John Vassos RCA 6K10 Radio

[Reece]

Well, it's an RCA from the metal tube era...put all metals in it and no glow except the rectifier (which never made it as a metal.)

[VintagePC]

Originally Posted by VintagePC

Now it'd be bought by someone wanting to look "Ultra-goth"

In that case: I rest my case

[peverett]

RCA did put metal rectifier tubes in some sets. I have one with a metal rectifier tube. I have not tried to restore it yet, so do not know the rectifier tube's condition.

[Sandy G]

Originally Posted by VintagePC

Am I the only one who doesn't find the cabinet particularly attractive? To me there's just something ... off ... about the whole look. It just doesn't seem to "click".

Anyway, nice find, goes to show what some people have and don't even know about!

Yeah, it ain't perzacly my cup o' tea, neither...But if I'd spotted it in an Anty-Kew emporium, I'd prolly cabbaged on it, just 'cause....

[Reece]

Yeah, but metal rectifiers didn't catch on much. Some RCA's had all metals except the rectifier was glass. They put a shield around it (no electrical reason to do so) so that you couldn't see the glow and it would "look" metal. I have a 1942 model 28T that uses metals but there is a shield base on the rectifier socket (5Y3) but somebody long ago discarded the useless shield. Metal rectifiers and power output tubes get really hot enough to burn you so fell out of favor. Metals are a great idea for shielding in RF and first audio stages but a lot of people (like me) like to see the glow. Adds to the magic!

[peverett]

You are correct in that they did not catch on. I also have a GE set that was all metal at one time. I have restored this one. At one point, a serviceman replaced the metal rectifier tube with a 5Y3.

I also have some metal 6L6 tubes. I am not sure what these were used for, although I have heard that the military in WWII used them. I have heard that these are not near as good as the glass ones.

[cooljjay]

Well since we are turning this back into a thread about radios and stopped the goth bashing. I feel safe to post my after photos, after hours and hours of disassemble, scrubbing, and polishing. It is fit to stand in the living room again. Still not sure what to do about the chassis.

[marty59]

I'd clean up that chassis and find a replacement transformer. It sure would be easy to work on. There may be some used transformers out there for you...Check the sticky's above this link for some sources.

[VintagePC]

Looks much better now

[cooljjay]

Originally Posted by VintagePC

Looks much better now

Thanks, no commit on the artwork I have a very interesting collection that spans from the 20's-70's. Everyone says my home looks like a museum. some how the radio fits in with the funky decor. I also think its now one of the most expensive pieces in my home. I have a chair down stairs that also matches it to a T. When I was younger I was into vintage/goth style....the fingernail painting and strange colored hair has worn off but I still do the vintage thing.

[leadlike]

Make sure the transformer is really toast first-on my 8k, mine had leaked some tar and looked pretty bad. Luckily, if it turns out you do need a tranny, it shouldn't be too tough to find a replacement.

[VintagePC]

Originally Posted by cooljjay

Thanks, no commit on the artwork I have a very interesting collection that spans from the 20's-70's. Everyone says my home looks like a museum. some how the radio fits in with the funky decor. I also think its now one of the most expensive pieces in my home. I have a chair down stairs that also matches it to a T. When I was younger I was into vintage/goth style....the fingernail painting and strange colored hair has worn off but I still do the vintage thing.

Reminds me- while we were in the Netherlands in May, we wanted to go to a radio museum in Borculo. The guy's site was still up, so we went (~1.5H drive). Turns out the guy had packed up and left years ago... and wouldn't take down his site.

He had an impressive collection... and we were pretty pissed off after that drive.

His site's still up... so you can see what we missed:
http://home.wanadoo.nl/radiomuseum/HOOFDMENU.html

[rojoknox]

Greetings from FixitLand!

If this beauty does in fact need a new power transformer, keep in mind that it's the same chassis as RCA Victor models 6K2 and 6T2 (part number 11848, presuming the Rating 'A' standard xfmr); might be easier to find a donor chassis of one of those models.

You've got the first-production chassis with the round IF cans; 2nd production used magnetite-core, square-cross-section IF cans (Rider vol. 8, pg. RCA-8-20).

Take care,
--
J. E. Knox 'The Victor Freak'

[VintagePC]

If you're feeling adventurous, you could probably re-wind the original... Voltage/current ratios can be calculated based on the # of turns... and vice versa.

Power in ~= Power out (some is lost) - P=VI, so Vi x Ii= Vo x Io

The voltage change is a function of the # of turns (well, the ratio), as you know.

[Reece]

If that were mine I'd want to restore the original chassis and keep it with the cabinet. The transformer looks fried "from my house" and it would appear that some long ago repairman soldered in a replacement electrolytic cap under the chassis, perhaps leaving the old tall caps up top in the circuit. The 'lytic cap towards the front of the chassis urped out its guts at one time leaving the white borax deposits, probably shorted. At any rate something shorted and took out the xfrmr, or the xfrmr commited suicide.

A new power transformer would be a horizontal mount like the old one, with 120 volt primary winding and the following secondary windings: 5 V @ 2 amps for the rectifier filament, 6.3 V @ 2.5 amps for the five other tube heaters, 250-300 volts center tapped (CT)@ 70 or greater ma. for the high voltage. Antique Electronic Supply has a sale on new Hammond xfrmrs., or Playthings of the Past may have a used one that would fit. A new one is going to run $50 or a bit less. Then new capacitors to replace the paper ones in the set and new electrolytics to mount under the chassis (leaving the old tall cans up top but disconnected, for looks) might be about $12 or so. There could be some bad resistors (check them with ohmmeter) but they are cheap if needed, fraction of a dollar. New line cord (Wally*World has nice ones 8 ft. long with molded plug.)

A few other tests before getting into it: continuity test with ohmmeter on audio output transformer, speaker voice coil, speaker field coil, RF coils, IF transformers. Make sure everything has continuity and registers at least a few ohms, nothing's open.