Vintage Car Radio Vibrator Refurbishment

Note: do not attempt to test the vibrator by hooking it directly to a 12V source. Test it only by reconnecting it into the radio or using a current-limiting power supply. The former is ideal since, as I mention in the video, a bypass capacitor is necessary for the vibrator contacts to not wear excessively. In addition, the inductance of the transformer windings helps the vibrator to work properly.
Radio removal instructions:
packardinfo.com/xoops/html/mo...

[@zacharyneuman4179]

American Flyer trains of the 1950s used these vibrator tubes for their "Air Chime Whistles". Trains run on 60hz and the tubes send 600hz through the track which is picked up by a speaker in the locomotives. These whistle tubes are all going on 70 or more years old and more often than not they don't work. I have a few torn apart on my work bench and this video will definitely be helpful in repairing them.

[@andrewandrosow4797]

Hello! Good work! But what to do when this radio can receives only MW/LW bands? There are lots of EMI noise in cities and towns - because LED lighting on streets. Next to each lamp post there will be buzzing from a speaker.I mean an night and evening.

[@hphpackardlowrey2776]

The radio alignment process makes it so it will reject any stray frequencies coming through the antenna, but if there are frequencies being picked up by the car chassis these can get picked up as they are not adequately filtered by the radio circuitry. Do you have all the recommended suppression capacitors installed? See your car service manual and/or radio owner's manual for where to put them.

[@andrewandrosow4797]

​@@hphpackardlowrey2776 To reject EMI noise in your car's radio DC/DC converter, I would first change two electrolytic capacitors to new low-ESR capacitors at 22 uF and 400 volts (I mean 2 capacitors after the rectifier). This update must usually helps - because old electrolytic capacitor usually "dry" and therefore does not have capacitance: you can hear loud "rrrr" from the radio speaker in any position of loudness regulator. Secondly, if it has not helps, I would checking the rectifier: are the both diodes working properly? If not - I would change the vacuum rectifier on the HER307 semiconductor diodes.