08-07-2021, 02:41 PM
Greetings, Raven !
Welcome to the Phorum. You say you are a complete novice to all this, and cannot yet read schematics. That is a fundamental skill you will need, and is not all that difficult to acquire. There are a number of parts symbols which you will have to memorize. I highly recommend the book Audel's Radioman's Guide by Edward P. Anderson. It will not only teach you these symbols, but give you a good grounding in the electronics used in these sets. It is written for everyday people, not for the technically advanced, and is an ideal beginners book for those interested in antique radios and their restoration. It is available online here:
https://archive.org/details/Audels_Radio...9/mode/2up
or can be ordered from Amazon. I suggest one of the editions from 1960 or earlier since these will concentrate most on the information relevant to the equipment we work on. There are some parts of the book which may seem technical, and will require you to learn some mathematics. This is not very difficult. Be glad you are alive today when a cheap scientific calculator can do the job. I learned to do all this using a SLIDE RULE !
You will also need certain tools, most of them can be obtained from Harbor Freight, or similar discount source. Needle nose pliers, regular pliers, a small adjustable wrench, a set of various screw drivers. small and medium diagonal cutters for wire. are basics. You will also need a decent multi meter. One thing NOT to skimp on is a soldering iron. I highly recommend getting a good Weller gun; model 8200 is ideal for our work. Get an older one with the special NUTS which hold in the tips, nor a brand new one where the tips are held in with set screws. The old ones are better, and can be found on eBay at very reasonable prices. Order some solder braid too, to soak up the solder when you are de-soldering connections. I find it works better than the solder suckers some people use. Also, get a little jar, the kind pimento peppers come in is ideal. Put some isopropyl alcohol in it, and then some violin rosin crushed up, which will dissolve in the alcohol. This makes a very good flux which you can paint on various connections to make the solder flow better. You can also paint it on the solder wick with a little brush to make it soak up the solder even better. Also, I have found that if you slightly squish solder wick length wise, so as to open up the weave slightly, this also helps it soak up the solder.
I do hope all this helps you in the hobby. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Folks here will be happy to help.
Welcome aboard !
Mike
Welcome to the Phorum. You say you are a complete novice to all this, and cannot yet read schematics. That is a fundamental skill you will need, and is not all that difficult to acquire. There are a number of parts symbols which you will have to memorize. I highly recommend the book Audel's Radioman's Guide by Edward P. Anderson. It will not only teach you these symbols, but give you a good grounding in the electronics used in these sets. It is written for everyday people, not for the technically advanced, and is an ideal beginners book for those interested in antique radios and their restoration. It is available online here:
https://archive.org/details/Audels_Radio...9/mode/2up
or can be ordered from Amazon. I suggest one of the editions from 1960 or earlier since these will concentrate most on the information relevant to the equipment we work on. There are some parts of the book which may seem technical, and will require you to learn some mathematics. This is not very difficult. Be glad you are alive today when a cheap scientific calculator can do the job. I learned to do all this using a SLIDE RULE !
You will also need certain tools, most of them can be obtained from Harbor Freight, or similar discount source. Needle nose pliers, regular pliers, a small adjustable wrench, a set of various screw drivers. small and medium diagonal cutters for wire. are basics. You will also need a decent multi meter. One thing NOT to skimp on is a soldering iron. I highly recommend getting a good Weller gun; model 8200 is ideal for our work. Get an older one with the special NUTS which hold in the tips, nor a brand new one where the tips are held in with set screws. The old ones are better, and can be found on eBay at very reasonable prices. Order some solder braid too, to soak up the solder when you are de-soldering connections. I find it works better than the solder suckers some people use. Also, get a little jar, the kind pimento peppers come in is ideal. Put some isopropyl alcohol in it, and then some violin rosin crushed up, which will dissolve in the alcohol. This makes a very good flux which you can paint on various connections to make the solder flow better. You can also paint it on the solder wick with a little brush to make it soak up the solder even better. Also, I have found that if you slightly squish solder wick length wise, so as to open up the weave slightly, this also helps it soak up the solder.
I do hope all this helps you in the hobby. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Folks here will be happy to help.
Welcome aboard !
Mike
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