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Antique Cabinet Radios…

1,670 Views | 18 Replies | Last: 3 days ago by Caesar4
Todd 02
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11:35a, 11/9/24
AG
…are just as much outdoors as robot vacuums.

I have an old Admiral cabinet radio/phonograph. I seem to recall it working when I was a kid, but it prolly hasn't been plugged in in 30 years. I'm hesitant to just plug it in and see what happens.

Does anybody have a lead on a company that could inspect it and, if necessary, restore it to working condition?





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Gunny456
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In reply to Todd 02 • 11:44a, 11/9/24
AG
Really cool!
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Deerdude
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2:56p, 11/9/24
Don't remember name but there's a place in Austin that repairs and refurbishes old stereos. I'll try to find it
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Kid Shelleen 13
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4:40p, 11/9/24
AG
Richard (Dick) Morgan
ec.inc@att.net
(972)272-3581

Dick is in the Austin area and repaired an old transistor radio for me. I'd give him a call to see if he can help you.
Baseball is life!
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Wearer of the Ring
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5:24p, 11/9/24
AG
OK so I'm old enough to remember when every drug store had an array of vacuum tubes plus a built in tester. if your radio or tv was on the blink you could pull out a suspect tube, go to the drug store, test it and get a replacement if needed.
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Todd 02
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In reply to Wearer of the Ring • 10:32p, 11/9/24
AG
What class are you, (presumably) sir?
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txags92
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In reply to Wearer of the Ring • 10:42p, 11/9/24
AG
Wearer of the Ring said:
OK so I'm old enough to remember when every drug store had an array of vacuum tubes plus a built in tester. if your radio or tv was on the blink you could pull out a suspect tube, go to the drug store, test it and get a replacement if needed.
I remember the same. Class of 92. I still have the one my parents received as a wedding present in 1957. I will post pictures of it tomorrow or monday.
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Mark Fairchild
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In reply to Wearer of the Ring • 8:14a, 11/10/24
AG
Howdy Wearer: I am OLD enough to remember going with my Dad to test tubes for our TV, buying a new one and putting it in the TV, so there's that!
Gig'em, Ole Army Class of '70
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Mookie
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8:53a, 11/10/24
AG
There's a guy named Greg Rutter in the Ft Worth area that restores old Seeburg machines. I'll bet he could help you.
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Ribeye-Rare
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5:03p, 11/10/24
AG
Most of those old vacuum tube radios had fantastic AM band reception and the sound coming out of them was rich and warm and would fill the room.

Heck, I had an old '63 Ford F-100 pickup with a vacuum tube AM radio and it's still one of the best sounding vehicle radios I've ever heard.
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one safe place
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In reply to Wearer of the Ring • 5:09p, 11/10/24
Wearer of the Ring said:
OK so I'm old enough to remember when every drug store had an array of vacuum tubes plus a built in tester. if your radio or tv was on the blink you could pull out a suspect tube, go to the drug store, test it and get a replacement if needed.
I am old enough to remember when you had tv troubles. a guy would come out to your house and he had a huge box that opened up and had all sorts of tubes in it to fix the tv. I always stood back and watched him pull a tube out and put another in. I was fascinated and remember wanting to do that when I grew up lol
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one safe place
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5:09p, 11/10/24
OP, that is a very nice radio and I hope you can get it up and running again
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Superdave1993
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7:03p, 11/10/24
AG
I have a friend that does this and he suggested you look at the VRPS (vintage radio and phonograph society)
Web site to get referrals.
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txags92
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11:36a, 11/16/24
AG
Finally got around to getting pics of the one we have. It was a wedding present my parents received in 1957 and has am/fm and shortwave. As a kid I remember tuning into the BBC and other european stations at night. It still turns on but I think some of the tubes may have gone bad. Need to get somebody to look at it eventually.




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bam02
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In reply to Deerdude • 2:07p, 11/16/24
AG
Deerdude said:
Don't remember name but there's a place in Austin that repairs and refurbishes old stereos. I'll try to find it


I would appreciate this info! We recently inherited one, but it is in much worse condition than this. I don't necessarily want to get it fully restored, but could use some work and I don't have the time or the inclination to do it. I also wouldn't mind a restomod with modern guts installed
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Belton Ag
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In reply to txags92 • 9:06p, 11/16/24
AG
txags92 said:
Finally got around to getting pics of the one we have. It was a wedding present my parents received in 1957 and has am/fm and shortwave. As a kid I remember tuning into the BBC and other european stations at night. It still turns on but I think some of the tubes may have gone bad. Need to get somebody to look at it eventually.




Imagine sitting back on your couch and listening to an address by Eisenhower on that radio.
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Deerdude
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In reply to bam02 • 7:04a, 11/17/24
bam02 said:
Deerdude said:
Don't remember name but there's a place in Austin that repairs and refurbishes old stereos. I'll try to find it


I would appreciate this info! We recently inherited one, but it is in much worse condition than this. I don't necessarily want to get it fully restored, but could use some work and I don't have the time or the inclination to do it. I also wouldn't mind a restomod with modern guts installed


Still working on it. Wife got me a 60's receiver and turntable for Christmas a few years ago. Far superior to what's out there today to play my old albums. I have daughter and wife trying to remember name. Obviously it's not high on their list of priorities to remember.
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Tim Weaver
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In reply to Superdave1993 • 9:24a, 11/17/24
Superdave1993 said:
I have a friend that does this and he suggested you look at the VRPS (vintage radio and phonograph society)
Web site to get referrals.
I would also say anywhere that works on Vintage guitar amps would be able to handle this as well.

One thing you DEFINITELY want to do is get it converted to a grounded (3 Pin) plug. These old tube amps could have some lethal voltage floating around the metal parts if a capacitor fails, which is common with age. They call it "the death cap" for a reason.



Another thing you can do if you aren't hung up on keeping it 100% original is to add a bluetooth amp and hook it up to the original speaker. You can still leave all the old guts in there, just don't use them. I'd stick to the 10-20 watt range on the amp.


*edit* This would work. This little thing won't actually put out 30 watts, so it would be plenty safe.
https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-KABM-30M-1-x-30W-Bluetooth-5.0-Amp-Board-with-EQ-Programing-Port-325-530?quantity=1
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Caesar4
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9:58a, 11/18/24
AG
No suggestions, but the thread reminded me of a YouTube channel (UK) for The Repair Shop. They restore broken toys, appliances, etc whose owners have fond memories attached. Kind of a fun/heartwarming show.

https://www.youtube.com/@TheRepairShop
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