Radiola 80 scored
 

I just picked up this 1931 RCA Radiola 80 radio last night. It was the Philco globe 45 that caught my eye. I'm happy to say that it and the Silvertone 45 next to it test good. Not like new, but certainly good.

It's really heavy but luckily I had a friend to held carry it down two flights of stairs.

It has a few nicks and dings, but nothing serious. The worst damage is the speaker grille where it's cracked and some bits are missing. Maybe I can make a mold and cast some new sections :scratch2:

Also, one knob is missing. From what I an see from the back, the speaker is in excellent condition.

These sets use tar block capacitors that seem to hold up OK. It was missing a 24 and another 24 was dead. I replaced those and gave it a try with a dim bulb.

The dial cord is broken but I was able to reach in and rotate the tuning cap. With the volume up all the way I was able to tune in a couple stations :)

Does anyone know what that "Antenex" doohicky is on the back ?

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Looking around the web, it appears that the Antenex was made by M.M. Fleron & Son of Trenton NJ, and is a magic device that facilitates an indoor antenna. I'm guessing that inside, besides magic smoke (and possibly mirrors), it may have a loading coil and maybe a cap that allows a short indoor wire to work better than if it were connected directly to the set. JMHO.

I'm jealous....Wish you lived closer, we have a WONDERFUL furniture refinisher here...He & his wife have worked WONDERS for me on several occasions.

Thanks for the info. I'll try to pop it open and see what's really inside.

I think Winky Dink restored a radio with a similar antenna attachment. He replaced the cap, and it still worked lousy-just a plain longwire gave greater reception.

It's sealed pretty well so I don't think I'll get it open. When I powered it up, I found a long wire gave better reception too.

I pulled the lower chassis this afternoon after removing six large bolts.
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The speaker is in really good condition. Here it is next to a nearly identical one from my Westinghouse WR8.
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Built like a battleship. Pride of engineering and construction, made to last. Here it is, eighty years later, ready for its makeover. Have fun!

I tested that tar block cap with my Solar CB-1-60 bridge today. The capacitance for each section was OK, but all had significant leakage starting at the lowest setting (around 100 volts).

There's a 2 uF, 0.05 uF and two 3 uF sections with no voltage rating. I guess I'll use some film caps rated at 630 volts to replace all four.

Bob - I have one of those. I just used 4.7 450v electrolytics for the power supply filter caps and they work fine. Cheaper too.

I have a GE that is a very close cousin, could be the same chassis? I haven't looked at it for a long time. I've never touched that radio and it always worked fine. I'll have to snap some photos.

Thanks for the tip.

Could be. I know that Westinghouse used these RCA chassis.