03-20-2013, 01:41 PM
I intentionally do not buy radios that have been restored. Even if restored by knowledgeable person. Though more often then not it is not the case.
I want a radio that has been brought to life by me, and me alone.
This said, I recently restored (to the singing condition - there is still work to do, like replacing speaker wires, shadograph etc) an 18 and whoever touched it before me (it was a claim it worked) fully disregarded 1) white foam spreading from under the cap of one electrolytic cap, 2) disconnecting inside caps inside the backelites when throwing replacement caps across them, and such. So I had to remove the replacements, gut the backelites, restuff them, gut the electrolytics, restuff them....etc. Had the radio not been "restored and playing" (I was not crazy enough to check that claim when I saw that electrolytic cap) my job would be easier.
And the last thing: I am, though not a pro radio restorer (and far from it), still a pro EE. So when restoring radios I do not have to spend time learning electronics as I go.
Still, I find it to be a not very profitable occupation - if I were to sell any of my radios, none of them would recoup the costs of the restoration. Possibly it would pay for parts, but I would not earn anything, especially considering my engineering hourly rates - no one will pay that much to restore an old radio unless it is a truly rare piece that is truly an investment.
In the times of yore those fixing radios were fully equipped for that, and the parts were cheap and available - it was then current technology, so fixing radios could be profitable. Today it is hard to do, and even though I am sure that can be done in theory, but probably not on an amateur level part-time.
So, if you decided "I will fix it and sell it for profit" - unless you are really lucky and find someone really stupid with money to burn.....unlikely.
You either become a full-time pro who does nothing else, or just do it for fun like most of us do.
I want a radio that has been brought to life by me, and me alone.
This said, I recently restored (to the singing condition - there is still work to do, like replacing speaker wires, shadograph etc) an 18 and whoever touched it before me (it was a claim it worked) fully disregarded 1) white foam spreading from under the cap of one electrolytic cap, 2) disconnecting inside caps inside the backelites when throwing replacement caps across them, and such. So I had to remove the replacements, gut the backelites, restuff them, gut the electrolytics, restuff them....etc. Had the radio not been "restored and playing" (I was not crazy enough to check that claim when I saw that electrolytic cap) my job would be easier.
And the last thing: I am, though not a pro radio restorer (and far from it), still a pro EE. So when restoring radios I do not have to spend time learning electronics as I go.
Still, I find it to be a not very profitable occupation - if I were to sell any of my radios, none of them would recoup the costs of the restoration. Possibly it would pay for parts, but I would not earn anything, especially considering my engineering hourly rates - no one will pay that much to restore an old radio unless it is a truly rare piece that is truly an investment.
In the times of yore those fixing radios were fully equipped for that, and the parts were cheap and available - it was then current technology, so fixing radios could be profitable. Today it is hard to do, and even though I am sure that can be done in theory, but probably not on an amateur level part-time.
So, if you decided "I will fix it and sell it for profit" - unless you are really lucky and find someone really stupid with money to burn.....unlikely.
You either become a full-time pro who does nothing else, or just do it for fun like most of us do.
