Dial-string nightmare, and AM testing. Grundig 2140 restoration - part 4

[@maartenschapendonk6345]

I'm glad my wife has the patience to do the re-stringing

[@electronicsoldandnew]

I haven’t trained mine yet 😊

[@bofor3948]

Patience is rewarded. Nice job. Had to laugh when you said "Swear challenge time" I was at that point just thinking "Knit one, Purl one and Swear one"

[@electronicsoldandnew]

😊

[@joseasa]

Hi It's a pleasure to find another fellow in Portugal that loves electronics and tube radios. Dial strings it's any ones's nightmare, and years back when I visit the Philips factory at Ovar and the Grundig one at Braga, I was marveled with the skill of the girls that put the string, in some of the most infamous and difficult radios to repair and service. They did that in under a minute, I learn some tricks too , but still I usually spend a lot of time struggling with it, every time I do have to change a string. Good job Mr. Madeira !

[@electronicsoldandnew]

Thanks José. Abraço

[@obed2001]

I restored a Grundig model 97 USA (exact chassis as yours) beginning 2 years ago. I had the same issues (stuck FM tuner, dial strings, electrolytics, capacitors), but I had to heat the FM tuning condenser to get it to turn and broke one of the solder joints in the process. During its 6 hour test run in, it performed beautifully. Feeling confident, I left the room and it went silent. It took me an entire year!!! to discover what you found in minutes, the R20 capacitor had opened up. That fixed, this radio sounds amazing and is an FM beast. This radio and a Blaupunkt Barcelona 3D are my daily drivers.

[@electronicsoldandnew]

Yes, some of those faults are really touch to find. Well done.

[@lupojacobo9892]

Always a pleasure to watch this channel content 👌

[@electronicsoldandnew]

👍

[@johnburns6422]

At the Philips plant in Ireland back in the early 1960a about 25 valve radios per hour were strung , portable radios 38/to 40 per hour ,those girls worked dog boon hard . You are a very patient person and one with real Talent ,

[@electronicsoldandnew]

Thanks 😊

[@dl7majstefan753]

I admire your patience with the strings. That´s why i prefer a digital display.

[@electronicsoldandnew]

😊 I agree. Much neater.

[@ricardoaliasdelatorre6836]

Good night Manuel : I take note the nice tricks (tape bits..), always hear comments yours and other you tube videos about "sewing" in the inner's chassis, and like 7 1/2 card game "once you get short other you pass..."dammned..really a sweat nightmare.But another point at your score, great manuel.

[@electronicsoldandnew]

Thanks 😊

[@boriskolev9513]

Very nice video as always

[@electronicsoldandnew]

Thanks

[@Radiocruncher]

My worst nightmare that Manuel. Very well done sorting it especially on camera. That one looked tricky. Cheers Graham

[@electronicsoldandnew]

The camera part makes it really tough. Had to cut a lot of expletives from the video 😊 my cat learnt a few words he’s not used to 😊

[@Radiocruncher]

@@electronicsoldandnew 🤣🤣

[@radiotvrepair1059]

Thanks for big work that you share

[@electronicsoldandnew]

My pleasure

[@sanderson9515]

Very entertaining, Manuel ! Don't get too strung out .... -- Steve

[@electronicsoldandnew]

😊

[@fredflintstone8048]

Dial strings are an IQ puzzle. A good diagram for the particular radio model is a big help.

[@electronicsoldandnew]

👍

[@mackfisher4487]

I feel your pain, cut the dam resistor rather than reworking the cord. The beauty of restoring a Braun radio it has no dial cords, that's one of the radios that are selling for more money used then new. Manuel Great job of documenting the restring with diagrams for future posterity.

[@electronicsoldandnew]

Thanks Mack.

[@kenf8563]

Informative video, I can't imagine anyone enjoying stringing a radio. I recommend losing the 3 in 1 oil and the WD 40, use a very light synthetic oil, it's used on turntables, tape decks etc. and it actually cleans as it lubricates.

[@electronicsoldandnew]

👍

[@goodun2974]

Heating the frozen spindle bearing with a soldering iron or hot-air pencil *before* applying lubricant or penetrating oil is helpful ---- heating it drives out air and creates a small vacuum which will help pull the penetrating oil back into the junction as it cools. Be sure to put something over the plastic pulley and dial string so that a spastic movement of the hot air pencil or soldering iron doesn't melt them. I wouldn't use WD40 anyway. As penetrating oils go it's really not very good.

[@electronicsoldandnew]

That’s a good method too. I didn’t think of that with this one as it was moving a little, but would have been easier, I’m sure.

[@goodun2974]

@@electronicsoldandnew , I have freed up frozen rotary selector switches on dynaco preamps and Hickok tube testers using the heat and penetrating oil method, plus a pair of vise grips to grab the metal shaft and turn it. Just be careful not to saturate the wafers of the rotary switches with oil or contact cleaner because you don't want to risk making them conductive, especially on a tube tester.

[@electronicsoldandnew]

👍

[@erikdenhouter]

I often use that warming technique, it also works for epoxy which will go water fluid after short warming, and then when cooling the shrinking air will pull the stuf in every pore. You only need to contain the epoxy, because it really runs out.

[@electronicsoldandnew]

👍

[@geirendre]

Excellent work Manuel. Good to see that you have come to enjoy dial stringing you too 😄 One way to loosen those stuck tuning caps is to carefully heat the axel with a heatgun. Just cover the plastic wheel etc if you don't feel lucky... I prefere to get it to turn just so it reaches one end of it's travel, and then remove the axel there. It's usually held in place with just one C-clip on the inside. Then I can clean it for old grease and relubricate it again. Then it runs really easy and smooth.

[@electronicsoldandnew]

Thanks 🙏

[@heinz8770]

We all hate restringing 😅 But You did it well !

[@electronicsoldandnew]

👍

[@bchdsailor]

I use a bit of heat, electronics cleaner, some more heat and finally some thin oil (CRC 2-26 is also usable

[@electronicsoldandnew]

👍

[@douro20]

Or Tri-Flow Industrial Lubricant, if you don't mind the smell. It doesn't hurt plastics. I use it in electric clock motors.

[@goodun2974]

Heat will drive out the air in the spindle bearing and create a small vacuum that helps suck the penetrating oil back in when the junction cools.

[@electronicsoldandnew]

👍

[@goodun2974]

I heard the string go "ping" and pop when you were turning the pulley. I recommend against using regular 3 In 1 oil because it slowly polymerizes and thickens upon exposure to air. They make a special motor bearing lubricant that is more appropriate for this type of use. Almost any synthetic automotive oil will also work.

[@electronicsoldandnew]

👍 I also heard it when I looked back at the video. At the time I didn’t hear anything.

[@dirkk792]

Manuel... I know this problem with the sticking variable condensor ... I use my soldering iron...i heat the busching ..make ik very hot , then like you, use WD40 en turn from left to right .The problem is the grease that"s becomes solid, so if you heat it with the tip of the soldering iron this grease becomes liquid again..done it many times...works every time ! Greetings from Belgium.

[@electronicsoldandnew]

Thanks Dirk 👍

[@paulbennell3313]

That's moved along a fair bit in just this one episode.

[@electronicsoldandnew]

👍

[@raysar6912]

Hello- thanks for the video- What is the diameter of the string you used? Thanks

[@electronicsoldandnew]

Can’t remember, but it’s not too critical.

[@carloscarvalho5366]

Aprecio bastante a qualidade do teu trabalho e a paciência/prazer com que o fazes. Tenho que agradecer a abordagem didática e a tua generosidade em partilhar. Tenho reparado que usas uma proteção para não danificar o tampo da mesa. Tenho experimentado várias soluções mas o resultado não tem sido satisfatório. Podes dizer que tipo de material usas para protecção do tampo da mesa? Obrigado.

[@electronicsoldandnew]

É um tipo de silicone, mas não muito resistente ao calor. Compro em rolo de 1.5m (60cm de largura) na Leroy Merlin ou na maxmat por cerca de €5. Corto em duas metades e substituo de vez em quanto.

[@carloscarvalho5366]

@@electronicsoldandnew Fico agradecido pela tua amabilidade e resposta rápida. Boas Festas.

[@dirkk792]

Manu...another remark..i have told you before ...Buy some Hirschmann flexible testclamps..they are very handy for grabbing the wire . I have bee using these for many years now every time a have to do a dial string..believe me...try!

[@electronicsoldandnew]

👍

[@Martin-io4wc]

Brutal!

[@constantincalota2646]

Hello! I own this model. It works very well on AM, FM, LW, but very poor on Short Wave. It receives transmissions, but the signal is weak, even with good antenna. Which could be the cause? Thank you!

[@tubeDude48]

An explanation of some of those weird sounds are explained by: Ringway Manchester

[@ralphmans]

Who and why in the world do they make the dial cord so darn difficult to install? How is this done in production I’d like to know.

[@electronicsoldandnew]

Jose mentions having seen ladies do it in very short time. I guess practice makes perfect 😊

[@mchavez56]

I'm suffering through a Telefunken jubilate 105 ...i feel your pain.

[@electronicsoldandnew]

😊

[@kwacz]

where did you get the dial cord from. Every time I buy dial cord it stretches like a rubber band and I have to keep stretching it and shortening it. It takes me forever to keep doing this. Eventually when I get it tight enough it works fine but the initial stretching is aggravating and makes some configurations impossible. I don't think I'm getting dial cord but probably something else being sold as dial cord.

[@electronicsoldandnew]

I’ve got a lot of it that a viewer sent me, so don’t know where you’d buy it these days. However, I normally stretched it overnight before using it, and the problem of stretching goes away.

[@DavidTipton101]

I don't mind re-stringing, having said that I haven't done on of these European radios yet, my enthusiasm might wane slightly when I do 🙂

[@electronicsoldandnew]

It’s only difficult the first time … three hours or so 😊

[@DavidTipton101]

@@electronicsoldandnew 😄🙂

[@PatrickClutch]

I always wondered how long it took during the production stage :) 30 sec? :)

[@electronicsoldandnew]

Probably 😊

[@garypamflett2150]

i know the feeling restringing . patients needed :)

[@electronicsoldandnew]

Always in short supply 😊

[@fenech97]

It's a very difficult job to do the dial-cord on a radio. I usually succeed, but like you said, it may take some swearing, in colour too.

[@electronicsoldandnew]

👍

[@EsotericArctos]

WD40 is good and bad at the same time, great for freeing something up, but horrible as a long term lubricant. I like that you made the point of saying you use WD40, then you wash it out with isopropyl then relubricate with a proper oil. I've seen some just use WD40 and not a proper lubricant and when the WD40 drys, it just gums everything up so badly :(.

[@electronicsoldandnew]

Agreed. Always best to wash it away when it’s done it’s job.

[@Michlag]

Manuel Dr. Caldeira, we need badly and urgently from you a video where the alignment of a tube stereo decoder is performed. Then i think all the topics in tube radio technology will have be addressed. Yes i know, those are harder to find, but still... Come on, i know that for Christmas you wish yourself a Grundig RT50, isn't it? :D

[@electronicsoldandnew]

I sure do 😊 hopefully Santa will decide I’ve been a good boy this year.

[@Michlag]

@@electronicsoldandnew are you repairing radios in this very moment? (POR-SUI 5-1) ?

[@electronicsoldandnew]

No way!!!!

[@Michlag]

@@electronicsoldandnew neither measuring tubes? ;)

[@electronicsoldandnew]

I’m not much into football, but always watch the national team’s efforts, usually with trepidation. This time it’s like they’ve had extra spinach 😊

[@matambale]

Funny thing about dial re-stringing. It either goes on immediately, or it really does NOT.

[@electronicsoldandnew]

True. And in my case it’s usually the latter 😊

[@matambale]

@@electronicsoldandnew I have been lucky on a re-string exactly once. I should have bought a lottery ticket, that day.

[@electronicsoldandnew]

😊

[@tubeDude48]

Manuel, if you can get it, try some *Tri-Flow.* much better than WD-40! Ya, I hate dial-strings as well !!

[@electronicsoldandnew]

👍

[@wilburpetersen4426]

𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘮 💃