Philco AM Tube Radio

Here's a nice, small footprint Philco. It's a solid case instead of the usual fiber-board back.

Front view:

Back view.

Unwrapped the cord.

It's held together by two screws in the back, so taking them out was the first step.

Once the screws were removed, the front pulls out.

The front removed. Interesting, because everything attaches to the front panel.

Circuit board attached to the front panel with two screws. I'd already removed one (on th eleft of this photo).

Circuit board removed.

Speaker off now too and the front panel cleaned up. The discoloration is from the heat of the tubes. Looking above, you can see the speaker was held on by rubber grommets.

Here's the front panel and the rear case. You can see the knobs in the upper right.

If you look above at the front case, you can see the posts that the grommets where on that held in the original speaker. The original speaker was against the front of the case, but the new speaker I want to use needs to attach to the top of the posts. so I need a template. I used foam board and the old speaker to make a template.

I cut out a square of the foam board just a bit bigger than the old speaker, then used a Sharpies to trace around it for the liens to cut out.

First foam template in place. Because of the height of them posts, I needed three of them.

Second template in place.

And the third and final one. The posts were different heights too. It took three foam board templates to be as thick as the tallest two posts.

This is the second speaker I want to attached to the inside of the case. It will emit sound to the rear, like most of the other radios I make.

I used Goop to attached the spacer to the speaker and then the whole deal to the inside of the radio case. Notice the hole I drilled for the Bluetooth receiver/amp.

I clipped the electric cord close to the plug attached to the back of the case, then drilled a whole through the remaining plug and feed the power cord from the converter through.

Wiring the second speaker into the Bluetooth receiver/amp.

Putting the Bluetooth receiver/amp in. I had to change the configuration of the heat sink to get it to fit.

Putting the front back on. 

Screws on the bottom and the back to hold on the front plate.

All done!

Front view

Back view

Side view

Angled view

GE 1950's AM Tube Radio

This one is a General Electric, but I'm not sure of the model. AM only.

Front view:

Rear view:

Back off for an inside view. Pretty dusty in there! Notice the bracket that the back screwed onto, which is also where the electric plug connected. Necessary to hold the back on.

Bracket off.

Circuit board out. I had to take the knobs off the front to get the board out.

Speaker out and cleaned up.

Like many radios this size, this one uses a standard size 4 in round speaker; it fit without having to make any adjustments.

Also, like most of these radios, it only came with one speaker, which means I had to find a place for the second. I'm usually attach the second speaker to the back, which is what I did here. It required me to drill some holes for 4 small bolts and use a template made from foam board.

All attached. I had the clasp left over from a previous build.

I trimmed the excess off.

I use the same Bluetooth receiver/amplifier and 12 volt/3 amp power supply:

Wiring up the Bluetooth receiver/amp to the speaker and power.

 

Gotta get it all fitting inside....

Pretty lights means it's working.

Re-attach the back. Notice that I trimmed the power cord, but left the part that plugs into the bracket. This helps hold the back.

You can also see the wire that runs from the 12 volt/3 amp A/C adapter to power the Bluetooth receiver/amp coming out of the lower left. The 4 screws are what holds on the back speaker.

All-done view of the front.

Panasonic RKA342ZA

This was my next project after the Admiral. It's a more recent model, a Panasonic transistor radio. I found a stamp inside the case indicating is was made in 1970.

Here's the front...

And the back

Unlike the Admiral YG743, this one is a transistor radio, not a tube. Here's a pic of the insides.

Also unlike the Admiral, this one was pretty clean. It must have been kept indoors and not out in the garage or attic or some sort of storage shed. I didn't have to clean out the insides at all - just a quick wipe-down of the exterior was all it needed. It was yet another $25 find off eBay.

After opening it up, I took out the insides.

First I took the speaker out. Old, paper cone, low watt, and not much good for anything.

I pulled the circuit board next. I had to take a knob off the front to get the board out.

Circuit board pulled.

In with the first new speaker, a standard 4-inch.

First speaker in where the old one used to be with a fine fit.

I cut down the circuit board to make room for the second speaker. Unlike the Admiral, this radio was not built for two speakers.

I'll be using a "reflective" sound design, where the second speaker faces the back. This means it sounds best when its about 4-6 inches away from a wall (or other solid surface).

Circuit board cut out.

Got the reduced sized circuit board back in. I ended up trimming the upper right corner some more so the second speaker would fit.

Second speaker.

I used a jig saw to cut a hole in the back panel for it.

Second speaker close up. Cutting circles free hand with a jig saw is hard.

Wiring in the amp. I used the same Bluetooth/receiver amp as for the Admiral. I drilled a hole and screwed the amp in.

Both speakers wired up.

All done and the back re-attached.

You can see the power cord going and the volume adjust knob for the Bluetooth receiver/amplifier and the blue LED for Bluetooth connectivity glowing through the upside-down "U" shaped cut out.

Front view.