Warning on buying "restored" radios

[radiotvnut]

Just a warning about "restored" radios: Just because someone claims to have restored a radio, that does not mean that it's been properly restored. Someone with "restored" radios has a space at one of the local flea markets and I actually bought two of these "restored" radios. It turns out that neither one worked properly and he only did enough to get them to play a little. The other day, Someone brought by a Zenith G730 AM/FM set from around 1960 that they bought from this guy. I actually recognize the set from being at the flea market because it has the wrong grille cloth in it and I think it was priced at around $95. Anyway, the customer said the radio developed an intermittent band switch and after he sprayed some contact cleaner in the switch, the radio failed to work at all. I just now opened the radio; and, no surprise, it hasn't been restored. All of the original paper capacitors, including the "across the line" bumblebomb are still in place, as is the original selenium rectifier and electrolytic filter capacitor. The tube sockets are very dirty and after I wiggled the tubes, the radio somewhat played. I also clipped the bumblebomb loose because the last thing I want is for it to blow up in my face while I'm testing the radio. Then, I checked the output of the selenium rectifier and it's about 35V-40V low; so, that will have to be replaced. The point is, don't take what you read on the tag as gospel. Any restorer worth his/her salt should be willing to provide proof (ie, pictures) of what was actually done to the radio. This is also another reason why I prefer to buy unrestored radios and fix them myself. That way, I know 100% what has and has not been done. So, to you folks out there who want to buy a radio that's ready to use, please be careful. In this case, this guy has already paid $95 for a "restored" radio and he's going to have to pay me another $75+ to actually "restore" the radio.