howard radio

[radio nut]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

Those 5Y3's are probably going to have a reduced service life doing the job of 5U4s.

Think I'd go the silicone diode route before straining a 5Y3.

What resistor value would I put in series with diodes?

[Electronic M]

Measure current through the diodes without the resistor, and how much higher than speck the B+ is the resistance will be about equal to the voltage over current. But adding the resistor will change the behavior of the circuit some so you may want to tweak the value to get the voltage closer to speck. You want to use a power resistor with a rating in watts that is equal to or greater than (greater is safer) the planned voltage drop across the resistor times the current through the resistor.

Some folks neglect the resistor if the increase in B+ voltage from the silicon diodes is within 10 or 20% of speck.

[bob91343]

The resistor is important to limit the surge when the unit is switched on.

The lowest value to use is perhaps 22 Ohms in high power circuits, more in lower. Power rating should be double actual dissipation, not easy to calculate. Best to see how hot it gets and use a higher rating if you think it's running too hot.

[Tubejunke]

I know this thread is about 2 years old, but I was sitting here listening to one of the two Howard radios that I own and thought that I would see what threads were here on V-K relating to these among the most beautiful and well built radios. I only found two threads; one being a thread I created trying to find other Howard fans, then this one.

I felt that it would be worth trying to follow up on and see if pictures were ever made. None were posted, but the last entry said some were to be posted and I would like to see how this came out. I looked on Google Images hoping to steal a couple of pictures of my two sets, but I didn't find any of my models. I did discover that some of the most beautiful radios ever made were made by Howard. Anyone in doubt should check out the Google Images. Of course you will have to look at bunch of trash with Howard Stern as well, but that's life I guess.

Neither of my Howards' have ever been restored, but both work well. That always tells me a bit about the quality of a radio. That is when a set still performs fairly well on original capacitors and often tubes. Oddly enough, I have found more of these true survivors from the 30s than any other decade. My collection spans the 30s through the 60s. My guess is that radio reached a peak of sorts during this time frame in both engineering and quality. This peak I have found happens with most technology; even today. For that reason I don't ever buy new technology during the first buying frenzy and market saturation. I wait for better quality and lower prices.

Of course I get seen as the "throwback" who doesn't have a "smart" phone or a flat screen TV, and my vehicles still require my thought and physical movement to get me where I am going. But I don't care; I just sit back and laugh back and count my savings....