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Blog to Escape the Fog

12/30/2013

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     We felt like croutons in a bowl of mushroom soup. Our normal home-on-the-range; big, beautiful, blue skies eluded us. We found  ourselves stuck in a winter funk. As the fog lingered on, our spirits--like the bread chunks--sunk.
     "Let's go see Oakley," Russ suggested. Sounded like a good idea to me, Oakley, a fellow radio enthusiast, happened to live near Sacramento.
 I knew we'd be "picking," looking for old radios along the way. The bright promise of a treasure hunt, and a sunny sky, quickly took us out from under the weather.
     We stopped at several small--by California standards--towns along the way. We had the good fortune to find, or purchase from Oakley, all the neat stuff below.
                                                                           
     As often happens, and what makes our trips even more fun, is discovering the unexpected. On this outing we stumbled upon a Lost in Space robot (replica).  He not only looked authentic, he could light up, twist and move his arms (or so we were told.)

"DANGER WILL ROBINSON DANGER."  I had to pose with him. Robot captured my imagination as a child. Only Little Joe on Bonanza came close to being nearly as fascinating to me-but for different reasons.

     After insuring Russ got the shot, we left. As we stepped out of the antique emporium, a warm, seventy degree breeze greeted us. It felt wonderful. "Sure glad I remembered my sunglasses," I said, as I watched Russ try to re-acclimate his eyes to the foreign object in the sky above us. 

     I don't know if it were the weather, or the chance meeting of an icon, but suddenly- the world seemed a much cheerier place.  

Till next time...

Regards,
Sue
phlog's blog

Our Bounty

PictureRola pedestal speaker for battery radio. It is functional but the cone is very soft reducing the volume. The grill cloth is original. This is similar to, or the same as, a model 10 from 1926.
















PictureSupreme 500 test instrument from 1937/38. These were sold with a simple oak veneered box. Notice the leather handle still in great shape.

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Considered a tube tester by most people, this unit is also capable of testing both "electrostatic" and electrolytic caps as well as volt, ohm and db measurements.

Its display is a single movement meter with 2 pointers and multiple scales as well as a large neon bulb.

A rather high voltage is provided by the device for testing ohms in the 2Meg range and higher. A dry cell battery is required for the lower ranges..

It has a special test function for the "new" 6E5 eye tubes.

The tube test function is an emissions tester. It does not have a gas test, but does trigger the neon bulb for shorts of less than 100K.

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After recapping/restuffing the device's capacitors, we evaluated the unit's performance. I had to first test the large neon display.
This (photo) is a pin 1 to 4 short test on an 01A indicating an intact filament.

The meter is used for electrolytic testing. A pass/fail range is indicated by the meter.
For "electrostatic" caps the neon tube lights to indicate leakage. This test seems to be a bit more forgiving of leaky caps than I would prefer.

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The engineers/builders must have ordered custom built components. There are a lot of high tolerance wire wound resistors, Some appear to have been adjusted/cut/trimmed for value. The paper capacitors are also of odd/custom values like .013 mf and .0016 mf. Several have been paralleled to achieve a particular value down to a .0001 mf margin. I can't see how these paper caps could have maintained that accuracy for very long.

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Outstanding Example of the Exquisite Beauty of Vintage Radios

12/20/2013

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An extraordinary work of artistry...
needless to say, this outstanding work of art didn't resemble its current state when we stumbled upon it. Although I've witnessed many miraculous renovations since Russ began restoring old radios, his ability still continues to amaze me. Just about the time I've decided which vintage piece I like the best, he'll bring another old beauty back to life, making her even more beautiful. If perfection is restoring an antique to its original condition, I believe he has surpassed perfection. Russ' eye for detail and nuance--along with the hours of time he invests... Oh heck, why go on? His work speaks for itself- appropriate for a radio.
  (Sorry, but I loved that.)
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1928 Sparton 930
PictureSparton metal logo.
 

This Sparton is an example of the beauty of old radios-- outstanding design, quality materials, and masterful workmanship. These factors blended together- created magnificence works of art.
                               
                  

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This radio sports a complete set of Sparton manufactured globe tubes.
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Before and After- Old wood can tend to turn greenish.
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Intricate detail.




An unique option on  this particular radio was an additional module  added by the factory to improve  the audio level.
 During the period that this radio was manufactured, the Sparks Withington Co. (Sparton), was involved in a patent dispute with RCA over the manufacture of  vacuum tubes. The tubes for this radio are similar to those found in most other radios of the time, however few tubes were interchangeable.
A short time later the dispute was resolved. Sparks Withington began using the more conventional line of  tubes patented by RCA. The original Sparton tubes manufactured at this time are becoming scarce.
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Close-up of the filled grain, smooth finish.
Till next time...

Regards,
Sues

phlog's blog
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Gassy Old Things (Failed Tubes)

12/19/2013

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PictureGassy Tube







 

                                                                                                 One of the questions I am frequently asked is, "What does a gassy tube look like?"   
Above is a good example. This is a gassy 224 tube under test. It has failed due to gas leaks. 


PictureOld Paper Foil Capacitor

Paper foil capacitors fail when the waxed paper between the foil
elements breaks down allowing DC voltage to “leak” between the foil
wraps.

These are a couple of possible failures, although other things may also go wrong. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me. I'd be interested to hear from you.

Till next time....

Regards,

Russ
phlog's blog
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Best Wishes for a Happy New Year from the R BAR S and Russ' Old Radio Repair

12/18/2013

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Wherever your path may lead...
When the sun sparkles on the snow, it transforms a weed to a  rose....
 and makes the fence look as though it were tied up with a bow.
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Best Wishes for A Wonderful New Year... one without any bad poetry.         
                                                                                                                                   Russ & Sue Webb
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Till next time...

Regards,
Sue

phlog's blog
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December 17th, 2013

12/17/2013

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Greetings from Russ' Old Radio Repair!

12/1/2013

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Hi, I'm Sue,  Russ' wife. Russ--known as phlogiston on antique radio websites--is a busy guy.
His time is consumed by his job and working on radios, so I volunteered to write this blog. To be honest, I don't know as much as he does about the antiquated electronic wonders. If Russ shares  information, I'll pass it along; otherwise, I'll write about our lives on the homestead. I promise to always try to make  it interesting. Today, I'll blog about us. 

We live on a 62-acre tree farm in Southern Oregon- the R BAR S. The name--inspired by a package of bacon--incorporated both our first initials. We landed here after dwelling thirty years in the Portland/Vancouver area. 
An opportunity presented itself, so we headed south, trading the evergreens for the oaks.

 Our acreage is located in deer winter range.  We enjoy a wonderment of wildlife including elk, bear, coyotes, cougars, lynx, raccoons, possums, skunks, jack rabbits, bobcats, not-so-loved ground squirrels and, at times OR-7 (the lovesick wolf). The Pacific Flyway lingers above us; a bevy of migratory birds pass by. Resident fowl  includes quail, turkey, hummingbirds, acorn woodpeckers, bluebirds,  osprey, eagles, and hawks among others. 

I like to think I'm a writer--wrote a book--Off the Wall-Dive Tales (which is available at amazon,.com :) and have enjoyed  publication of numerous newspaper and magazine articles. The idea for the book blossomed from the twenty years, Russ and I spent traveling the world, scuba diving. We had lots of fun, however after moving to rural Oregon, we found travel too cumbersome. It's much easier to fly out of Portland International than Medford International; we needed  to find something else to do. Russ' interest in all things electronic, led us down Antique Radio Lane. 
 
If you're interested in old radios, tours of Russ' Old Radio Museum are available by appointment.  Russ enjoys sharing and discussing his treasures. We also have an ever changing variety of radios for sale or trade. We repair and renovate radios- both the electronics and cabinetry. Russ specializes in the renovation of family heirlooms

We'd love to hear from you,  We have included a contact form on the website for your convenience. Till next time...

Regards,
Sue (phlogiston's wife)
phlog's blog
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                         Russ Webb

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    Russ Webb & Fuzzy

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CUSTOM DESIGN BY SUE WEBB  06/2013       Redesigned by Russ Webb     Approved by Fuzzy   Updated:  Pretty much all the time, but I forget to change this date
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