HEH! just revived a RCA AR-77
 

I'll try and take some pictures later, buuuuuuuuuuuut:

so a couple months ago I scored this RCA AR-77, a pair of Pioneer CS-88 woofers, and a pair of HUGE 850CT Power Transformers from a guy at the MIT Radio Swap Meet (3rd Sunday of every month during Spring - Fall :thmbsp:)

Today I FINALLY got around to bringing the AR-77 up from the depths of the basement to test it, and see if I could make it go. I had scored the Sams Folder online a whiler ago, so I printed that out for reference. All the crazy controls on the front kinda baffled me :scratch2: Plugged it in, wired an antenna, and a speaker, and brought it up slow on the variac.

All the tubes were lighting happily, but no sound . . more importantly, no HUM, so I knew the Power Supply caps were good to go :thmbsp:

Started pulling tubes, and testing. Turns out, half the tubes were very weak, or TOAST, sooooo.. . back to the basement I go :smoke: Pulled a good 6H6 from an old tube Voltmeter - pulled a good 6F6GT from a Sparton radio Chassis. Had a box of mixed used / NIB metal tubes, and snagged a NIB 6SJ7. Rectifier tube 'shoulda' been a 5Z4, but there was a 5U4 in its place. grabbed a NIB GE 5Y3GT, since ratings are the same (thank you TDSL :yes:)

WOO HOO ! !! :banana::banana: WE HAVE SOUND !

AM is coming in great, and pulled a couple SW channels in . . . try again tonight when reception is better.

ANOTHER RADIO BACK FROM THE DEAD, AND CERTAIN DUMPSTER DEATH!

nice receiver:i always wanted a ar77 to go with my rca ar88lf and rca cr91 but havnt gotten around to getting one yet.as with being a vintage audio gear collector my other sickness is old "boatanchor" receiver collecting.as for picking up only a few s/w frequencies only alot will depend on what your using for a antenna and where your tuning on the dial at what time.different bands will come in better at certain times.if you can even get a simple longwire streched outside your reception will improve greatly.enjoy.

Yeah, I've always about half wanted one of them, too...Always seem to miss 'em or they go too high on Da Bay... RCA at one time, DID know how to make a good radio...

yeah . . . weather was not ideal last night (cloudy, rainy). I strung up a 50 foot length of antenna inside our sunroom (my wife's face as I did this was priceless :D) but I'll take your suggestion and string one outside to see what I can pickup.

even with the non-ideal setup, I was pulling in some oldies AM stations, and on other bands I heard Caribbean, German, and Chinese :music:

I do have a 1946 Magnavox which picks up SW, so it'll be interesting to see the RCA's performance in comparison.

where the heck are the pics?

ok - you guys have been in suspense long enough : )
 

PICTURES !

the flash REALLY shows off all the grime (I have yet to clean this beast). it's missing (I think) a peice of glass that fits over the dial assembly - notice the old black adhesive residue.

radioactive - do you think I could get a piece of glass cut to fit ?

This baby should look much better after a good dose of Simple Green :yes: I especially like the two chrome strips that run around the whole face and sides - very '1938 chevy' :smoke:

thats an awesome unit...! no FM right?

Cor blimey that thing is ugly on the outside!

Not bad looking inside, though...

oh no . . . FM ?!?!? what the hell is FM ?!?!?! this is 1945 !

http://www.qsl.at/img/xa/bill_xakm.jpg

Doh!!

Careful - you'll make her mad and she'll stop working . . .

radioactive - do you think I could get a piece of glass cut to fit ?

i dont see why not.

the rca should be able to run circles around the magnavox if aligned and working properly.

how would I know if it needs alignment ? Even with the rain tonight, I'm picking up transmissions on practically all bands - and thats with the rainy weather.

I tried running the 50 foot antenna wire outside, but seem to get much better reception with it 'in room - its pretty much strung up around 3/4 of the perimeter of the room . .

The sam's folder didn't seem to talk about this, but I guess the left dial is for tuning, and the right dial is for fine tuning ?? Is that right ?

All I know is it's frickin' cool to be picking up Chinese, Russian, and many other 'across the world' signals. Even listened to a little Radio Japan :music:

Well, is a station at 1300 KC actually coming in on 1300 KC ? If it's coming in at 1000 KC or 1450 KC, you COULD need an alignment... Be vewwy, vewwy careful getting Simple Green-or any other cleaner on the dial faces-they are often water-soluable, & go buh-bye REAL easy. Been there, done that. 409, Windex, any of that stuff can also "etch" the paint & aluminum surfaces, & leave ugly streaks. Use LOTS of paper towels, OLD rags, soft bristled toothbrushes, be GENTLE w/it..Try to test cleaners on an inconspicuous place if you can. Take your time. That radio has waited nearly 65 years to meet you...Don't bugger it up first meeting!

oofta . . . maybe I won't clean it - I've always liked patina :scratch2: Nothing like a buggered first date :dammit:

How 'bout just some mild dishwashing detergent & some water ? Last thing I want to do is f it up . . .

If one band is in alignment, would all of them be ? I know the oldies station is 1280 . . I'll check it out tomorrow.

Right now I'm listening to my KLH 6's and Magnavox 6BQ5 PP amp playing Jazz ala Mode:beatnik:

thanks for the tips Radioactive AND SANDY (DOH ! where are my manners ?!?) :thmbsp:

Uhh, don't work quite that easy, pal. You gotta check ALL bands. A good reference point is WWV-5, 10, & 15 MC, or CHU on 7336. Those are both std time/frequency stations. And yes, these ol' Boatanchors are VERY drifty-at least until they get good 'n' warmed up-usually, an hour or so's runnin' time. Again, try cleaning a place on the back or even inside the cabinet-Assuming you can take the radio outta its "house" w/o major hate & discontent-before you steam in full throttle...Taking it out will prolly make cleaning easier, too-I've taken cabinets, gotten the shower good 'n' scalding, throw the Ivory Liquid to 'em, & have at it...If they're good & hot, they dry easier, less likely to rust..Some REAL "nutso" R-390 guys put some of their less-electronic sub-assemblies in the wife's dishwasher..RF deck assembly, which is mostly gears..But I wouldn't recommend that on this radio.

yes. the dial on the left would be considered your "bandset" and the one on the right your "bandspread"for the am broadcast band i'd leave the bandspread knob set at 100 and use the main knob (left) for tuning as the banspread knob wont cover the whole broadcast band(530-1600kc)anyways.as you get into the s/w bands thats where the bandspread knob comes in handy.use the bandset knob to tune around a crowded band and set it at the last heard frequency then use the bandspread to tune down and listen to the stations around that range.a good place to start would be say 10 mhz around 6pm.it really isnt that hard to use once you get the hang of it.as for alignment even if 1280 comes in at the right spot on the dial dont mean its aligned. try a station towards the upper end 1280 should be fine then try one lower down say around 600.alot of times with these older boatanchors theres tracking errors.this goes for the upper bands too.as for aligning the receiver anybody with a signal generator and a scope(dont really need one )can perform the neccesary procedure.unlike fm am receivers are fairly easy to do.

chris