[Texasrocker]

I would say that about 50% or better of all the vintage tube radios that have crossed my workbench in the past have been "hacked" at some point. I find this to be very common in this hobby. If someone attempted repairs yrs ago that didnt know what they were doing, sure left behind some real-doozies. Anyone that is serious about this hobby of learning to restore vintage radios needs a good knowledge of basic tube electronics of the different stages of radio-circuitry, all proper accurate bench-test equip with full knowledge of how to use them, and a full JF Riders schematic vols 1 -23 (readable) library helps greatly( but still isnt always enough info, and you must be knowledgeable enough to read past those mistakes and seek additional actual prints from the orig mfgrs from individual collectors) that fills in the missing data you are seeking .I have found the internet most valuable in finding the "rare" info, and most folks are more than happy to help nomatter the brand-name of your requests. JF Riders had mistakes also!! I have run into that several times! Either printing mistakes or whatever, after restoring over 100 radios or so will teach newbies what to look for and understanding the JF Riders schemats attempt of being the radio-repair bible. They did best they could, and only printed the "avail info" to them from all the mfgrs-engineers in those days! Reading schematics "properly" takes lots of time & patience also! My old vintage JF Riders books have served me very well, and "saved" MANY hacked sets brought to my shop!! It would be nice if all the vintage radios just needed a good dust-off and a simple "recap" job!! However, after many orig owners of these fine old sets decided to attempt repair themselves, left us future collectors with their hack-jobs with wires left cut, wrong parts in wrong places,missing parts,etc, then once they found out it was less-expensive to go buy a more modern radio, all these "critters" sit in antique stores, antique malls, garage & estate sales,eBay, etc. I never get too-excited about purchasing vintage radios anymore until I pull out my handy small tool-kit at their location, pull the chassis and take a look underneath first. I even pull all the orig tubes and check for good filament continuity before purchasing any vintage tube gear. I have found that most sellers dont mind me checking-first, before I purchase! That way I can judge how much the piece is worth for me before I invest, and can walk away leaving the owners more-knowledgeable about their radios for sale. I have even taught my wife what to check for electronically, and look for all the probs before she purchases, and presents them into our shop for restorations. Be careful what you purchase because most of the time, vintage radios need much-more than a simple "recap"!! The old "rubber coated wire" chassis ALWAYS needs a total point-to-point rewire (or new sleeving) to operate safe in the future, and those type restorations take many,many hours by qualified techs to save!! Be careful what you wish for in purchasing these old vintage radios!! You may get a bag of goods just because it looked good on the outside!! Enjoy the vintage-radio hobby!!! Randal