rca 45x11 tube radio
 

hi all, would it make much difference if i changed all the caps in this rca 45x11 am radio to get better reception, it works and the electrolytic was changed but not the others.

Hi. I've found it improves both the quality of the sound, and, to a degree, the reception.
I'd change them along with mica caps.
Bill Cahill

besides the 2 section electrolytic the other caps would be mylar, i think based on the values because they are paper type and one on the antenna. and there is 2 caps off of the on- off switch and dont know what they are unless they are the line caps, .01 400.

Change the wax paper caps. They'll be leaky and can short and spit out their waxy guts. Inexpensive to do.

Timmy, the schemo on Nostalgia Air shows a .05 mf cap from pin 5 of 35Z5 to ground (load side of on/off switch) functioning as a line noise arrester.
This particular application requires a Y2 safety cap because it is AC, not DC:yes:(.047@250 VAC) $1.89 [email protected]

I need to get in the habit of using Y2 caps in this function myself. I have a Zenith J615 I just finished that had a shorted (and visually bloated) .05 @ 400V connected across the line, it was shorted and destroyed the 35W4 and #47 pilot light:sigh:, which had functioned as a fuse in this case.

so what your saying is not to put back the .05 400v but rather a .047 250v instead. i have that schematic from that site but its rather grainy and cannot make out some of the values. the radio works but if all the other caps are changed i wonder how much better the reception will be on pulling in stations.

Maybe the .05 is not important but do make sure its 250 Volts AC, those caps are usually found in a computer monitor across the incoming line filter. I have transplanted a few of those inductor-capacitor filters into old AM radios. the result is usually better reception and less crackle if you're in a noisy area like near a road.

whats the difference with 250v or the usual 400v. because i think i have used .05@400v for the ac in tvs.

A 400V maybe OK, since 120 volts AC x 2.828 is 340 volts peak-to-peak. I have done it but according to Just Radios, you should use ones bearing an AC rating on them. I used to test all and replace only the bad caps years ago. After reading how serious some are about replacing ALL the caps, I decided to buy and use the right stuff first.h:yes:

For line noise caps, you should use the safety caps. Reason: if they fail, they fail open and won't start a fire with a short the way ordinary yellows or orange drops or the equivalent can. Go on JustRadios website and there's a tutorial on the use of these caps.