Teardown - WW2 Aircraft Radio Receiver BC- 348 Restoration Series!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ย. 2024
- WW2 Aircraft radio receiver from the 40's! Let's get started with the restoration, and make it perform like new. This is Part 2 of the BC-348 restoration, a part of the GRR Series. To learn electronics in a very different and effective way, and gain access to Mr Carlson's personal designs and inventions, visit the Mr Carlson's Lab Patreon page here: / mrcarlsonslab
#restoration #electronics #repair
To learn electronics in a very different and effective way, and gain access to Mr Carlson's personal designs and inventions, visit the Mr Carlson's Lab Patreon page here: www.patreon.com/MrCarlsonsLab
greased lighting works awsome.
Ronson lighter fluid takes adhesive gum off quite well. Naphtha is what I think it is.
@@JohnSmith-yl6dn I just used lighter fluid to take off the remaining adhesive from glass packing tape. The tape was used on the front side of an EBike fender to hold a broken piece in alignment. I used roofer's mesh and JB weld on the back side for a permanent repair. The factory paint is matt black and was not attacked by the lighter fluid at all. The repair is hardly noticeable.
-dave
I own one of these radios. Don't know which model it is though. I've toyed with the idea of restoring it for years but have never had the time. I'd have to brush up on my vintage electronics a lot since I studied for my ham license when I was in high school!
-dave
After many years of enjoying Mr. Carlson's videos, I think I've realized what I enjoy the most, it's his genuine reactions. Moments like, "well there's a bunch more screws to remove..." give me a chuckle because I can totally relate, as I'm sure many others do too. Thanks for all your hard work, keeping the dream alive!
I've tried isopropyl alcohol to remove labels, but what i find works best is standard WD40, just get it started under an edge and work it inwards, might be something to try on the old dial ;)
Plus the wd will not affect the paint.
WD-40 is a great tool for countless applications!
Agree. WD-40 has been the best adhesive remover I have discovered, it doesn’t seem to damage any surface I have needed to remove old adhesive from
And the WD-40 Specialist Contact Cleaner, works great on electronic and electrical uses!@@garyamsler
WD40 is also great for cleaning that type of wrinkle paint makes it look fantastic.... sorry he used that Goof off before trying it!
For me, having another person's identification/name/callsign/lab name engraved into an old piece of equipment isn't a downside. It's the same reason I don't like removing vintage asset tags off of surplus equipment. It's part of the history of the equipment, and IMO it gives it a little "personality". Some of this stuff has been used for pretty important work at some pretty special places long ago.
Good video! Audio level drops from 12:26 to about 14:00
Mr C.👍👍 Great start to the hands on restoration of this receiver, when you said "improve" I knew some design changes were coming. This will be an awesome and welcome series of videos to enjoy, thanks for your expertise, knowledge and logical explanations as the series moves forward. See ya soon.
Goo gone is a little bit less harsh than goof off. It usually won't remove paint and doesn't evaporate as quickly so can be better for removing stubborn gunk.
yeah I was going to say that would be the first thing to try for adhesive...
Yeah and isopropyl alcohol sometimes works and doesn't often affect finishes or plastic in my experience.
To be fair, I think he may just have been looking for an excuse to pull the faceplate off despite not wanting to pull the faceplate off. I understand that feeling lol.
The reason people had an identifier engraved on electronics and other valuables was simply that the police departments went door to door and offered to do so in an attempt to discourage break-in theft and also that recovered stolen goods would be easily identifiable. I'd say the practice was around the late 70s and early 80s. In Quebec, I think it was called "Operation Volcan" if memory serves me well. Students were hired to go door to door and engrave objects.
In the UK in the late 90s we got pens through the door whose writing could be seen under VU light, still visible todays all over the bloody antique clock,
In the US military, back in 70s - 80s, we were encouraged to engrave our serial / ID number on any electronic equipment we owned to help prevent theft or identify equipment in case of theft. This was done by use of a vibrating engraving device that would carve the metal surface of an item, permanently marking it. I still have a few pieces with my number on them from over 40 years ago.
Paul used go jo waterless hand soap the original with out grit in it you just put it on and let it set for a few and it is save for painted surfaces.
Enjoy your videos thank you
I have an "O" model and it's chock full of oil-filled can capacitors. LOTS of them. It's working pretty well but the CW oscillator coil is open, so no BFO. I'll look with interest when you get back into the Great Receiver series. You're a natural born teacher, Mr. C.
Gone are the days that QST magazine would feature the mods for ham use...I sat and watched my father W3QIZ work on many rigs in the day...its how I got my start...hmm...I think I still have a cashe of Command sets around...real radios glow in the dark and have a warm inviting smell that is good for the soul....thank you !
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My dad, God rest his soul, would find this very interesting. He was U.S. Army Signal Corps-Radio Intelligence during WW2 and he was also a lifetime ham radio operator. I'm sure he would be very familiar with the insides of this receiver.
Switching is positive so the ops could have tactile feeling cuz they were wearing thick gloves for the cold at high altitudes. So well made.
If you don't have one of these receivers, and can't tell from the video, these things are beasts. Cast aluminum chassis and every part is very stout and built to last. They weigh a ton. Looking forward to the next video.
If you think a BC-348 is a beast.....check out the BC-342. A '348 is a lightweight by comparison.
Ran one of these for CW abt 25 yrs. It was modded with a filter, notch, & more.
Stunning performance on AM & CW. Serious CW heads were awed by the sweet tone.
Like having background music playing ! Sadly nothing like it built anymore....
LFOD !
Great start....looking forward to lots of videos on this receiver, Paul.
Paul, I will watch everything you post. But....I spent 20+ years with a Hallicrafters SX-25. Loved that beast. I had the added benefit of it heating my bedroom. 😁
I have found the naphtha (lighter fluid) is very good at removing old Adhesive.
It should be remembered that the BC-348 was intended for use in unheated unpressurized bombers such as the B-17 and B-24. At altitude the operator was usually wearing heavy gloves due to the cold (30 below zero F and lower). That's why the controls and the construction are the way they are.
I have the same model radio receiver i use it to listen to the local airport here in Orlando, FL. What i did to prevent paint chipping is I sprayed the front faceplate with clear coat.
Fantastic as always. I use CRC fast dry degreaser to remove stickers, works pretty well (not suitable for all surfaces).
I really enjoy the videos where you work on vacuum tube equipment. And, in this case, it's a military piece. I served in the U.S. Navy for 22 years. Most of the equipment I worked on was vacuum tube stuff. I replaced very few tubes. They were just very reliable. The Navy wouldn't switch to a new system unless it was thoroughly tested. We did have Field Changes. These were upgrades that were installed in existing systems over the years. Reliability wasn't as good for traveling wave tubes. I replaced quite a few of those. They were good for a limited number of hours.
goof off is xylene, a paint remover. Not saying the damage wasn't already permanent from the stickers but that seems pretty aggressive to start off with.
Yeah, I loved the carping about the paper labels stuck on that beautiful etched and painted dial wheel. Back in the 60's and 70's these radios could be purchased from surplus electronics stores for not much money. I don't think many ever considered that people may value and collect this "junk" gear sometime in the future. I'm looking forward to the next video!
Ancient sticky tape can be removed with petroleum ether, or - for stronger effect - cosmetic-grade kerosene first, then petroleum ether. It rarely harms the paint work and is good to remove old disintegrating rubber as well.
for removing stickers, label, glue remains and stuff like that i often use WD40. it needs a little time to dissolve the stuff but i never had a case where the paint was destroyed.
exactly
I found to easily remove the adhesive from those type of stickers is to put a little vegetable oil on a soft cloth. It should desolve it with a little bit of rubbing.
Mr. C.,
Another trick you could use is a little bit of wd-40. It will break down the adhesive residue, and shouldn't harm the paint.
I used to work in retail many years ago, and we would use it on the metal store fixtures from price tag bin labels.
Hopes this helps, sir.
Like the ART13 particularly as well as the BC348. Very much into boatanchor ham radios FTDX401 KWM2a SB100 TR4 and trouble shooting sudden loss of tx output, Oscillator failure and Amplifiers for RF. A lot of Amateurs watch your channel. Cheers from OZ VK5LB
Nice video as usual 🙂.
When I have to remove duct tape residue I never use chemicals.
I use a piece of another duct tape, press the sticky side on the residue and rip it off. This is not as easy as it sounds, you have to get the right feel to it and do the rip not too quickly or too slowly...
Although my wife hates to see me doing it, the results have been satisfactory so far.
Mineral spirits is my goto for removing label adhesive. It rarely damages paint.
Lately been reading WWII spy novels. Radios always play a key role in these sagas. So cool!!!!
I personally like when I find stickers and carvings from original owners. Tells you it lived. Those stickers looked pretty good but a teeny tiny bit of moisture will see that destroyed. You don’t even wanna be cleaning those dials. You could certainly ruin the whatever finish is on it too. Try an inconspicuous spot first. Like VR dials have a coating on the paper graticule allot of times to make it look matte
I would leave the stickers too, it looks like those are adhesive plaster. Too risky to remove with agressive chem, perhaps isopropyl alcohol.
I'd recommend to try Mineral Turpentine to remove any sticker leftovers first. It works well on home appliances stickers and car badges removal. Its strong to dissolve the glue and almost never damages the paint. I never ever bought any dedicated product for this purpose.
I love these videos! I love this style of receiver, not a regular radio but whatever this kind is.. Anyway, thanks for the video!
You're very welcome!
Military, ruggedized and very heavy. I worked on Collins ARC-70's. WA7VQR.
I curse the "Surplus Conversion Manual" every time I see a hacked up WWII military radio. ARC-5/SCR-274 sets seem to get butchered the absolute worst. Looking forward to how you tackle the 348. I have 2 of them, a Q and an R in my queue for restoration. I'll no doubt be copying whatever you wind up doing!
the question is, do you leave the power connector in place? In the uk mains is 240v and dangerous. An IEC is safer but not original.. then again, who has a shock plate and plug?
These military receivers are marvels of mechanical engineering. Great restorations, a joy to follow!
WD40 is great for removing glue residue. I have used it to remove tack from glass after removing old sticky fly traps or car stickers. Dab on, wait, then use a cloth slowly.
G4BTI.
The bc348 was a rock solid receiver for me as a novice ham. WD 40 would be easier on the paint and remove the residue. My guess those caps are close to being turned into resistors.
Mr. Carlson. Try an orange oil based solvent. Pure orange oil is the the best. It will cause the sticky goo to swell up into a gel and loose it's ability to stick. It can then be gently scraped or wiped off. The orange oil will not damage or take the paint off like a petroleum based product.
Nice video Mr Carlson sir your teaching is also Great nicely and clear understand I like it your videos sir.
thank you so much for the video 😊😊
Hey there Paul ,
I just wanted to say THANK YOU so very much !
It is so nice to see you in the lab , working on this series again ! You do such an amazing job and I learn so much from you . I find your shows so
entertaining and interesting to see , THANK YOU again !
Like always Mr. Carlson’s Lab !
... Allow me to share an experience .I use a technique for removing adhesive residues with hot air low temperature first and WD40 after the adhesive softened on metal surfaces only. The results are very good; I always look for an inconspicuous area to test and check the results and possible reactions. Nice video congrats and Best regards 73 PY2NDB.
I use lighter fluid, and it does not hurt the paint. The glue comes off very well.
I like LPS silicone lubricant for those sticky labels. It's water based & safe for paint & plastics. Spray or dab it on, wait a day & they usually come off with little effort. Sometimes they even fall off.
My Recommendation for removing the tape goo on the dial would be Goo-Gone. It is citrus based and less aggressive. I am looking forward for your progress on this project. That BC-348 has been the model of radio have been looking for. Can't wait for more to come. Greg
Sticker glue: place the surface horizontal. Cover the glue/sticker with a small piece of cloth. Drop a few drops of white spirit (turpentine) on it and soak for an hour or two.
My dad was a radio man in WWII on a B-26 bomber in Europe. He probably actually used one of these on his missions.
There is a very good chance!
My dad was a radio man as well after WWII, flying on P2V Neptune submarine-hunters. I have long wondered if he used thisBC-348 as well as the AN/ART-13 transmitter. Need to get both.
Rubbing alcohol works just as well, and typically you don't have to worry about taking the paint off too.
Might do a test on the lettering just in case, because of the type of paint used in some instances
Alcohol does not work on all things, only what is soluble in alcohol, that's why there are other solvents.
Alcohol WON'T work on anything petroleum based!@@tedmoss
@@W1RMD That's what I said.
My dad saved one of these from the scrap heap 50+ years ago but a German version I think. It's very similar. It's on the restore list one of these days
This is going to be a good one Mr Carlson lots of stuff to learn Thank you.
You are very welcome
@3:30 - I highly recommend Heptane or a heptane based solvent to remove stickers and residue without damaging the surface - I found this by mistake when I was testing chemicals to remove old stickers and had Contact cleaner in front of me (just a generic brand not even de-oxit) . It's a real champ .. even on paper it disappears after it does it's thing . Obviously have to be aware of the fumes.
Dad got these all the time, we stripped the paint off, polished stuff and clear Lacquered, we sold them with power supplies and speakers. We sold it for a profit every time.
From my experience, adhesive residues usually age in this order:
New: Dabbing off adhesive residues with scotch tape is usually sufficient.
Sticky: Try in this order: Scotch tape, 70% isopropyl alcohol, lighter fluid, then stronger agents.
Hard: Like sticky, doesn't always go away completely.
Always test before means at inconspicuous place!
@Indiskret1 Thanks for the tip with heat gun and your agents. I will test!
My most famous goof of a previous owner: During the restoration of a Siemens E311b, the front panel had to be removed for access to the mechanics. This is held in position by two chromed brackets. Four nuts had to be loosened. I was surprised about the extremely high torque required for loosening which I could only apply with an extended open-end wrench. It banged once and the nut was finally solved. Investigation showed, that a predecessor in the absence of a wrench had secured all four nuts with adhesive against loosening. So it was enough to tighten them by hand. It then banged three more times in the chassis, and the front panel was finally loosened.
Another home run! I'm definitely a fan of the 'condensed format' - "...everyting I always wanted, and less!"
Another great video. Even though I can't imagine my restoring a BC-348 (kind of a boat anchor), the whole process is ... what can I say ... relaxing and a lot of fun. There's an element of mystery as you are retrofitting the units. You do not suffer fools gladly, and I have at least half a dozen chuckles in the course of each video with your running commentary. Another element to this is the fact they were used in B-17s, B-24s, etc. and in one's mind eye you can imagine the circumstances in which they were used - the operators were often in harm's way. Looking forward to the next - 73.
Try some oil or WD-40 on the glue. In general, it removes gum without interfering with the paint.
Thank you, a good and clear intro into the process. Looking forward to the next in the series.
Naphtha. Doesn't touch the paint at all, and not very stinky on the overall stinky-scale of solvents.
That's actually awesome and very interesting that those two are that close one what's inside of them to. My grandpa that's no longer alive now. Taught me a lot about that type of stuff., and even told me a lot about that type of stuff to growing up when I was A little boy 31 years ago now. Man how time surely fly's bye with absolutely no doubt about it in life either.
WD40 works excellent to remove sticker adhesive. Slow but will not harm the paint. Also excellent to remove permanent marker.
Excellent as always, Mr. Carlson. Hope the kids are paying attention, 👀👽
Along with WD-40 or your favorite petroleum solvent, one of those little electric heat guns does a great job at softening labels and maybe no solvent is needed. Although, heat can cause it's own problems. The heat gun I have has about a 3/4 inch nozzle and is 360 watts. I'm not talking about the giant 1500 watt one Harbor Freight sells that is the size of a hair dryer. Mine's a Milwaukee model 1400. My ex bought it (with my money) from a craft store. It's one of the few things she didn't take when she left! Works great with heat shrink tubing too with no flames involved.
Also even water can be a bad solvent. I nicely permanently removed the word "Admiral" and the tube number from a tube in my RCA A78 while restoring it. It came off with very gentle pressure!
Looks like a very nice condition BC 348! I can't wait for the rest of this restoration. Your video is a nice distraction from all the news in Maine right now. Thanks for sharing and take care!
You do *not* start with the Goof Off. You start with the Goo Gone. And just enough to have it soak into the adhesive, not to drip. After all the adhesive is gone you clean up after the Goo Gone with isopropyl.
Thank you for an awesome video. I am exited to learn how you clean up this radio and of course, The electrical restoration. As with the previous receiver, I will be watching and taking lots of notes. Also looking forward to building the through hole super probe to help find problemed parts. Can't wait for the next video on this one.
GOO GONE works good at removing sticky label glue. Although Goof Off will work very well too, it's a bit stronger and may remove some things you don't want removed.
Although I only used them on plastic laser printer cases, my go-to cleaners are WD 40, Isopropyl, kitchen surface cleaner, and VIM, or ceramic cook top cleaner (same difference). On stubborn stuff, delicate use of a ballpoint ink rubber eraser. For really intractable marks, I have this thing that I don't know what it is or where I got it. It's like a mechanical pencil, but the lead is a hard, white, fibrous material.
those pens are for sanding pcbs afaik
I have found Clorox wipes handy to remove stuff like stickers and cigarette tar off equipment. It doesn't take the paint off or silk screen off.
To follow Mr. Carlson's BC-348 restoration, I've obtained one in the H-version, painted in nice grey-green colour and being in excellent mechanical condition. However it has two challenges: 1. the antenna coil for LW-range is burned, and 2. as a power supply it has a DC/DC converter 12V to 160V producing on top of 160V ca. 50mV, 50Hz saw hum together with Dirac pikes. Let's see what the solutions for both challenges will be...
I personally wouldn’t have removed those labels because they show part of its past history. But it is your radio😊
BTW use the old dial as a guinea pig. Make a short vid trying different cleaners.
I would be a BIG help to restorers.
LFOD !
Naphtha (Lighter Fluid, white gas) is pretty good at removing decals.
Of course: test in a inconspicuous place.
I think I made the mistake of thinking the other receiver was "better" because it seemed to have more IF stages. Turns out the mixer and oscillator are separate in the H series and the more modern valves were doing more in the latter stages in the Q series. So I suppose the set with the fewer valves was cheaper to produce and would be more efficient but maybe the overall performance would be about the same. Can't wait for the next episode to see where all this goes.
The J, N, and Q series were a simplified version for wartime manufacturing purposes. Several companies made BC-348s, and the war effort need tens of thousands of them. (There was a BC-348 in every B-17, B-24, B-25, B-26, B-29 and B-32, plus some other aircraft got them). A seperate HF oscillator IS a superior design, but there was a war to win.
The deciding factors in choosing Receiver #2 to restore are:
- It's in the best shape of all 3
- He has another receiver of the same design to use for parts
- Because it is simpler, there's less to restore.
Interested in this series as I have a BC-348Q manufactured by Wells Gardner that has stopped working and I will need to dig into soon
wd-40 gets under and works well to remove sticky stuff without removing paint.
Vintage adhesive tape labels! Must be 60 years old.
oh jeez
I would never start with something like Goof-Off - at least, not the hardcore xylene original - on a painted surface. For stickers, even really old ones, De-Solv-It may be slow, but _won't_ take off your paint. It's just yet another orange oil (albeit one of the better noes) and you may need to leave a saturated pad against the sticky material for half an hour... but it's so much safer on paint.
The stain (dial fade) would be permanent on the dial anyways, I wasn't concerned. This gives us the excuse to dive deeper, and tear the unit down.
I think you picked a too robust cleaning liquid. You should use medical/purfied gas for cleaning those sticker marks. Zippo lighter fluid is a close relative. Don´t know the actual name, purified petrol/gas/gasoline. I buy it from the farmacy. I guess camping/travel petrol should also work. What you want is fast vaporization. They are pretty much odorless.
That is used to clean vinyl records from stickers. Works very well. leaves no marks.
Thanks for the video. Iwould have removed the jack sockets from the front and saved de-soldering... I have never taken the front of any of my BC348s so interested to see how the dial replacement goes? All those .01uf caps look like ceramic but they are paper and will be leaky 😂
One of the more outstanding failures of the BC-348.
@@tedmoss I think anything nearly 80 years old is going to need renovation.. replacing all the caps and resistors in the BC-348 is a lot easier than people make out (although I have disassembled those bathtub caps and put polyester caps inside and that is not a pleasant job 💩) what surprised me is how well the radios perform after a simple alignment..
Next time you attack old stickers try peanut butter. Sounds crazy but it actually works, something about the oils in the peanut butter.
Good old vacuum tubes and resistors...u could probably pack ten of those units into a modern day iPhone
try some gojo!!! that stuff works fantastic on tape!!! We use it on laptops all the time, the white crisco looking gojo, not the orange crap!!!
Good luck!!!
I've removed labels for many, many decades and I usually treat the whole label first, let it sit a little while to soften the glue and then it's easier to remove. I almost always also heat treat the label with a hot air gun, sometimes (quite often) that makes both glue and label to remove in one piece, just minute pieces of glue left. For that type of sticky label as in this video I most often try with standard petroleum based degreaser, and as I said, pre-treat the label and wait a little while. If that isn't compatible with the glue, I use isopropyl alcohol. Very, very rare that either of those damage the surface if isn't cardboard backing, but I've managed most of them too with heat and Iso (doing a lot when selling old games with personal stickers).
I actually never used any special label removers, there has been no need.
Try WD40 or IPA. Goofoff is great for graffiti but not this job, you'll be surprised how nice an oil base remover works and not harm the painted surface.
I use "air tool cleaner" spray
FYI, you can score around the outside edges of the screws to prevent it them from chipping the front face panel when removing them.
Toy collectors often use WD-40 to remove stickers. It is less aggressive than most other products. You might try it on another portion of the damaged dial. (Looks like others beat me to it!)
Tape and stickers, the enemy of all technicians. What a sad deal because outside of that, the dial was beautiful, (Soft weeping in the background).
My Dad got himself an engraver back in the 1970s and just went nuts with it. Virtually everything he owned got engraved, whether it needed it or not. (Dad, is it _really_ necessary to engrave your bowling ball?) He treated himself to a beautiful gold Jules Jürgensen wristwatch, which he promptly engraved. I own it now and it pains me every time I turn it over and see the really poor engraving on the back of the case. As violent as that engraver was, I'm amazed he didn't fracture the jewel bearings or snap the balance staff.
He tried to engrave my stuff, too, but I declined the offer.
wow , I would have left the stickers on
It's only 22 minutes, I didn't have time to fall asleep. I'm disappointed Mr. Carlson.
There is this to consider: The radio belonged to them, at the time, and since it was their property, they’re free to do with it as they wish. Just as you are. you may disapprove, but the reality is, your disapproval is years after the fact, and doesn’t matter. If it came from the factory like that, then I’d say you have some grounds for griping. As it is…
I find that plain Alcohol works better for taking off sticky stuff without taking off the paint. You just have to work a little at a time and not rub hard and try applying a little heat from a heat gun before.
Outstanding, come on part three.
That was my first receiver in ~1975.
Probably too late to suggest this... but for the stickers on the band dial, I'd try turning the radio face up & making a little puddle of the goo remover & let it sit a while to soften things up. Maybe less rubbing would be needed & less paint damage.
WD-40 works the best on sticker glue for me.
I am looking forward to the next video. Thanks Paul!!
I would have left the stickers on they are part of its history. Things don't have to be perfect. The planet will keep rotating
Hi Mike. This is going to be seen in a lineup of receivers that has been restored, why leave some horrible looking tape on the dial? That's not the way I work, and actions like that reflect on the quality of workmanship provided. I have a perfectly good replacement dial, why not just install it?
Fair enough I just like the character and look of it as it was. Just my opinion but who am I 😀@@MrCarlsonsLab
Great video Paul...Please keep this series going!
Wonderful video. I see you used Goof Off and I have used it in the past but it is pretty caustic and unkind to painted surfaces. I now try Goo Gone first. Good Gone is citric based and won’t damage paint. And it smells much nicer. You may want to give it a try.
That BC-348 is not coated with the antifungal goo that mine is. Mine apparently was build to be used in the Pacific theater with its humidity.
Bravo! I’ll be anxiously waiting for next installment!