Home › Forums › Show & Tell › New member and Rogers R5525
- This topic has 5 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 15 years, 8 months ago by
markk900.
-
AuthorPosts
-
May 24, 2009 at 6:44 pm #1363
markk900
Forum ParticipantHello everyone – I am a new member to the forum and wanted to introduce myself by posting some photos of a mid 30’s Rogers radio we have. It was purchased new by my wife’s Great Aunt and we have had it about 20 years. It still powers up and works adequately but I am about to take it to Grandpa’s Radios to have it checked over and "tuned"…..Any information about this radio would be well appreciated.
May 26, 2009 at 3:35 am #1364Gerry O’Hara
KeymasterWelcome aboard! That is a very nice radio Mark – I love that dial and the scrollwork on the speaker. If you are a CVRS member you can get a free schematic for this radio from Don White.
Regards
Gerry
May 26, 2009 at 11:23 pm #1365phil
Forum ParticipantI agree it is a very pretty set.
Here is a link to a document that Phil Nelson wrote about replacing Capacitors, this helps understand what your restorer will be taking on. https://www.antiqueradio.org/recap.htmIt is good to know the difference between changing a couple of the power supply filter capactiors as upposed to replacing all the electrolytic and paper capacitors , and checking and replacing any resistors that have drifted out of tolerance by over 10 percent. Also some restorers will also replace any parts under and over the chassis invisibly. In other words the metal cans for the electrolytics can be re-stuffed and so can the paper/wax capactiors. some may take the time to find original looking resistors, others decide it is under the chassis and don’t care what it looks like.
I am not saying which is right , just that it would be good to read up just to have an understanding of the choices a restorer may give you, and to come to agreement on which route you are taking beforehand.
One thing that could surprise you with this radio is the presence of rubber wire under the chassis. you have to remove the chassis and look under it to see if it is rubber or old cloth covered wire. I suspect that you might see Rubber in a Rogers set of this era, but can’t say for certain.
The problem in this case is that the rubber insulation rots and crumbles, which is dangerous, could cause shock or perhaps a short that could take out a difficult to find component. If you have a chassis full of hardened rubber wire, spagetti or heat shrink can be pulled over the wire, or it can be replaced with original looking rubber or cloth wire. One could try to make the wire look original , keep them all the original colors, or simply use what’s easily available and cheap. It is time consuming to replace a lot of wire so I thought I’d mention it.If you get it serviced an option might be to remove the chassis and speaker carefully yourself and your restorer will want it out of the cabinet to work on it. You may prefer someone does this for you. it isn’t usually hard to remove, might fit in your car easier.
Phil.
May 26, 2009 at 11:38 pm #1366phil
Forum Participanta few years ago I did a page about a rogers restoration I did, the link is here
https://members.shaw.ca/philsvintageradi … ojects.htm.Part way down there is a link that says "troubleshooting the R771" Sorry but that page is messed up and you need to scroll sideways then down to read it. but there are some pictures of the chassis underside. This one had rotten rubber wire that was colored. I used a combination of rubber wire, and for the colors I couldn’t find, I used heatshrink over PVC wire. I am guessing that yours might be a year or two newer.
Phil
May 27, 2009 at 4:39 pm #1369markk900
Forum ParticipantGerry, Phil: thanks for the welcome! Glad to be here.
Gerry: I found the schematic online at nostalgiaair but thanks for the advice. I love the dial too, and it actually sits quite properly in the cabinet – it looks a bit skewed because I was taking the picture from an angle to avoid flash reflection.
Phil: thanks for the information – I was thinking of removing the chassis from the cabinet but it isn’t that bad to haul around and I wanted George Found to look at it complete to recommend what work needs to be done vs. could be done. Overall it seems to work reasonably well (it is not receiving a huge number of stations but the ground is not hooked up and the antenna lead is a jumble, so that may have something to do with it). I am also concerned about potential fire hazards which is why the trip to Grandpa’s is in order.
But I do appreciate the need to ensure the old look is maintained.
Thanks again for the feedback
MarkMay 31, 2009 at 12:23 pm #1374markk900
Forum ParticipantJust wanted to add that we were listening to the Rogers last night and decided to try the SW band, which I haven’t done since I was a kid. Much to our surprise and delight, not only did we pull in a station from Maine, we managed to listed to Radio Beijing International! It was quite a thrill to know first that the radio was working in the SW band, but also to realize in this age of internet radio, there is still a place for "the old global village"….looking forward to getting the radio "tuned up" and setting up the antenna properly.
Mark
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.