[HBR] My Retro-Radio Project...

[Diane Swynar]

Greetings all...

This talk about obsolete technology, etc. has inspired me to want to share
with you the progress made to date here in the creation of my own 1929-
replica superheterodyne receiver...if this retro stuff bores you to tears,
please hit the delete button now...    :>)

Wherever Mr. Greenlee is---or whomever it was that invented Greenlee
punches---a thousand thanks! I managed to punch out the ELEVEN tube socket
holes atop the two chassis in something like an hour, or so...what a
wonderful invention! A far contrast from the old drill, ream, & file method
of old previously employed here---no wonder I dragged my feet for so long
before attempting to build this thing.

To-day I finished cutting & filing the holes for all the heavy iron that's
going to be seated atop the one corner---the power transformer, the TWO 2.5
volt filament transformers, and the filter choke. The Greenlee punch came
in handy creating holes for the the different transformer leads.

The chassis actually consists of TWO chassis mounted side-by-side. To-
morrow I plan to complete all of the hole drilling, etc. required to firmly
attach the two together (should be a job in itself, I'm sure).

The lay-out of a thing like this would be impossible to visualize, were it
not for my habit of "drawing" the receiver & all its parts---BOTH sides of
the chassis----almost full-scale on paper, before even TOUCHING a drill
bit. I draw circles for tube sockets, & little lugs with numbers, denoting
which pin is which. By DRAWING the rig & all of its parts, one has the
opportunity to know which is the best way to orient a socket, etc. etc.
Mistakes at this stage can be remedied easily with an erasor.

I actually "construct" the whole receiver on paper this way, drawing the
resistors, capacitors, etc.---EVERYTHING. Then, as I actually do the
soldering, I highlite each part on the paper as it is soldered into the
actual circuit.

Does anyone else use this technique in building? Honestly, I can't see any
other way of building ANYTHING this complex, without first doing this type
of exercise.

Anyway, I'm a long way off from smelling rosin---after the metal work is
done, there's the painting to be considered---and this will follow the
atypical flat black finish on the chassis & inside of the front panel, &
gloss wrinkle black for the front of the front panel.

Again, those Greenlees are sure worth their weight in gold...too bad they
cost like they're gold-plated! These are borrowed from a fiend, but this
experience has convinced me to watch for them at all future yard sales &
auctions...

Hope you haven't nodded off to this point! Stay tuned for more, as things
unfold here...

~73~ Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ