Old car radio obsession

[MBfreak]

It is a fairly benign obsession, and actually make quite a few owners of old car radios quite happy. And it is all legal!
Here are two beuties, now back in service.
One is a Telefunken from 1951, factory installed in a MB170 1953 cabriolet.
The other was found in a shop that housed several vintage MB´s. The radio was in an unopened box sent by mfr BECKER in Germany to the shop 1956.
Circuitry is simple but repairs difficult due to the very congested build. And the electromechanical choppers part of the 250 VDC anode voltage circuit are almost always bad.

But great fun and certainly a challenge !

Ola

 

[larry4406]

That 1951 Telefunken is cool! I like how it has the cities in the tuner display! Even Leipzig which would later become part of East Germany.

 

[laser3kw]

And the electromechanical choppers part of the 250 VDC anode voltage circuit are almost always bad

You just gave me a waking dream back to the "good ol' days"!
High voltage circuits with oscillators, cap / diode doublers, anode discharge (thru your finger).
Looks like a great hobby. Keep us posted

 

[MBfreak]

Larry
Leipzig was part of a Russian enclave called East Germany since April 45.
Thanks to Thatcher, Gorbatchov and Reagan that ended peacefully
The glass panel with all the different station/city names was replaceable as transmitters changed frequency.
No software updates.
The real stuff!

Ola

 

[inphx]

Wow, makes sense to update the faceplate on tuner - but i had no idea that was supported and done.

 

[McFarmer]

I gave a fellow an old Studebaker radio that’s been kicking around my shop over fifty years.

Wonder if he ever got it going.

 

[Falcon67]

Back when men were men and resistors were big and brown with pretty color rings.

 

[SGKent]

Back when men were men and resistors were big and brown with pretty color rings.

and the unmistakable buzz from under the dash meant the ******** was working... . long live the 6SN7 and 12BE6

 

[keithb12]

The danger if browsing. Now you planted a seed for me to search out. That radio is art

Keith LI NY

 

[ttpete]

and the unmistakable buzz from under the dash meant the ******** was working... . long live the 6SN7 and 12BE6

0Z4 rectifier and Loctal tubes with 7 and 14 prefixes. Also metal tubes.

 

[MBfreak]

The obsession keeps growing.
Presently a hybrid ( ie tubes and transistors) Blaupunkt Stuttgart is undergoing open radio surgery. The germanium power transistor and selenium diode from around 1959 that are parts of the +6V to +125 V converter have degraded and now replaced with modern silicon parts.
Some tweaking of base current and all is now well.
Next in line is a Becker Solitude from around 1954 which is built like the proverbial brick xxxhouse.

Ola

 

[larry4406]

Kudo's to you for understanding this and knowing how to do it!

 

[HenryAZ]

You should add a Wonder Bar radio to your collection. Had one in a used '56 Cadillac, but when you pressed the Bar, all it did was endlessly seek back and forth, never stopping on a station.

 

[MBfreak]

Henry,
of course I have a wonder bar DELCO radio from a 1962 Corvette lined up.
A must for somebody like me
I have studied the design and find it quite "amazing" .
Here is a pic , with a Corvette 63 AM/FM radio beside. The 63 is now installed and working fine, it was a germanium transistor in the local oscillator that had given up life.

Ola