• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

New to the scene, found an old tube radio...

vintagepc

vintagepc

New Member
Hi Folks,
I'm new to the tube scene, so I'm psyched to get started :)
Posting it here because it's a mishmash of everything- tubes, phono, and cabinetry.

Anyway, cleaned out the barn and found an old tube radio and record player there. I'd like to get it working again.
did some background reading, so I know not to plug it in, until I can replace the caps. The tubes look good on first sight- not obviously cracked, and the getter coating is still shiny. It's not an AA5 (has a power transformer) and appears to have seven tubes on first count. This thing also has two output transformers for the speakers.

Hopefully some folks here can help me out with advice for the restoration-
It's a Fleetwood Stereo Hi-Fi, model 4068. I can't find ANY info or schematics online (tried justradios, nostalgiaair), and a service manual would be wonderful- the dial string is broken and I'm looking for that particular diagram.

Does anyone know anything about this set, or where to get schematics?

Also, someone slapped a coat of ugly brown paint on top, which is now flaking off- any idea what the original finish may have been? I'm tempted to strip and varnish it; the wood underneath looks like a nice fine-grained sort.

Finally, anyone know about the turntable on this thing? I had a look at the cartridge, and it doesn't seem to have a user replaceable needle- was there ever such a thing?

TIA,
VintagePC.
 
Register to hide this ad
Pay a visit to the antique radio section of AK's subforum Videokarma.org...you'll get loads & loads of useful info.
 
Looks like a nice little unit. SE 6AQ5s. You should be able to do a lot without a schematic. It is not too difficult to trace out the basics of the amplifier section.

They were kind enough to give you stereo RCA inputs for the phono (which most likely is a line level that would work with CDP or tape) so bench testing will be easy.

IMG_1025.JPG


Can you give us a picture of the underside of the chassis?

The first thing you will want to do is replace all electrolytic and paper/wax caps (esp. the can cap). I would also consider replacing the cathode and grid leak resistors on the output tubes. A gut shot will help us identify them.

The can cap has three 40uf caps and a 100uf cap in it.

If there is enough room under the chassis you can just disconnect the can caps and secure individual replacements underneath. This is the cheapest approach. you can replace the 40uf with 47uf. Depending on the rectifier you may want to go for 33uf for the first one after the rectifier but if the power transformer has high enough DC resistance the larger value may be no problem.

For the wax/plastic/paper caps underneath just use the closest standard size .47u or .68u for .5u e.g. For all caps be sure that the voltage rating is at least as high as the original if not slightly higher. You B+ is probably no higher than about 250V given that the outputs are 6AQ5. I like to have some buffer so would use 300V or 350V to replace 250V caps.

mike
 
Right you are- the phono is ceramic, so the input is near line-level.

I'll get an underside shot just as soon as I finish cleaning out the insulation that the mice stuffed in to it. (otherwise you'd just see pink fluff)

What's the concensus for replacement caps? I'm well stocked in the salvage department for ceramic and film capacitors, but some claim that polyester caps are better for the audio applications. (I know the electrolytic needs to be re-done... Got some caps salvaged from dead monitors that should fit the bill, if not, off to Digi-key :)

I have a multimeter, so I will be checking resistors for those that are out of spec. and replacing.

Any speculation to why there's a "TV Chassis" power plug under the Phono motor power plug? Or is it the obvious that the same chassis was used for later TV sets.



Cheers,
VintagePC.
 
Orange drops or the little yellow polyester film are fine to replace the papers etc. In most cases there is no need to replace ceramics except that line filter (death caps) should be replaced with safety caps or removed. I personally would not reuse high voltage electrolytics if I could avoid it. AES, Radiodaze, Parts Express etc. all have them for reasonable prices.

Back in the day there were a lot of stereo consoles with built in TVs so the power plug is not too surprising.

mike
 
*bump* (well, not really)

More pictures posted, (#s 39-46 at same link as before).

Also, more background info and such is available at the other thread.

Key findings:

-Stereo is a Fleetwood 2053,
-turntable is a BSR UA14.
-All tube filaments check OK, and components look almost-new. Had I plugged it in, it might actually have worked...

Right now I'm cleaning and oiling the turntable... Next step is to replace some capacitors.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom