Post-War RCA A.M./F.M. Bakelite Table Radio

[Jeffhs]

Originally posted by NoTransistors
I have an RCA 3RF91 AM/FM Golden Throat radio. After a little disassembly and cleaning, it has turned out to be absolutely stunning. The A.M. works flawlessly. I have to work on the F.M., as that is silent.

Are you by any chance trying to get FM reception without an antenna connected to your radio? If so, I'd try hooking up at least a length of wire or, better yet, a pair of TV rabbit ears to the external antenna terminals. I live in northeastern Ohio, 35 miles from Cleveland, so am not familiar with FM reception problems (or the lack of them) in the New York City area. As a general rule, however, in any area you must use some kind of antenna on an FM radio to get any kind of reception. I'd try that first before replacing tubes or digging into the circuitry.

One warning, however. Do not touch the AM or FM antenna terminals (if your set has them), or for that matter the chassis and/or control shafts, and ground at the same time while the radio is switched on and plugged in. I am not familiar with the 3RF91, but would guess it is an AC/DC "hot chassis" receiver in which the AC line is connected directly to the chassis (as most small table radios of that era were). In these sets, the chassis will have the full line voltage on it or will be grounded, depending entirely upon which way the line cord plug is inserted into the wall socket. There is a 50/50 chance you will plug the set in so the chassis is grounded, but I wouldn't take that chance. Always unplug the cord from the wall socket before attempting any work on, in or under the chassis.