Silvertone Model 1 Restoration

[compucat]

I have had this set for a few years and finally started to work on it. I love these metal midget sets and want to get this one going. It was dead when i got it, not even the tubes would light. Once I disassembled it and looked under the chassis, I think I figured out what took this set out of service. There is a resistor that got so hot it burned in half. Also there is a paper cap which I believe to be the tone condenser that has probably shorted because one end is coming loose. Fearing the audio output transformer had been damaged, I took the 9 volt battery out of one of my Flavoradios (mmm, flavor radio), connected clip leads to it and connected it to the primary of the audio output transformer. A loud crackle came from the speaker so I know that it is good. I started to remove the tuner and speaker and clean the chassis with naval jelly. These photos show the progress thus far.

[compucat]

The grille cloth has seen better days. It almost looks like burlap. I plan to repaint the cabinet, probably in the same chocolate brown color. I have another one of these radios that I might repaint it in a bright color like red metal flake. The speaker is in really good shape, looks almost new.

[compucat]

I have been able to get back to this radio a little bit today. I have recapped the chassis and replaced the burned out resistor. Even though it is recapped, there is still a little bit of background hum. There is no reception though. I suspect the antenna coil that is mounted to the speaker is bad. Some of the wax is cracked and I found one broken wire which I fixed but no go. I have two of these sets so I guess I will be making one good one out of the two.

[bandersen]

Nice job Bummer about the antenna coil though. Do you think it would be possible to rewind it ?

[compucat]

Originally Posted by bandersen

Nice job Bummer about the antenna coil though. Do you think it would be possible to rewind it ?

I'm not sure if I could rewind it. i will substitute it first to confirm that it is the problem and if so, i may then try to repair it. These small metal radios are great and I am enjoying getting this one going. I have added 20 feet of new aerial wire and still need to put on a new cord. Once I am done with the chassis I will move on to repainting the cabinet. I have an Arvin 444 up in the attic that I should look into restoring also.

[radiotvnut]

Nice work! Somewhere, I think I have the rustbucket version of that same radio. I think I gave $2 for it at a junk store and that was mainly for the tubes. I did get everything on the chassis working, except for an open antenna coil (same problem as yours). One day, I'll dig mine back out and try and solve the antenna coil problem. After that, I'll sand down the cabinet and re-paint it.

I've also seen open oscillator coils and open IF transformers in these radios. Back then; these were cheap radios that used cheaper parts and some of these parts didn't hold up so well. This is especially true if the radio was not stored in decent conditions.

[compucat]

I may have to try to repair this coil. i can't seem to find my parts radio. Oh well, at least this is a common model. Getting parts is not a problem. I did find my Arvin 444. It is red but needs to be repainted.

[OvenMaster]

Boy, does this bring back memories. My Dad was given one of those as a gift when he was 14, so that makes it 1950. Stupidly, I had painted it with aluminum paint in the '70s, and we got rid of it a few years ago. Shoulda kept it.

[compucat]

I finally got back to this set. It turned out the antenna coil was not open after all. The problem was that I had the floating ground inadvertently connected to chassis ground despite my knowledge of the difference and effort to avoid the mistake. I replaced the antenna coil anyway with the one from my Arvin 444 which is now a parts radio. The original antenna coil which is still good I will keep for a future restoration. I discovered why I shoved it in the attic. One of the mounting lugs on the chassis is broken off. The Arvin coil is better in that it is adjustable and is wound on a better type of coil form. The radio plays well across the AM band although it is not that sensitive being on a four tube set. Its performance is comparable to the other four tube smaller Silvertone I restored years ago.

I stripped and repainted the cabinet in a hammertone copper color. The paint is textured and not smooth like the original chocolate brown. I like the way it turned out. The grille cloth is not an exact replacement but looks good with the paint. I dabbed contact cement around the edge to prevent fraying. I photographed and cleaned up the bottom label on my Mac and pasted it inside the cabinet. This will prevent it from becoming damaged as bottom mounted labels do. I am just waiting for the glue on the grille cloth to dry and I can put the chassis in the cabinet and start using it. I probably will listen to Coast To Coast AM on it tonight.

[Reece]

Nice job on that little set. I believe it was made by Arvin (Noblitt-Sparks) for Sears. The tube sockets are held in by tabs typical of Arvin, and the output xfrmr sits at an angle at the left, also typical of other Silvertones Arvin made for them.

[compucat]

Originally Posted by Reece

Nice job on that little set. I believe it was made by Arvin (Noblitt-Sparks) for Sears. The tube sockets are held in by tabs typical of Arvin, and the output xfrmr sits at an angle at the left, also typical of other Silvertones Arvin made for them.

This set is made by Arvin. I am surprised there were so many styles and colors of these metal radios. They are perfect for kitchen, desk or bedside table. One ad by Arvin for these sets said most families need at least three. I have another Silvertone Model 1 awaiting restoration and a good cabinet for a model 444 when I can find a chassis for it.