[BrendaAnnD]

   

I know this isn't the way some of you who are actually good at cabinetry would do it, but I have managed to repair the grill on the 89 I bought from you. On the lower repair, you see some wood filler where the veneer would normally be. I'll be reworking that particular spot as soon as I can find a piece of veneer that at least sort of matches.

The repair itself was done with a nice piece of plywood I had that was a perfect fit between the inner and outer pieces that were still there. It's a nice solid repair. Not perfect, but it sure is different than it was.

[BrendaAnnD]

BTW, the chassis has been completely recapped, and all out of tolerance resistors replaced, as well as a new cloth covered cord. It works like a champ. The one small tear in the speaker was an easy fix.

Also, the -250 got here yesterday. It's nicer than the pictures showed. Cabinet should look very nice with some Scott's Liquid Gold. The FM does work, though the bandswitch is noisy, and the calibration is off a MHz or so (my 43.1 signal comes in at 44.2 or so). Should be a snap to realign. First one of these series of sets I've had where the AMBCB calibration is almost spot on. Always had trouble with the bottom end.

[Jamie]

I think it looks great, considering the limitations you face in your location. Did you shellac it, or is it sprayed with liquid gold?

[BrendaAnnD]

They started stocking spray lacquer at the PX. Thought I'd try that after covering the scratches that were on the front of the radio. Think I may have gone a bit overboard with something new, but it sure looks a heckuvalot better than when it arrived here (or to Ron, for that matter. I remember this radio being a huge disappointment to him, as it was nearly perfect when he bought it, but the shipper busted it up pretty badly.)

[Jamie]

The camera always makes stuff look 10x shinier than it really is.. Pretty cool that you can get lacquer now. Nothing is worse than the shippers.

[Ron Ramirez]

Great save! And the 42-350 was working as is? I never tried it! Or did you mean the 42-355?

[BrendaAnnD]

Ron, the squarish one, I believe it to be the 350 (typoed the 250). And yes, it is mostly working. As I said, dirty bandswitch, some FM alignment to do (perhaps a bit on SW, I haven't yet checked calibration), and of course the obligatory recapping. Otherwise, it sounds great, even on FM. (I love having my 100KHz-110MHz PLL genny... and it's got FM stereo capability, too.) Can't wait for the other one to come in.

This evening, I was playing with a GE 260 I bought cheap for parts. At first, it had no B+, but it didn't take long to find the problem. The solder lug inside the power supply that feeds the B+ out of the can to the filters had been pulled over to the side and was shorted against the can. Fixed that and darn if the radio didn't come to life, at least on AM.

I've finished the 89 for now, and it's put back together. I'm trying to do a repair on the tuning knob I found for it, and will post a pic of the finished radio after that's been done. If you ever get ahold of a small piece of the appropriate veneer to finish the patch, let me know. Also could use a speaker mount screw.

[BrendaAnnD]

BTW... your comment means a lot to me. I am getting a bit more confident with this sort of thing. This is the first time I've ever repaired a grill like this with a totally missing section.

[BrendaAnnD]

   

The 89 all put back together. I had to try to repair the tuning knob, which had the center busted out. Unfortunately, the stain didn't take in part of the filler, so it doesn't look like much.. but better than it looked before. I'll end up ordering another from gobs of knobs or someplace. I may have a piece of veneer to finish repairing the grill on it's way, I hope I can make that look good.

[Jamie]

Brenda that looks great. If you end up needing some veneer, let me know and I'll send you a small piece. If you take some elmer's glue and mix it with sawdust, smear it on that knob, then sand it smooth - it will take stain. Might not be perfectly flat, but it will take color (credit for that tip goes to my woodworking friend).