[NostalgiaRadioTime]

After 4 hours tiding up solder joints, changing a few resistors and micas in the area of the 6J5 I'm still no further ahead. No improvement. The set still howls and whistles and at full volume motorboats. I tried several different 6A8's with no improvement. I tried listening for the oscillator signal on a known good radio that’s nearby and that seemed to work. I was not able to get a strong station to come in very clear on the 38-5 but the one I was using was at 620 and I could hear the faint howling / whistling that was in the background at around 1100 on the dial on my freshly restored hippo I placed next to it on the workbench. When I turned off the 38-5, I could hear the whistling / howling go away on the hippo. So I think the OSC is working or trying to.

With my antenna wire clipped on to the grid of the 6K7, and my finger on the grid of the 6A8 tube, I can get that station AM 620 coming through loud and clear, sounding as it should. But that's the only station I can get. The local station (much stronger signal) on the upper end of the dial at 1470 doesn't come through with the same antenna / finger configuration.

Any thoughts on what to try next? I'm at a loss. I'm about ready to gator wire a new tube socket to the 6J5 and try that tube externally in a new socket to see if I'm not getting a good connection or have a damaged socket.