I found this radio on my local Facebook a few weeks ago. The original price was 80CAD (about $57USD). Today I looked at this listing again. The price has been reduced to an incredible 25CAD ($18USD). I only have to drive 16 minutes from my house to see the seller, and 5 minutes ago this radio was on my desk. This radio is probably from 1930-31. The Radio Museum labels it as a "Superheterodyne", but this is a mistake, it is a TRF radio.
At first glance, the radio is complete, all visible parts are original and present.
I will have a lot of fun restoring this radio.
If you want to work, lie down and sleep, and everything will pass.
(This post was last modified: 06-07-2025, 11:56 PM by Vlad95.)
Vlad, rather cool radio and for $18, I would have driven much more than 16t minutes or miles.! It does appear to be a TRF radio, my guess being 2 RF amps, a "plate" or "biased" detector and what looks like 2 '45s or 47s in push-pull. The '80 rectifier is likely a modern (1948 or later) replacement. I have 2 RCA 80s like this; they look like a 5Y3 that they put a 4 pin base on. The 80 and 5Y3 have identical specs, but the newer ones are much more rugged. The radio reminds me of the US Radio and Television "Gloritone" 26, except tht your set has 2 output tubes.
I have 2 Canadian radios, a Bulova battery radio (Rogers tubes, they would have been RCA if a US model) and a Canadian Victor Talking Machine (RCA) R-28 radio. 2 unique features of this radio are the Ontario Hydropower approval sticker (kind of like our Underwriter's Laboratories) and the red sticker of the warning that they must purchase a license to use the radio.
"Do Justly, love Mercy and walk humbly with your God"- Micah 6:8
"Let us begin to do good"- St. Francis
Vlad;
I also have an R-646 but it's in rough shape, the chassis is complete, but the speaker is missing, and the cabinet needs rebuilding. I think that the Rogers sets in this era were based around the same designs as Grigsby-Grunow Majestic sets, except in Canada they were sold under both the Rogers and Majestic brands. The tube shields used to have round covers with a series of holes punched in them, my chassis still has two of them, the third is missing. I never did get my set going, it had not only a failed audio interstage transformer, but a failed audio output transformer. I could have bought a better example about 15 years ago in an antique shop, it was electrically restored, or at least repaired, but I didn't have $150 to spare at the time, they are good performers like their Majestic cousins are though.
Regards
Arran
Hello everyone.
I am trying to start restoring this guy.
The chassis was pulled and opened up. There is a huge amount of not even dust, but debris on all the parts and inside. The air compressor worked hard to remove the debris. But the chassis is still very dirty. I have tried isopropyl alcohol, gasoline, acetone. It will take several gallons of solvent to achieve any result. I am afraid to use an actual dishwasher detergent, it usually helps in such difficult cases, but it is a risky method. I will think about it.
A preliminary inspection suggests that the capacitors in the power supply may have problems, as I found a lot of leaking mastic on the bottom of the chassis under the power transformer. Apparently it was overheating before, but a short test of the power supply did not give catastrophic results, all the tubes are hot, and there is some hum in the speaker. The final plan for the chassis is:
1) as much disassembly as possible
2) as thorough cleaning as possible
3) removing all rust
4) repainting rusty parts and stains.
5) checking and, if necessary, restoring faulty capacitors.
6) restoring all electronic functions to working order.
The next step is to restore the case.
As I can see, the case needs some serious work: re-gluing the delaminated plywood
Complete re-sanding
Restoring some areas of the veneer
Complete re-finishing.
I don't usually like woodworking, it's not my favorite part of the hobby.
I tried to find someone here who does furniture restoration. I found one, called for an estimate. When I heard the price - $300 for this work, and compared it to the money I spent on buying this radio - $25, I decided that I needed to start loving woodworking and wood finishing.
But how much do you think it will cost to restore the body of this radio?
If you want to work, lie down and sleep, and everything will pass.
(This post was last modified: 06-07-2025, 11:56 PM by Vlad95.)
Also, what about your recomendation, wil be interested to presentation full process of restavration this radio, step by step?
Or it is not good idea to fill up forum by big number of iformations.
Hello Vlad,
What great find I really like the cabinet design !
Far as a restoration thread on this that would be great we welcome threads like that .
because anyone of us may come across one and your posts could really help also we can help you along the way with your restoration .
Definitely keep us posted on the progress. Your experience will help newcomers to this hobby.
I hear you about having to learn to love woodworking; it is not my most favorite thing. almost all of my radios worked as found, were repaired by me or totally restored electronically by me. However, other than shoe polish, furniture polish and some glue, my cabinets are as found.
Definitely replace the caps (capacitors) and be careful handling them. Oil filled capacitors of that vintage contain dioxins or other hazardous materials. Consider that when deciding whether to stuff them or merely replace them with modern caps. The wiring might look a little funky but is likely to be good. It is nice that the tuning capacitor is covered; it should be cleaner than the rest of the chassis.
The nice thing about TRF sets is that they are much easier to restore than Superhets. (Hope that statement does not turn around and bite me or you.)
"Do Justly, love Mercy and walk humbly with your God"- Micah 6:8
"Let us begin to do good"- St. Francis
Chassis looks pretty good. I have seen that type of cosmetic condition deemed acceptable by many, we all have our standards, good luck with the rest of it. The case has simple elegance to it, I have one TRF radio. gifted to me by a member of this Phorum. It is pretty good player. You have to think that for someone in 1930 that device opened a whole new window on their world regardless of how we would compare it to a Superhet that would come later. Paul
Hi MrFixr55 It is nice that the tuning capacitor is covered; it should be cleaner than the rest of the chassis.
Not really.
I thought so too, until I removed the casing. And it turned out that all the free spaces were filled with already compressed garbage.
But the most unpleasant thing is that everything is covered with a film of kitchen fats deposited and polymerized over the long period of its life. This is a fairly common phenomenon for old radio equipment. But the result is a coating identical in composition to oil paint. And cleaning it is a very labor-intensive task. But unlike paint, the filler here is not pigment, but dust. So if you want to make it beautiful, you will have to do this.
That's a drag. I had a set from a heavy smokering environment and the nicotine was just sponged up by the Bakelite case, cleaned it, cleaned it, cleaned it, it was never ending til it ended. Yours maybe was in a Kitchen, maybe even a diner or restaurant, never know....Paul
Yes, you are right. Bot only this very terrible and dangerous method as on picture can solve this problem. But it is really help. Need long draying 3-5 days after under hot air to prevent transformer burn.
Vlad95
If you want to work, lie down and sleep, and everything will pass.
(This post was last modified: 06-07-2025, 11:57 PM by Vlad95.)
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