1954 Admiral C2226 project

[Kevin Kuehn]

Originally Posted by Ncotham

So the short answer is yes, I've been around electricky stuff over the years, and I do own a multimeter.

I think you'll be fine. Read up on the articles Phil posted links too and you'll get a good feel for the skills required to pull this off. An awful lot will depend on your patients and determination to get the set back to operational. Definitely start with the radio, then depending on how that goes maybe pickup a couple more radio's. If for no other reason than to brush up on your soldering skills and to also familiarize yourself with the tedious and delicate process of component replacement. You really need to pace yourself, otherwise things can get pretty frustrating if you push through the project too fast.

Anyhow, there's plenty of very talented folks hanging around this site that are very willing to help you with any questions.

[Ncotham]

Thanks to Kevin, Phil and Dieseljeep. I've got the radio all pulled apart and cleaned, for the most part. Had to replace the crumbling power cord, of course - what a pain in the rear THAT was. I've got a listing of the caps it needs, so I'll be working on that for a while I imagine.

Also working on putting a dim bulb tester together per your suggestion, Phil, as I have no idea what that radio is going to do once it's plugged up.

I'm excited about finally getting some hands on experience!

One question - is any of that gooie, sticky mess inside these old units toxic or anything like that? Any precautions needed in that area?

Thanks!

[Phil Nelson]

Originally Posted by Ncotham

One question - is any of that gooie, sticky mess inside these old units toxic or anything like that? Any precautions needed in that area?

Most of the gunk is a combination of stuff floating around the air in a house -- dust, condensed clouds of cooking grease, tobacco tar, etc.

Sometimes you'll find that an old capacitor or transformer has leaked melted wax or oily stuff and dripped underneath. Generally nothing to worry about.

If the chassis metal is covered with a powdery yellow-green layer, that may be cadmium oxide. Cadmium is a heavy metal that you don't want to eat or breathe in as dust. It cleans off pretty easily, but I would wear rubber gloves and avoid licking your hands while cleaning. Don't use a Dremel tool or abrasive material that will turn it to dust and spread it around. Throw used paper towels in the garbage.

I doubt you'll find anything more ominous in that particular model. Isopropyl alcohol cleans up typical household grime without leaving a residue. Naval Jelly is good for surface rust. Avoid steel wool; you don't want thousands of tiny metal hairs all over your radio or TV.

Phil Nelson