Vintage Radio restoration

[DaOld Man]

I bought a piece from a 1920 Tecla model 30 crystal radio. Trying to restore it.
I know this site is not geared for that but I was wondering if there is a site like this one dedicated to that subject, that i could join.
I am a member of a facebook group, but I like this format much more.
Thanks, and sorry for not checking in for awhile.

[lilshawn]

i'm not sure what it is you are looking for. when you say restore... do you mean restoring it back to working condition... or restoring it back to as it came out of the factory?

i mean, it's a crystal radio... theres not much to it as far as "electrical" goes. it's basically a coil of wire to adjust the volume, a tuning capacitor, and a crystal of galena used as the semiconductor diode to "power" the audio circuit.

me thinks it would be more of a "strip the finish off the wood and refinish it" kind of restoration. the information which, could be obtained from literally any woodworking website/blog/forum. reason i suggest a woodworking forum, is because it would probably have the most up to date accurate information regarding wood and how to prepare and finish it properly with today's finishes than a forum or site dedicated to antique radios.

[danny_galaga]

Doesn't matter that it's basic internally. It still no doubt has bits and pieces to restore/replace. Bakelite knobs for instance. I totally dig it da old man. And I agree the forum format is best for these hobbies. Don't of anything of hand though.

[DaOld Man]

Thanks. Heres a couple of pics.

[DaOld Man]

What is missing?

two labels (GROUND and TELEPHONE)
one bakelight terminal nut.
One wiper assembly (someone replaced one with a variable capacitor.
One cats whisker assembly with galena crystal. (It was missing, I installed two banana jacks to attach a geranium diode to.)
Original box with instructions on fold down door. (I made the box in the pic, I only had a pic of the original to go by).
It works, but I havent put up a proper antenna yet, so its reception is limited. (A proper antenna is a wire 50 to 100 feet long, strung up outside at least 10 feet off ground.)

Here is the pic I had of the original:

[DaOld Man]

I wont tie up this forum with a lot of pics, unless you guys are interested.
I did find this interesting site, joined it and posted some pics.

https://antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=3763217#p3763217

[DaOld Man]

Sure will look good on a shelf next to my 1930's telephone.

[danny_galaga]

Love the old headset that goes with it. Interesting they put the diode on the outside. Do you think that was because it needed adjusting/attention? Like physical pressure on the crystal needed to be adjusted from time to time? Or was it a sort of 'LOOK TO THE FUTURE!' kinda deal just to show off the hi tech?

Looking at it again, probably for adjustment. Man, we made crystal sets in grade 7. Mine was one of the few that worked. If we had to use THOSE diodes I don't think any of them woulda worked.

Thank god for germanium, huh?
 

[DaOld Man]

Actually, I added the diode, the original had a galena crystal that a small wire touched. This was called a cats whisker. You had to move the wire to find the right spot on the crystal.
Of course, the cats whisker was missing, I replaced it with a 1N34A diode.
I made something similar to this when I was a kid, except it used a bent safety pin with a piece of pencil graphite attached, the graphite tip touched a double edged razor. You had to move it to find the right spot on the razor. This was called a "Foxhole Radio", used by soldiers on the battle field.

[lilshawn]

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[danny_galaga]

your username is showing

 

 

[DaOld Man]

Hey you good for nothing juvenile delinquents,  GET OFF MY LAWN!!!!