Videokarma.org

Go Back   Videokarma.org TV - Video - Vintage Television & Radio Forums > Antique Radio

Notices

We appreciate your help

in keeping this site going.
 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Prev Previous Post   Next Post Next
  #1  
Old 08-08-2010, 04:50 PM
PaulOF's Avatar
PaulOF PaulOF is offline
VideoKarma Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 97
Electrola RE-57: First look and some pictures

So, my brother-in-law and I drove out to bring home my "new" RE-57. That thing is HEAVY. I pulled the tubes and packed them in a tube carrier for the trip home, Removed the radio chassis to lighten the weight a tad, and wedged the tone-arm in place with a small soft pillow. Everything arrived intact. The tubes all test good (so its already worth more than it cost). Here are a couple pictures and then a few more questions.

It was nicely refinished by a previous owner.
Front with doors closed
DSC_0124.jpg

Front with doors open
DSC_0125.jpg

Turntable and tone-arm
DSC_0126.jpg The felt is a little ratty around the edges.

Tuner chassis. The round thing in the middle is the contraption that simultaneously tunes all the trf sections.
DSC_0128.jpg

Amplifier and power supply chassis
DSC_0129.jpg

Tag riveted to the amplifier. Anybody know what the SUV means? This thing is heavy enough to be a sport utility vehicle, but I doubt that it is.
DSC_0130.jpg

Now on to the questions: This is the oldest thing I have undertaken (16 years older than I am) and I feel somewhat daunted.

I. To recap or not to recap the filter caps. I have not yet powered this thing up, but the previous owner tells me that while the radio does not work, the phono has been in regular and recent use. I've read a fair bit on some other boards and with respect to Victors of this era there seem to be three different points of view.

a) "Fuse it and use it," the idea being that the paper caps from this era are particularly rugged so just make sure the 80 and the transformer are protected by fusing the 80's plates and keep your fingers crossed.

b) Hide some 600V caps (electrolytics or, better, polys) under the chassis, disconnect the old cap box and just let it sit there looking pretty.

c) Melt the tar, clean out the old cap box and hide modern caps inside it.

If, in fact my filter caps are in decent condition, I lean towards option b) for for two reasons... it does no damage to anything original, and it feels safer than a) Anyone following me can undo what I have done and the original caps are still there. But, I would like to hear others' points of view.

II. I have the Riders (thanks BANDERSEN) schematic. It lists C-10 (a part of the tuned circuit connecting the 2nd RF amp to the 3rd RF amp) as 10 uF. Surely this is a misprint. Is it, perhaps 10 uuF (pF)?

III. The wooden volume, tone, and tuning knobs are not original. Does anyone make repros of these?

IV. The power switch is new. What should the original look like?

V. Just a matter of curiosity - when (why) did condensers become capacitors?

Thanks as always for your expertise. I'll try to keep you informed of my progress.
Paul
Reply With Quote
 



Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:26 AM.



Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2026, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
©Copyright 2012 VideoKarma.org, All rights reserved.