[ARC5] Re: [Milsurplus] Using Old Radios

[David Stinson]

Hue Miller wrote:

> I was talking with Tony Grogan once many years back when he described
> a particular radio set as a "fine looking instrument".  Now consider
> for a moment a comparison to musical instruments. I think you will find that
> the majority of vintage instruments which CAN be played,  in other words 
> are playable still, ARE in fact played still. This goes for baroque instruments 
> much older than any Command Set radio....

That's the best analogy I've heard.
There is a reason you can convince people that
a Stradivarius violin should be preserved:
when they ask "why?,"  you say "because it can do this!"
and proceed to produce music unlike that of any other violin.
Leave it behind glass, and it's just another fiddle.
So it is with our radios.  Cold and dead, they create minimal
interest and do not convince most people of their value.
Alive and doing that which is unlike mundane radios
creates interest and, in some, ignites passion to preserve.
This was illustrated during the recent W5E S.E. station activity.
I had a working SCR-274N, a working SCR-287 and a display of
non-working "preserved" radios from the Womans Army Service Pilots.
The radios in the display had by far the more interesting
history, and it was explained on a nice presentation board
at the display, and I got some good comments,
but the big applause was for the *working* radios.

No matter how well we care for and preserve our collections,
they will pass from our hands.  If we do not demonstrate that
which makes them different and valuable, interest in them will
fade to the point that they are no longer preserved.
That being said, there is a "middle road" that can both
bring radios to life and preserve their integrity as
historic artifacts.  Three simple rules will suffice:

  1. Do as little as possible- seek "work arounds."

  2. Do *nothing* that cannot be un-done.

  3. If you can't make it work without violating
     rules 1 or 2, accept that it will never work and move on.

My work on Command Set receivers has evolved over time.
Once, I would have replaced every capacitor in them as
a matter of course.  Now, I actually salvage caps
from "junkers" and test them.  I have found a percentage-
often as high as a third- of them to be good.
I now replace the bad ones with original equipment, when I have them.
If I'm "out," I'll "tack in" replacements until I can get
an original part for the rig.
One cap- the 5 mFd dyno ripple filter- has always been
bad and I have never found a good "original" one.
I clip the lead from its terminal, curl it out of the way,
and tack-solder a small modern substitute into the circuit.
This is 100% reversible, thus obeying the rules.
This is only for rigs I intend to run with the dynamotors.
If not using the dyno, I'll run both the filaments and
B+ at 24 volts with an external, amplified speaker.
This usually works with no changes at all.

My one and only WWII Japanese radio has an open audio output
transformer.  While there is a gentleman who can re-wind them
to original specs and appearance, I don't think I can
remove it from the radio without doing damage.
So I use a small, external, amplified speaker.
The radio plays very well now, without a single change.
All I did was lube where needed and clean the controls.
Its historic value is preserved, *and* it's a live radio.

Everyone has their passion in this field,
so this is, of course, one man's opinion.

73 DE Dave AB5S