[Phlogiston]

This is a long post, so when you have a few minutes.

P.S. You probably don't want to try this at home.

https://www.russoldradios.com/blog/back-...th-5-f-134

Russ

[Nathan Slingerland]

Thanks for taking us along on your adventure in electroplating Russ. Really interesting read and a top-notch result.

[rfeenstra]

[MrFixr55]

WOW!! A beautiful restoration of an important piece of history!

One of the reasons that I participate in this hobby (but not as well as you do!)is not just to build skills but because we are preserving and curating History!!  History of technology, history of the times, even history of the family that owned it. 

I was born in 1955 during the time of transformation of Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island, NY (I am 50 mi east of Manhattan, NYC) from farms to suburbs, from a town of 50,000 to a town of 200,000.  But Farm Radios are of particular interest.  Rural farmers prior to rural electrification were the first "off the grid" folks until the grid go to them.  I have an RCA 6BT (Chassis only) that can be converted from 2V plus B, C batteries to 6V plus Vibrator.  Zenith and others also made a model switchable from 6V Battery to 120VAC, anticipating the rural electrification.

As I restore and use one of these radios, I can imagine the family that survived the depression (and maybe the Dust Bowl), and saved enough money to buy this deluxe Zenith.  Maybe they are running it from the battery that starts their tractor or their Ford.  Maybe they have a WinCharger or a Delco 6V Lighting system.  If running it from a 2V Battery and Dry Cell B and C batteries, listening to it is a rare rationed treat.  This Radio is likely the farm family's link to the outside world.  Maybe they gather around this radio to listen to farm reports, news, musical and entertainment programs, and religious services.  Maybe they used the short wave bands to listen to the news of the storm clouds of war forming in Europe.

As I fix, restore and play these radios, I think of the people that built and used them.  They likely are deceased, but I hold the fruits of their labors and try to remember to say a prayer for them.

Sorry for the long post, but the work of the people on this Phorum inspires me.

Best Regards,
John

[Phlogiston]

John,

Don't miss the earlier post on Parmak:

https://www.russoldradios.com/blog/back-...farm-radio

or the whole blog:

https://www.russoldradios.com/blog

You might also be interested in the "Before & After", though now, most of those pictures are in the blog posts.

Russ

[Phlogiston]

I just replated about 15 of the cinch style miniature tube shields that somebody had polished all of the plating off. They were shiny - until they began to rust. Much better now. It took about an hour, one at a time.

[rfeenstra]

Photo please!  I've been re-plating Philco tube shields with tin.  Nice result.  what are you using?

[Phlogiston]

I've been using nickel for those larger shields. On these small ones I used zinc. They were that dull grey color.

Where do you get your tin?

[Phlogiston]

I tried to find some tin sheet (tin foil) and had a hard time. One hobby site had some but the site worked so poorly that I could not pay for it. Then they started emailing me asking for payment - with still no way to pay or update the order. I just canceled.

[rfeenstra]

I bought the kit from Caswell and it included piece of tin. I believe they have it available.

[Phlogiston]

They are a good company. If you buy 1 thing from them make it the book Caswell Plating Manual. It is free with a big order which brings me to my point - they are expensive. If you absolutely know what you need, it is cheaper elsewhere. If you don't know what you need, Caswell is good.

[Tucker]

Russ, were you able to use the dc radios speaker with the ac chassis?  I have a 5F134 that I’m considering doing the same with.

[Phlogiston]

No.
The radio was reassembled as found - a battery powered unit with no vibrator supply option.

I just did the restoration of the AC chassis for the next one that comes along. It is easier to do several similar projects at the same time rather than as needed. For me I always end up using the part and sometimes wonder why I did not make/do more.

Right now, I am doing a bunch (10) of boat-anchor/com receivers. Once all of your test equipment is set up it is also faster to just go down the line. There are some REALLY big units among them, a Collins R390A/URR and a Hammarlund SP 600 (LOTS of knobs to twist ). I'll probably be selling a few once I figure out how that can be done nowdays. Might have to wait till next year - or the year after that - or - - -

Russ

[RadioSvit]

Hi, Russ,

I cannot connect to your website recently.
My domain is .... com.ua
Ukraine

[Phlogiston]

It is working today.

It might have been down for a while yesterday CenturyLink had a big national outage. It messed up a lot of sites.