[mikethedruid]

Now that the Olympic is finished, I am starting to work on the RCA 5Q55. If you remember, this is the radio which I posted a reply about in the thread complaining of bad shipping/packing problems when you buy from eBay sellers. This was, by far, the worst disaster I have had that way. Here is a picture of how the radio arrived...

[Image: https://66.media.tumblr.com/450c88caa15e...1_1280.jpg]

Today I pulled the chassis and dial assembly out of the bakelite case. I had carefully combed through the packing material which was around the radio, and the box it was in for fragments of the broken cabinet, and found almost all of it except for those bits which were too tiny to find. I put them in a plastic sandwich bag which I taped to the radio so they wouldn't get lost. Today I carefully put them back into place. It was a lot like assembling a three dimensional jig saw puzzle. I used Loctite GO2 Gel for the glue. It dries to the point I could leave things in place fast enough to work well in this instance. It is now pretty well dried, and well on its way to being finished. I need to do a tiny bit of patching using Bondo to fill the little missing area, and what there is of tiny cracks between the pieces, then sand, and touch up paint with some poly based paint which I will mix to match. Since the cabinet is that old swirled, dark brown RCA and some others used, it won't be too difficult. Then I'll give it a coat of semi gloss poly and it will look acceptable. Here's what it looks like so far...

[Image: https://66.media.tumblr.com/fc0f8cf1b0b9...e397e6.jpg]

[Jake Blake]

Looks like you already have a good handle on piecing it back together Mike.  

[mikethedruid]

Here's a picture of the underside of the chassis. Not too bad. Rubber wiring, of course, but not TOO much of it. The top of the chassis is a little dusty, and a little rust here and there, must have seen some damp, probably an unheated garage or attic where moisture could condense, but mostly it looks really good. Seeing as this was where it all started, the same model radio family friends gave me when I was 9 years old, and that got me started playing with old radios, and listening to shortwave, this is going to be fun.

[Image: https://66.media.tumblr.com/888e0162b116...dc9b92.jpg]

[Paul Philco322]

Nice when you get a set with good memories attached. Bondo time for the case? Paul

[mikethedruid]

Yes, Paul, but I am going to give things a few days to set up well before I do that. I may use JB Weld instead of Bondo, I'm not sure yet, but you all will be the first to find out.

[EdHolland]

Interesting little set - I'm sure it is in good hands now

One thing I learned about RCA sets is to beware those lozenge shaped caps. They are prone to cracks in the molded body, and can become leaky or drift in value. I had to chase a couple out of my RCA console before the alignment could be completed to specification.

Good luck,

Ed

[mikethedruid]

I have begun to work on this set. Tonight I began with the volume pot and line cord. Removed the line cord, and the pot to clean it. I found the switch on the pot is bad, and tinkering didn't seem to help, so I have ordered a new one. That has put a stop to further work until it arrives. I am waiting for an order of condensers, mica, poly, and electrolytic to arrive anyway.
In other news, I got a whole bunch of 25 foot rolls of solid 18 gauge PVC insulated wire from eBay. its voltage rating is 600V. Here is a link to the vendor for those interested. It will be a great help in restoring those sets that used solid rubber covered wire.
https://www.ebay.com/str/EnterSell-Lab-a...7675.l2563

[mikethedruid]

I've finished replacing all of the paper and electrolytic condensers on this radio, as well as all the rubber covered wiring. Fortunately there was not too much. I also replaced the volume control/power switch. I ordered one from Mark Oppat on the 12th, but it hasn't arrived; and, although I have written him asking if he sent it, I have not yet heard back from him. I also ordered one from Antique Electronic Supply at the same time, which has arrived. The shaft of this one is shorter than the original. I ordered a shaft coupler from eBay at the same time, and it arrived today. I cut the shaft on the new one so it went half way into the coupler, and cut the shaft off the old pot to make the total length equal to what the original was. I installed that today, and that was the last thing I had to do. Now all I have left is alignment, and finishing the cabinet. Here's what the underside of the chassis looks like now.

[Image: https://66.media.tumblr.com/e2915047943e...3fd0e3.jpg]

[Jake Blake]

Good job Mike!   Me-loves that yellow!  

[Paul Philco322]

Like to see her when all done!

Paul

[mikethedruid]

Tested the tubes tonight, they were all good. The #44 pilot light was out, replaced that. Plugged all the tubes in except the 5Y3, and turned it on. The pilot light lit up, and the 6F6 filament began to glow. The rest are metal tubes, so you can't see the filaments. No smoke, no crackles or pops, all good signs. Plugged in the 5Y3, and turned it on again. Low hum from the speaker when volume was full. Began to tune around the AM band. LOTS of crackling, isolated it to the band switch which I hadn't cleaned, and is bound to have some resin residue on it from my de-soldering and re-soldering of things. Despite this I was able to hear a few stations with no antenna at all hooked up. Turned it back off and sprayed the heck out of the band switch and worked it back and forth a lot. Have to let it sit and dry out before any more testing, but all looks good. I couldn't have screwed up TOO badly. We'll see how it goes tomorrow when the band switch has dried out. Hopefully I can check out the alignment.

In other news, I did some filling work on the cabinet last night, and sanding of the excess today. It doesn't look bad for a cabinet that was as badly broken as it was. I just have to touch up the little place where there is filler for a tiny missing bit which shows with some brown paint, then, when that dries, I'll shoot the cabinet with some satin poly and be done with that part.

[mikethedruid]

Today I shot a second coat of satin poly on the cabinet. Now I have to wait for that to dry, and the cabinet is ready to have the speaker and the guts installed again. This evening I tackled the alignment. With this radio it is not nearly as easy as with most. The actual dial assembly is separate from the chassis, and is only linked to it by the attachment of the pointer clip to the dial cord. I know, what a pain in the butt way to do it! This means one had to make a copy of the dial scale from the service bulletin and tape that to the chassis, then make a temporary pointer from a piece of wire, and use THAT to do the alignment. This would probably be easier if one had the original books rather than a digital copy. One could just trace the one in the book. As it is, I had to print out a copy of the correct size and use that, no simple matter. I wasted about 8 sheets of paper before I got one that was very close. Thank goodness for IRfanview, it allows such adjustments. This is what the dial scale looks like:

[Image: https://66.media.tumblr.com/29f5d03e3658...2b023f.jpg]

Using the one I made, which is VERY close to the original, checked against the actual dial from the set, I did the alignment tonight. It went pretty well, and I am receiving stations all over all three bands. I am sure that things will be a little bit off when all is said and done, but quite close, and good enough considering. I'm going to let the cabinet dry until tomorrow, then put back the speaker board, the dial assembly, and the chassis, and this one will be done. I'll post pictures of the finished radio when I've got it together.

[Paul Philco322]

Allright Mike, almost there, yahoo.

Paul

[mikethedruid]

All done, not a bad save, if I do say so myself. Pretty good receiver too. Tonight I listened to her a bit before taking the after picture. Just on the short antenna in my "radio room" where I do all my work, and store all my parts, I was able to get a lot of stations on the standard broadcast band, with just a short wire antenna inside the room. Reception there is marginal at best because my house has insulation with an aluminum shield on it all over the house, which really cuts down on the radio signals, making an outside antenna quite necessary to get decent reception. Despite this I was able to pick up the CHU  3KW signal on 3.33 MC, and the WWV signal on 5 MC quite clearly on band 2, as well as several stations on band 3, although it was after the time when those frequencies are most active. Not bad for a glorified All American 5 with no RF amp stage. Listening to it brought back memories of my youth. It uses a single type 44 bulb to illuminate the dial, and I hadn't remembered how dimly it lit it up until I started to play with it again, and then the memory of that all came back. So here are before and after pictures, just so you remember what a disaster I had to deal with...

BEFORE:
[Image: https://66.media.tumblr.com/450c88caa15e...1_1280.jpg]

AFTER:

[Image: https://66.media.tumblr.com/8617cf046d89...fbbc6e.jpg]

[Paul Philco322]

Ok kid, looks super! Paul