Foreign tube radios/HiFis

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Thanks for posting that 5-tube link-I learn new info here every day!
Never seen a european AC/DC 5 tube,but there are plenty of japanese ones.
Since i got the french radio on the workbench,time to do a few checks then a power
up with the variac to see if it works at all then a repair if it doesn't-was told
i didn't work when i got it...I just hope i don't have to make any new selector
switch parts-thats almost like making wristwatch parts LOL.
 
Here's a photo of my 1963 Nordmende Norma radio. AM/FM/SW (BC/SW/FM).
I haven't taken the back cover off yet as it still plays fine without any hum and has a very sensitive tuner. It's a small radio, weighs only about 12 lbs. It has only 1 5x7 speaker, but sounds fine. The grill looks like cloth, but it's really plastic. So one of these days I'll take the radio out and wash the speaker grill in bleach water to bring it back.
[this post was last edited: 11/22/2011-06:44]

whirlcool++11-22-2011-06-22-58.jpg
 
And here is the 1959 Saba Wildbad radio. It sounds very good, no hum either but lots and lots of paper & wax caps. It's definitely not as sensitive on the tuner pulling in SW stations as the Nordmende is, but I can get Deutsch Welle on it easily. This is the one I bought from the guy I mentioned earlier in Germany.

whirlcool++11-22-2011-06-42-20.jpg
 
Back to Emud. The Emud company started out as a mechanical company but started to make radios in 1923 and ended making them in 1968. The company lasted until 1972 though. They also made televisions. They were located in Trümmern, Germany.

They were one of the companies who produced the Volksradio in 1931 for the Third Reich. The design was simple and the radio was cheap to produce (only 3 tubes), but had pretty good sound due to a large speaker. Kind of like the VW Bug. The idea was the make them affordable so everyone could now have a radio. These Volksradios are extremely collectable now.

whirlcool++11-22-2011-07-09-30.jpg
 
Yes, that's exactly my radio. Thanks. It has a good quality speaker for the time.

 

The main problem to me is that you get a loud blast of static whenever you turn it on, regardless of where the volume knob is turned down to. I assume they weren't designed that way.

 

The Nordmende and all the Sabas are very handsome! Thanks for the pictures.

 

 
 
That's a pretty easy problem to fix. The problem is that the volume control is dirty or has corrosion built up inside of it.

To fix, go to Radio Shack or some other electronics store and buy a can of some stuff called "De Ox It". It's a potentiometer cleaning solution in a spray can.
Unplug your radio. Inside the radio, look for the back of the volume control and you'll find a little hole on the backside of it. Using the red tube supplied with the Deoxit, spray some of it inside the hole on the volume control. Not a lot, just a short burst or two. Then move the volume control through it's entire range several times. Let dry for 15 minutes and repeat the process. Let dry another 15 minutes.

Now plug your radio back in. The static upon start up should be gone.
 
RadioShack also has something called TV-Tuner/Control cleaner. ("A tuner/control cleaner and lubricant that restores performance by cleaning dirty contacts in TV tuners, volume or tone controls and switches.") I'm not sure how well it works--but I have an older can of the stuff I've used, and have never had complaints. But then I've never compared with DeoxIT either. One huge plus for a cheapskate like me: as I recall, RadioShack TV tuner cleaner has both a bigger can, and a lower price than DeoxIT.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103700
 
That Saba looks a lot like the Grundig my maternal grandparents had. I wonder if there is a connection between those two.

Saba AFAIK didn't sell radios in the Netherlands. I got to know the brand when they started selling Color TV's in the late seventies. We had a Saba color TV, I think we got it in 1979. I think we had it for 8 years. My older brother had a Saba too. There were a lot of problems with it, it was replaced after 4 years by a Philips.

Nordmende was a bit more expensive than Grundig I think. Blaupunkt was very popular, just like Grundig. Loewe Opta was also a bit ore expensive IIRC. We didn't know anyone who had a Philips radio I think. Only later Philips got more popular, especially their early stereo radios.
 
cabinet finish

most of my european radios have a normal varnish job on the wooden cabinets,but the
'58 lowe opta has a very thick and pretty gloss coat over the wood-it has a few
cracks in the glosscoat though.
 
Euro Radio Cabinet Finishes

A lot of the radios from Europe at the time had those finishes that looked like liquid glass was poured on it. A deep, deep clear finish which showed off the wonderful graining of the wood. Just beautiful to look at. For me, that's one of the attractions of the radio itself. But a lt of time people placed their radio's on tables in direct sunlight and the finishes faded away, or even worse started to crack.

There are companies out there(you can find them on the internet) that will refinish these cabinets, for a price.

Saba & Telefunken were the two top line radios from 1950-1965 or so. They competed with each other so it's little wonder that their radios looked somewhat alike. They were going after the same customer. Saba made an automatic signal seeking radio (like you see in some car radios) during this era and if you find one of those with the seeking still working are worth a LOT of money!
 
That volume control shoudn't be too hard a fix. But they should reflect that problem in the price.

Louis, that Saba Friburg dates back to around 1954-55 or so. Quite a nice radio!
The Meersburg is probably from around 1960 or so. That's when the lighter finishes on the radios became more fashionable.

A question for everyone one about recapping one of these radios. Basically the question is should you recap it or leave alone until the unit develops hum or similar? I know a lot of people recap the radios because the old paper & wax caps dry out and can fail, putting too much stress on the transformer.

What are your ideas about this?
 
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