[mikesloane]

I am trying to restore my neighbor's 39-45 and I think I am getting close to the point of powering it up. She is refinishing the cabinet and brought the speaker panel to me. To my horror, the antenna on the back of the panel consists of about ten laps of bare galvanized "fence" wire in a triangle supported by cup hooks. I very much doubt that this is the original but have no idea what the OEM antenna arrangement might be. I know that wire gauge isn't important for an antenna, and I do know that it has to be insulated, and probably more of a square or rectangular shape (using the corners of the board). I can guess that part, but I don't have any idea what the total length of the wire should be.

Any help would be appreciated,

Mike

[Radioroslyn]

Depends on what you are trying to receive. A few feet of wire will get you the local stations but if you want something that works well you will need 100' or better of wire up as high as you can get it.
Terry

[mikesloane]

Thanks, Terry, but I am really just trying to get the unit back to the way it was originally. Enhanced performance isn't as much of an issue as basic functionality. I suppose, given that one lap around the outside of the board will take about 10' of wire, I can go around 10 times and call it "done". I guess what I need is an image of the inside of the unit as it was originally.

Mike

[LASJayhawk]

Mine has .....none. They were made for a long wire antenna. Sounds like what you have is a pretty good solution as it is

[Chuck Schwark]

Used an outdoor antenna and ground, no built-in loop.

Chuck

[Eric T]

I have a 39-45 and use about 50 ft of thin gauge wire run out to the back porch, where it is inconspicuously run around the frame of the porch screen. This setup works very well, both for AM and SW.

[mikesloane]

Thanks to all. I will go with "the ultimate antenna" - http://socalradiowaves.com/columns/am_antenna.html - that I happen to have around.

On another note, I powered up the chassis and heard background hum but no reception. I ran the tubes through my tube tester, and they came up as "OK" (but not great). My next step is to clean the range switch, as this thing has been sitting unused in a basement for many years. I did manage to free up the push-button switches that were all stuck. Unfortunately, the cabinet and faceplate are not with me - the owner is in the process of refinishing the cabinet - so I don't know what the positions are on the range switch.

Mike

[LASJayhawk]

Shortwave

Police

Broadcast

Pushbutton

[LASJayhawk]

Oh and be really careful or you are going to make fire. The wiring in the radio is rubber covered. Just look at the wrong way and the insulation falls off. And the same goes for the wires coming out of the power transformer.

You pretty much have to rewire these 39's