Reunited with my first radio love courtesy of eBay. But smokey!
 

Was wondering if anyone here has had any experience removing smoker's odors
from a used radio? I won an auction for a Radio Shack DX-398, and I had
originally sold mine to pay some bills. I was ecstatic to have won, and am
STILL ecstatic to have "my" radio back, and here it will STAY for all time.
Just it stinks like it was used for an ashtray. Was considering putting it
in an airtight container with baking soda... (No baking soda ON the console
or anything, mind you... Just sharing a large container with a cup of it
harmlessly to the side.)

Regards,

Daniel

Just let it sit there for a day or two. The odor will gradually
disappear on its own.

Steve

Daniel J. Morlan wrote:
Was wondering if anyone here has had any experience removing smoker's odors
from a used radio? I won an auction for a Radio Shack DX-398, and I had
originally sold mine to pay some bills. I was ecstatic to have won, and am
STILL ecstatic to have "my" radio back, and here it will STAY for all time.
Just it stinks like it was used for an ashtray. Was considering putting it
in an airtight container with baking soda... (No baking soda ON the console
or anything, mind you... Just sharing a large container with a cup of it
harmlessly to the side.)

Regards,

Daniel



The "sealed in a bag with baking soda" idea can't hurt, and may
indeed help - I would think it would take several days. Before you do
that, mix up a solution of ammonia and warm water. Wring the cloth out
*thoroughly*, and wipe down the radio as well as you can - this will not
hurt it. You may even want to do it twice. If the water turns a faint
yellowish color, you are getting rid of most of the source of smell
right there. Follow that with a fresh solution of baking soda in
water. Remember to always wring the washcloth out very thoroughly.
Then, if you wish, follow up with the baking-soda-in-a-bag idea. The
combination should greatly diminish - if not eliminate completely - the
smell. And as someone else wrote, just plain "time" will help, too.

Tony

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If you can take the chassis out of the radio's case without too much
trouble,wash the case throughly a few times and let the chassis sit in
an airtight container with baking soda.No guarantee you will ever get
rid of all of the smoky odor.Cigarette smoke is very bad for electronic
parts in radios,computers,all kinds of electronic thingys and it can
greatly shorten the lifespan of all things electronic.
cuhulin

On Sun, 25 Sep 2005 12:09:24 -0400, Tony Meloche
wrote:

Daniel J. Morlan wrote:
Was wondering if anyone here has had any experience removing smoker's odors
from a used radio? I won an auction for a Radio Shack DX-398, and I had
originally sold mine to pay some bills. I was ecstatic to have won, and am
STILL ecstatic to have "my" radio back, and here it will STAY for all time.
Just it stinks like it was used for an ashtray. Was considering putting it
in an airtight container with baking soda... (No baking soda ON the console
or anything, mind you... Just sharing a large container with a cup of it
harmlessly to the side.)

Regards,

Daniel



The "sealed in a bag with baking soda" idea can't hurt, and may
indeed help - I would think it would take several days. Before you do
that, mix up a solution of ammonia and warm water. Wring the cloth out
*thoroughly*, and wipe down the radio as well as you can - this will not
hurt it. You may even want to do it twice. If the water turns a faint
yellowish color, you are getting rid of most of the source of smell
right there. Follow that with a fresh solution of baking soda in
water. Remember to always wring the washcloth out very thoroughly.
Then, if you wish, follow up with the baking-soda-in-a-bag idea. The
combination should greatly diminish - if not eliminate completely - the
smell. And as someone else wrote, just plain "time" will help, too.

Tony

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----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----
Why not just buy a new ATS-909?

On Sun, 25 Sep 2005 11:29:54 -0500, wrote:

If you can take the chassis out of the radio's case without too much
trouble,wash the case throughly a few times and let the chassis sit in
an airtight container with baking soda.No guarantee you will ever get
rid of all of the smoky odor.Cigarette smoke is very bad for electronic
parts in radios,computers,all kinds of electronic thingys and it can
greatly shorten the lifespan of all things electronic.
cuhulin

Activated charcoal would work better than sodium bicarbonate.

wrote:
If you can take the chassis out of the radio's case without too much
trouble,wash the case throughly a few times and let the chassis sit in
an airtight container with baking soda.No guarantee you will ever get
rid of all of the smoky odor.Cigarette smoke is very bad for electronic
parts in radios,computers,all kinds of electronic thingys and it can
greatly shorten the lifespan of all things electronic.
cuhulin

Once again the CooKoo of the list posts about something he knows little
of.

Yes, cigarettes are bad for your health, but I've not seen any radios
of the 50's 60's tube era that were "damaged" by smoke/nicotine.
Hammarlund SP-600's and R-390 series receivers were literally covered
with a golden brown coating of nicotine and continued to work in spite
of it.

Cuhulin, you actually need to get an antenna and a real shortwave
receiver and then study real hard before you unleash those two peas
that rattle around inside your malformed skull.

Les Locklear
Monitoring since ' 57
Located on the Gulf of Mexico
Bendix R-1051B/URR
Hallicrafters SX-62A
Hammarlund SP-600JX-14
Kiwa Modified Icom R75
RCA CR-88A
http://www.hammarlund.info/homepage.html

On 25 Sep 2005 11:20:40 -0700, "Les" wrote:



Yes, cigarettes are bad for your health, but I've not seen any radios
of the 50's 60's tube era that were "damaged" by smoke/nicotine.
Hammarlund SP-600's and R-390 series receivers were literally covered
with a golden brown coating of nicotine and continued to work in spite
of it.

Cuhulin, you actually need to get an antenna and a real shortwave
receiver and then study real hard before you unleash those two peas
that rattle around inside your malformed skull.

Les Locklear
Monitoring since ' 57
Located on the Gulf of Mexico
Bendix R-1051B/URR
Hallicrafters SX-62A
Hammarlund SP-600JX-14
Kiwa Modified Icom R75
RCA CR-88A
http://www.hammarlund.info/homepage.html

The deposits are bad for switch contacts and deadly on Daven step
attenuators used widely in old-fashioned mixing desks. Also very bad
on tape heads.

www.devilfinder.com The damage cigarette smoke does to electronics
cuhulin

You wouldn't open up your radio and dump some cigarette ashes around in
there and then put the radio back together and use it,would you? The
very tiny particles of cigarette smoke gets into everything that isn't
hermetically sealed.Not good for any kinds of radios at all.
cuhulin

David wrote:
On 25 Sep 2005 11:20:40 -0700, "Les" wrote:



Yes, cigarettes are bad for your health, but I've not seen any radios
of the 50's 60's tube era that were "damaged" by smoke/nicotine.
Hammarlund SP-600's and R-390 series receivers were literally covered
with a golden brown coating of nicotine and continued to work in spite
of it.

Cuhulin, you actually need to get an antenna and a real shortwave
receiver and then study real hard before you unleash those two peas
that rattle around inside your malformed skull.

Les Locklear
Monitoring since ' 57
Located on the Gulf of Mexico
Bendix R-1051B/URR
Hallicrafters SX-62A
Hammarlund SP-600JX-14
Kiwa Modified Icom R75
RCA CR-88A
http://www.hammarlund.info/homepage.html

The deposits are bad for switch contacts and deadly on Daven step
attenuators used widely in old-fashioned mixing desks. Also very bad
on tape heads.

Where do you find tape heads and daven step attenuators on a shortwave
receiver? Oh, I know that some portables have a tape recorder unit, but
I'm talking a "real" shortwave receiver?

All of you idiots need to find another hobby or a job that keeps you
busier.

Les Locklear
Monitoring since ' 57
Located on the Gulf of Mexico
Bendix R-1051B/URR
Hallicrafters SX-62A
Hammarlund SP-600JX-14
Kiwa Modified Icom R75
RCA CR-88A
http://www.hammarlund.info/homepage.html

I'd be careful with the ammonia.

I have read other posts saying that cleaning with Windex removed some of the
stenciled labels on the face of the radio. I don't know if plain vinegar
and water may be safer.



"Tony Meloche" wrote in message
...
Daniel J. Morlan wrote:
Was wondering if anyone here has had any experience removing smoker's
odors from a used radio? I won an auction for a Radio Shack DX-398, and
I had originally sold mine to pay some bills. I was ecstatic to have
won, and am STILL ecstatic to have "my" radio back, and here it will STAY
for all time. Just it stinks like it was used for an ashtray. Was
considering putting it in an airtight container with baking soda... (No
baking soda ON the console or anything, mind you... Just sharing a large
container with a cup of it harmlessly to the side.)

Regards,

Daniel

The "sealed in a bag with baking soda" idea can't hurt, and may indeed
help - I would think it would take several days. Before you do that, mix
up a solution of ammonia and warm water. Wring the cloth out
*thoroughly*, and wipe down the radio as well as you can - this will not
hurt it. You may even want to do it twice. If the water turns a faint
yellowish color, you are getting rid of most of the source of smell right
there. Follow that with a fresh solution of baking soda in water.
Remember to always wring the washcloth out very thoroughly. Then, if you
wish, follow up with the baking-soda-in-a-bag idea. The combination
should greatly diminish - if not eliminate completely - the smell. And as
someone else wrote, just plain "time" will help, too.

Tony

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In article .com,
says...
Just let it sit there for a day or two. The odor will gradually
disappear on its own.

Steve



I have had radios that reeked for YEARS, not days. My R71A still stinks
badly after nearly a complete disassembly and cleaning. I still can't
take being near it for too long, once it warms up, it's bad..

I had a mint Yaesu FRG-7700 that was so loaded with smoke residue that
it was ORANGE. I just thought it was the odd lighting at the hamfest
that made it look like that. I took it all apart and ended up washing
the case in the dishwasher (came out great, and grey again) and the
front panel in a pan with dishwashing soap in it. After soaking for an
hour, it looked like I had dunked it in coffee. I changed the water and
did it again, and it still looked like coffee. The third time, it didn't
change much, and I took a washcloth and wiped everything off and dunked
it again, and it turned brown instantly again. The washcloth looked like
I had wiped orange paint off something. After hours, it was finally
clean..

After all that, it still stunk of cigarettes, slightly as soon as it was
turned on.

Smoking is something I'll never understand..

BDK

homepc wrote:
I'd be careful with the ammonia.

I have read other posts saying that cleaning with Windex removed some of the
stenciled labels on the face of the radio. I don't know if plain vinegar
and water may be safer.





I'd never use an ammonia/water solution that was very strong, or
scrubbed in vigorously, but I have been using that on every kind of
plastic case for years and have had no problems at all. I did stress
that the rag must be wrung out thoroughly, but I should have stressed
that it should be a mild solution to begin with, yeah.

Tony




"Tony Meloche" wrote in message
...

Daniel J. Morlan wrote:

Was wondering if anyone here has had any experience removing smoker's
odors from a used radio? I won an auction for a Radio Shack DX-398, and
I had originally sold mine to pay some bills. I was ecstatic to have
won, and am STILL ecstatic to have "my" radio back, and here it will STAY
for all time. Just it stinks like it was used for an ashtray. Was
considering putting it in an airtight container with baking soda... (No
baking soda ON the console or anything, mind you... Just sharing a large
container with a cup of it harmlessly to the side.)

Regards,

Daniel

The "sealed in a bag with baking soda" idea can't hurt, and may indeed
help - I would think it would take several days. Before you do that, mix
up a solution of ammonia and warm water. Wring the cloth out
*thoroughly*, and wipe down the radio as well as you can - this will not
hurt it. You may even want to do it twice. If the water turns a faint
yellowish color, you are getting rid of most of the source of smell right
there. Follow that with a fresh solution of baking soda in water.
Remember to always wring the washcloth out very thoroughly. Then, if you
wish, follow up with the baking-soda-in-a-bag idea. The combination
should greatly diminish - if not eliminate completely - the smell. And as
someone else wrote, just plain "time" will help, too.

Tony

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News==----
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Newsgroups
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Les wrote:

All of you idiots need to find another hobby or a job that keeps you
busier.


Taking lessons from the dxAce book of manners? Why? You are smarter than
that.


mike