Radio work

[Tori]

My radio works, but not well. Won’t hold a station, and sometimes the volume control doesn’t change the volume much. As in some times you can’t turn the sound down.

Is there anything to clean? Or do to cure either of these symptoms? I want to keep the original radio and may try to gut it and replace the interns with components from a modern radio.

 

[moparedtn]

It wouldn't hurt to hit the thing one time with electrical contact cleaner. I used to shoot the stuff right up the control shafts after removing the knobs,
then work them back and forth. It worked sometimes.
BTW, there are already companies out there that do the electronic conversions on these old radios. Still others make all new radios that look just like
these old ones, yet have all the modern stuff in them.

 

[Tori]

Thanks. I’ll give the tune-up in a can a try. If it just worked even a little bit better I’d be happy. I don’t use it much, but like for all the Stuff in my cars to function. Most the time I’m just listening to the bumpity bumpity bump.

I do radio conversations for the Nash Metropolitan tube radio, so if I go that route I’ll tackle this on my own.

 

[moparedtn]

Thanks. I’ll give the tune-up in a can a try. If it just worked even a little bit better I’d be happy. I don’t use it much, but like for all the Stuff in my cars to function. Most the time I’m just listening to the bumpity bumpity bump.
I do radio conversations for the Nash Metropolitan tube radio, so if I go that route I’ll tackle this on my own.

Wow, you don't say? The electronic/modern reproduction radios for those of us with the thumbwheel radios is nutso expensive.
Ever thought about doing some conversions for those perhaps?

 

[threewood]

@Billccm

He loves old radios!

 

[multimopes]

I would like to buy a decent working factory AM/FM for my 73, (same style). Currently there nothing in that dash hole as an aftermarket high end unit was installed in a custom panel below the center of the dash with aftermarket gauges. My problem is today's wonderful electronic radios do not hold the station memory when power is cut. My battery is trunk mounted with the NHRA mandated kill switch in the back bumper and I leave the switch off when car is off. I am aware of hooking up the small memory wire on the new radio but don't want to do any battery draining when the car sits for weeks at a time. What I want to do is use the old style radio with it's mechanical memory settings as my radio with an antenna splitter and use the old radio speaker outputs as an input to my new radio with it's super duper power amp. Then all I need to do when I power up the new radio is select source as it has all the new fangled inputs like blue tooth, etc. There is a wireless remote with the new unit, thank God, as it is difficult to reach controls with the 5 point racing seatbelt harness on. Good luck with your quest, Tori and thanks for the info Ed and Threewood. I will try to contact @Billccm myself. I apologize for my rant as I didn't want to hijack your thread but if I don't spew when I am thinking about it I'll forget and it will be on hold behind a hundred other items currently and always in the fire! Thanks for jogging my memory!

 

[Billccm]

Back in the late 1970s the TV repair shop I worked at repaired Nash metropolitan radios for the national club. I recall they were built by a British company PYE. We replaced the mechanical vibrator with home brew solid state circuits, all new capacitors and done. Those were the days.
I'd say 99% of the car radios I repair just need new capacitors and perhaps reflow of fractured solder joints.
Try deoxit on your volume potentiometer and see what happens.
From your picture I'd be concerned about the tuning clutch. Looks worn.

 

[multimopes]

Bill, do you have any of these old radios?

 

[Billccm]

There is a simple circuit you could build to keep the radio memory alive. Two 1N4007 diodes and a 9V battery. PM me and I'll draw the circuit for you.

 

[Billccm]

Don't have any AM FM radios. Just a few thumbwheel AM units.
I will say the chineseium conversion radios work pretty good. Several of my friends have them in various old rides.

 

[multimopes]

Thank You sir! I will check out other mediums, perhaps Ebay !?! I like your descriptor for them, sounds stylish, LOL

 

[Billccm]

I just thought of another memory keep alive circuit. Lots of pinball machines use a super capacitor and a diode. The super capacitor charges while the key is on, and the diode allows only the radio memory to power.

 

[multimopes]

Thanks Bill, I might consider something like that.

 

[Tori]

Just an update on my radio,.... I ran a fair amount of LectroMotive cleaner thru and all around the radio, seems to have helped my tune issue, (at least on the quick test drive) had no effect on the volume control however. We’ll see how it behaves over the next couple weeks. Thanks for the help guys.