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having the radio that was in my truck fixed? Or would it be better to just put it away and get a different one? The insides look decent from what I saw of them, and as far as I can tell the only reason it doesn't work is because the vibrator and all that is bad, which is a different part of the rest of the radio, attached to it by a bracket. This isn't the original radio either.

jdl,
why don't you have a look at the suggestions in the tech tip for trying out your radio. Sometimes it is possible to take the vibrator apart and by cleaning the points, get it working.

Well, it seems that not all is getting power. The vibrator I mistook for something else. But it is not getting power. Neither are the tubes, or they are shot. They aren't glowing, but are supposed to do so, right? I will try to get some pictures up shortly.

I have pictures up, although I don't know how much they will help. I don't know enough to take it apart and see what, if anything is getting power, either.

jdl,
that tall can with the clips on the bottom is the vibrator. It can be unplugged by pulling it upwards. If you have powered it up and the tubes don't glow then there is a problem. Is there an inline fuse with this radio?

Yes, there is a fuse and I have checked power after the fuse so it is good. I may have the circuit path totally messed up in my mind. That is why I didn't think the vibrator is getting power but after reading the Tech Tips it just confused me on how it goes. So truckernix, what do you think could be a possible problem. Power switch, tubes, vibrator????

Hey, do you think you could give me directions on how to test things to see if they are bad? I have taken the top cover off to get all of the big pieces of junk out and it isn't as scary as I thought it was. The good news is that nothing appears to have had the smoke let out.

jdl,
so if you take your trickle charger, hook it up between the power lead and the ground, turn on the off/on switch and with a volt meter measure the voltage to ground on both sides of the off/on switch. It probably is a good idea to try this with the vibrator removed. Let me know what you find.

Hey, I'm confused about this grounding stuff. I figured, from the radio tech tips, to use the trickle charger(which I have a charger with 2, 4, and 6 amps, so which should I use?) but where do I put the ground clamp? Just on something metal or does the radio actually have a ground?

Also, how do you remove the vibrator?

What kind of radio? Did it fit in the dash? BE CAREFUL the voltage that lights up the tubes will light up you. Check e-bay to see what the radio is worth. Looking at the pictures it looks like the dial part may be smaller than the dash hole. If that is the case I might see what it would bring on e-bay. Then use that money to go on an original radio and work on that. If you are going to work on it You should get a schematic. Do a google search on the brand and model number with the word schematic.

Thanks neilroy. It says that it is an "ATR Karadio" and my guess is that it is one of the radios that were sold in stores. From what I just found out, it may not need anything except for one thing replaced. It was bolted to the dash with a bracket under the spot where the delete plate is. But, like I said, I just found out something that gives me hope for this radio, and I do like to work on electrical things, to a certain extent, and yes I know it is dangerous. Using my test probe, I checked the switch. It is good. Then I checked a bunch of the connections from the wires. They were good. Then I checked some of the tubes. Here is the interesting part. I found a tube that was getting power, but I couldn't find any others that were. Are these tubes all in one continuous power line or do they all have separate wires leading to a source?(too crowded to tell) If that is the case, then I may have figured out why no tubes are working.

First, I think jdl is going through a trouble shooting process that is both educational and can be interesting. No one is suggesting that it is a restoration project.

For the power connections, one lead goes to the power radio lead and the other to the metal case of the radio. The 6 A setting would be good for this test.

To remove the vibrator, wiggle it gently from side to side and pull up. You can also use a screw driver to pry it out.

Generally speaking the tubes are usually connected in parallel, that is they are all connected to the power directly. If one glows then they should all glow withthe exception of an OZ4, if there is one.

Sorry, I thought the question was is it worth having the radio in his truck fixed. A schematic can be had for $5.00 with a google search on the radio name. It will tell you what the voltage should be on the pins of the tubes. Truckernix sounds like this isn't his first rodeo with a tube type radio. He can point you in the right direction. Good luck.

Neilroy, you are sort of correct. But, seeing as how most of the radio, as far as I can tell, is in good shape, it wouldn't be that much of a loss just to get it working until I can get another. I think truckernix summed it up pretty well. Truckernix, I forgot to tell you that I did get that vibrator out. Then I checked those connections when it was hooked up to the truck, since my charger is a "smart charger" and won't work unless connected to a battery. It seems that none of them are glowing. So does that mean that they are all burnt?

If your charger doesn't work without a nattery load then you shouldn't ever power it without a fuse. That is because there is enough energy in the battery to give one serious burns if there is a short.

Do you have a volt ohm meter? If not you really need one. They can be had for less then $20. I can then describe how to check the heater in each tube. However, I think that powering it up first without the vibrator would be good.

I have a fuse in line to the radio and the radio is grounded.

I have an ohm meter. I also found a dead terminal on the switch. This terminal goes to a capacitor(?) and also has a wire going to a "Workman TIF12 6648." The switch has a bad spot in it then?

Hey truckernix, good news. Disregard the "tubes not working" mumblings that I kept using up there. They are all good, except for one of the big ones back on the piece the vibrator sets on.I think the dead terminal on the switch may have something to do with the radio not working. Would it be possible to take a small wire and solder it to the dead terminal and solder it to another terminal on the switch that is good? There is probably only about a centimeters distance between one that is good and the bad one. Also, any idea where I could get one of the bigger tubes?

jdl,
it sounds like the big tube that you are talking about is the rectifier tube for the power supply. If it is an "OZ4", it doesn't light up. You may want to try plugging in the vibrator and see what happens.

A lot of these old radios had a terminal on the switch that fed the radio and another set that powered only the dial light. Is the dial lighting up?

No, but it does get power. I changed the bulb out with another and it still isn't doing anything I'm thinking it has to do with the socket. Strangely enough, the dial light is connected to one of the terminals on a tube socket, if that's what you call it. Is there anyway to tell if the tube is an OZ4 or not? And is it normal for the tubes to have a little black at the top of them? They all seem to have it.

Vibrator doesn't make any noise when it is plugged in. There are two of those "rectifier tubes" and they both look the same,so I'm thinking they are both the other kind.

jdl,
tubes are pretty difficult to tell apart if you can't read the lettering. Many have the same physical appearance. Your dial light is hooked up to straight 6 v so it could be connected together with a tube filament.

It sounds like your vibrator is not working. If you can spread the crimp at the bottom, you may be abke to pull the cover off. If so you may be able to clean the points and get it working. This procedure isn't easy and it can be fatal to the vibrator but if you have nothing to lose in the radio than why not try it.

I doubt I could do it. But I may try anyway. How much would you guess a new one would cost, if I were to replace it? (I was promised a 12v radio which I can use on the converter from a fellow 'bolter when he gets settled in from moving so it won't be anytime soon if I were to replace it, maybe after I get the truck the way I want it and have nothing else to do.)

jdl,
you can't buy "new" ones but there are solid state replacements which you don't want to buy. the reason is that if the radio has not been restored then most likely there will be some shorted capacitors and the solid state unit will burn out right away. You can buy used ones on Ebay but I wouldn't suggest that.

If you take a pair of wire cutters, you can peel up the bottom edge of the can. It is not pretty but it can be done. Then you slide the cover off. You might find it interesting to see how it is constructed.

That's what I was thinking of, or taking a hacksaw and cutting the crimp(might not be possible). I think I'm going to try it now.

Hey truckernix, did you mean that taking the cap off of the vibrator was hard? If so, then I must be lucky because it only took me about 2 minutes to get the cap off. I just took a hacksaw blade, cut at certain points along the crimp, and took the wire cutters/crimpers and spread the crimp. I now am left with the reusable shell and the inside of the vibrator, which has a foam insulator(?) over it. I need to know how to take it off without destroying/cutting it if it is possible.

jdl,
the purpose of that foam is to cut down on noise and possible block air from getting to the points. Just carefully cut and peel away the foam. You will find a tall structure with a set of points at the top and coils at the bottom.

Ok, got it. Should both of the points be closed or???? One is and the other isn't. I took some heavy paper and took it between the points, one seemed to be clean and the other set had black stuff on it.

Jordan,
one set of points should be closed and the other set open. If you gently move the armature to the other side you will see that one set opens up and the other side closes. Take some emery cloth and freshen up the points and then clean them with a piece of paper. With and ohm meter you should be able to confirm that they are making contact. You can then plug it into your radio and see if it vibrates but be aware that they emit an open spark while they are running.

Fred

I put it back together and put it back in and still nothing. But, I did some more testing and to confirm my suspicions, checked a transistor(???? Black tube that says "Type 16.....) and there is no power coming out of it.

Jordon,
taking apart a vibrator will not in itself cause it to work. The radio cannot possibly work without the vibrator.

I know but the black tube is connected to a powered terminal on the switch, and that has a wire that goes into the piece that the vibrator plugs into. I was just wondering if it could have something to do with it. At any rate, something else isn't getting power at least. Does the same wire that powers the tubes power the vibrator? Or would the other one that is dead?

Jordan,
can you post a picture of the "black tube"?

I'll try.

I have some up, but they aren't very good.

Jordan,
if you are talking about the cylindrical objetct that is similar in shape to the vibrator and is mounted in the horizontal, that is the main filter capacitor. Probably when your radio is working, one of the connections on there would have between 200 and 300 V dc on it. It wouldln't right now because the power supply isn't working. This could be caused by the vibrator.

Your above post is about the black tube? So does that mean that once the vibrator(after this capacitor) is working(or whatever is making it not work) than there will be power coming out of the capacitor? It is wired to a live terminal.

Jordan look at this link on a vibrator power supply. The drawings are not just like your radio but the link will give you a better idea of what is suppose to happen.

http://www.radioremembered.org/vpwrsup.htm