These two old valve radios have been in my parents loft for as long as I can remember. They were never going to get used and were only deteriorating in the damp cold loft so thought i'd see if I could breathe some new life into them
I'm not about to start hacking these things to bits to fit a big amp and speaker and equally I'm not about to try and tap into the high voltage electrics already in them. All mods will be done with a view that the radios can be put back to standard if needs be.
The radio in the foreground is a PYE 19A and behind it is a G.E.C. BC5444
I wired up a plug the G.E.C., rigged up an aerial and switched it on. And it works. No lights but it gets good signal in MW and LW. This one has a nice frame and should look good once its been re-lacquered. Just a shame the transfer on the glass display has disintegrated.
Moving onto the PYE, I wired that up, switched it on and it lights up but there's no sound whatsoever. This one isn't in as good nick. The plastic around the grill and display has warped, the frame has woodworm and the veneer is peeling, one of the knobs is different and the glass is cracked.
After looking inside, both these radios would need a full restoration before they could be safe to use as they are. The wiring inside on both radios would need replacing as the insulation has gone bad. The pye has had a lot of work previously. I suspect the reason it doesn't produce sound is a combination of a wire that is disconnected from the tone control and the insulation on the speaker wires being pretty much no existent.
The plan for the PYE is to use it in the camper van I'm building. It'll need to draw low current as it'll need to run on the leisure battery in the camper.
The G.E.C. I'd like to build for use in the house. It'll have a bigger amp and speaker.
I've started on the PYE first
Not too bad at first glance, but note the condition of the speaker wire, bottom right
And switched on
You can see the crack in the bottom left corner of the glass
And the rats nest of wiring underneath. Due to the age of these things there are no circuit boards.
These old radios run on high voltage and with the wiring in this condition it just isn't safe to use in the house.
With this radio I will be using a 5v amp and blue-tooth receiver. This will allow me to use a phone charger and lead as the power supply. It also means that it wont require much power to run.
And this is it.
The two knobs are on/volume and tone. The red board is the bluetooth receiver and the blue one is the amp. The speaker is the original from the radio but the diaphragm around the edge has perished so I need a new speaker.
If you'd like the instructions for making this setup then here's the link. Its very cheap and only requires basic soldering skills.
www.radio-workshop.co.uk/how-to-fit-bluetooth-to-your-vintage-radio/
One of the good things about this 5v stuff is that its all very small. I plan to mount it all on a piece of wood and either glue it to the case or bolt it to the chassis somewhere
more soon....
I'm not about to start hacking these things to bits to fit a big amp and speaker and equally I'm not about to try and tap into the high voltage electrics already in them. All mods will be done with a view that the radios can be put back to standard if needs be.
The radio in the foreground is a PYE 19A and behind it is a G.E.C. BC5444
I wired up a plug the G.E.C., rigged up an aerial and switched it on. And it works. No lights but it gets good signal in MW and LW. This one has a nice frame and should look good once its been re-lacquered. Just a shame the transfer on the glass display has disintegrated.
Moving onto the PYE, I wired that up, switched it on and it lights up but there's no sound whatsoever. This one isn't in as good nick. The plastic around the grill and display has warped, the frame has woodworm and the veneer is peeling, one of the knobs is different and the glass is cracked.
After looking inside, both these radios would need a full restoration before they could be safe to use as they are. The wiring inside on both radios would need replacing as the insulation has gone bad. The pye has had a lot of work previously. I suspect the reason it doesn't produce sound is a combination of a wire that is disconnected from the tone control and the insulation on the speaker wires being pretty much no existent.
The plan for the PYE is to use it in the camper van I'm building. It'll need to draw low current as it'll need to run on the leisure battery in the camper.
The G.E.C. I'd like to build for use in the house. It'll have a bigger amp and speaker.
I've started on the PYE first
Not too bad at first glance, but note the condition of the speaker wire, bottom right
And switched on
You can see the crack in the bottom left corner of the glass
And the rats nest of wiring underneath. Due to the age of these things there are no circuit boards.
These old radios run on high voltage and with the wiring in this condition it just isn't safe to use in the house.
With this radio I will be using a 5v amp and blue-tooth receiver. This will allow me to use a phone charger and lead as the power supply. It also means that it wont require much power to run.
And this is it.
The two knobs are on/volume and tone. The red board is the bluetooth receiver and the blue one is the amp. The speaker is the original from the radio but the diaphragm around the edge has perished so I need a new speaker.
If you'd like the instructions for making this setup then here's the link. Its very cheap and only requires basic soldering skills.
www.radio-workshop.co.uk/how-to-fit-bluetooth-to-your-vintage-radio/
One of the good things about this 5v stuff is that its all very small. I plan to mount it all on a piece of wood and either glue it to the case or bolt it to the chassis somewhere
more soon....
