87 Year Old Radio Restoration - Stromberg Carlson 58L antique tube radio

[@arthureverett8220]

Good deal on that Stromberg Carlson. Good job on the repair also!!!

[@12voltvids]

I never pay much for old radios to restore.

[@jeffreyhickman3871]

That sounds 👌 like "Capacitor Failure ASMR." I could listen 🎶 to it all day long. Ya do such a GREAT 👌 job on the restoration of these radios 📻. Ya take them from buzzing electrolytic capacitors, to wonderful, working 💪 pieces of art. I'm so glad ya could save this radio. I think its a 1932, by the 85 year depiction that the video gives it. Your friend, Jeff.

[@1959Berre]

Nice catch. The Art Deco case is wonderful, wood seems to be in great shape.

[@robertocampioni9907]

My father work repearing this kind of radios and TV´s when I was a child. Enjoy very much this video

[@tharkthax3960]

This is one of my favourite videos you have done. You treat this old radio with such care and attention like you would treat an elderly relative! I love the old vintage electronics, best I've done is an early 70s amstrad amplifier. Really enjoy watching your videos. My missus watches soaps so I get to watch your work! Much respect. And thanks.

[@12voltvids]

I bought this radio for 20.00, and I just love the look of it. Sounds great too. I have it on display in my house on the landing at the top if the stairs so it is one of the first things I see when I open the door. That and the 4 furry critters that meow.

[@tharkthax3960]

@@12voltvids 4 cats! Wow, we have 2 and they great company. Got 3 kids too so I don't get too much time to fix electronics. I'm nowhere near as advanced as you but I know enough to get by and be safe. Really enjoy it, almost therapeutic. I've learned some good tips from your videos, so thank you again for taking the time to post them. 🙂

[@12voltvids]

@@tharkthax3960 Yup 4 cats 2 aquariums and 2 kidults. That would be 2 kids that are all grown up but refusing to move out. I guess I need to raise their rent.

[@aharvey1889]

Great video! I truly enjoy these repair videos!

[@justincase3880]

You have an amazingly steady hand .. I have to use a “helping hands” alligator clips rig to solder things like the light bulb mod you did …

[@12voltvids]

I could have been a surgeon.

[@waltschannel7465]

The quality of the original components is impressive. No puddles of wax. Also the wires coming out of the power transformer are of a high quality as well, judging by the insulation, which had not deteriorated with she. Very nice radio!!!

[@jeffmassey4860]

WOW! Music at restart-a testament of the quality of this classy radio.

[@12voltvids]

Music on AM radio at that. Oh wait a second that is only in my house! I plugged that little FM tuner board I got to check out a few months ago from ICStation into the AM transmitter, so I can put any FM station on the am band so I can play with these classic radios. The classic stations sound best, brings back memories of how it used to sound when we were listening to AM radio growing up.

[@Lapeerphoto]

Cool old radio - nice to see it have new life!

[@frankreiserm.s.8039]

You hold a mylar capacitor and attach the oscilloscope to it to determine which lead goes to ground. Is the lead that is the grid the one that goes to ground? When you attach the cap to your scope and the noise is less, is the ground of your scope attached to the grid? Frank, KB2VNG

[@lyntonprescott3412]

Great video young man. I love the old valve/tube radios.

[@12voltvids]

I collect them. This is one of the older units I have. I also have an old Rogers Majectic, a RCA rable and floor radio, a Marconi table radio, a british Pye (that runs on 240 volts) a mid 60s Rogers and an early 60's Nordmende console.

[@lyntonprescott3412]

I remember you doing the Pye radio. Seem to remember you had an issue with a cracked Mullard valve.

[@12voltvids]

@@lyntonprescott3412 that was the second one. In the first I restored the circuit and changed all the paper caps.

[@RoughJustice2k18]

That is a collector's item right there. Working once again like new - without making any unnecessary modifications, therefore preserving close to full originality, and maintaining any flaws in design or function. Nice one. The problem with any vintage tube product would be the amount of heat being generated by the tubes; and, in some radios, the possibility of silver mica disease.

[@ahmetsar1461]

❤

[@ahmetsar1461]

❤

[@arthureverett8220]

There’s nothing finer than a Stromburg Carlson

[@12voltvids]

I picked this up for 20 bucks.

[@lsrx101]

I believe I had this same model S/C radio about 25 years ago, the octagon dial, crank band switch and knob arrangement were the same. Sadly, the bottom 6-8 inches of the cabinet was badly rotted from sitting on a damp floor. It was such a pretty set that I kept the innards for about 15 years in hopes of finding a cabinet or another whole set. To date, the one in this video is the only other one I've ever seen. I still hope to find one. Stromberg Carlson was a big name in the telephone and telegraph industry in the early 1900s and know for their very high quality, well built equipment. That carried over when they entered into the radio market in the 20's. I recently found an S/C battery set from the 20's and it is built like a tank. The internals are all practically like new, 90+ years later.

[@oggyosbourne]

Nice Video Dave! Will watch this soon after a had my breakfast :)

[@chriscutress1702]

Great to see a tube radio brought back to life.

[@dhpbear2]

43:42 - What WERE they thinking when they designed plugs like this? Not large enough to grab onto, so it just get's YANKED!

[@jefffoster3557]

I have a couple old 29 consoles and a few aa5s I'd like to cap. Is there a reason you choose the orange drops over anything else?

[@12voltvids]

I just went with what was available at the parts store. Not too critical. Modern caps will out perform the old ones every day and twice on Sunday. It's an AM radio not some fancy tube audiophool hifi set. Even did that i don't have sucker stamped on my head. I am not going to spend 30 or 40 for a single capacitor. I joined the millionaires club by not wasting my money on overpriced snake oil.

[@waynethompson8416]

I would appreciate your help in a few things that I didn't "see", "understand", etc. while watching this video. First, though, I want to say that I enjoyed the video and was thrilled when you mentioned the issue of the outside foil end of the capacitors. I have watched several videos where the old electrolytic capacitors were bored out and stuffed with new capacitors. Hats off to the guys that can and enjoy doing that, I just can't see me trying. When you were talking about cutting the old electrolytic capacitor on the bottom out of the circuit, I got that part then the next thing I am really aware of is you connecting wires to the NEW Electrolytic capacitors that, to me, seemed to possibly be the wires of the old electrolytic. Since that would not make any sense, I was wondering just what were those wires and where did they go? Do I understand correctly that you simply cut the wires of the old electrolytic and left them hanging in the set not connected to anything (other than the old cap they are coming from)? You mentioned something about the can capacitor that is on the top of the chassis and that you "took it out of the circuit" but then you said something about using the post of the capacitor to connect to. Would you please explain what you were doing there? I noticed that you didn't have to replace the mica capacitor connected to that coil. While on extremely rare occasions they do go bad, most of the time they are fine. One "danger" I keep hearing many different guys talk about is that if you change the Mica capacitors in tuned circuits, it throws the circuit out of calibration. I didn't notice you cleaning up the chassis...is there a particular reason for that? The thing that got me to watch this video was the fact that it was a Stromberg Carlson...I love Stromberg Carlson radios! 73! WB4RHA

[@12voltvids]

I believe I was working on the multi cap can, and what I was was just cut the lug that was going into the can, and connected it to a new electrolytic and just mounted it below the chassis.That way it looks original from the outside. I also can't be bothered taking the can off, and gutting it and stuffing with new caps. Those one ones will be full of PCBs so best to leave them alone.

[@zulumax1]

A lot of those mica capacitors were hand picked out of a batch of ones that were marked at a certain value. The cap variance in tolerance was actually used to an advantage to really fine tune the tank LC circuit. Myself, I would never change one unless I had no choice.

[@Pulverrostmannen]

nice radio! so why you left the big and the small wax cap in when you replaced all the other ones?

[@12voltvids]

I left it in for esthetics only. It was disconnected and replaced under the chassis.

[@Pulverrostmannen]

@12voltvids I see. I was kinda worried it was left in use. The cap on the big resistor could be a good idea to replace too if you plan to use it from time to time. Probably not that crucial in that position :) good to see nice vintage stuff get new life

[@12voltvids]

@@Pulverrostmannen I don't run these old dinosaurs i restore. I collect them as display pieces to preserve them but I do not listen to them. Why run up hours on unobtainable tubes. I turn them on from time to time for a few minutes to show them off but don't run up many hours. The only tube equipment I do put many hours on is my modern amplifier which has readily available tubes.

[@Pulverrostmannen]

@12voltvids it’s true. I have some rare old radios and receivers too and I don’t use them a lot. It’s more of a fun to play when it suits right thing. Otherwise I build my tube amps from scratch which I play pretty much every day :)

[@12voltvids]

@@Pulverrostmannen I have a few I have built but for the most part i just play my upgraded yaquin mc10

[@rossman265]

Would you happen to be in the Toronto area?

[@12voltvids]

Vancouver

[@drteeth7054]

Even though you are using an isolation transformer, why is it safe to touch two of the metal knob shafts at the same time?

[@12voltvids]

The metal chassis is isolated from mains by the power transformer on this radio to begin with. There are high voltages on the tube plates but not the chassis. On the old 5 tube aa5 design one side of the line cord is connected to the chassis so there is a 50/50 chance that the metal chassis is directly connected to mains and touching a Manuel part on one of those while touching ground will result in a nasty shock. An isolation transformer with prevent this on those radios but this one, the power transformer provides isolation.

[@Tysman909]

The Mica caps don't need replacing they very rarely go.

[@howardhiggins9641]

Nice video. Normally, I never re-stuff paper capacitors, but I think I would have for this radio and leave a small note about that in the chassis for later techs.. Sounds like your lab ha some RFI generators in it.

[@12voltvids]

Plasma TVs, CFL and LED lamps.the hf band is totally useless in my neighborhood. The entire hf band so noise.

[@nor4277]

Do you test the tubes too ,the resistors,I would change that power cord,and clean the the chais off.but that just me ,nice job on the caps

[@dhpbear2]

52:20 - How about putting your ADSL into a Faraday Cage?

[@nor4277]

You seem to find some of the most amazing tube radios to restore,I don't no if you have good will in canada,but I been seeing under goodwill auctions under radios ,a lot of the time some real bargains on antique tube radio,another tech gave me the heads up ,on the goodwill auction site.just a thought

[@462ANIMAL]

Cool, I have a few old tube radios, one is a Atwater Kent Model 42

[@leandrolindemann4312]

Beautiful Radio!

[@12voltvids]

Thanks. Best 20 bucks I have spent.

[@michaelmacdonald3408]

Unusual to see cans like if stage around the coils interesting.

[@12voltvids]

That was done to stop them from radiating a signal as the high voltage used would literally broadcast out if the radio.

[@PlumGurly]

Others have a different philosophy on component placement. They will optimize the component placement for noise and then bite the bullet on alignment/tuning issues. Hopefully, they can be aligned after such mods. And there are times, like with the mica capacitors, where you don't change them unless you have to because they are in critical sections and may have even been hand-picked to specific values originally. Sometimes there is no choice, and you must change those, but there is no point in frivolously changing those. Sometimes changing those will make it impossible to fully align, so you may have to live with the pointer being in the wrong place.

[@dhpbear2]

20:14 - That lower-right trim-cap looks like it's loose.

[@zulumax1]

I've seen sets where someone was thinking all those "screws" were loose, so they tightened them all up tight. Radio was not very happy after that.

[@infinitecanadian]

So if a tube has the same number, does it mean that it is interchangeable?

[@12voltvids]

Yes you replace them with the same number. Some tubes sub in for other. The subbed tube should have a higher working voltage and either the same or lower filament current than the original.

[@markmarkofkane8167]

I am amazed the insulation on the wires haven't deteriorated in the chassis.

[@12voltvids]

Mark Markofkane Yes I have a Rogers majestic that I had to rewire due to the rubber insulation falling off. This one used woven wire so the rubber insulation is held in place . Key is to not disturb the wiring when servicing.

[@macgvrs]

One thing I have started doing is adding fuses to my old radios. I especially want to protect the transformer powered radios but, given that the series string use the rectifier tube filament as a fuse, I will be fusing those as well.

[@MrAzztech]

nice repair! btw are you talking about the vdsl2 variant or old skool adsl ? thanks aaron

[@12voltvids]

VDSL2 bonded profile

[@UnkyjoesPlayhouse]

How many watts does this thing draw when running? Signed...curious :) I think that label read 66? Never mind, I watched till the end :)

[@PaulJCost1]

You're awsome!

[@greggaieck4119]

kOOL SHORTWAVE RADIO RECEIVER

[@William103f]

Another great vid👍

[@umajunkcollector]

hmmm, perhaps an alluminum camper trailer as a ham shack?

[@zx8401ztv]

Now that is a beast, plenty of cabinet to produce a decent sound :-). The hum bucking coil was known to me through an old book 'Everymans wireless By f.j.cam'. The valves in that book had terminals on the side of the base, very old. Are you using coax to connect your radio to the antenna, it helps :-). I find it funny that a beast of a radio has such a small scale display, a dinner plate size would have been my choice.

[@12voltvids]

zx8401ztv I was disappointed that it didn't have a tuning eye. No coax, the antenna is just a hunk of cat 5 clipped on the antenna terminal. Not exactly efficient. My real antennas run to my ham shack, but I am not taking this radio there. I am looking forward to my oldest moving out on her own as I am wasting no time to clean out her room and turn that into the shop studio. When she finds that she can't afford to live on her own or her friend moves out and leaves her on the hook as I am warning she will be in for a wake up call when her room is unavailable.

[@zx8401ztv]

You almost sound like you hate your child, or is she an asshole?

[@12voltvids]

Just the opposite. She is great, but has it in her mind that she wants to move out and live with one of her girl friends. I am trying to give her a reality check on just how much it will cost for them to live on their own, because all they are thinking about is "I can afford half the rent" which is like 1800 a month for a 2 bedroom apartment. She thinks that 900 a month is cheap, but she hasn't considered things like actually paying for internet, having to pay to park her car in the parkade, cost of food, insurance, and everything else that we be on her once she moves. Oh yes and it is a closed 1 year lease, so if her friend decides to move home, she will be responsible for the rest of the lease, which amounts to 21,600 a year. Since her friend has no credit, she thinks it is OK to put it in her name, and I am reminding her that she would be on the hook for it all if something goes south It would be one thing if she was "shacking up" with a guy and they could end up married, but she wants to move in with another single girl, and well these type of arrangements usually end badly. When one finds a "friend" that they want to spend more time with, and no longer wants to share an apartment. Never happened to me personally, but 2 very good friends bought a house together many years ago. Things were fine until one friend got a girlfriend and decided to move. The guy remaining in the house couldn't afford the payment and the home was foreclosed on. The 2 haven't spoken in probably 35 years. She is an adult, so she is free to make her own decision, and once she clears out the family room of her video games and crap, I will be taking over that room. Then I will have a nice heated and air conditioned place to work on my projects. Now that I am looking forward to.

[@zx8401ztv]

Ahh i'm really sorry, i didn't mean to be nasty about your daughter :-(. I stayed at home to look after my dieing mum, bone marrow cancer and a head tumor just made the end rather horrible. The least i could do was to look after her, she had looked after me for all my early life, dam good mum.

[@12voltvids]

Not at all. She just got a job making some pretty good coin, and can't wait to spend it all. I'm just trying to convince her that she shouldn't rush into anything. When her and her friend were over costing everything out I gave her a reminder on what things really cost, and now her friend is having some serious reconsideration. She is all gung ho about moving out, so perhaps her friend will convince her that it is not the best idea. Better to happen now rather than after committed to an iron clad contract, because I could just see her friend doing a midnight move home, and leaving her to the rest of the lease payments, and she certainly could not afford this by herself.

[@glytch5]

Because the caps are labeled stromber, does that really mean they "made" them? Or were they just hand selected for their amps? I mean... their tubes say it too... but I guarantee they are selected from a tube maker. Sort of like how Mesa selects their tubes and re labels them.

[@douglasmorrison9098]

I believe stromberg actually made their own patrs for their radios dont quote me on that though I do know they had their own specs for their parts

[@kyoudaiken]

Sometimes light bulbs are in series with tube filaments, so you coudln't swap them with LEDs even if you wanted. And adding a resistor in parallel would be stupid.

[@dhpbear2]

6:45 - You mention that SC made their own capacitors. Tektronix made their own ceramic terminal strips and screws! Talk about vertical integration! - kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIO5nmlqh85_i68 (4:12)

[@CXensation]

Please let the cat out ... I'm a cat lover and can't bear the prayers from a cat. 😍

[@arthureverett8220]

The voltage from the power transformer that drives the magnatron in a microwave oven is deadly and fatal if you contact it while it’s powered up. Even the capacitor in the magnatron circuit can be deadly if you don’t discharge it

[@12voltvids]

I got bit by a magnetron transformer when operating. It was the most painful thing I ever felt. It threw me 6 feet. Had one hand in pocket and wearing rubber soul shoes. Went in my hand and out wrist.

[@randygentry2724]

This is the second time I have seen an article in Extreme/Tech online Magazine about this issue lately and it answers a lot of questions about the question of a warranty being voided by just opening the case. Those “warranty void if removed” stickers have plagued many a tinkerer over the years, but the FTC said last month that those warnings are illegal. It told six companies, including Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony, to knock that off. The full text of the notices has been revealed, and the FTC isn’t fooling around. It gave the companies 30 days to comply with the law or the agency would pursue “legal action.” The original notices went out to Asus, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Hyundai, and HTC. The FTC believes all six companies are violating some aspect of the 1975 Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which controls what companies can and cannot restrict in a warranty. Specifically, the act states that no product costing more than $5 can have repair limitations in its warranty. That applies even if you have a third-party repair your device or you just want to open it up to blow out the dust. Motherboard got its hands on all six letters through a Freedom of Information Act request. Each one details what’s wrong with the company’s warranty. In some cases, the company threatens to void warranties if certain repair procedures aren’t followed. The most troublesome provision cited by the FTC (and the one that’s gotten the most attention) is the use of warranty stickers. The FTC says you can’t void your warranty by merely removing one of these stickers, which are intended to make sure you haven’t opened up your device. All the companies were given 30 days to fix their warranty issues in the letters dated April 9. So, we’re coming up on the deadline. The FTC letters note that investigators have made copies of the original warranty information on each company’s website and will be comparing that with any new language provided. According to the letters, Microsoft is in hot water for restricting the right of consumers to have third-parties repair their hardware. Meanwhile, Nintendo’s warranty required consumers only to use Nintendo-certified accessories and software. Sony really went for it, designing its warranty to become void if the buyer used non-Sony peripherals or removed the tamper sticker. HTC and Asus had similar provisions to Sony’s. Hyundai required the use of Hyundai parts to keep the warranty intact. These violations probably represent just a tiny fraction of the sketchy warranty terms out there. Hopefully, the FTC follows through on its promise of legal action if the companies don’t comply. That might scare everyone else enough to get in line. Aloha from Maui.

[@daleburrell6273]

7:41...looks like melted insulation on the green wires-(?)

[@12voltvids]

Its not melted.

[@markanderson350]

My uncle called the twisted lead capacitors, gimmick capacitors. Usually used to neutralize the old tubes. They had high interelectrode capacitance and would squeal or have low gain. Good job! hardly had to clean the controls? No alignment?

[@12voltvids]

Mark Anderson It's working fine no alignment. Once it got dark a few shortwave stations started blasting in. The low band is so full of noise. Once fiber is lit up and the dsl connections turned down the noise floor should drop dramatically. I do have a plasma screen I use for digital signage though so that will still throw some noise when it is on.

[@markanderson350]

12voltvids so sad. Am was king way back. It still carries far better than fm. Maybe there was some hope after all. I think a touch up always helps especially the front end.

[@12voltvids]

That's correct, to neutralize the tubes to prevent oscillation

[@12voltvids]

Yes I will probably give it a tune up, and most certainly a "dim bulb" in the cabinet somewhere to guard against anything shorting, causing an over current and subsequent transformer burn.

[@markanderson350]

Does that happen often? I do hear about it. I have an Arvin radio with most of those tubes in it. I did not remember it ever working that well. I think this one is much better engineered but still parts are scarce for something that old.

[@yenal5258]

i`m wishing i was you, it`s amazing for me...

[@bones007able]

Funny to see you work on non solid state for a change....just shows how well these were made back in the day.... lets see how well a chinese radio made today.... looks in 83 years....bet they would all be dust in the wind....

[@officialcanadianshackster]

I Have A Stromberg Carlson Receiver That’s Almost Identical But It’s Pretty Dead I remember being younger And my Grandma who I’m very close with when my step grandfather went out fishing with friends I would hang out at the acreage with grandma and one time we decided to turn it on and it popped and immediately started smoking looking at it years later I realized it was the Rectifier that blew I replaced it but still can’t get nothing

[@12voltvids]

The caps all need to be changed on this beast. Mine works great now.

[@glenngoodale1709]

Totally awesome video 😂😂😂

[@tomdewey9907]

What a hack job on the cap replacements; ever heard of using a tag/terminal strip to mount the new ones?

[@mrrobot6757]

I was more worried about those free floating B+ caps with no heatshrink tubing... glad its not my radio... lolol...

[@douglasmorrison9098]

I can tell youve never worked on these ol dinosaurs but I have and if youve never tried to resolder to one of those old chsis dont say anything its much easier to solder 2 wires back together than it is to try to solder a conection back to that chasis Ive done the same thing he is doing with much more success

[@mrrobot6757]

Douglas Morrison nothing wrong with J hooking at all... it also saves the tube sockets from strain... expecially the wafer types...

[@Synthematix]

Ted Rogers - 321

[@gaelfrenchy]

does it play mp3?

[@plamensimidzhiyski680]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@justincase3880]

Internet noise: POE Ethernet can be a noisy be bear too …

[@12voltvids]

Dsl noise is down big time as they are shutting it all down in favor of fiber to house.

[@waynethompson8416]

A very interesting and informative video! I enjoyed it a lot. It is so good to see someone working on a radio that cares enough to want to make sure it is safe and working properly! I was pleasingly surprised to hear you talking about the "Outside Foil" end of the capacitors! Most people working on these sets have no clue about that! My method of determining that is the same as yours in this video...just using a scope. There is, however, a really cool tool you can build yourself that makes it go a bit faster if you are working on a bunch of them at one time. It is in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJ-1kHeCmZaDeqs Someday I want to build Paul's "Super Probe" to use as well. Check it out in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q4fOe6Snj9eihJI While watching you replace all those capacitors, I found myself "wincing" a lot concerning where and how you did it...not a criticism of your work, a statement of my OCD plight! Even for "normal" people, I imagine that there are more "right ways" to do a thing than there are people doing it! I'm not perfect, and sometimes I fail, but I do try very hard not to "should" on people! I had a thought watching you "repair" the dead light bulb. If you find yourself doing that again, you might consider trying this...it is a bit time consuming, but it would eliminate any worry of the connection breaking. The idea is this...solder the wire to the center pin of the bulb as you did before, but while it is solidifying, mix up some clear epoxy. Place a small amount around the wire on the bulb, let it harden, then proceed as you did before. Just a thought. Wanted to share it with you for whatever it is worth to you (which might be nothing, but that would be ok too!) I suspect I might drive myself crazy working on radios like that...and I do intend to do so, work on them that is, in the near future. With me, though, I "have" to make sure the chassis is super clean, probably would end up taking almost if not all of the thing apart to accomplish that and to clean and lubricate moving parts, the case would have to be not only cleaned, but made to look like new, alignment is an absolute must, etc. You mentioned about people removing the "innards" of the old Electrolytic capacitors and installing new ones inside it. I can't see myself ever doing that. Well, once again, enjoyed your video! And thanks for caring enough to want to make the radio safe and reliable.

[@12voltvids]

The outside foil is overrated. It makes very little difference on modern capacitors because the new ones are a fraction of the size the old paper caps were. Once you have identified the outside foil for a batch the rest in that batch are the same. Again in modern caps it really makes little difference. In the old paper caps it did because the surface area was much larger.

[@waynethompson8416]

@@12voltvids , in the video about "Are You Installing Capacitors Backwards", he showed that in the newer capacitors, there is no set "On this one the OSF is at this end, therefore all the rest are the same." In fact, he showed the fact that in a batch he had of the exact same capacitor value, there was no set "this end" is the OSF end. The video also showed, using an oscilloscope, that there was a marked difference even in new capacitors, based on whether the OSF end was to the low impedance side of the circuit or not. As to whether that matters, it is up to the person doing the work to decide. To you there is no problem, and that is fine. For me, I prefer to check and make sure the OSF end is at the low impedance side of the circuit. By the way, I forgot to mention before, I could hear your cat in the background...I LOVE CATS!!!

[@12voltvids]

Yes I am aware there is no set rule. When I buy caps I grade them all at once and generally mark with a black sharpie the outside foil side of it is on the right side. If it is the left I don't mark it, because nobody but me is going to be using them. So if I see no mark it is left side (label facing me of course) and if it is marked it is the right side. Most of the time they are all the same. I don't do the number of antique restorations that Paul does. He loves his old tube stuff, I am more of a solid state guy. I like tubes for one thing. Audio amplifiers, and I collect old radios and clocks. Just added a monster grandfather clock to my collection. The thing is so big it barely fits in the room and I have 9 foot ceilings. That's 2 grandfather clocks now, and a half dozen old battery powered and ac powered mechanical clocks going back as far as the 30's. I sure hope they scrap daylight saving time so I can set them all once and forget about them.