the good stuff out) and 1 radio is an FM/AM/SW, but it didn't work. I opened it, and found water inside, so I used a fan on it, dried it up, and it works perfectly! Checked online, and its worth over $100 new!!!jackpot!!!! As for the other radios, I salvaged the parts, and built 2 crystal radios! Radio shack is gone, and I've been making my own component piles, and its getting bigger!! Any ideas on making more SW radio coils??I've made 60/70/85/90/95/100 turn coils, diff. Diameters. Thanks!!!

Could draw a schematic of the oscillator in the morse code trainer. I was thinking of building my own, and I'm experimenting with oscillators to find a design that works well at 700hz. Thank you for a great video :)

Hi good invention !!!

all I have is a simple tube radio. I had a nice old radio. but lost it when the house burned down. it was from like the early 40's. don't know about the one I have now. its trashed. so I was thinking of putting modern radio. inside. and connect it to the speaker.

hadn't realize that these were still available

My Dad was a HAM and he got tons of this cool stuff in his garage. Its a shame that my mom threw everything in the trash.

I have that same GE clock radio but mine doesn't work all the tubes light up but you get nothing form the speaker like its not on

Nice find. I have one of those SW 54 Nationals and it still works well. W0KLB

That green "EYE" is a tube...that tube is used in a heathkit signal tracer test device I use to have also..it is a cool tube...cool looking I mean.

Did you see Techmoan's video on the WWII communicator? It looks exactly like that

MORSE CODE! AWESOME

On the Luxtone radio. It is most likely open capacitors. Just replace all the electrolytics, and it should work.... Also, a little contact cleaner in the control and tuner, and you are good to go....

Those hams are using single sideband. You need a beat frequency oscillator to replace the carrier.

A great find. Well done. 73's KD9EPU

I made an annotation re. the 4.5 volts. The rest... well it's just the way I say Morse that sounds like Morris, and yeah, I mispronounce Fanelik! Thanks.

That knob on the caibrator is off an Atwater Kant radio

Do you ever sell any of your radios,I am looking for a daily user clock radio that been gone through,and is a reasonable price,I also love that gray metal radio,

Often scratchiness on switches and pots comes from DC coming from leaky caps...

And not one of them Made in China.

The brand Z tube radio is a series string AC/DC set, that transformer is likely an output transformer to couple the audio output tube to the speaker. It looks like a good radio though, it has a tuned RF amplifier stage, why it's blowing out the replacement tube will have to be investigated, it could be that there is a short in the filament circuit or one of the other tubes is of the wrong type or is in the wrong socket.

Hi Dean, I notice you have some hammerlund repair parts. I think most if not all, fit short wave receivers made by them. Hammerlund equipment is still in demand today and these parts are valuable. NOS parts are even more valuable. tom.

that box full of old switches and 1/4 jacks would make a cigar box speaker (like the weekend project one Make posted) a hundred time cooler.

I believe the first coils you shown are actually Tuning coils...

nice....

I have used WD 40 on switches an works a treat and on pots as well

The ranty shouty religious stations are a laugh to listen to. I can just pick them up at night from the UK :)

I have a clock radio Similar to the tube type one in the video when the buzzer went off it scared me

just an idea.. instead of asking for donations, why don't you set up a spread shirt tee shirt thing where you make cool t-shirts of your hacks and sell them.. the cafe racer t-shirt would be totally cool.. so would some of these old radios printed with hack a week on them.. for all us nerds of course :)

at the begining of video we can see that there is no batteries in the morse code transmitter.