Question about multiband radio...
 

I've recently run across an old 70's multiband radio. It has five
bands on it. Air/Police High/Weather, FM, Police Low, SW1/SW2, and AM.
I can pick up shortwave 1 and 2 very well as well as FM and AM. The
problem is, I can hear FM stations on Police Low, but the biggest
problem is that I can't hear a thing on the Air/Police High/Weather
band. Are these bands dead or is something wrong with my radio?

Thanks for reading. :-)

In article ,
(Tom) writes:


I've recently run across an old 70's multiband radio. It has five
bands on it. Air/Police High/Weather, FM, Police Low, SW1/SW2, and AM.
I can pick up shortwave 1 and 2 very well as well as FM and AM. The
problem is, I can hear FM stations on Police Low, but the biggest
problem is that I can't hear a thing on the Air/Police High/Weather
band. Are these bands dead or is something wrong with my radio?

Thanks for reading. :-)


- Hard to tel what the problem is;
What Make & Model is the radio ?
Maybe someone has a manual that might help you understand the beast

I'm sorry about not giving you the model number. I believe it's AEL 1235 or
1255. I can't make out the name of the company who made it but it does say
Worldmaster on the front of it and the place where the logo is, is on the lower
left side. It has the bandswitch on the right side and you turn it.

I'd like to know if something is wrong with the radio or if it's just that the
Air/Police High/Weather band is dead. I thought at least I should get the
weather, but I don't get anything when it's tuned to 162.5 which is where it
says the weather is located. I've cleaned the bandswitch and checked the wires
inside to make sure one didn't come loose, is appears to be fine.

Please let me know what you come up with and thanks. :-D

Josey221 wrote:
I'd like to know if something is wrong with the radio or if it's just that the
Air/Police High/Weather band is dead. I thought at least I should get the
weather, but I don't get anything when it's tuned to 162.5 which is where it
says the weather is located. I've cleaned the bandswitch and checked the wires
inside to make sure one didn't come loose, is appears to be fine.

Hmmm. If you're anywhere near a city of any size, you shouldn't have
any trouble hearing the 162.5 weather. The weather transmitters are
(usually) running 1,000 watts which is a LOT of power for that
frequency. Have you tried tuning around a bit? There are seven weather
channels, maybe you just didn't stumble across the right one?

If that doesn't work... dunno. First thing I'd think is a dirty
bandswitch but you're saying you've already checked that...
--
Doug Smith W9WI
Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66
http://www.w9wi.com

I used some contact cleaner that I have to clean the bandswitch, but still
nothing. I do get FM stations on the Police Low band, but nothing at all on the
Air/Police High/Weather band. Is there anything else to check inside the radio
that could be causing it not to work?

Is there anything else at all that I could check, or is that band just dead?
Thanks again. :-D

First question: Can you hear noise, or is it just 'dead'??

Next, tune around 156mhz where some of the high power pagers are,also in the
145-148mhz ham band, you should hear something there in the evenings.

Perhaps, some of the capacitors have dried out over time, leaving the
sensitivity something to be desired.

jw
K9RZZ

"Beloved Leader" wrote in message
om...
(Tom) wrote in message
. com...

... is something wrong with my radio?


Ummm, broken antenna lead? AM-MW would rely on an internal ferrite
rod; SW1 and SW2 might use that antenna as well. FM stations from
88-108 MHz are flame throwers (witness that fact that "I can hear FM
stations on Police Low"), so you can hear them with no antenna. That
other stuff, might be inaudible if the antenna is not functioning. My
Radio Shack Weatheradio with the antenna not extended can't hear a
thing. Pull out the antenna, and the station at Manassas VA comes in.


I didn't read the original post, but if they are having problems hearing
signals on VHF public service bands, one problem may well be the fact that
inexpensive PSB radios use the same FM detector for the PSB's as for
broadcast FM. The detector is of necessity broadband (~200 KHz) for the
wideband broadcast FM signals, which are 150 KHz wide (75 KHz deviation).
As most of the traffic on the PSB's is only 5 KHz deviation, the volume
level will be on the order of around 10% (rounded up) of that of a broadcast
FM station. If they are leaving the radio at the same volume as for AM or
FM, they may not hear a station at all. Best one can do on these radios is
to tune around looking for a quiet spot on the dial that will sometimes tell
you there's a signal there, then turn up the volume to see if it's a
transmission.

I can hear noise. I can hear the same noise on the Police Low band as well, but
I can tune in FM stations on the Police Low band. The Air/Police High/Weather
band, I can't hear a thing. Just can't figure it out.

I'm open to some other suggestions, if anyone has any to offer. I would really
like to try to get to the bottom of this. The capacitors being dried up that
j999w mentioned, is there anyway to test it with a multimeter? That's all that
I have. What can I test in the radio with the multimeter and how do you do it?

I know this may sound dumb, but it really helps. Thanks. :-D

You'd have to unsolder one side of a capacitor to test it ... but which ones?

What you might do, is find out where the local weather station broadcasts from,
or perhaps park by the local airport where you KNOW there is going to be loud
signals, and see if you can hear them at all. Then you know if the radio is
dead, or just deaf.

If you can find a signal, bring a small screwdriver along, and try to tweak the
transformers and variable caps inside for best signal, it may just need a good
alignment.

If the caps are dried out ... you're SOL.

:^]

jw
K9RZZ

but the biggest
problem is that I can't hear a thing on the Air/Police High/Weather
band. Are these bands dead or is something wrong with my radio?

I'm sure this was answered, but in case. BTW, I have ne of these-it was my
'first' radio that SW on it.

Unless you happen to have it *spot on* that dial just hwen they happen to be
transmitting, you won't hear a thing.----in regards to the fuzz/heat/pd/air.

Weather band, you should be able to hear, I can on mine, maybe throw a wire out
the window.

What kind of MUlti-Band is it? Just curious.

~^Monitoring The Spectrum^~
Hammarlund HQ129X /Heathkit Q Multiplier
Hammarlund HQ140X
Multiple GE P-780's(GREAT BCB Radios)
RCA Victor *Strato- World*
RCA Victor RJC77W-K(Walnut Grain)
1942 Zenith Wave Magnet 6G 601M
Cathedral/ Ross#2311/Rhapsody-MultiBand
DX100/394/*SUPER*398/399/402
OMGS Transistor Eight/Realistic 12-1451
Henry Kloss Model One/Bell+HowellSW
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Alpha Delta DX Sloper 57ft.
500ft. 12AWG. (non-terminated)
120ft. 12 AWG Long-Wire
2 Radio Shack Loop Antennas
Radio Shack Amplified Antenna
30X30 DiamondLoop(six section 830pf Cap)
* Diamond Loop mounted to Lazy Susan TurnTable*
*21/2X2ft.FiveSpoked~Penta-Loop~PancakeLoop*
~OptimusCTR-111Cassettte Recorder~
~Radio Shack 2Speed VOX#43-476~
~Ramsey Speech Scrambler~

I'd like to know if something is wrong with the radio or if it's just that
the
Air/Police High/Weather band is dead. I thought at least I should get the
weather, but I don't get anything when it's tuned to 162.5 which is where it
says the weather is located

#1 I'd get some contact cleaner from Radio Shack and spray the crap out of it.
#2 'Maybe' that isn't the correct freq that the weather is on in your area. You
should check.
** I really like mine, it sits right here in my shack and I've cleaned it real
good (all the contacts and switches) -it's got a great fine tune on it that I
'marked' on the dial.

Mine is a Rhapsody Multi-Band (originally my Mom's:-) ) BIG speaker and BIG
telescoping antenna. Mine goes from 4 to 12 on SW and has a cassette player
built in. Has the built in rotating loop on the top.


~^Monitoring The Spectrum^~
Hammarlund HQ129X /Heathkit Q Multiplier
Hammarlund HQ140X
Multiple GE P-780's(GREAT BCB Radios)
RCA Victor *Strato- World*
RCA Victor RJC77W-K(Walnut Grain)
1942 Zenith Wave Magnet 6G 601M
Cathedral/ Ross#2311/Rhapsody-MultiBand
DX100/394/*SUPER*398/399/402
OMGS Transistor Eight/Realistic 12-1451
Henry Kloss Model One/Bell+HowellSW
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Alpha Delta DX Sloper 57ft.
500ft. 12AWG. (non-terminated)
120ft. 12 AWG Long-Wire
2 Radio Shack Loop Antennas
Radio Shack Amplified Antenna
30X30 DiamondLoop(six section 830pf Cap)
* Diamond Loop mounted to Lazy Susan TurnTable*
*21/2X2ft.FiveSpoked~Penta-Loop~PancakeLoop*
~OptimusCTR-111Cassettte Recorder~
~Radio Shack 2Speed VOX#43-476~
~Ramsey Speech Scrambler~

What kind of MUlti-Band is it? Just curious.

It's a Worldmaster, although I don't know who made it, it's rubbed out on the
lower left corner.

I've got another update. Now I can't even get AM. I used to get AM, but now I
hear the same static noise that I hear on the Air/Police High/Weather band.
There is also another problem with the radio. It works fine on AC, but when you
try to power it on DC, it's a no go. It takes 4 D batteries. I've cleaned the
contacts, checked the wiring, and still nothing.

This may sound like a lot of trouble for a cheapo radio, but I'd like to learn
about how these work. I've always been curious about that part of it. Also,
once you've unsoldered one end of the capacitor, can you test it with a
multimeter, and if so, on what setting. I have an analog Craftsman multimeter.

Thanks again. :-D

"Josey221" wrote in message
...
What kind of MUlti-Band is it? Just curious.

It's a Worldmaster, although I don't know who made it, it's rubbed out on
the
lower left corner.



Is your radio anything like the Ross Worldmaster:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...em=5701380 58
6&rd=1

or try:

http://tinyurl.com/25j6j

For what it's worth, I fixed up a Ross Worldmaster last year, although that
radio didn't have any problems with reception.

Frank Dresser

"Josey221" wrote in message
...
I've got another update. Now I can't even get AM. I used to get AM, but
now I
hear the same static noise that I hear on the Air/Police High/Weather
band.
There is also another problem with the radio. It works fine on AC, but
when you
try to power it on DC, it's a no go. It takes 4 D batteries. I've cleaned
the
contacts, checked the wiring, and still nothing.

The first thing I'd look for is poor solder connections or a cracked printed
circuit board. Take the radio's back off and gently press on the board on
different places. You can also use the eraser end of a pencil to poke and
tap around. You might get lucky and find that pressing a small area will
make the radio cut in and out. Just re-solder all the connections in that
area. Be careful not to make solder bridges. Otherwise, you might try
re-soldering any joints which don't look perfect, particularly the solder
joints around the bandswitch{es}. Look around for cracks in the board. If
the board is cracked, you need to scrape off the solder mask {that's the
paint on the backside of the board} and bridge the crack with a bit of
solder. If you're fussy, you can solder a short length of wire across a
crack.

If you have any junk boards around, say from a computer or something, you
can practice your soldering on those.

Be careful pulling the circuit board. You'll probably need to remove some
knobs. The knobs are probably glued in. The glue is usually fairly soft,
but it still has quite a grip. Be patient, and try to work them off slowly.
The wires which attach to the board are usually thin and fragile. Make a
diagram to show which wire hooks up where. You may need to unsolder some
wires to get the board out enough to get to the backside.

Be sure your screwdrivers fit the screws. They may be in tight. You might
need to take your radio to the hardware store and check out a couple of
different phillips head screwdrivers. Or they might be Reed & Prince or
Posidriv. They all look pretty much the same, but only one gives a tight
fit.

The dead bands may be working, but may be way out of alignment. This often
happens when "troubleshooters" start turning adjustment screws or squeezing
or ezpanding coils. There may still be some sensitivity at some unknown
frequency. Try tapping on the antenna rod with a piece of wire or a
screwdriver. This should produce some clicking noises from the speaker.
Check it on a working FM-VHF band so you know what to listen for.



This may sound like a lot of trouble for a cheapo radio, but I'd like to
learn
about how these work. I've always been curious about that part of it.
Also,
once you've unsoldered one end of the capacitor, can you test it with a
multimeter, and if so, on what setting. I have an analog Craftsman
multimeter.

Thanks again. :-D

You can test for dead shorted, or almost dead shorted caps with a
multimeter. These caps will show a short or a resistance on the "ohms'
range. A problem limited to some of the bands could be one of the trimmer
caps related to the dead bands, but these are usually reliable. Water can
damage them, so look for water stains.

Most of the radio's capacitors, and all of the electrolytics, are part of
the radio's power supply and the audio amplifier. These should be OK,
because these are used on all the bands.

I'm assuming this radio has a PC board and I don't know how to unsolder one
end of most capacitors on a PC board and check it. Axial lead capacitors
usually need to be removed to be thouroughly checked. A capacitor with a
gross short will read 0 ohms in circuit.

I suggest you check for poor solder connections and cracks first.

Frank Dresser

It's not a Ross, I'm almost sure. If that wasn't bad enough, earlier today the
back cover that opens and closes, fell off. :-( Glue was too old.

Thanks for the help and I'd love to hear other thoughts on my situation as
well. :-D

"Josey221" wrote in message
...
It's not a Ross, I'm almost sure. If that wasn't bad enough, earlier today
the
back cover that opens and closes, fell off. :-( Glue was too old.

Thanks for the help and I'd love to hear other thoughts on my situation as
well. :-D



Yes, take a look at:

http://repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_tshoot.html

Most of the above doesn't really apply to your situation, but some of it
does and it's worth browsing.

Browse through some of these, if you can:

http://repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_Repair.html

Frank Dresser

Is your radio anything like the Ross Worldmaster:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...em=5701380 58
6&rd=1


For what it's worth, I fixed up a Ross Worldmaster last year, although that
radio didn't have any problems with reception.

Wow, I have a Ross, have had it for two summers. I NEVER thought it was a
'World Master.'

I keep that one radio in a seperate room with a Radio Shack reel in antenna
(the one with theadpter that pushes 'onto' your whip.....which I actually
prefer.

But I knew that picture didn't look nothing like mine so I got up and went and
physically brought it in here and shined it up real good.

On my sig, I've always had Ross #2311 because that's all I saw.....duh!!!!!!
Mine has the face plate in sparkling stainless steel or chrome. {?} It says
on the lid *Solid State Multi-Band Sounds Around The World. In between the
words Band and Sounds is a 'lip' that you lift the cover up.

It doesn't come off, on the inside of the lid on the left is the 'Time Dial'
and underneath it says "outer Dial/Time of Day - -Inner Dial/Zone No. and on
the right hand side of the inner lid it has a map of the world with the numbers
starting on the far left of 1 through and ending at 24.

Help me out here Frank, I've never paid this dial much attention, what do you
do? Like right now it is say 2am(local)....which is 0600UCT how does that dial
coincide with that.......then what- you match it with the map of the world and
know what their UCT is?

That's something that I never paid it any attention, *BUT* underneath the dial
and writings like I said, I'll be darn if it don't say 'World Master.' :-D

This thing is in MINT condition other than a small fact that it looks like (was
like this before I got it) someone was painting and there's like tiny tiny
little specks-maybe seven of them of white paint.

It has seven 'push down' switches that I had cleaned with contact cleaner and I
cleaned the 'tone' knob that has bass and treble and the volume knob.....even
has a RED button that says Dial Light on it - and it works fine.

Each switch is in different BRIGHT colors and it has in order
LW(red)/AM(orange/MB(Green)/SW1.2(Blue/SW3.4(Brown)FM(Red/VHHF1.2(Green)

It has a 38"Telescoping Whip, that hwen pulled all the way out, it rotates
360%.

Thanks for bringing it up and getting me up to take a look at it more closely,
I have a *Ross World Master* -gee-gotta change that sig now. ;-) FWIW, it
really is a good sounding and extremely selective SW radio, which I would want
over sensitivity really.

Time to move her in the shack. Thanks!
But FRank or someone, I know it must be easy, but what's the deal with the dial
and how does it work.....gotta be late.


~^Monitoring The Spectrum^~
Hammarlund HQ129X /Heathkit Q Multiplier
Hammarlund HQ140X
Multiple GE P-780's(GREAT BCB Radios)
RCA Victor *Strato- World*
RCA Victor RJC77W-K(Walnut Grain)
1942 Zenith Wave Magnet 6G 601M
Cathedral/ Ross*World Master*/Rhapsody-MultiBand
DX100/394/*SUPER*398/399/402
OMGS Transistor Eight/Realistic 12-1451
Henry Kloss Model One/Bell+HowellSW
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Alpha Delta DX Sloper 57ft.
500ft. 12AWG. (non-terminated)
120ft. 12 AWG Long-Wire
2 Radio Shack Loop Antennas
Radio Shack Amplified Antenna
30X30 DiamondLoop(six section 830pf Cap)
* Diamond Loop mounted to Lazy Susan TurnTable*
*21/2X2ft.FiveSpoked~Penta-Loop~PancakeLoop*
~OptimusCTR-111Cassettte Recorder~
~Radio Shack 2Speed VOX#43-476~
~Ramsey Speech Scrambler~

Let me add one more question to Frank or anyone that knows of these types of
radios.

I never took it mobile because on the inside of the battery compartment it says
:

Caution:" The battery charger will only recgarge the following nickel cadmium
rechargeable cells or its equivalent-EverReady CH4.0 Burgess CD 10 or Marathon
S103. All other batteries will over heat and cause leakage. Only use the above
prescribed batteries."


Apparently someone didn't pay attention because the inside when I got it had
some leakage, but I cleaned it spic-n-span.

My question would be, why can't I use just four regular D cells (that's what it
looks like it takes) and on the front of the radio at the bottom left corner it
has a switch that says 'Batt.Charge' and a red light that lights up when you
flip it because I've done it.

Why can't I keep the charger in the 'off' position and run the four Dcells??
Would it hurt anything?

Thanks to anyone who replies.


~^Monitoring The Spectrum^~
Hammarlund HQ129X /Heathkit Q Multiplier
Hammarlund HQ140X
Multiple GE P-780's(GREAT BCB Radios)
RCA Victor *Strato- World*
RCA Victor RJC77W-K(Walnut Grain)
1942 Zenith Wave Magnet 6G 601M
Cathedral/ Ross*World Master*/Rhapsody-MultiBand
DX100/394/*SUPER*398/399/402
OMGS Transistor Eight/Realistic 12-1451
Henry Kloss Model One/Bell+HowellSW
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Alpha Delta DX Sloper 57ft.
500ft. 12AWG. (non-terminated)
120ft. 12 AWG Long-Wire
2 Radio Shack Loop Antennas
Radio Shack Amplified Antenna
30X30 DiamondLoop(six section 830pf Cap)
* Diamond Loop mounted to Lazy Susan TurnTable*
*21/2X2ft.FiveSpoked~Penta-Loop~PancakeLoop*
~OptimusCTR-111Cassettte Recorder~
~Radio Shack 2Speed VOX#43-476~
~Ramsey Speech Scrambler~

I never took it mobile because on the inside of the battery compartment it
says

My question would be, why can't I use just four regular D cells (that's what
it
looks like it takes) and on the front of the radio at the bottom left corner
it
has a switch that says 'Batt.Charge' and a red light that lights up when you
flip it because I've done it.

Why can't I keep the charger in the 'off' position and run the four Dcells??
Would it hurt anything?

Well, I couldn't wait for an answer- so notice to anyone else- *Don't Bother.*

It means 'exactly' what it says on the inside of the battery lid. I popped 4
brand spanking new Dcells, kept the charger switch in the 'off' position and
nothing.:-(

I guess my only question left, and I can't answer this one Frank hint are
those batteries it said even made now? A couple of them I've never even heard
of, I'd really like to take that piece to the park, but where would I get those
kind of batteries that could be charged while playing (that's pretty cool FWIW
IMO.) :-( Waaaaaaaah


~^Monitoring The Spectrum^~
Hammarlund HQ129X /Heathkit Q Multiplier
Hammarlund HQ140X
Multiple GE P-780's(GREAT BCB Radios)
RCA Victor *Strato- World*
RCA Victor RJC77W-K(Walnut Grain)
1942 Zenith Wave Magnet 6G 601M
Cathedral/ Ross*World Master*/Rhapsody-MultiBand
DX100/394/*SUPER*398/399/402
OMGS Transistor Eight/Realistic 12-1451
Henry Kloss Model One/Bell+HowellSW
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Alpha Delta DX Sloper 57ft.
500ft. 12AWG. (non-terminated)
120ft. 12 AWG Long-Wire
2 Radio Shack Loop Antennas
Radio Shack Amplified Antenna
30X30 DiamondLoop(six section 830pf Cap)
* Diamond Loop mounted to Lazy Susan TurnTable*
*21/2X2ft.FiveSpoked~Penta-Loop~PancakeLoop*
~OptimusCTR-111Cassettte Recorder~
~Radio Shack 2Speed VOX#43-476~
~Ramsey Speech Scrambler~

"GO BEARCATS" wrote in message
...

Wow, I have a Ross, have had it for two summers. I NEVER thought it was a
'World Master.'

I keep that one radio in a seperate room with a Radio Shack reel in
antenna
(the one with theadpter that pushes 'onto' your whip.....which I actually
prefer.

But I knew that picture didn't look nothing like mine so I got up and went
and
physically brought it in here and shined it up real good.

On my sig, I've always had Ross #2311 because that's all I
saw.....duh!!!!!!
Mine has the face plate in sparkling stainless steel or chrome. {?} It
says
on the lid *Solid State Multi-Band Sounds Around The World. In between
the
words Band and Sounds is a 'lip' that you lift the cover up.

It doesn't come off, on the inside of the lid on the left is the 'Time
Dial'
and underneath it says "outer Dial/Time of Day - -Inner Dial/Zone No. and
on
the right hand side of the inner lid it has a map of the world with the
numbers
starting on the far left of 1 through and ending at 24.

Help me out here Frank, I've never paid this dial much attention, what do
you
do? Like right now it is say 2am(local)....which is 0600UCT how does that
dial
coincide with that.......then what- you match it with the map of the world
and
know what their UCT is?

I know what you're talking about, but I didn't spend much time trying to
figure it out. I'm sure it should be pretty straightforward. The time zone
for UTC is in Greenwich, England, and knowing the time difference should
give a pretty good clue on where to set the dial. Then the pattern might
become clearer, and you can set the dial to remind you of the time
difference between any two places on the map.



That's something that I never paid it any attention, *BUT* underneath the
dial
and writings like I said, I'll be darn if it don't say 'World Master.' :-D

This thing is in MINT condition other than a small fact that it looks like
(was
like this before I got it) someone was painting and there's like tiny tiny
little specks-maybe seven of them of white paint.


Sometimes you can scrape the paint specks off with your fingernail or a
popsicle stick. I have some 3M plastic polish I bought at an auto parts
store which does a nice job of polishing and cleaning up that sort of stuff.
Toothpaste can also work for that. Some of the toothpastes are sorta
gritty, but Crest is one that's OK, if I recall. Be sure to try it on an
inconspicous area first.



It has seven 'push down' switches that I had cleaned with contact cleaner
and I
cleaned the 'tone' knob that has bass and treble and the volume
knob.....even
has a RED button that says Dial Light on it - and it works fine.

If yours has the piano key switches, like the one in the e-bay auction, be
careful with them. The plastic wasn't real strong when new, and can get
more brittle as it ages. That was the biggest repair I did on the World
Master last year. I glued some substantial pieces of plastic underneath the
stressed areases of the keys, and I think it should be holding up OK. I
gave the radio back to it's owner after I fixed it.



Each switch is in different BRIGHT colors and it has in order
LW(red)/AM(orange/MB(Green)/SW1.2(Blue/SW3.4(Brown)FM(Red/VHHF1.2(Green)

It has a 38"Telescoping Whip, that hwen pulled all the way out, it rotates
360%.

Thanks for bringing it up and getting me up to take a look at it more
closely,
I have a *Ross World Master* -gee-gotta change that sig now. ;-) FWIW, it
really is a good sounding and extremely selective SW radio, which I would
want
over sensitivity really.

Time to move her in the shack. Thanks!
But FRank or someone, I know it must be easy, but what's the deal with the
dial
and how does it work.....gotta be late.


As I remember the dial, I think it serves as a reminder of the time
difference between any two time zones.

Frank Dresser

"GO BEARCATS" wrote in message
...


Well, I couldn't wait for an answer- so notice to anyone else- *Don't
Bother.*

It means 'exactly' what it says on the inside of the battery lid. I popped
4
brand spanking new Dcells, kept the charger switch in the 'off' position
and
nothing.:-(

I guess my only question left, and I can't answer this one Frank hint
are
those batteries it said even made now? A couple of them I've never even
heard
of, I'd really like to take that piece to the park, but where would I get
those
kind of batteries that could be charged while playing (that's pretty cool
FWIW
IMO.) :-( Waaaaaaaah



Probably any Nicad D-cells with the correct flashlight type ends would work.
Rechargable batteries sometimes have different terminals when they are
intended for use in recharageable battery packs. Ni Mh batteries have
largely replaced Nicads, but there's still some Nicads around. Ni Mh and
Nicad have the same voltage, but Ni Mh cells can supply more current.
However, Ni Mh batteries are said to be degraded more quickly by trickle
charging than Nicad. Your radio almostly certainly trickle charges the
cells. Actually, trickle charging isn't real good for Nicads, either, but
almost everybody did it years ago.

If you want to try your radio on batteries, just flip the switch but don't
plug it in. The radio can't charge the batteries without external power.
Be sure to remove any non rechargeable batteries any time the radio is
plugged in.

Regular batteries have a bit more voltage than Nicads, but the difference
shouldn't cause any problems in a radio. The biggest difference is price.
Rechargeables are expensive, and alkalines will power the radio for a long
time. Just be sure to take the alkalines out anytime the radio is plugged
into an outlet.

Here's what happened to Burgess Battery:

http://www.agcinfo.com/Projects/Burgess2004.pdf

And Marathon:

http://www.agcinfo.com/Projects/MARATHON.pdf

In short, it wasn't only the batteries which leaked.

Frank Dresser

I have checked the antenna and the connections are good and I've checked all
the wires going from the bandswitch to the circuit board, all seem ok. Before I
was getting AM, but now it has the same "low static noise" that the
Air/Weather/Police High band has. Does anyone have an idea what else I could
check?

As far as the adjustments someone here mentioned to align it. What band would
you test the alignment on. Of course if I do this, I plan on marking where it
goes in case the adjustment doesn't work. Any advice on which band to test it
on.

Thanks again for the help. :-D

"Josey221" wrote in message
...
I have checked the antenna and the connections are good and I've checked
all
the wires going from the bandswitch to the circuit board, all seem ok.
Before I
was getting AM, but now it has the same "low static noise" that the
Air/Weather/Police High band has. Does anyone have an idea what else I
could
check?

You can check if the local oscillator is working on the AM band. The local
oscillator will probably run about 455 kHz above whatever frequency is
indicated on the dial. So, if the radio shows 1000 kHz on the dial, the
local oscillator is running at 1455kHz. This signal can be received on
another radio. Tune another radio to a station around 1450kHz, and tune the
radio you're checking to around 1000 kHz. You should hear a whistling tone
as the radio is tuned around. These frequencies don't have to be around
1450 and 1000 kHz. Anything with a difference of around 455 kHz works.
Many digital radios have different IF frequencies, and this trick may not be
workable for checking their local oscillators at these frequencies, although
they are fine for receiving the local oscillator at the higher frequency.


As far as the adjustments someone here mentioned to align it. What band
would
you test the alignment on. Of course if I do this, I plan on marking where
it
goes in case the adjustment doesn't work. Any advice on which band to test
it
on.

Don't touch any of the alignment adjustments. If someone else has played
with them, the radio might be so out of whack it won't work normally
anymore. Alignment isn't a trouble shooting procedure, anyway. Generally,
a good alignment requires a signal generator and a service instructions.
Adjustments can be done with off the air signals, but that's not for
beginners. Leave the adjustments alone.



Thanks again for the help. :-D

Frank Dresser

I have an update. I managed to find out that the wire for the AM band (hidden)
had come loose from the board. Still couldn't find a loose connection in the
Air/Weather/Police High band. In the process though, there is now another
problem, maybe someone can help me with it.

I've located the power supply, and I see that there is a red wire and two black
wires coming out of it. The two black wires are soldered directly above the
power supply on the board. One of them, the one on the right came loose. What
is this wire and should I run the radio anymore, due to safety? Is it ok to run
it with this wire off for the time being, or will it cause a fire hazard?

Thanks for the help. :-D

I have read several messages about your WorldMaster multiband radio with
five bands. People have suggested testing components, and doing all sorts
of things to the radio, but I have not yet seen anybody asking the most
obvious questions we need to know in order to tell you why, or even if, the
"police" and weather bands are really dead.
What are the frequency ranges shown on the dial scales? For example, the
Am, or medium wave (MW), or "broadcast band, should show a range of
something like maybe, 520-1620 KHz or KC, or maybe 540-1600 or something
similar.

The FM broadcast band might run something like, 87.5-108.0 MHz.

Some of the radios from that period covered an aircraft band somewhere
between about 108.0 MHz and maybe 136.0 MHz. IN the 1960's and into the
1970's there may have been some police frequencies in that band, but I don't
think so.

It is very possible that the high police band and the weather band may have
covered frequencies from 136.0 MHz all the way to 174.0 MHz. If you're
lucky, that range would be covered in at least two bands, but I have seen
some units where one band allocation covered from 136.0 MHz to 174.0 MHz.
If the radio has no fine tuning control you will need a very steady hand on
the tuning knob to zero in on a narrow frequency slice that would be covered
by a station like a NOAA weather radio broadcast, or any of the police
frequencies that might still be in that band.

The VHF police band at the time that radio was probably new ran from about
153 MHz to 158 MHz. In some areas, especially rural areas well away from
the major metropolitan areas, there are still police departments and fire
departments using some of those frequencies.

Just about all radios I have ever seen with band designatins like you
mentioned are cheaply made and not very well designed. In addition to being
optimized from the wide bandwidth of the broadcast FM band as has been
mentioned, you'll notice that if you live in or near a large city, two,
three, or four of the strongest local FM stations will show up all over
those "police" and weather bands. YOu might even get the audio portion of
one or two of your local television stations on those bands as well, even
though they should not be heard there.

Some of those radios could surprise you, and would not embarrass themselves
at all on the AM broadcast band, 540-1600, or at night in the shortwave
frequencies between about 5.8 MHz and 10.0 MHz.

If you live within about 10 or 15 miles of an airport with a control tower,
you might hear something on the aircraft band that is actually supposed to
be there. Since 90 percent or more of the US population is supposed to be
within range of a NOAA weather radio transmitter, you should be able to hear
at least one of those stations, if a bit faintly, once you get the hang of
tuning so finely that the pointer moves along the dial scale in increments
about the space of the diameter of a hair.

If the radio was made in the 1960's, it was most likely made in Japan. If
it was made in the 1970's, it could have been made in Japan, or more likely
somewhere like Korea, Taiwan, or Hong Kong.

Reply to:
Brent Reynolds, Atlanta, GA USA

I have read several messages about your WorldMaster multiband radio with
five bands. People have suggested testing components, and doing all sorts
of things to the radio, but I have not

******rest of good reply snipped********

Brent,
I've received a few replies from Josey, he/she is a newbie- that's more than
likely why.

I'm glad the thread started so I inspected mine and found out what it really
was, hopefully I can find on here the answer to my question about the dial. :-)


~^Monitoring The Spectrum^~
Hammarlund HQ129X /Heathkit Q Multiplier
Hammarlund HQ140X
Multiple GE P-780's(GREAT BCB Radios)
RCA Victor *Strato- World*
RCA Victor RJC77W-K(Walnut Grain)
1942 Zenith Wave Magnet 6G 601M
Cathedral/ Ross#2311/Rhapsody-MultiBand
DX100/*SUPER-DELUXE DRIVEN*394/*Modded*398/399/402
OMGS Transistor Eight/Realistic 12-1451
Henry Kloss Model One/Bell+HowellSW
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Alpha Delta DX Sloper 57ft.
500ft. 12AWG. (non-terminated)
120ft. 12 AWG Long-Wire
2 Radio Shack Loop Antennas
Radio Shack Amplified Antenna
30X30 DiamondLoop(six section 830pf Cap)
* Diamond Loop mounted to Lazy Susan TurnTable*
*21/2X2ft.FiveSpoked~Penta-Loop~PancakeLoop*
~OptimusCTR-111Cassettte Recorder~
~Radio Shack 2Speed VOX#43-476~
~Ramsey Speech Scrambler~

It is very possible that the high police band and the weather band may have
covered frequencies from 136.0 MHz all the way to 174.0 MHz. If you're
lucky, that range would be covered in at least two bands, but I have seen

You're right Brent. On mine it's in two. VHF1:108 through 140
VHF2:145 through174
and right underneath that and the bottom of the dial is the 'WB'(in Pink) It
goes in increments of : 0/10/20/30/40/50/60/70/162.5-followed by a little pink
dot. then 100. {?}

It picks up weather bands from two areas solidly and one time (real faint)
three. Could a loop help, nah.....not. That'd be something to be able to pull
in that third one in real clear like the other two.:-)

~^Monitoring The Spectrum^~
Hammarlund HQ129X /Heathkit Q Multiplier
Hammarlund HQ140X
Multiple GE P-780's(GREAT BCB Radios)
RCA Victor *Strato- World*
RCA Victor RJC77W-K(Walnut Grain)
1942 Zenith Wave Magnet 6G 601M
Cathedral/ Ross#2311/Rhapsody-MultiBand
DX100/*SUPER-DELUXE DRIVEN*394/*Modded*398/399/402
OMGS Transistor Eight/Realistic 12-1451
Henry Kloss Model One/Bell+HowellSW
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Alpha Delta DX Sloper 57ft.
500ft. 12AWG. (non-terminated)
120ft. 12 AWG Long-Wire
2 Radio Shack Loop Antennas
Radio Shack Amplified Antenna
30X30 DiamondLoop(six section 830pf Cap)
* Diamond Loop mounted to Lazy Susan TurnTable*
*21/2X2ft.FiveSpoked~Penta-Loop~PancakeLoop*
~OptimusCTR-111Cassettte Recorder~
~Radio Shack 2Speed VOX#43-476~
~Ramsey Speech Scrambler~

One more post on this thread tonight. ON the back of the radio it has like a
built into label that says what is on what.

This 'might' be interesting, I know I found it pretty historical accurately.
Goes like this.
*****************************

LW(Long Wave)-Aircraft Beacon, Aircraft Weather, Maritime Radio.
AM(Standard Broadcast)-Standard AM Broadcasting.
MB(Marine Band)-Great Lakes Weather Forecast.
SW1-4(Short Wave)-International Broadcasting.
FM(Standard Broadcast)-Standard FM Broadcasting.
VHF1(Aircraft)-Aircraft Communications.
VHF2(Public Service)-Police,Fire,Civil Defense,U.S.
WB(Weather Band)-Weather Dept.,Railroads,Taxis,Highway Trucks,Private Mobile
Telephone

**NO WHERE anywhere on this radio does it say 'where' it's made. No
U.S./Taiwan/Japan - -not a thing. {?}


~^Monitoring The Spectrum^~
Hammarlund HQ129X /Heathkit Q Multiplier
Hammarlund HQ140X
Multiple GE P-780's(GREAT BCB Radios)
RCA Victor *Strato- World*
RCA Victor RJC77W-K(Walnut Grain)
1942 Zenith Wave Magnet 6G 601M
Cathedral/ Ross#2311/Rhapsody-MultiBand
DX100/*SUPER-DELUXE DRIVEN*394/*Modded*398/399/402
OMGS Transistor Eight/Realistic 12-1451
Henry Kloss Model One/Bell+HowellSW
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Alpha Delta DX Sloper 57ft.
500ft. 12AWG. (non-terminated)
120ft. 12 AWG Long-Wire
2 Radio Shack Loop Antennas
Radio Shack Amplified Antenna
30X30 DiamondLoop(six section 830pf Cap)
* Diamond Loop mounted to Lazy Susan TurnTable*
*21/2X2ft.FiveSpoked~Penta-Loop~PancakeLoop*
~OptimusCTR-111Cassettte Recorder~
~Radio Shack 2Speed VOX#43-476~
~Ramsey Speech Scrambler~

Rechargable batteries sometimes have different terminals when they are
intended for use in recharageable battery packs.

I know what you're saying Frank, this isn't a 'pack' though. I knw of a pack,
my Pro-70 scanner has a rechargeable pack.

This is wide open, just like any other battery compartment.

However, Ni Mh batteries are said to be degraded more quickly by trickle
charging than Nicad.

GREAT!!! Because I own both of those in c cells, and I date and write the hours
down (believe it or not) with each recharge and I like and think that Nicad is
a better overall battery. You're right, it would be trickle charging, I never
thought of it like that.

I know down at the shack they always (not any more- if it's still the same
three guys) are trying to push the Ni Mh on me and telling me how much better
they are...lol.

I have three sheets of notebook paper slipped into plastic with the dates/hours
that say different. ;-)

Ballpark, how much and how do they sell them - the D cell Nicad- like how much
would four cost to start out. Since they're recharging, it could save me a week
or so then go and get another four for backup.

They sell those at Rat Shack or is there a cheaper place that is like a nation
wide store where I could buy four of those?



Your radio almostly certainly trickle charges the
cells.

Why sure, it has no choice from looking at it.



Actually, trickle charging isn't real good for Nicads, either, but
almost everybody did it years ago.

Huh, really? How many hours you think I could get, actually would it even
matter. I mean if it's tricklecharging and I can control it, would I just keep
the same four in there till they puked and then put four new ones in or still
rotate them? This will definitely be something different I've never done
before, that's for sure. A SW receiver+ that recharges your rechargeables. Tell
me how you would do it Frank and the others. Or any tips from ones that really
KNOW- not just guessing.

If you want to try your radio on batteries, just flip the switch but don't
plug it in. The radio can't charge the batteries without external power.
Be sure to remove any non rechargeable batteries any time the

radio is
plugged in

radio is
plugged in

I did last night. I put the switch to DC (for batteries) and put in 4 new D
cells that were alkaline, it did nothing. I can plug it into the wall and
listen fine (with no batteries in it) and flip the 'recharge' switch on the
front and the red light comes on- so I know that circuit works fine. It just
needs the type of batteries that it says it needs which is understandable. It
says DO NOT use alkaline and the flip the charge switch or you'll have a mess.
I can imagine. :-I

Just be sure to take the alkalines out anytime the radio is plugged
into an outlet.

Huh? Nah. It don't work with alkalines I said. Unless I'm reading something
wrong here in the group or on the radio. {?} How would I get longer life from
four Dcells in a RADIO than a radio that was running batteries that were
constantly being charged to the point that the radio works fine? I mean, why
would they have made it that way for it NOT TO work the way it says? Follow me
Frank?

I'll cut-n-paste those links and put them up and read em' later today. Gotta
stretch out!
Thanks for the help, hopefully you will have replied by the time I log back on.
Appreciate Frank :-)

~^Monitoring The Spectrum^~
Hammarlund HQ129X /Heathkit Q Multiplier
Hammarlund HQ140X
Multiple GE P-780's(GREAT BCB Radios)
RCA Victor *Strato- World*
RCA Victor RJC77W-K(Walnut Grain)
1942 Zenith Wave Magnet 6G 601M
Cathedral/ Ross#2311/Rhapsody-MultiBand
DX100/*SUPER-DELUXE DRIVEN*394/*Modded*398/399/402
OMGS Transistor Eight/Realistic 12-1451
Henry Kloss Model One/Bell+HowellSW
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Alpha Delta DX Sloper 57ft.
500ft. 12AWG. (non-terminated)
120ft. 12 AWG Long-Wire
2 Radio Shack Loop Antennas
Radio Shack Amplified Antenna
30X30 DiamondLoop(six section 830pf Cap)
* Diamond Loop mounted to Lazy Susan TurnTable*
*21/2X2ft.FiveSpoked~Penta-Loop~PancakeLoop*
~OptimusCTR-111Cassettte Recorder~
~Radio Shack 2Speed VOX#43-476~
~Ramsey Speech Scrambler~

As I remember the dial, I think it serves as a reminder of the time
difference between any two time zones.

yep. And the switches are solid and fine, the radio is well kept and in a good
temp. setting it seems. I don't press hard, but hard enough to engage another
band.

I'm outta here. :-)

"GO BEARCATS" wrote in message
...

The radio doesn't know if there are standard flashlight batteries or
rechargables installed. If it could tell standards from rechargables, it
could autoswitch the charger off for standard batteries.

Either type of battery should provide the current to run the radio. If it
doesn't work on batteries, there's probably a bad connection somewhere.

Here's a note on trickle charging Nicads:

"The more common "memory effect" isn't memory at all, but voltage depression
caused by overcharging. Positive plate electrochemistry is very complicated,
but overcharging changes the crystal structure of the nickelic hydroxide
from beta-Nickelic Hydroxide to gamma-Nickelic hydroxide. The
electrochemical potential of the gamma form is about 40 to 50 mV less than
the beta form. This results in a lower discharge voltage. In a six cell
(7.2v) pack, this means a loss of 300 mV. Trick? Don't overcharge. Leaving
cells on a trickle charger encourages formation of gamma nickelic hydroxide.
Expect the cells to discharge at a lower voltage."

http://www.repairfaq.org/ELE/F_NiCd_Battery.html

You might also check out:

http://www.batteryuniversity.com/

Frank Dresser

As for the frequencies. Here they are in this order from top to bottom:

AM: 54-160KHz
SW1: 4.2-(on the SW1 and SW2, it gives areas like Berlin, then Moscow then that
ends out SW1)
SW2: (London, Rome)-11MHz
Police Low: 31-48MHz
FM: 88-108MHz
Aircraft: 108-135MHz
Police High: 140-172MHz
Weather: 162.5

As far as the tuning of the radio goes. I am VERY selective and am very good
with tuning. I get the FM bleeding on the Police Low band, but I repeat, I get
nothing on the Air/Weather/Police High. Not even random static, just the same
old static as the AM was doing at one point. Trust me, it's DEAD. But no wires
are loose from what it looks like. If I can't get weather, then something must
be wrong.

Not only this but now, like I mentioned yesterday, they're two black wires
soldered on the board just above the power supply and both of these wires come
from the power supply and go to the board where these two wires are now. The
one on the right just came loose. Is it ok to operate the radio until I'm able
to resolder it or will it cause a fire hazard.

You guys can really tell I'm a newbie now, he he. ;-)

I'm sure I can pick up at least some weather, even if I can't pick up any air
or police signals, if I knew what the cause of this was. The set was made in
Hong Kong.

Another thing, with this bandswitch being the rotary type, on the side. From
left to right, here's the order, Air/Police High/Weather, FM, Police Low,
SW1/SW2, AM. Does anyone have any idea which band inside would control the
Air/Police High/Weather band? I could recheck if I knew which one was the band
for the Air/PH/Weather band.

Thanks for putting up with the newbie. ;-D

I tried sending this off line, but AOL bounce it, for whatever reason:



Are you expirenced with soldering? You'll need to resolder the AM band wire
back to the circuit board. You probably can locate the broken stub from the
wire if you look carefully. A magnifing glass may help.

I don't know where the black wire goes, but look for a broken stub in the
same way.

Be sure to make a diagram or mark the wires in the radio. You might break
off some more as you handle the radio.

Frank Dresser

The radio doesn't know if there are standard flashlight batteries or
rechargables installed. If it could tell standards from rechargables, it
could autoswitch the charger off for standard batteries

..If it
doesn't work on batteries, there's probably a bad connection somewhere.

Ah. Then somethings broke in there.

Thanks for the links.:-)


~^Monitoring The Spectrum^~
Hammarlund HQ129X /Heathkit Q Multiplier
Hammarlund HQ140X
Multiple GE P-780's(GREAT BCB Radios)
RCA Victor *Strato- World*
RCA Victor RJC77W-K(Walnut Grain)
1942 Zenith Wave Magnet 6G 601M
Cathedral/ Ross#2311/Rhapsody-MultiBand
DX100/*SUPER-DELUXE DRIVEN*394/*Modded*398/399/402
OMGS Transistor Eight/Realistic 12-1451
Henry Kloss Model One/Bell+HowellSW
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Alpha Delta DX Sloper 57ft.
500ft. 12AWG. (non-terminated)
120ft. 12 AWG Long-Wire
2 Radio Shack Loop Antennas
Radio Shack Amplified Antenna
30X30 DiamondLoop(six section 830pf Cap)
* Diamond Loop mounted to Lazy Susan TurnTable*
*21/2X2ft.FiveSpoked~Penta-Loop~PancakeLoop*
~OptimusCTR-111Cassettte Recorder~
~Radio Shack 2Speed VOX#43-476~
~Ramsey Speech Scrambler~