Chassis Porn!!!!
 

I just pulled the chassis out of my new to me 1941 Zenith 8s563 so I can get caps ordered for it.. figured I'l post a few pictures.. And for those of you that have never opened up a wavemagnet, I saved you the hassle and did it for you.. here's a few pictures of it so you get an idea what's in it...

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/att...2&d=1188751378

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/att...3&d=1188751378

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/att...4&d=1188751378

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/att...5&d=1188751378

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/att...6&d=1188751378

Forgot one somehow...

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/att...7&d=1188752186

That's totally bad ass Similost !!!
What caps are you ordering ???

Hey Similost,

That chassis looks all stock! All original caps. That means no one has messed with it. Watch out for that rubber coated wire, the insulation will just flake off if the wire is moved around. Also, check your wiring to the Wavemagnet and make sure its OK otherwise you might get static when you rotate the antenna. Keep us posted as you change out the old caps and get that set rolling again!

Gilbert

I'm gonna order up some orange dips for this radio, and also a 1939 Zenith I have...

I actually plugged this on in because the guy said he had it plugged in...

I was surprised.. almost no hum at all.. Only problem was, I didn't pick up a single station... but then after I got the chassis out, I kinda freaked a little I even considered plugging it in.... I'll finish that in the next reply....

Well.. after I got the chassis out, the wires are really in a mess.. lots of rot, and lots of bare wires, so I'm gonna have to replace most all of it... Not to figure out where and how to find vintage type wire.. and all the same colors.. I'd like to replace the cloth covered wire with cloth covered wire if possible. Most all of it is cracked...

As far as when I tried it out.. moving the antenna didn't cause any static, but I also didn't pick up one single station... I'm gonna replace the caps and wiring, plus the belt. If I still can't get any stations picked up, then I'll send it to someone that knows what they are doing and have them get it dialed back in...

Did you try moving the band switch around when powering it up? Sometimes the switch has dirty contacts or was on Short Wave or Automatic. In that case there may not be that much reception than on Broadcast. Just a thought. Other than that make sure the tubes were all seated correctly.

Gilbert

Yeah.. I moved everything around.. I figured there is probably a bad tube or two in it.. I need to find someone local that has a tester. I already hit the one shop I thought that would.. but no dice.. I figure just get the caps and replace them and the wiring, get the tubes tested and replace the ones that need it.. then if I get nothing, I'll find someone good in the area.. it would still be cheaper that way after I did the recap and wiring.. I can do that much, but I would have no idea how to adjust everything that needs adjusting or measure what ever circuits that need to be measured..

The reason you probably didn't pick up any stations is that they are probably off the air after this many years.
Good luck with the recap and rehab. First one I have ever seen on the inside.

I've got a second one that is a little more interesting.. I'll be posting that one too after I pull the chassis. I have the schematic for that one, so I don't need to pull it to see what I need.... Hopefully I'll get the caps ordered soon, do this one first, learn a little, then do the 39.... I'm more leery of messing that one up than this one, but I'd hate to damage either one in the process.. this will be my very first venture into repairing serious electronics, much less antique..

You can get cloth covered wire from New Sensor Corp.
http://www.newsensor.com/ProductListing.aspx?CatId=81
It comes in various colors and has double concentric insulating braids...very easy to work with, just push back the insulation, no stripping needed. It has worked very well for us in all types of equipment.
We have worked on a very similar Zenith and replaced all of the wiring, even those going into the IF cans as it was all bad.
You can see one of the wires going to the top cap of a tube is really bad...if this shorts out you can have no reception.
An RF generator is very helpful in testing old radios such as this as you will have a very strong test signal available....you should be able to hear AM and shortwave stations just about everywhere when the radio is working right

Cool.. thanks for the wire link.. I've actually found a few places that sell by the foot, and also by the 25' roll fore pretty fair prices...

I was looking at the wire going into that can, and trying to figure out how I'm gonna get in there to replace it... I'll figure it out though.. hopefully without destyroying anything though ;)

I'll have to look around for an RF generator then.. I'm wanting to get going on this, but have some other things I need to take care of first, so I'm thinking these will be my winter shut-in projects :D

I have the exact same chassis on the bench (for a long time actually). This one was mouse eaten and peed on. Yours is a lot nicer.

I did replace some wires but also on some of them I just lifted one end and slid a piece of insulating tubing (spaghetti) onto the wire. Or, you can use clear shrink tubing, about the same price per foot. It would be a hassle to rewire the entire radio. I'm doing this one for a friend and didn't want to spend the time.

You probably have some bad caps in the signal path, unless the band switch is dirty. Very common to get an old radio that picks up no stations at first. Recap and try again, you might be surprised.