Received a musicaire vintage tube radio

polkfarmboy

Got this for free and it looks cool but dont want to plug it in and if you know my track record you will agree. I dont know how old this thing is but wonder if its worth restoring ?

Here is a pic from the front

polkfarmboy

I got my screw driver and opened this old spider web ridden open back case

polkfarmboy

I think it looks really cool underneath with that real old school made in the usa point to point wiring

polkfarmboy

The speaker on the front looks hammered

Jim Shearer

You are wise not to plug it in! There is a significant chance the electrolytic caps are gone & could explode when hit with a power surge.

Might be a fun project cleaning it up!

Cheers, Jim

gdb

rube radio ???? That's for the easily influenced, inexperienced, dim witted types, isn't it ?? JK'in around with ya ! That is a model that I think might be somewhat scarce. (compared to a mountain of old RCAs)

polkfarmboy

Lmao @ rube radio lol I never noticed that. I blame my uncle Budweiser for that one

I cant find info on it anywhere and I will have fun tracking it down

mhardy6647

Ruh-roh, a Rube Radio! :-)

The issue isn't really with the power supply capacitors exploding - but if the radio hasn't run for years and you hit it with 120 VAC, the (most likely dried out) electrolytic capacitors will very likely fail, and you'll get a loud buzz on the audio (even with the volume turned down to zero). It is sometimes possible to "reform" ancient electrolytics, but the best and safest course of action is to just replace 'em prophylactically.

That, however, unfortunately isn't the big issue with a radio like this one.

This is a fairly early example of am AA5 ("All American Five" - although this one appears to have six tubes), power transformerless, "AC-DC" radio; also known as a series-string filament set... also known as a "killer" radio. There is no power transformer to isolate it from the AC mains when you plug it in. When plugged in and turned on, there is a 50-50 chance that the chassis of the radio will be directly wired to the "hot" side of your house's AC power supply. Is this a big deal? Well, yes it could be - if for example, you're standing on a damp concrete floor (or basement) slab, or in a puddle, and you touch a metal part of the radio. You might get a tingle, a jolt, or death.

The best/safest way to proceed with a restoration of this radio (which is well worth restoring based on its appearance and perhaps even somewhat valuable if the case is Catalin or Bakelite) is to get - or 'make' an isolation transformer. This will provide the safety isolation from the AC mains that you really need to work on or operate a series-string radio safely.

Unlike the solid-state stuff most folks on this forum are used to, the voltages inside a radio like this are lethal - they're fun to restore and to use, but due care must be exercised. That said, it could be a gateway to a fun "old guy" kind of hobby! ;-)


Should be plenty of info in a google search for "All American 5 Radio" or "AC-DC series string radio", or an antique radio site or forum such as www.videokarma.org

mhardy6647

Some relevant books:

http://www.tubesandmore.com/products/B-906
http://www.antiqueradio4.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=AM&Product_Code=OTRRR&Category_Code=BL

This looks pretty cogent.
http://antiqueradio.org/howfix.htm

Finally, there is a great, free on-line resource for vintage electronic information at Pete Millett's excellent site: www.tubebooks.org

polkfarmboy

Thanks for all that information, its alot to take in but I hear the occasional voice in my head shouting "you can do it"

mhardy6647

just beware of the one that goes " bzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!" :-O

scottyboy76

I love old gear like that, along with old wood frame mirrors, someone was tickled to death to get that radio back in the day, no tellin how many ball games, big news events or serial storys were listened to on that baby.

I can just see someone with their ear stuck right up to it, turning and twisting it to get it to come in.

decal

polkfarmboy wrote: »

Thanks for all that information, its alot to take in but I hear the occasional voice in my head shouting "you can do it"

This could get entertaining. Keep us posted !!!!!

drumminman

Fascinating, mhardy, great info!

mhardy6647

De nada.
I aim to inform and, failing that, to entertain :-)

PolkieMan

Man you are great. I have an old RCA X55 that makes the loud hum you describe you can still hear it but the hum blocks most of it out. I carefully hooked it up to a ground fault outlet in the kitchen for the test.

mhardy6647 wrote: »

De nada.
I aim to inform and, failing that, to entertain :-)

skrol

That looks very similar to one my dad has sitting in the basement. I don't think it works but it looks cool.
Stan

SDA1C

decal wrote: »

this could get entertaining. Keep us posted !!!!!

exactly! Subscribed! Lol

polkfarmboy

Well right now I am just getting preps in order for the outside first. I need to sand it all down for a repaint but not sure what its made of yet. Dont want to bugger up my lungs and chug on my own blood knowing my luck with diy audio