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Great video, thank you for restoring the Regavolt unit and posting your process 😊

This is absolutely fabulious!

Well done, very good project

Good afternoon sir, I have the same radio which I would like to restore. Would I be able to purchase a copy of your schematic and your hand written points on the schematic so I can test mine please. Also a list of parts you purchased and where you obtained them please. Shame to dump this lovely work of art. Let me know how I can communicate with you. Much appreciated. Gino

I have checked out your videos and am not ready to subscribe. Firstly, this channel is about your subjective thoughts and plans and ruminations. What yourself could possibly do and your theories and conjectures on what you can get out of it. Pointless to the onlooker to learn that you think as to why or why not you may or may not do something. It feels like I just walked into am infernal and endless debate you are having with yourself. When you get over yourself and make this channel about showing us how to do actually do or learn something I may revisit. Otherwise this is about as much fun as watching a budgie in a mirror. Good Luck. .

Finally could hear you right at the end. Electronics Old & New did a value tester that interest you.

Also see: Jim Burns

Job well done. I'm glad you didn't go all out on the casing.

This is a good idea. The var. cap though II think should be turned around 180 deg. Looking forward to see what you do with it.

My post was meant to be a reply to MichaelBeeny

I agree. Reforming is OK for capacitors a few years old but really old ones can also dry out and lose capacitance, and become more resistive. Much better to replace if you can.

This idea of reforming capacitors is really not a good idea. ANY capacitor of 40+ years old is never going to be reliable. If the main smoothing caps go short, that's the EZ81 damaged and possibly the power transformer. Just replace them.

Maybe there's an obvious reason this wouldn't work, but why not run an adjustable linear regulator between the taps of the multiplier (*between* them, not to ground for obvious reasons). Each one could handle a 40v range below the tap. LM317 or 1117 ICs work at high voltages as long as the you don't reference them to ground.

Thank you for the description, looking forward to the works!😎

I have restored a couple of these sets, they do sound very nice on FM, but the AM side is pretty average at best, you should find the main smoothing cap to be fine, but all the Hunts caps have to go, as they are now resistors!

Would you mind sharing which two transformers and which DC supplies you used? Thank you.

Is there any reason why you couldn't get rid of all that voltage doubler circuitry and use a 1:1 isolation transformer and a couple of small variacs to set the screen and anode voltages? That would give much more flexibility.

I am getting the parts together to build this same tester. Do you have a link to the meters you used

Good creation. Look forward to your experiments....

Is there a particular reason for the grid (g1) being shunted to ground by the Cap 100n? In addition to increasing internal capacity obviously. Thank you.

Where would you look for replacement brushes ?

Thank you sir for the very useful video.

I found this extremely helpful. is there any reason why I couldn't use analogue meters?

Do not get sucked in by the cheap prices for the Asian variable autotransformers. SearchYT for their many, many defects... Under engineered, ratings over stated, wired incorrectly, on and on.

Ooo... I would not have used IPA to clean the coil wires, as it might melt the enamel isolation, causing shorts. Maybe just water and a little dish soap. If the brush is in bad condition, it is very difficult to find a replacement. You can not DIY an electric motor brush. They are simply made of the wrong material. I have posted a couple of threads about this and other variable autotransformer matters, but YT will not me add a link. So, I will post an additional reply with the search information and maybe YT will let that through? You will also find my threads on building a DIY isolation transformer from two transformers, placed back-to-back. You will need that. You will also need a Dim Bulb Limiter and Emergency Shut-Down Switch, which are super easy to DIY. Search YT. I think that you are going to really like having the separate connection box and current reading feature. Okay, I will now try to add the search information...

Great videos - I’ve done two renovations of these radios. I agree with the replacement of all the capacitors. Good to have details of the test points.

i bought an old variac last year and thought it was bust until i noticed the original laquer on the wire under the wiper had never even been removed. brand new!

Not only are they being saved from the land fill but you could provide an eBay link for me to purchase one Buy It Now. Please and thank you. Great video.

Excellent renovation. Another piece of equipment saved from the skip.

I didn't think to buy a second hand one, I bought a new one. Ironic when you think my hobby is restoring/repairing vintage electronic equipment. However I've made up for it by buying a really old AVO signal generator and an AVO 7. The multimeter works fine and is used for aligning IF stages. The signal generator did need rebuilding. Great video.

I always enjoy seeing a rejuvenation (and re-use) of an old piece of tech. I get a little sad about today’s “throw it away and get a new one” society.

Hello, good morning, magnificent work, I loved it. The Variac is very useful. Thanks for sharing, greetings.😀

Well done!

Nice Video. I actually have built my own based on the same reference design. But not looking as good as yours... So far i have used a variac for the AC input to fine tune voltages. Not used high/low voltage selector som far. Considering a seperate bias voltage supply to keep it stable when i adjust tha variac. Maybe you would like to make a video covering testing common valves like EL84/EL34/ECC83/5881/6V6/6L6 ?

I’ve built models similar to that, yours looks very nice. Just think if you put that 1000 pounds into a valve stock? Tube testers were the means to sell tubes and install confidence. If I were running a service business a good stock would be of the greater value. Everyone loves a good tube tester in their shop. I can see a real purpose if you are selling tubes and you want to match them. Good job!

New Subscriber here, look forward to your future projects. I'm currently restoring a vintage Hacker Sovereign II. Keeping away from the High Voltage stuff for the time being.

I dont understand why it is necessary to break off the side tab on the switch? Can someone tell me? Thank you

a used orange vt 1000 digital tube tester is 300$, ive been using one in the last ten years it's great.

I have one of these radios and the volume seems to not be working... I would love to visit you with it, as you have experience with it and i am scared of it! Im not sure if you accept visitors?! Thanks!

Hi again. I finally got around to watching part 2 (it's been a busy week!). I agree with you about those Hunts capacitors. I now change them on sight - if they aren't faulty they soon will be. That said I think it's a good idea to re-test the radio after every one or two capacitor changes. I got lazy at one stage and started re-capping a whole chassis in one go and that was fine until the time the radio didn't work when I'd finished. Trying to back track and find out what I'd done took many frustrating hours. As I recall it was a dropped blob of solder. Anyway, I like your methodical approach. Myself, I would be happy enough to probe the voltage test points with the radio on. As you found out, it needs to warm up properly and stabilize before you check voltages. As for an RF signal generator, I got myself an old 1950's Leader sig gen for $50. I plugged it in and it worked fine. It would be a nice project to restore it though. I have since bought myself a Rigol "function generator" because the old Leader wouldn't stretch to FM frequencies but I still like the old Leader & use it for AM alignments. Speaking of which, the whistling you're hearing when tuning stations is pretty much an indication that it needs an IF alignment. Anyway I'm looking forward to seeing you design and build an amplifier or two using TV valves. Cheers

This will be a great radio when it's finished. I recently restored a Bush VHF64 - the only one I have ever seen here in Australia. As we didn't het FM broadcasting here until the late 1970's, valve FM radios are a rarity here. Thanks for an enjoyable video.

Hi. I just discovered your channel and it looks like you will have some interesting stuff coming up so I subscribed. I agree, a dim lamp or dim bulb limiter is probably the first piece of kit you need if you're going to work on vintage electronics. I now have a variac but to be honest I only use it occasionally. I normally use a 60W globe with most vintage radios. Yes, it does drop the voltage to the set a bit initially but the degree of glow in the dim bulb gives a good visual indication of what's happening: You can see the initial surge of current as the rectifier valve starts up and the capacitors charge, see it dim off as they reach full charge and brighten up as the rest of the valves start to conduct. I still use the original one I made when I first started down the vintage radio rabbit hole and you can see it in nearly all my videos. Cheers

Very nice, can you share the stl file please?

Well explained thanks for sharing.

Great project and something I need for my own repair work. Can't wait to see it through.

Thank you for this. I have been mulling over starting a YT channel of my own working with tube circuits and antique radio, but I have limited experience with both. Once I get a lab bench set up this will become my retirement project. Thanks for the clear explanation for how gm is measured. Didn't realize it was so simple.

I also built Grant's tester and included my own changes. I removed the opto couplers for the meters and simply left the batteries in the two meters. I broke into this battery circuit and brought the wires out to a switch. When I use the tester I simply switch on the "meters" switch. There is no sign of the batteries dying. When they do it is a simple matter to open the case and change them. I also used a separate transformer for the heaters but included a rheostat to adjust the heater voltage to 6.3V. I haven't used the separate banana sockets but I am able to monitor various voltages via the sockets that are not in use. I have tested plenty of valves including 12A*7, 6L6, EL84, EL34,6V6, KT88 etc and have found a few with internal shorts and a few with low gm.

Be aware that the toroidal bolt in my build is insulated at the other end so that there is no risk of earthing both ends. If the bolt is earthed at both ends, then it will behave a s single turn winding. Although the volts will be low, the current will be high in the short circuit. This can damage the transformer.

Be aware that the toroidal bolt in my build is insulated at the other end so that there is no risk of earthing both ends. If the bolt is earthed at both ends, then it will behave a s single turn winding. Although the volts will be low, the current will be high in the short circuit. This can damage the transformer.

your final comments were eye opening that some people would ask about ht options they should stop and only use low voltage eg less than 12 volts or lower