[Eric T]

Hello and welcome to the Phorum.

I have a 39-45, too. I'll be more than happy to get some photos of the chassis innards. You may have to wait until this weekend for me to get the time to pull it out of the cabinet. This is a great sounding, great performing radio. Restore/repair it right, and you'll want it around for a long, long time.

That being said,

RE-CAP IT! RE-CAP IT! RE-CAP IT! RE-CAP IT! RE-CAP IT!

Oh, yeah....

RE-CAP IT!

Those paper and wax caps are all bad. Even if they read OK, they're bad. The electrolytics are bad, too. This is a safety issue above and beyond a performance issue.

To your question about a cheap, reliable low-power AM transmitter:

You can buy a SSTRANS kit for about $90, which I hear are excellent units. I even plan to buy one myself soon.

Or, if your as cheap as I am, you can check out this thread at ARF and build a decent performing little transmitter for about $15. I'd recommend using an IC socket so you can change crystals easily.