powering up is it a bad idea?
 

the wires look ok,nothing smells burnt,so I'm thinking put a cord on it and try it out btw the radio is the damaged one from epay.

Set up a dim bulb tester to cut the power down and allow the caps a chance to reform.

That is simply a light bulb in series with the radio to act as a limit resistor. start with like a 25 watt bulb, go to 60 or so, then 100. It's a cheap thing to rig, and will give the radio a fighting chance. (I know that sounds backwards, but thats the way it works out.)

The burning smells start AFTER you plug it in!! :yes:

Not worth the risk. Take outlawms' advice, or else buy a variac off ebay.

Or, just replace all the capacitors before you plug it in.

yeah a light bulb set up and maybe a switch for fast cut off is a good idea :)

use the dim bulb setup and turn it on if you must.

this is what i do:

plug the radio in with a 100 watt bulb just long enough to see if it gets any reception. if there is reception, then i start a complete recap. i wait for the reception so that i can repair any oscillator problems with the recap.

variac doodle doo...
 

:scratch2: I just purchased my first variac. It is a panel mount one without the case. It only has the five connectors on the front and no schematic. I got it cheap, so I would like to use it. Any suggestions out there??? Basically it looks like a large variable resistor!

I heard that I need an "isolation transformer" as well.

if it is a "powerstat" brand autotransformer type 21, this connections will be this:

for counter clockwise knob rotation:

terminal 4,5 = voltage input

terminal 1, 3 = voltage output

for clockwise knob rotation:

terminal 1,2 = voltage input

terminal 3,4 = voltage output

bill

edit: yes, an isolation transformer is good too.

Yup! That's it. Thank you very much for the helpfull info on the terminals! I just purchased the transformer for $10 so I should have it up and running in no time. Yes, it is a powerstat and is rated for up to 3 amps. I figure that that should be ample for a tube radio or a small TV.

Man! Doing this stuff is GREAT!