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Crosley 52TA - Printable Version

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Pages: 1 2

Crosley 52TA - Eric T - 12-28-2012

My In-Laws got me this little AA5 table top Crosley for Christmas. I love the simple Art Deco style.

[Image: http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/382932_4167798640175_2081703100_n.jpg]

I now have 3 restorations in progress, not including test equipment.

RE: Crosley 52TA - Paul Philco322 - 12-28-2012

There is something to be said about a simple BC band set, I bet it sounds super when done. Way cool!

Paul

RE: Crosley 52TA - Eric T - 01-01-2013

[Image: http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/295278_4186502227753_456302416_n.jpg]

Well, here is the chassis, all stripped down and parts bagged up. The chassis is copper and I'm considering whether or not to polish and clear coat it.

The speaker has blue masking tape on it to keep me from accidentally putting my fingers through the cone during dis-assembly... again. Next time, that will be step one.

I took apart the on-off switch/volume pot and did a little cleaning and lubricating. It works very well now.

I cleaned the tuning gang and noticed that the shaft rides on ball bearings. Pretty nice. 8)

I also found what's left of the dial pointer inside the cabinet. Unless there's a decent one out there somewhere, I'm probably going to make a new one somehow.

RE: Crosley 52TA - codefox1 - 01-02-2013

Since you stripped out all the parts anywat I would recommend you put in all new capacitors and resistors. You will probably find chassis is only thinly plated with copper so clean gently. Also clean up tube sockets with a pipe cleaner and Deoxit while you're at it.

RE: Crosley 52TA - chris25260880 - 01-03-2013

Never saw anyone strip a radipo down to this extent, you are a lot braver than I

RE: Crosley 52TA - Gene Pederson - 01-03-2013

+1....What Chris said.

RE: Crosley 52TA - codefox1 - 01-03-2013

+2 I hope some "before" pictures were taken, as lead dress can beome somewhat important.

RE: Crosley 52TA - Arran - 01-03-2013

Since you have the chassis stripped down anyhow give it a wash in a solution of trisodium phosphate and hot water, it will take the dirt off and brighten it up to some extent. Then if it doesn't look bright enough you can give it a dip in Tarnex.
Regards
Arran

RE: Crosley 52TA - DeckApe - 01-03-2013

+3 with Chris, Gene, and Codefox... Though I'm going to attempt a similar project soon, I have a "clone" chassis to look at.

RE: Crosley 52TA - Eric T - 01-03-2013

There is a method to my madness.

First, I took a ton of pictures from every angle possible, highlighting every section. Then I took more pictures as things were removed.

I also got the schematic from NA, checked accuracy and noted any differences. There is actually an extra cap and resistor not on the original schematic, but I penciled them in. This is not an overly complicated radio, about 15 individual wires on the tube pins, 9 caps and 10 resistors.

I have kept everything-- every wire, resistor, capacitor, coil, etc. and put it all in a safe place. I kept the wires to get proper lengths, everything else to verify replacements. I also left wires attached to large components like the IF cans and the tuning gang.

In another life, I used to repair fairly complicated submarine antennas. Bagging and tagging parts and careful documentation was SOP.

RE: Crosley 52TA - Eric T - 01-20-2013

[Image: http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/734639_4272869866890_984058213_n.jpg]

Well here it is with all new resistors and capacitors, and a bunch of new wiring. I also installed a polarized plug and put the hot side on the switch.

As I replaced components and wires, I carefully looked at all applicable views in the pics I took and then marked with a highlighter on the schematic the exact electrical connections made. Icon_e_geek

It did not play at first, just hummed. I turned it over and found that I had neglected to solder one joint: the electrolytics to ground junction. After that last bit of soldering, it played without any adjustments. Icon_thumbup

You may see one lone orange dip in there. I bumped a yellow cap with a hot soldering iron. Icon_mad

I'm just glad I had an extra with the right value.

Here it is, playing like new after a quick alignment:
[Image: http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/58250_4272872706961_1974002830_n.jpg]


And then here we go, back in the box:
[Image: http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/64916_4272874787013_1212099758_n.jpg]

I'll tackle refinishing the wood later. Icon_e_wink

RE: Crosley 52TA - Eric T - 01-20-2013

Other notes:

I had to replace the dial cord. My daughter has a big roll of string she uses to make bracelets. It's the perfect size, it's strong, and it has a sticky/waxy coating. I couldn't have found a better replacement cord if I had searched all week.

I tried cleaning the grill cloth. It helped a little, but it looks like there's wood stain on it in one corner.

Additionally, the dial pointer had disintegrated. For now, a zip tie will have to do until I can come up with a decent looking replacement. I have some ideas, but it'll take a while before making them reality.

RE: Crosley 52TA - TexMac - 01-21-2013

I did a Loktal version of the same set in Bakelite some time ago. I should have used your approach since it seems they always have every single wire gone bad. I wonder where the wire came from? There is a lot of bad rubber wire out there, but never as bad as in these radios.

But, when finished, they only need the alignment tweaked to work like a champ. I found a gimmick in mine where one wire to the oscillator coil was wrapped a single tight turn around a capacitor lead. Did you see anything like that in yours? I did not make a photo of it, since I was replacing as I removed.

To the point of an earlier poster, it is not just BC - the shortwave is not slouchy for a little table top set.

RE: Crosley 52TA - Eric T - 01-21-2013

Yeah, there was a ton of bad rubber insulated wire. I kept most of the cloth covered wire.

And I don't know if you'd call it a gimmick, but the antenna lead has a knot in it that is stuck through a hole in the back of the chassis to sit inside the oscillator coil.

RE: Crosley 52TA - Eliot Ness - 01-21-2013

Nice job on the little Crosley. I had a batch of Crosley's still in the box several years ago and two of them were 52TA's like yours. I gave the nicest one to a friend and kept the other one. It wasn't quite as nice because it looks like it might have sat out as a demo in the store for a while.

I agree that these simple little sets are pretty decent performers. I have a similar little Detrola that a dear friend of the family picked up for me. The little wood cabinet is all beat up, but after a quick recap it has been a daily player in my garage shop for years. I initially kept it just for sentimental reasons, but its performance has earned it a permanent spot in the shop.