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Need VEF Baltika help - Printable Version

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Pages: 1 2

RE: Need VEF Baltika help - BrendaAnnD - 03-31-2021

I got the same spiders.

RE: Need VEF Baltika help - morzh - 03-31-2021

I wonder if those are Russian spiders you got or...Korean ones.

If those are Russian ones, they just might've fulfilled their lifelong dream and got out from behind the Iron Curtain. Even if dead. So they could be buried in the soil of a free country. Of course if those were not spy spiders....but then they are dead so not much use as spies anymore.

RE: Need VEF Baltika help - BrendaAnnD - 04-01-2021

ROFL!!!

RE: Need VEF Baltika help - RodB - 04-01-2021

Brenda,

Generally, the oscillator coil with the most wire will be used for the lowest band of frequencies, so if the radio has a LW band that's the one. Then the next lowest amount of wire would be the MW band. In the schematic, the switches on either side of L10 thru L13 will select the correct coil for each band.

RE: Need VEF Baltika help - BrendaAnnD - 04-01-2021

Good-ish news. I found the main problem with the MW, it turned out to be fingers on the bandswitch that were not making contact with the rotary wafers. I now have MW reception, with just one relatively minor problem remaining.. the antenna section does not track properly. I have gotten the high end (above 1100 KHz) to work pretty well, but the lower end, especially below 900 KHz, does not resonate where it needs to. I think I could get a good balance if I can adjust the coil and trimmer capacitor in the antenna circuit. However, to do this, I need to find or fabricate a special tool (hexagonal driver) that will fit inside of the coil. Does anyone know where I could get this tool, or the metric dimensions I would need to fabricate one?

Thanks for all the help so far, I think I'll be happy with this radio when I've finished it up.

RE: Need VEF Baltika help - morzh - 04-01-2021

Brenda

Some of the electrical tools sold on Amazon (and the Zenith set) have some hex drivers.
problem is, they might not help you much as 1) could be different size, 2) even if close, the Soviet ones were metric and those you buy on Amazon are typically imperial.

https://www.amazon.com/Aven-13016-Piece-Anti-Static-Alignment/dp/B001Q4YGQS/ref=sr_1_3?crid=27Y1S1G0GC4IJ&dchild=1&keywords=radio+alignment+tools&qid=1617291660&sprefix=radio+alig%2Caps%2C162&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/Philmore-Alignment-Trimmer-Combo-Electronics/dp/B01MT9JNTU/ref=sr_1_4?crid=27Y1S1G0GC4IJ&dchild=1&keywords=radio+alignment+tools&qid=1617291705&sprefix=radio+alig%2Caps%2C162&sr=8-4

https://www.amazon.com/GC-Electronics-18-530-Radio-Alignment/dp/B000B61CSM/ref=sr_1_6?crid=27Y1S1G0GC4IJ&dchild=1&keywords=radio+alignment+tools&qid=1617291739&sprefix=radio+alig%2Caps%2C162&sr=8-6



I think for some coils of sufficient length a tool with tapering hex end might be a universal one. But I am sure a piece of wood could be quickly and easily made into any size hex wrench with an exacto knife.

RE: Need VEF Baltika help - RadioSvit - 04-01-2021

As for the bad contact in the switch - that's what I wanted to tell you, but I saw your post late. In Soviet radio, these contacts are often oxidized and therefore it is useful to cover them with antioxidant and protective lubricant

In most Soviet radios, the contours were filled with wax, but sometimes they were fixed with paint. If you used wax in your radio, then you are very lucky - just heat the core a little with a soldering iron and you can easily turn it with a screwdriver. But if the core is fixed with paint, then you have to use solvents, otherwise you can destroy it - the ferrite core can split.

PS.
The need to adjust the cores of the contours may indicate that the cores from old age have not only changed their intuitiveness, but also strength. So be very careful, Brenda, most likely they have become very fragile.

RE: Need VEF Baltika help - morzh - 04-01-2021

I think "intuitiveness" is "inductance" :-)

I have just looked: the two words in Russian are pretty close, "индуктивность" (inductance) and "интуитивность" (intuitiveness/intuition). The auto-corrector could sub one for another.

RE: Need VEF Baltika help - Arran - 04-11-2021

I could not help but notice that the paper capacitors in Peter's Baltica have more then a passing resemblance to many capacitors found in pre war RCA radios. They appear to have cardboard disks around the leads, with the ends of the tubes rolled over like an electrolytic cap, the labeling even looks similar with ink printed directly onto the brown paper tubes. Other then that it's a strange mix of North American, and European style components, and construction.
 Regarding assistance on the restoration, are there any radio forums based in Latvia or Ukraine, these sets were manufactured, or at least engineered in Latvia? VEF was a radio manufacturer in Riga before the Soviets invaded in 1940, there is even a film posted online of their manufacturing process in their pre war factory.
Regards
Arran

RE: Need VEF Baltika help - RadioSvit - 05-01-2021

Hi Arran. I'm sorry, I haven't visited the Philco forum for a long time and only now I saw your question ...
Yes, in Ukraine there are many forums for the restoration of the old radio and one of them is the one I created a few years ago ... True, it is not very popular due to many problems in Ukraine, but I will be very glad to see you there, I invite everyone ...

https://forum.radioretro.audiosvit.com/index.php?sid=9b7bdf2614723d543006a4bf798f8ad6
And here is the site and forum of Latvian colleagues ...

http://www.oldradio.lv/

RE: Need VEF Baltika help - morzh - 05-01-2021

Peter

Good to see ya.

RE: Need VEF Baltika help - RadioSvit - 05-01-2021

Thank you Michael