What would cause low volume in Telefunken Caprice?
 

I found a nice Telefunken Caprice for sale, but it doesn't seem to go very loud. It plays at a normal to slightly low "speaking volume" but won't go any louder.

What would be the issue, you think? A tube?

https://i.imgur.com/zhZmB61.jpg?1

I would say it's probably due to weak power supply caps.

Are these worth messing with? It's not an Opus. I don't know about the Caprice.

Yeah....the caps will probably be less than twenty bucks total.

I meant is this particular radio any good? Is it worth my time? I know about the Telefunken Opus model. It's supposed to be really great. I don't know about THIS model, the Caprice. Any thoughts? I haven't bought it yet.

I mean, just because it isn't a top of the line model doesn't mean it won't be a good performer. I've found that even the most basic of radios tend to perform well when you recap the set and spend a little time cleaning it up.

It shouldn't have too low a volume. Tube, cap or something. I wouldn't let that put me off, that is a nice looking set. I have a Gavotte and a Jubilate. The Gavotte has better sound but the Jubilate still sounds great. I am listening to it right now as I type. If the price was right I'd buy that radio in a heartbeat.

He wants $100 for it. Seems a bit steep. But I like the look of it.

To me $100 for a broken radio is way too much.
As to the problem its probably a tube.
BUT this thing is German & they did some weird things like
have a drive mech for the vol control. Schematics can also
be hard to find. They can be a bitch to work on but every one
I saw always had great sound. If you havent yet restore
one of the big 50's-early 60's Zenith AM-FM radios. They are cheap
& sound as good. Only bad thing with them is if the IF transformers
have silver-mica disease.

73 Zeno:smoke:
LFOD !

I can't get him to go lower, so I'm passing on it.

I know where there is an Opus, and I'm going to try to work something out for it instead.

Good call, that is too much for that radio. DOn't get obsessed with the Opus, all the Telefunkens sound good. I'd check back with him in a few weeks and offer him 60.

Ah, but the Opus has Magic Dust and Faerie Tears.

Some German sets make that band switch wafer dust and owner/repair tech tears...Which is part of the reason I only own 1 German tube radio out of the ~100-200 vintage radios in my collection. Many German sets develop weird problems centered on unobtanium parts.

It's a nice radio for 60$
I bet one beer the low volume is caused by a dead selenium rectifier and bad coupling caps. The ECL82 output tube which is usually used in tape recorders is reliable and if you need one they are easy to find.
Unfortunately the price is too high for this radio :pity:

He won't budge. He's standing firm at $100, so I moved on. I'd end up with a couple hundred or maybe more, invested in a $100 radio before I got it working properly.