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| DOCUMENTING A RADIO
This section details how to document your radio in order to get good information about your radio and its condition. This will allow us or any other repair guy to estimate what is necessary in the way of repairs to return your radio to a working condition. |
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BASIC INFORMATION
The information we need to do an
estimate is -
In the picture above, with the back fiberboard cover removed we can pretty well guess what type of receiver this radio is, and what the tube compliment is. In other words, a picture can be worth a 1000 words. The picture to the right shows the back of a typical 1960's table radio. The picture alone tells us a lot, but, there is more detail there. |
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By zooming in on the label (and most
radios have a label of some sort on the back or on the chassis) we
can tell just about everything we need about this radio. See the
picture on the left. From this picture we know that this is a standard RCA 3RA16 radio inside. We know it has 5 tubes,12BE6,12BA6, 12AV6, 35W4, AND 50C5. We also know this is one of the last table radio "Tube" models made by RCA and that the radio assembly is in fact a single PC board. (That's "printed circuit" not personal computer). Not all radios will have this comprehensive a label, but it is great when it is there. You can provide a close-up photo like this or simply input the label information into the form you use to get an estimate from us. |
| What if your radio is missing its
"back" or there is no label anywhere in sight? Then we really do
need a photo of "guts" of the radio to be able to ascertain more
about it.
The picture on the right is of the back of a sentinel table radio with the back removed. In this case, the back did have a lot of label information, but we are illustrating what we need to see if you do not have or cannot find a label with descriptive information on it. |
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So let us
review what we need, now that we have an idea of how to document a
radio. The "must have items" are:
Our estimate form for a documented radio has fields where you can upload pictures of: the front of the radio (required) and a photo of the label or the tubes (guts). (one is required)
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The other
information that will be requested on the estimate form (but not
absolutely necessary) is:
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| Note: If
you have not plugged in the radio, and it has been unused for many
years - do not plug it into the power outlet.
You can do a lot of damage. It has to be carefully brought up on a
VARIAC, or, the electrolytics have to be replaced and a few simple
tests done before it is powered up.
After reading this section, and acquiring the information detailed above, you are ready to fill out one of our ballpark estimate request forms. |
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