Brunswick 5KR restoration

[bandersen]

Originally Posted by DavGoodlin

Does your tuning cap rotate freely? It looks like the frame is NOT pot metal.

I suspended restoration of a GE model H 51 (similar to Radiola 80) with a frozen cap due to pot metal expansion.

That's a shame. I like that cabinet on the H51.

Yes, it does turn freely. It was quite stiff at first, but I gradually worked in some oil and grease.
The pulleys may be pot metal, but I don't think the rest is.

[Electronic M]

What are those two metal pins that protrude from the back of the PS chassis? I initially thought they were toggle switches, but it appears that only one wire runs to each of them.

[Nick_the_'Nole]

Those are the connectors either for the antenna or speaker... probably the speaker, judging by their location.

What you're actually seeing are pin plugs sticking out of the chassis mounted jacks... the plugs would've originally been attached to the ends of the speaker leads, but for some inexplicable reason somebody cut off the wires and left the plugs attached, rather than just unplugging them from the jacks.

[bandersen]

Yes, those are the speaker terminals. They puzzled me for a while too until I found a copy of the service info. The handful of rotted wiring I thought was for the speaker I showed in an earlier photo was actually an antenna.

Speaking of speakers. I got lucky and found a nice Brunswick Model A on ebay As far as I know, it's the speaker that originally went with the 5KR.
Coincidentally, this speaker was missing the plug pins. I was able to salvage them from 5KR chassis and attach new wires.


It has a handy access port on the back. A little tug in the finger holes on the bottom and it pops right off.
I hooked it up to a function generator and it seems to work very well


The cone is in excellent condition.

[Reece]

I like the style of that speaker, and in such good shape.

[bandersen]

I like it too. I found some photos online of other sets which confirm the finish is correct. I'd have thought the radio and speaker would be a closer match.



I also have an RCA 100A I could use with this radio, but I like the Model A a lot better. The speaker inside appears to be the same in both.

[DavGoodlin]

That's also a nice Radiola speaker with original grillcloth. I installed some window screen in front of mine to prevent an "accident".

BTW, have you tried either of those UHF set-top antennas on DTV? That is one I haven't experimented with.

[bandersen]

Originally Posted by DavGoodlin

That's also a nice Radiola speaker with original grillcloth. I installed some window screen in front of mine to prevent an "accident".

BTW, have you tried either of those UHF set-top antennas on DTV? That is one I haven't experimented with.

I'm currently using a vintage VHF antenna with my DTV box. Never tried one of the UHF models either.

Almost ready for some new brown paint.


Time to give to the other chassis some attention. It has far less rust on it


The whole variable cap and drive comes off as a single unit. Very handy!

[Reece]

Built like a tank.

[bandersen]

It sure is
I ran out to get some more rust remover and was surprised to get the 3rd degree. I had to produce photo ID, fill out a log book entry and sign it. I noticed other entries in the log seemed to be for roto-rooters

While I wait for more rust to dissolve, I took a look at the filter block.

There are 3 capacitors and a choke in here potted in wax I think.


Yep, it's probably beeswax. Very easy to melt out with a heat gun on low and smells rather nice. A nice change from the tar block I usually encounter.

My goal is to extracate the three caps without disturbing the choke.


I heated the cap side and drained out most of the wax but the caps were still wedged it very tight.
A corkscrew finally did the trick. The other two sections were then easily removed.

[holmesuser01]

I've got this same Brunswick. It has several original tubes.

The speaker back is missing, along with the little tuning light cover.

Yours will be beautiful when you are finished.

[coffee123]

very cool, i love projects like that...still intact and pretty complete, looks horrible, not not as bad as ud think...love the progress

[bandersen]

Dirt, rust, mildew even asbestos - it's got it all

I was able to repair the volume control by using a little shim to bridge the break.


When I first tested the 71A tube, it tested very good. A few days later it was totally dead. I was getting set to toss it and start shopping for a replacement when it occurred to me to try touching up the pin contacts.
So I carefully unsoldered the base pins, removed the already loose base, tinned the wires, reattached the base and soldered the pins. Sure enough, the tube came back to life

I then dug into my box of dead tubes and resurrected more tubes including some blue Arcturus and a UX280

[BelowZero]

Yeah many times those dead old tubes can be revived.
I bought a working Majestic radio off the bay awhile back but when I received it the seller had pulled two good 45s and stuffed two duds in the set, someone had even written "DUD" on the glass with a sharpie, but I got the last laugh as I resoldered the filament pins on one 45 and it went from dead to a strong testing globe 45, I've got it in my Atwater Kent 60 now.
The other 45 has a good filament but has no emission so I'll try working on the grid and plate pins.
I also saved a globe 71A with a very loose base and intermittent filament. Now I just can't toss an old tube anymore.

[Reece]

I can't toss them either: even if they don't come back to life I (pack rat that I am) always think I can use the base for a coil form or a connecting plug or adapter, or...