Hi Manuel, They're a nice little radio. Such a pity I can't play music on TH-cam. LW is useless in Australia of course. A good candidate for bluetooth I think. Cheers
Hi Don, great little Hacker and top job restoring it. The PP9s are available, the last lot I bought were about $10 each. RS were selling them much dearer than that, so shop around. Nice little adaptors for the temporary batteries. I did the same Philips about 12 or so months ago, nice little FM set. The gram would be a good project 👍🙂
Hi David. Graham is sending me some repro connectors so when they arrive I'll pick up a couple of PP9s. I'll shop around though, as you suggested. I may also be getting another Hacker. I quite like them so I wouldn't mind doing another one. I've pulled out the HMV console and let's just say it's a bit of a mess. With the weather improving I should be able to do the cabinet work outside, which is just as well as there's no room in the shed. That gram will have to be next. 🙂 Cheers
Hi Don, I've repaired 2 of those Telefunkens here in the states. Put Bluetooth on both. Found them to be great radios. One word of caution, be careful of what you use to clean piano key switches with. Great job on all your repairs.
Nice throaty little transportable. 👍 ❤️ the color too. You know what’s implied when they say “calm before the storm”. Like me you kinda get the hunch that something on that shelf is going to kick yurazz 😵💫. HMV? 🤔I’m liking that👍 Keep ‘‘em coming Donnie Boy🎉
Hi Don. Hacker are great radios, and I am a real fan of them. Lovely to work on as well as they were designed to be repaired. Oh, and as you have found out they sound great too!
I concur with most of the folks around here. The "Shango066 approved" HMV console would really be interesting of a complete makeover. That Hacker sure is a pretty radio with great sound with the speaker that it has! Nice work Don.
Hi Tom, Yes, I'm sure Shango would approve of that one. I'll pull it out tomorrow and get started on it. Yes the Hacker sounds great and it's also great at rejecting a lot of the RF interference we get here so even more distant stations are noise-free! Cheers
The console reminds me of the one we had back in the 50's. I think it would be an interesting restoration. Wish I had a console but don't have room for one.
One thing I have learned from intermittent faults is to preserve the situation exact as it was when it started, and don't disturb parts until the fault is found and clearly visible. Minute pressures and movement of wires and parts will get you there most times. When going to rough you can loose the error, but it wil haunt you later on, even the mind can't forget
Yes I probably was a bit too rough with it. I guess I was expecting another broken wire, I did do a lot more work off-camera to try to track it down. I'm pretty convinced that it's ok now. It was either a dirty wiper from ground to the rotor of the tuning cap or the deoxit accidentally removed some dirt or something shorting the vanes.
@@Donno308 In case it returns, put a voltmeter on each of the emitters of the three transistors in the RF stage. The emitter here is influenced by changes on all three of the transistor leads, so you can fairly easy detect which of the three stages it is in. This because I heard a popping noise with the fault, so a power supply issue is evident. Nice result for that radio, the cabinet looks great. I admired the straight forward design of it, neat, orderly.
Hi Geoff. It seems most people agree with you. I've already started on it and should have the first video up in a couple of weeks. So far so good... Cheers
Great video Don! I very much prefer the 30-60 min. ones. Caldeira would still meticulousely be measuring every single component and Tipton would be paintstripping the grille for the fourth time to get the proper colour, I'm glad there's a third way to go😄 Now these two gentlemen that I mentioned are indeed My heroes in restoring but It's good to see the work being done a bit closer to My end of this brilliant hobby👍
Those two gentlemen taught me most of what I know about radios and I'm still learning from them but I do try to go for the middle ground with my videos. Glad you're enjoying them. The old HMV console radio will be next. Cheers
Hi. Yes I subscribe to Manuel Caldeira "Electronics Old and New" and I've learned a lot from him. Not sure if he's done this exact radio but he probably has. Most people have asked for the HMV console next, so I'm working on that. I'll be doing the Philips after that though. Cheers
Loving the Hacker - will have to have a go at an early germanium job myself. Graham (Radio-cruncher) has made a PP9 rechargeable battery case fitting different rechargeable batteries inside the case which provide the same or more power than the original PP9 batteries did, and I think a few others have made battery packs than can be used to replace the PP9 on TH-cam also. Yeh...HMV for me too 😁 I wish I had the room for a console radio like that, they look stunning when restored. Sound great too.
Thanks. I'll see if I can find Graham's video about the PP9 replacement. Of course I would also need the connector clips which are missing on mine. Ebay, perhaps. The hacker is a nice looking radio and sounds very good. It's such a pity I can't play music on TH-cam. Everyone seems to be voting for the HMV so it looks like I'll give it a go. Cheers.
That old HMV console looks like it needs some love from you Don! It sure looks to be a challenge if you're up to it! That early type of circuit board is very fragile and solder sucker action could damage it. No easy way without a modern electric desoldering gun. Those soldering stations cost quite a bit too. Good troubleshooting there on the Hacker's touchy tuner on whatever you did. It's a really nice looking radio after all that fussing around with it Don.
Hi Steve. Yes the HMV certainly does need some love. I got it for nothing so nothing to lose I guess. The Hacker is still going well so I guess it was the tuning cap all along. I've already dragged it out of the feed shed & had a look over it. I think it will be ok. Cheers
Nice simple radio to start with. The red ones are the best lookers with the brass. Don't worry about the AF transistors, any silicon PNP will do just as well. I have chucked all sorts in there and the silicon transistors have a lower noise figure which actually improves the reception. I can send you another similar vintage radio when I can get to my stock of unworked on ones in the shed, Maybe a hunter or a sovereign, both have fm but very similar boards to the herald.
Hi George. Yes I was wondering about using silicon transistors - I thought they should work but wasn't sure. I would be really interested in doing another one if you have one you can spare. An FM one would be great. Let me know when you're ready and we'll work something out. Cheers
Graham, your PP9 battery substitution is elegant. P.S. You show the skills to be able to maintain MDB as North America goes into winter, I'll think of you touring good weather.
Great job on the Hacker Don. It came up very nicely. The RP30 is one of my favourites and they sound very good. It looks like the AF117’s may have been done as the little ferrules seem to be missing but it was difficult to tell from the video. Very lucky that they actually work though. I’d like to see the console radio done as they look amazing when done. All the best Graham
Hi Graham, Yes, the AF117s did look like they had been replaced. The ferrules were gone and there were small blobs of solder that had "leaked" through the holes from the solder side of the board. I guess I got lucky - so far. Do you have any advice re batteries? I don't think those little 9V ones will last long. I would also have to buy connectors for them as they are missing. I seem to remember you doing a video trying out some battery boxes made to look like the originals but I can't find the video (yet). Cheers
I love those Hackers! They are rare in the US and I've only seen one, but they have the best reputation for MW performance and build quality, so I think you have a winner with that one. I hope you can get acceptable battery life out of it. I think you should get that Radiola fixed up and out of your shop; you need the space!
Hi Don, Absolutely love AWA electronics products. I also like the look of the 1930s HMV console radio - potentially a serious challenge! I’m going to take the liberty of requesting you restore both radios on video (not at the same time LOL). As it is not possible for me to see each radio in the flesh, you choose which one to tackle first. The Telefunken radio repair/restoration can keep for a later date. Perhaps it might be a good candidate for early 2025. The Hacker Herald RP30 repair/restoration turned out well. It looks, and performs as good as I would expect a close-on to sixty year old radio of such a former prestigious brand to perform, and look. Regards, Phil
Beautiful job Don! Looks like another missing link in boom box evolution. As for the radios you showed earlier I think the ( His masters voice) looks like a challenge with a lot of potential. That was a beauty in it's day. The Telefunken would be my second choice. It looks like a challenge and I like the look of it!
Hi Tyrone. Yes it looks like I'll be doing the HMV next. Either the Telefunken or the AWA radiogram after that. There doesn't seem to be much interest in the Philips. Probably a good thing - they're always trouble! Cheers
Watch out for the cores in the IF cans. They tend to stick and break (I speak from experience). Hacker always had a good name and my RP38a Hunter is an excellent performer. Cheers Lynton
Really great job on the nice looking and sounding Hacker, Don. Your videos are so calming and friendly. How about the HMV for the next project?☺ All the best from Gene in Tennessee.
Hi Don, Give that old HMV some love! Console radios are rare here in the UK, I suppose they take up too much space. As for the rp30, I have two of them, and I'm surprised yours didn't need the 'zapping'. I have a red and a blue rp30, and although the blue one worked initially, it wasn't long before the AF117s played up.
Hi. Graham suggested that the AF117s have been replaced and I think he's right. The little ferrules are missing and the soldering is a bit ordinary. Pity they didn't do the caps as well.
Hi Jim Yes I dragged it out today and had a look at it. The field coil has continuity and the dial glass that I have will fit so I think it will make a good project. Cheers
Voting for the HMV restoration, have you checked out your LSG 16 yet, managed to pick one up as well on ebay, NIB. Works well, 455kh marker is off to the left a tad but so close that I will leave as is, there is no trimmers so I think minor adjustments would involve coil winding adjustments.
Greetings from Canada as fall approaches brrr , very nicely done with the hacker Don. I don't mind the transistor tech but I took my electronics training in the sixties and my first love will always be point to point wiring and tube technology. We had recruiters form Australia coming to our school in my senior year looking for graduates to go to Australia to work in the aluminum industry and I often wonder how different my life might have turned out if I had gone down under, it was a very good offer but I stayed in Canada and worked for IBM for 37 years instead it just seemed like 40 lol. Once I started with IBM I never saw another tube till I got to work on an ancient 80 column card sorter from the 50's that was on maintenance contract with Atomic Energy at Chalk River (why won't this thing turn on and what's that glow?).....lol. As for your next project my vote goes for that HMV console radio, it's a bit rough looking now but I bet it sounds amazing when you're finished.
Hi Mark. It sounds like you did pretty well staying in Canada and working for IBM. Australia's loss I guess. I think Canada and Australia have a lot in common despite the opposite climates. Who knows what would have happened if we'd made different choices. I pulled the HMV out of the storage shed today and gee it's a mess! The field coil has continuity though, as does the transformer primary. It's going to be a big job though. Cheers
Nice job, Don. Very impressive build quality, and very nice sound, judging from the brief blast of California Girls. There were no hackers at Hacker! ;-)
Hi Don. Yes I watch Graham Radio cruncher. Yes full of AF117 transistors. You can zap them nothing to lose. I'm shure that Graham would advise you on that radio. Take care, have fun. Derrick Taffman.
Very nice Hacker radio Don, sure looks great & seems to perform pretty good too. Top little battery adapter mod, I guess it would last a while on those little ones if it's only 18ma draw. I'm leaning towards the HMV console radio next, although the radio gram would be good to see too. Top Vid as usual mate, Cheers
Hi Baz. Yeah not sure how long the little batteries will last but for he amount of use it gets they will probably be ok. Graham (Radiocruncher) is apparently sending me some connectors for the original batteries so I might convert it back when I get them. Apparently they are available. I have pulled the HMV console out & so far checked the speaker field coil, which is ok. That would have been a deal breaker. I hope the power tranny is ok. Anything else can be fixed. Cheers
Hi Don, The HMV console please. I used some Jaycar high voltage (450vDC) electrolydics in two recent radio restorations, they did not last long, one let go only a couple of minutes after installation, it sounded like a shotgun blast and scared the wheaties out of me. The others seem to have failed after a few weeks of operation. I found Carl lives locally and visited his house, he is an interesting guy and I had an enjoyably conversation with him until I realised I needed to be on the other side of town to pick my wife up from work (Oops), time flies when your having fun. I picked up some stronger caps from Carl, hopefully they will do the job. Regards, Peter from Canberra.
Hackers were very sought after, never could afford one as a lad and you never saw them at the jumble sales. Slightly disappointed with the quality of the circuit boards though, perhaps they were never meant to be worked on! OC71s again, you're becoming a specialist in old transistors! Keep up the good work, just about caught up with your back catalogue.
Hi Owwcam. Hope you're enjoying the back catalogue. Some of the early ones were pretty terrible! I think the circuit boards on the Hacker were as good as anything else around at the time. The technology has advanced quite a bit since then. Cheers
PP9s are still available and will last longer, but I'm finding them a bit unreliable recently (don't know if it's a QA problem with a batch) so I've converted a few Hackers to PP3s as you have. I quite liked the way you fitted those PP3 holders so I may revisit a couple of mine!
For most electrolytic capacitor uses, other than those in frequency sensitive filtering applications, a tolerance of -20%/+80% is common. If something well beyond that to the upside is seen, it might be a situation where the film has broken down and you're looking at galvanic effects.
Looks really good. PP9 is very expensivebut will last a long time. Your solution however I find very elegant. 9V batteries will give somewhere between 10 to 15 hours of life. I use rechargeables myself since they are not much more expensive than primary batteries, at least here where I live. If you need the radiogram to go take that one first else the big console looking so sad and in need of tlc.
Nice job and a great radio. Elegant solution with the batteries, but I don't think they'll last long as they are about 1/10th of the capacity of the original PP9 batteries, if I'm not mistaken. About the Philips: that model is extremely common here in Belgium/Netherlands. So if you ever need some specific parts for that radio, I'm quite sure I can track them down.
Hi Kristof. Yes the 9V batteries won't last long but they are cheap and plentiful so for my purposes they will be fine. I could make up a couple of battery packs the same size as the original ones with multiple 9V batteries in parallel but we'll see. I've been using it now at home for maybe 4 or 5 hours total and still ok so far. No one has shown much interest in the Phillips - everyone wants to see the old HMV so I put on my rubber gloves and dragged it out of the shed. The speaker field coil has continuity so i should be able to get it going provided the mains transformer isn't dead. Cheers
I don't think you can get the original batteries any longer for these. The 9V battery is about your best option, they just won't last as long. The radio seems to have come up really well. It sounds good. I look forward to seeing the old HMV set come to life when you get to that.
@@Donno308 The AWA set has the added history of the company making not just the domestic consumer gear, but also furnishing equipment for the broadcasting industry, and I daresay also the TV stations.
Hi Eric They all seem pretty expensive but I guess it's better to get a good one instead of mucking around with cheap stuff. I'll have a look at the Hakko one anyway. Thanks for the recommendation. Cheers
@@Donno308 Thinking about it, I do a lot with PCBs, and it's great for removing components from them. The only issue I found was if you are cleaning solder off a valvebase or tagstrip after cutting a few wires you have to be careful not to suck a tiny bit of wire into the nozzle. It can get blocked and you need to use the tool they provide to poke it out. It comes with different size nozzle holes, all are much smaller than the one on a manual solder sucker. I hate those, they don't work too well and kick back towards the components which can damage things.
Hi Richard, Yes in some ways they are harder. Everything is so fragile, especially those old PCBs and you have to be so careful not to overheat anything. Cheers
It's ten inches - the radio is under eleven and a half. They're great sets, plenty of them around in the UK. There's also a fairly rare version too that adds short wave, and an even scarcer one (Marine Herald) that adds trawler band instead (1.5-4.2 MHz).
Hi Maarten. Philips usually sound very good. I've already started on the HMV but when I do the Philips I'd appreciate seeing how you fitted the bluetooth to it. Cheers
@@Donno308 I currently have somewhere close to 300 Hacker radios here, some in the shed, some in the dining room. Boxes of spares as well. I have almost every model they made including some of the Rarer special editions. Parts are not an issue!
@@Donno308 I'll just be happy to send you one anyway... I'll find a suitable complete set and get it boxed up for you. I'll see if I have one with a spare genuine service manual (I have all of the original books too!) Best to send an email to the address on my channel info page with the address.
What ever you choose to overhaul next is just fine with me Don. 👏🇳🇿
Good job on that one. That speaker sounds amazing. 👍
Hi Manuel, They're a nice little radio. Such a pity I can't play music on TH-cam. LW is useless in Australia of course. A good candidate for bluetooth I think.
Cheers
Hi Don, great little Hacker and top job restoring it. The PP9s are available, the last lot I bought were about $10 each. RS were selling them much dearer than that, so shop around. Nice little adaptors for the temporary batteries. I did the same Philips about 12 or so months ago, nice little FM set. The gram would be a good project 👍🙂
Hi David. Graham is sending me some repro connectors so when they arrive I'll pick up a couple of PP9s. I'll shop around though, as you suggested. I may also be getting another Hacker. I quite like them so I wouldn't mind doing another one.
I've pulled out the HMV console and let's just say it's a bit of a mess. With the weather improving I should be able to do the cabinet work outside, which is just as well as there's no room in the shed. That gram will have to be next. 🙂
Cheers
Hi Don, I've repaired 2 of those Telefunkens here in the states. Put Bluetooth on both. Found them to be great radios. One word of caution, be careful of what you use to clean piano key switches with. Great job on all your repairs.
Hi Dennis
Thanks for the tip re the piano keys. As I won't be doing that one first I'll put a sticky note on it to remind me.
Cheers
Nice throaty little transportable. 👍 ❤️ the color too. You know what’s implied when they say “calm before the storm”. Like me you kinda get the hunch that something on that shelf is going to kick yurazz 😵💫. HMV? 🤔I’m liking that👍 Keep ‘‘em coming Donnie Boy🎉
Hey Jim,
It might well be that HMV that kicks my ass! It's a real mess but I'm gona do it.
Cheers
Hi Don, quit being so negative. you have proven in your videos that you are proficient at repairing the old radios!
Rich
Hi Don,great job with the Hacker radio,I'd like to see the HMV console done next, there always a winner in my books. Cheers
Hi Dom. The overwhelming vote has been for the HMV so I've already dragged it out. Gee it's a mess!
@Donno308 there well worth the effort Don, you've done awesome work on others im sure this one will come up a treat .👍👍
Very absorbing video on the lovely little radio. Thanks Don so much and looking forward for your next video.
Hi Don. Hacker are great radios, and I am a real fan of them. Lovely to work on as well as they were designed to be repaired. Oh, and as you have found out they sound great too!
I concur with most of the folks around here. The "Shango066 approved" HMV console would really be interesting of a complete makeover.
That Hacker sure is a pretty radio with great sound with the speaker that it has!
Nice work Don.
Hi Tom, Yes, I'm sure Shango would approve of that one. I'll pull it out tomorrow and get started on it. Yes the Hacker sounds great and it's also great at rejecting a lot of the RF interference we get here so even more distant stations are noise-free!
Cheers
The console reminds me of the one we had back in the 50's. I think it would be an interesting restoration. Wish I had a console but don't have room for one.
Hi. Yes it looks like it's going to be the HMV console.
Great job Don, it's come up nice! love the sound of those old Hackers.
They do sound good, don't they. Such a pity I can't play music on TH-cam
One thing I have learned from intermittent faults is to preserve the situation exact as it was when it started, and don't disturb parts until the fault is found and clearly visible. Minute pressures and movement of wires and parts will get you there most times. When going to rough you can loose the error, but it wil haunt you later on, even the mind can't forget
Yes I probably was a bit too rough with it. I guess I was expecting another broken wire, I did do a lot more work off-camera to try to track it down. I'm pretty convinced that it's ok now. It was either a dirty wiper from ground to the rotor of the tuning cap or the deoxit accidentally removed some dirt or something shorting the vanes.
@@Donno308 In case it returns, put a voltmeter on each of the emitters of the three transistors in the RF stage. The emitter here is influenced by changes on all three of the transistor leads, so you can fairly easy detect which of the three stages it is in. This because I heard a popping noise with the fault, so a power supply issue is evident.
Nice result for that radio, the cabinet looks great. I admired the straight forward design of it, neat, orderly.
I'd love to see you tackle the HMV Multiband, Don. This is definitely from my era and just the sight of it already brings back memories!
Hi Geoff. It seems most people agree with you. I've already started on it and should have the first video up in a couple of weeks. So far so good...
Cheers
Hello Don, great restore. Would love to see the HMV next.
Great video Don! I very much prefer the 30-60 min. ones. Caldeira would still meticulousely be measuring every single component and Tipton would be paintstripping the grille for the fourth time to get the proper colour, I'm glad there's a third way to go😄
Now these two gentlemen that I mentioned are indeed My heroes in restoring but It's good to see the work being done a bit closer to My end of this brilliant hobby👍
Those two gentlemen taught me most of what I know about radios and I'm still learning from them but I do try to go for the middle ground with my videos. Glad you're enjoying them. The old HMV console radio will be next.
Cheers
The Philips one will be nice to see. That guy from Madeira Islands (Caldeira) is a specialist on them.
Hi. Yes I subscribe to Manuel Caldeira "Electronics Old and New" and I've learned a lot from him. Not sure if he's done this exact radio but he probably has. Most people have asked for the HMV console next, so I'm working on that. I'll be doing the Philips after that though.
Cheers
Great, I have that exact same Phillips radio.... Thanks, Stay Safe.. J
Loving the Hacker - will have to have a go at an early germanium job myself. Graham (Radio-cruncher) has made a PP9 rechargeable battery case fitting different rechargeable batteries inside the case which provide the same or more power than the original PP9 batteries did, and I think a few others have made battery packs than can be used to replace the PP9 on TH-cam also. Yeh...HMV for me too 😁 I wish I had the room for a console radio like that, they look stunning when restored. Sound great too.
Thanks. I'll see if I can find Graham's video about the PP9 replacement. Of course I would also need the connector clips which are missing on mine. Ebay, perhaps.
The hacker is a nice looking radio and sounds very good. It's such a pity I can't play music on TH-cam.
Everyone seems to be voting for the HMV so it looks like I'll give it a go.
Cheers.
That old HMV console looks like it needs some love from you Don! It sure looks to be a challenge if you're up to it! That
early type of circuit board is very fragile and solder sucker action could damage it. No easy way without a modern electric desoldering gun. Those soldering stations cost quite a bit too. Good troubleshooting there on the Hacker's touchy tuner
on whatever you did. It's a really nice looking radio after all that fussing around with it Don.
Hi Steve. Yes the HMV certainly does need some love. I got it for nothing so nothing to lose I guess.
The Hacker is still going well so I guess it was the tuning cap all along.
I've already dragged it out of the feed shed & had a look over it. I think it will be ok.
Cheers
Nice simple radio to start with. The red ones are the best lookers with the brass. Don't worry about the AF transistors, any silicon PNP will do just as well. I have chucked all sorts in there and the silicon transistors have a lower noise figure which actually improves the reception. I can send you another similar vintage radio when I can get to my stock of unworked on ones in the shed, Maybe a hunter or a sovereign, both have fm but very similar boards to the herald.
Hi George. Yes I was wondering about using silicon transistors - I thought they should work but wasn't sure. I would be really interested in doing another one if you have one you can spare. An FM one would be great. Let me know when you're ready and we'll work something out.
Cheers
Another great video Don. Good job of restore and really appreciate your work. Thank you!
Thanks Jan. Glad you enjoyed it!
Graham, your PP9 battery substitution is elegant.
P.S. You show the skills to be able to maintain MDB as North America goes into winter, I'll think of you touring good weather.
Cute radio,well restored, great job! Edit: looking forward to the HMV restoration :)
Great job on the Hacker Don. It came up very nicely. The RP30 is one of my favourites and they sound very good. It looks like the AF117’s may have been done as the little ferrules seem to be missing but it was difficult to tell from the video. Very lucky that they actually work though. I’d like to see the console radio done as they look amazing when done. All the best Graham
Hi Graham, Yes, the AF117s did look like they had been replaced. The ferrules were gone and there were small blobs of solder that had "leaked" through the holes from the solder side of the board. I guess I got lucky - so far.
Do you have any advice re batteries? I don't think those little 9V ones will last long. I would also have to buy connectors for them as they are missing. I seem to remember you doing a video trying out some battery boxes made to look like the originals but I can't find the video (yet).
Cheers
That Hacker came out great, my vote is for the console, I really dig your channel.
Glad you're enjoying the channel. The HMV has been the overwhelming choice so I will be doing that next.
Cheers
I love those Hackers! They are rare in the US and I've only seen one, but they have the best reputation for MW performance and build quality, so I think you have a winner with that one. I hope you can get acceptable battery life out of it. I think you should get that Radiola fixed up and out of your shop; you need the space!
Hi Don love your work. HMV would be very interesting cheers
Hi Don,
Absolutely love AWA electronics products. I also like the look of the 1930s HMV console radio - potentially a serious challenge! I’m going to take the liberty of requesting you restore both radios on video (not at the same time LOL). As it is not possible for me to see each radio in the flesh, you choose which one to tackle first. The Telefunken radio repair/restoration can keep for a later date. Perhaps it might be a good candidate for early 2025.
The Hacker Herald RP30 repair/restoration turned out well. It looks, and performs as good as I would expect a close-on to sixty year old radio of such a former prestigious brand to perform, and look.
Regards, Phil
Beautiful job Don! Looks like another missing link in boom box evolution. As for the radios you showed earlier I think the ( His masters voice) looks like a challenge with a lot of potential. That was a beauty in it's day. The Telefunken would be my second choice. It looks like a challenge and I like the look of it!
Hi Tyrone. Yes it looks like I'll be doing the HMV next. Either the Telefunken or the AWA radiogram after that. There doesn't seem to be much interest in the Philips. Probably a good thing - they're always trouble!
Cheers
Watch out for the cores in the IF cans. They tend to stick and break (I speak from experience). Hacker always had a good name and my RP38a Hunter is an excellent performer.
Cheers
Lynton
Cracking little radio.
They are nice sets, pricey when new, got a RP35.
I would do the HMV console set next, love sets from this era.
Great work, Don, that HMV will make a great next repair project.
Hi. Yes I dragged it out today and had a quick look over it. The field coil is ok so I think it will be a goer.
Really great job on the nice looking and sounding Hacker, Don. Your videos are so calming and friendly. How about the HMV for the next project?☺ All the best from Gene in Tennessee.
Hi Don, Give that old HMV some love! Console radios are rare here in the UK, I suppose they take up too much space. As for the rp30, I have two of them, and I'm surprised yours didn't need the 'zapping'. I have a red and a blue rp30, and although the blue one worked initially, it wasn't long before the AF117s played up.
Hi. Graham suggested that the AF117s have been replaced and I think he's right. The little ferrules are missing and the soldering is a bit ordinary. Pity they didn't do the caps as well.
The HMV, for sure!
Don, Graham EATS a dozen of these for Breakfast!!! All kidding aside, he did one of these for me. its excellent!!
If the dial glass works out, would be great to see the HMV brought back to life!
Hi Jim
Yes I dragged it out today and had a look at it. The field coil has continuity and the dial glass that I have will fit so I think it will make a good project.
Cheers
HMV would be a good radio to view being restored! Cheers😊
Voting for the HMV restoration, have you checked out your LSG 16 yet, managed to pick one up as well on ebay, NIB.
Works well, 455kh marker is off to the left a tad but so close that I will leave as is, there is no trimmers so I think minor adjustments would involve coil winding adjustments.
Greetings from Canada as fall approaches brrr , very nicely done with the hacker Don. I don't mind the transistor tech but I took my electronics training in the sixties and my first love will always be point to point wiring and tube technology. We had recruiters form Australia coming to our school in my senior year looking for graduates to go to Australia to work in the aluminum industry and I often wonder how different my life might have turned out if I had gone down under, it was a very good offer but I stayed in Canada and worked for IBM for 37 years instead it just seemed like 40 lol. Once I started with IBM I never saw another tube till I got to work on an ancient 80 column card sorter from the 50's that was on maintenance contract with Atomic Energy at Chalk River (why won't this thing turn on and what's that glow?).....lol. As for your next project my vote goes for that HMV console radio, it's a bit rough looking now but I bet it sounds amazing when you're finished.
Hi Mark. It sounds like you did pretty well staying in Canada and working for IBM. Australia's loss I guess. I think Canada and Australia have a lot in common despite the opposite climates. Who knows what would have happened if we'd made different choices.
I pulled the HMV out of the storage shed today and gee it's a mess! The field coil has continuity though, as does the transformer primary. It's going to be a big job though.
Cheers
Nice job, Don. Very impressive build quality, and very nice sound, judging from the brief blast of California Girls. There were no hackers at Hacker! ;-)
Hi. Yes, it sounds great! Such a pity I can't play much music on TH-cam.
Hi Don. Yes I watch Graham Radio cruncher. Yes full of AF117 transistors. You can zap them nothing to lose. I'm shure that Graham would advise you on that radio. Take care, have fun. Derrick Taffman.
Very nice Hacker radio Don, sure looks great & seems to perform pretty good too.
Top little battery adapter mod, I guess it would last a while on those little ones if it's only 18ma draw.
I'm leaning towards the HMV console radio next, although the radio gram would be good to see too.
Top Vid as usual mate, Cheers
Hi Baz. Yeah not sure how long the little batteries will last but for he amount of use it gets they will probably be ok. Graham (Radiocruncher) is apparently sending me some connectors for the original batteries so I might convert it back when I get them. Apparently they are available.
I have pulled the HMV console out & so far checked the speaker field coil, which is ok. That would have been a deal breaker. I hope the power tranny is ok. Anything else can be fixed.
Cheers
Hi Don, The HMV console please.
I used some Jaycar high voltage (450vDC) electrolydics in two recent radio restorations, they did not last long, one let go only a couple of minutes after installation, it sounded like a shotgun blast and scared the wheaties out of me. The others seem to have failed after a few weeks of operation.
I found Carl lives locally and visited his house, he is an interesting guy and I had an enjoyably conversation with him until I realised I needed to be on the other side of town to pick my wife up from work (Oops), time flies when your having fun.
I picked up some stronger caps from Carl, hopefully they will do the job.
Regards, Peter from Canberra.
I am pretty confident that the majority will ask for the HMV restoration. That little doggy asked for it.
Hi Erik. Yes, everyone's going for the HMV so I guess that's the one I'll do next.
Hackers were very sought after, never could afford one as a lad and you never saw them at the jumble sales. Slightly disappointed with the quality of the circuit boards though, perhaps they were never meant to be worked on! OC71s again, you're becoming a specialist in old transistors! Keep up the good work, just about caught up with your back catalogue.
Hi Owwcam. Hope you're enjoying the back catalogue. Some of the early ones were pretty terrible!
I think the circuit boards on the Hacker were as good as anything else around at the time. The technology has advanced quite a bit since then.
Cheers
PP9s are still available and will last longer, but I'm finding them a bit unreliable recently (don't know if it's a QA problem with a batch) so I've converted a few Hackers to PP3s as you have. I quite liked the way you fitted those PP3 holders so I may revisit a couple of mine!
I would like to see the His Master's Voice on your bench sometime soon.
Super !!!
I vote for the talk console radio.
Definitely “his masters voice” !!,
For most electrolytic capacitor uses, other than those in frequency sensitive filtering applications, a tolerance of -20%/+80% is common. If something well beyond that to the upside is seen, it might be a situation where the film has broken down and you're looking at galvanic effects.
Looks really good.
PP9 is very expensivebut will last a long time. Your solution however I find very elegant. 9V batteries will give somewhere between 10 to 15 hours of life. I use rechargeables myself since they are not much more expensive than primary batteries, at least here where I live.
If you need the radiogram to go take that one first else the big console looking so sad and in need of tlc.
Definitely the HMV 😀
Nice job and a great radio. Elegant solution with the batteries, but I don't think they'll last long as they are about 1/10th of the capacity of the original PP9 batteries, if I'm not mistaken.
About the Philips: that model is extremely common here in Belgium/Netherlands. So if you ever need some specific parts for that radio, I'm quite sure I can track them down.
Hi Kristof. Yes the 9V batteries won't last long but they are cheap and plentiful so for my purposes they will be fine. I could make up a couple of battery packs the same size as the original ones with multiple 9V batteries in parallel but we'll see. I've been using it now at home for maybe 4 or 5 hours total and still ok so far.
No one has shown much interest in the Phillips - everyone wants to see the old HMV so I put on my rubber gloves and dragged it out of the shed. The speaker field coil has continuity so i should be able to get it going provided the mains transformer isn't dead.
Cheers
Sometimes, you just get lucky. My vote is for the Rat Poop Radio. Cheers, Don.
Do the HMV Console they really entertain the neighbours!
I'd like to see the HMV as well, and then the Telefunken. But any radio work is worth watching. Thanks
HMV restoration gets my vote
I don't think you can get the original batteries any longer for these. The 9V battery is about your best option, they just won't last as long.
The radio seems to have come up really well. It sounds good.
I look forward to seeing the old HMV set come to life when you get to that.
The AWA stereogram should be the "next cab off the rack" even if only to free up space in your shed.
Everyone's going for the HMV but I'll do the radiogram after that. I really need the space!
@@Donno308 The AWA set has the added history of the company making not just the domestic consumer gear, but also furnishing equipment for the broadcasting industry, and I daresay also the TV stations.
@@neilforbes416 i had a AWA Twin cassette player back in 1983
@@neilforbes416 and radio stations
@@neilforbes416 Many radio stations were owned by AWA Alburys 2AY is one of them
Get yourself a Hakko desoldering pump tool. Expensive but works really well.
Hi Eric
They all seem pretty expensive but I guess it's better to get a good one instead of mucking around with cheap stuff. I'll have a look at the Hakko one anyway. Thanks for the recommendation.
Cheers
@@Donno308 Thinking about it, I do a lot with PCBs, and it's great for removing components from them. The only issue I found was if you are cleaning solder off a valvebase or tagstrip after cutting a few wires you have to be careful not to suck a tiny bit of wire into the nozzle. It can get blocked and you need to use the tool they provide to poke it out. It comes with different size nozzle holes, all are much smaller than the one on a manual solder sucker. I hate those, they don't work too well and kick back towards the components which can damage things.
Don Some those little transistor radios can be at times are then vacuum tube set because of the room and those fragile circuit boards .
Hi Richard, Yes in some ways they are harder. Everything is so fragile, especially those old PCBs and you have to be so careful not to overheat anything.
Cheers
Hi, Don. As a fan of vintage HMV valve (tube) radios, would you please restore your old HMV radio? Thanks.
I gotta say the HMV. It looks to be the one most vulnerable to Entropy.
I’m a sucker for a radiogram, second would be the HMV. Cheers,
Hi David. It looks like it will be the other way around but that's ok. I need to get the HMV out of that ratty shed before it gets damaged.
Do the HMV next. It looks like it'll be a beaut when restored...
Nice job! The HMV console please Don.
The HMV it is!
That has to be the longest ferrite rod I've seen!! Must be over a foot (0.3m)!
It's ten inches - the radio is under eleven and a half. They're great sets, plenty of them around in the UK. There's also a fairly rare version too that adds short wave, and an even scarcer one (Marine Herald) that adds trawler band instead (1.5-4.2 MHz).
The philips is not to complicated. Sounds great with bluetooth. Can show you how I have fitted it
Hi Maarten. Philips usually sound very good. I've already started on the HMV but when I do the Philips I'd appreciate seeing how you fitted the bluetooth to it.
Cheers
@@Donno308Graham has my email
As for your question regarding parts such as speakers... how many do you want?!!!!
Hi George. At least id I need one, I know who to ask! Cheers
@@Donno308 I currently have somewhere close to 300 Hacker radios here, some in the shed, some in the dining room. Boxes of spares as well. I have almost every model they made including some of the Rarer special editions. Parts are not an issue!
@@GeorgeChristofi Hi George. I'd be interested in buying one from you at some stage.
@@Donno308 I'll just be happy to send you one anyway... I'll find a suitable complete set and get it boxed up for you. I'll see if I have one with a spare genuine service manual (I have all of the original books too!) Best to send an email to the address on my channel info page with the address.
HM V Console would be nice i like old stuff.
Go with the HMV Don!
(P.S. Hackers are great)
Radiogram next please.
Philips Bitte...
Telefunken plise!
HMV