RadioBanter - View Single Post

December 8th 04, 09:51 PM

In article ,
says...

How stable do they need to be in an old radio where components values
can vary, sometimes by quite a bit, and the radio will still perform
just fine?

Well lets see how this plays.... I have to take this old solder joint
apart anyway to removed to leads from the capacitor.... or rubber insulated
wire... and in this same hole is this old resistor thats 19% off value..
Now this new resistor is going to cost me a whole 3 cents.... or even
if the thing was a dime ... now this new part doesn't look quite
like the old one.... it doesn't look like a dogbone... and it doesn't
even look like a AB Striped Resistor.... but its UNDER THE CHASSIS ..
and for 99% of the old radios that we restore... whats UNDER THE
CHASSIS is acceptable as long as it is good electrical practice
and makes the radio play like it is supposed to play....

Now if I am doing up a $10,000 Zenith Strat .... or a $75,000 Sparton
Nocturne.... then I'll make those new parts UNDER THE CHASSIS ....
look exactly like the old ones.... most any radio other than those high
end ones.... or if a customer want to pay me enough money I'll do it
on an AA5 plastic 1950's kitchen clock radio.... So where is the beef
about using a new part that is a whole lot closer to tolerance.. and
will stay there.... and the cost of the part is so cheap that it just
doesn't make sense to me to leave that 19% off resistor ...

I bet that you don't replace those little dog turd looking capacitors
that RCA used in the front ends of their radios either.... little black
sort of pointed on each end... like the 811K and 19K and a bunch of
these things...... now for a whole 15 to 25 cents each I can have
these nice looking new.. 1% tolerance silver mica caps .. and when I do
the alignment on that radio.. it will play like it is supposed to..
and stay that way for a lot of years...

John k9uwa