Electronic Restoration- 1947 Belmont Radio Receiver 5D128

[@MrCarlsonsLab]

To learn more about electronics in a very different and effective way, and gain access to Mr Carlson's personal designs and inventions, visit the Mr Carlson's Lab Patreon page here: www.patreon.com/MrCarlsonsLab

[@TheDrunkenMug]

You just made my afternoon, came home from a long day at work. Opened KZbin, new restoration by MCL pops up. I couldnt be more happy. Thanks Paul !

[@MrCarlsonsLab]

Glad you're enjoying!

[@faxcapper]

This radio and I share a birth year!!! :-) The radio may be in better shape. :-)

[@TheDrunkenMug]

@@MrCarlsonsLab watching your explanations and tutorials is more than just enjoying to me, it's inspiring ! I want to restore old tube radio's myself too because of all the great things I saw on your channel. A few 1930's - 1950's european radio's and a few ZENITH series sets. The ones with dodgy rubber-isolation on the (factory stock) wiring. So i got my work cut out for me, haha :) That's why I am in the middle of setting up my very own 'old time workbench' .. It will be consisting mainly out of Heathkit test-equipment and PACO and BK-precision. Proud to be one of your Patreons. Take care, Best regards

[@cjay2]

@Surge Power Technologies If one of the pins is common with the case, and if the pins are in a straight line, then the remaining three pins can be tested with an ohmmeter to find the Base. The Collector would be one of the two remaining pins farthest from the Base. The Emitter would be the last pin. If the pins are in a diamond shape, then if you can find the Base pin, then the old transistors usually put the Collector to the right and down.

[@JerryEricsson]

You know today's young folks have no idea of the importance of those old AM only radios back in their day. Having grown up on a small farm some 25 miles from the nearest town over roads that, on a good day were thought at one time to have had a bit of gravel on them, in an area so remote that electrical power, while available on the pole that went past the farm was never brought to the house. Old battery pack radios were it! They were what the television became, they were our internet, our access to the outside, they were our entertainment system, they were the door to the theater of the mind. I can still remember some of the old shows that we used to listen to in that darkened living room, the kerosene lamp in the kitchen furnishing the only illumination as it filtered through the door. Now to see one of those amazing machines brought back to life is, well a trip into the past. Thanks, your rebuilds are always so complete and the care you take in restoring these old fellows, well it is a testament to your love of those old days when things were so very different. God how I miss those days.

[@MrCarlsonsLab]

You and me both Jerry. Thanks for taking the time to write, and your kind comment too!

[@touieg1211]

Okay, Boomer.

[@oskarsundell1962]

@@touieg1211 That was inappropriate. I was born in the mid-nineties and in my mothers summer homer/cottage we didn't have any electricity. We had a radio that ran on batteries in the kitchen and a mobile phone installed in the car. We had kerosene lamps for lighting and water we got from our well. That's how we lived our lives for about two months every year from the late 1990´s to the mid 2000´s and no one complained. Best summers ever!

[@touieg1211]

@@oskarsundell1962 k.

[@woodywoodlstein9519]

Jerry Ericsson even though i grew up in a suburb in the 70s n 80s. my radios were my escape aswell. if i had to choose between radio or tv. id pick my am radio . it just affirmed civilization to me kept me company.

[@CopeCory]

Thank you for opening a new area of learning for me. I’ve built and flown airplanes, learned how to repair and actually make clocks, built computers, built and wired my hangar, built and flown model airplanes, learned and built telescopes, but never had a chance to delve into your world. Thank you for sharing your passion with us all. You are contagious, in the best way. I bought a variac, isolation transformer with current limiting, and have started with tube AM radios. I love the Atomic era stuff.....future and past at one time. Please keep up the wonderful videos and great explanations. May your electrons always be positive!!!

[@BruceNitroxpro]

Frosty Arnold , Electrons will always be negative. If a positron arrives... THEN THAT will be equal in charge, but positive.

[@bobking7347]

@@BruceNitroxpro smartass, uou knew what he meant

[@lkurowic]

I have been an electronics tech 40 years now. I started out in TV/radio service decades ago and even though those days are long gone I still miss them. Thank you for an excellent video.

[@c6549_ya]

That radio is a really nice piece. I appreciate your attention to detail. I worked on countless units like this when I was growing up. I learned early that a plastic I.F. alignment tool was a good thing. I didn't have a scope back then so I would just tune to a station around 1000 Kc and adjust for maximum volume. The scope method is obviously better. I thoroughly enjoyed witnessing how it should be done. Thank you!

[@jimbogusky]

I took vocational technical school electronics in high school. My instructor was very old school and insisted that we learn vacuum tubes and how to use a slide rule, I'm so glad he did! I've had an interest in 1960s-70s car radios for many decades, but never from a component level. A few years ago I heard a Marshall tube amp at a small concert, ever since I have fallen in love with tube amps! A few weeks ago my wife mentioned that it would be cool to have an old stereo console in our guest bedroom. Now I'm in search of a tube amp stereo console, and even if it works I will HAVE TO fine tune it. lol This vid and your tube 101 vid was a perfect refresher on electronics that I can apply to solid state electronics as well. Thank you!

[@SuperFredAZ]

I am glad you bring up the need for isolation transformer. Anyone intending to work on these old receivers, should invest in an isolation transformer as you suggest. That should be the very first piece of equipment they buy.

[@hestheMaster]

I learned more about the correct procedure on tuning a tube radio from this one video than watching hours of Jim Lindenas videos. Ouch. Mr. Carlson is definitely a great teacher on early electronics and shows even a beginner how to do things right including putting safety into a AA5 radio. It's no wonder I have watched so many of his videos. Always something good to learn here, thank you!

[@coffindancer38]

Really enjoy your show. My dad was a dedicated ham radio operator. I grew up with tune radios. He had big wooden radios and told me in no uncertain terms, that tubes sound better! Loool he was correct! Later he got his first class radio telephone license and became cheif engineer at a radio/tv station. I play guitar and bass, and wont ever play without at least a preamp tube in the signal path. Best sounding bass amp ive ever owned is my Mesa Boogie Walkabout Scout. Its a true combo with fully cased removeable amp. It has 2 12ax7's, and sounds fabulous!!! I also have a 50's heathkit mono hi fi amp. 2 6L6, with tube rectifier. original mullard preamp tubes. After watching you, i think i need to recap it, even though nothing is leaky or cracked. Great show!!

[@iaroslavblagouchine7007]

*Very professional work, thank you!* It is really great that you still have AM stations in Canada and US. In Russia, AM broadcasting on LW was officially closed in 2014, and there is actually only one station in MW band at 828 kHz (at least, near St. Petersburg). I also like to restore old radios, but since AM bands are almost closed in Russia, such a complicated work has practically no sense.. In contrast, in Europe, there still are a lot of AM stations, even on LW (BBC at 198 kHz, RMC at 216 kHz, Polskie Radio Program at 225 kHz, etc).

[@rca2249]

I love your videos. i wish I could find someone with your skill and attention to detail locally.I have a few radios I need electrically restored but experience has shown me the most important step in getting a radio restored is finding the right technician.

[@MrJbeckettjr]

Another great video. I really enjoy seeing you restore old electronics. Preserving these old relics is important in these throw-away times. If I had the room and test equipment, I would enjoy restoring some vintage radios myself. You have reawakened my interest in electronics. Thank you!

[@AssignmentUniverse]

Very nice tutorial. Clear and concise. Much appreciated.

[@greggaieck4808]

MR Carlson your Belmont Radio River D128 From 1947 is cool

[@terryblackman6217]

Thank you so much for your videos, I am learning a great deal from them. You have a very relaxing way of explaining things.

[@MrCarlsonsLab]

You're very welcome Terry!

[@alphabeets]

This is the best vintage electronics repair channel on KZbin. Very well done as always.

[@American_Jeeper]

Paul, there is something incredibly relaxing about watching your videos. Maybe it's because my Dad was an engineer at Westinghouse, and he had a work area in our basement. I remember sitting there watching him work on different projects and found it fascinating. Your videos remind me of him and, funny enough, his name was Paul too.

[@MrCarlsonsLab]

Thanks for sharing your story Frederic!

[@LarryDeSilva64]

Very nice clean all american 5 radio Paul. Thanks for sharing your expetise.

[@MrCarlsonsLab]

You're welcome Larry.

[@BigEightiesNewWave]

This guy is one-of-a-kind. Such quality/expertise here.

[@bsvenss2]

What a beautiful little radio receiver. 🤗

[@rosshollinger8097]

I'm always amazed at your level of knowledge. I learn something on every video.

[@mattsmith2992]

Would love to listen to Baseball games and talk radio in the evening. What a treat !

[@blickarthurlawrence5261]

Great lesson Mr carlson, thank you very much

[@MrCarlsonsLab]

My pleasure!

[@greggaieck4808]

Mr Carlson the radio chassis look like new that's so awesome

[@AmRadPodcast]

Makes me want to restore my old FADA radio. Nicely done.

[@MrCarlsonsLab]

Thanks. FADA's are very desirable radios!

[@Puggy1234ful]

I used to work on radios like that in a local repair shop when I was a kid ,. I am now 84

[@BruceNitroxpro]

Robert Harrington , And I'm ONLY 79. It is fitting to have someone young telling our story here. de KQ2E

[@Puggy1234ful]

It's nice to hear from the younger generation. glad to hear from you bruce

[@Puggy1234ful]

Thank you for your well wishes.I@Tushar Kashyap

[@Puggy1234ful]

It is an interesting subject. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I wish you good luck@@domi7007

[@domi7007]

@@Puggy1234ful Thank you very much Robert, i wish you the best too!

[@electronic7979]

Excellent restoration 👍

[@richc47us]

Wonderful restoration and educational video!

[@tedwalker1370]

You definitely no your stuff. I never new there was so much to those old radios. So glad someone is saving those radios.

[@PokéDude83]

Sir I have watched many of your videos. And l got to say that I have the utmost respect for you.

[@malcolmdastur4411]

Now this is a really good radio repair video. Thank you Mr Carlson.

[@MrCarlsonsLab]

You're very welcome!

[@anotheruser9876]

That was awesome, especially all the AM stations one still can receive over the air.

[@steelcity321pb6]

Can someone help me out here! What do a minority of people see sufficiently wrong in what is an excellent video produced by Mr Paul Carlson to give him a thumbs down. I personally fail to see blemishes in this video that they presumably have seen. Another informative, and well crafted video Paul. Whilst you continue to produce such video, I for one will continue to watch them - thank you my friend. Regards Phil.

[@ethelryan257]

Oh, that's easy. Paul is cute and competent and we all check for his videos every day. The downvotes are from jealous little boys living in their mom's basement, still in their 30s.

[@cjay2]

There exist trolls and other contrary persons who've nothing better to do. Simple.

[@wa4aos]

Hi Paul, I really enjoy your videos. I live in SC and you are in Canada so there may be some differences in humidity. However, even Allen Bradley resistors are often high in value do to moisture invasion over time. I have a large inventory of NOS AB's in inventory and they read high and well out of spec mostly. I have found if I leave them in a food dehydrator for a day, they do dry out and fall back into spec very nicely. When I get ready to restore a receiver, I check the DUT to see which ones are really out, then pull replacements from inventory and treat them to 24 hours in the Food Dehydrator. ( SLOW LOW DRY HEAT ) I suspect many of the R's I pull from DUT's would be OK if I treated them as well but I consider they have done their duty and need to retire. You never know about old used parts. One other point, When I have a bad filter can and replace it with caps under deck, I pull the can and leave this hole. If I have have a rubber grommet in stock near the right size, I'll install it to kind of dress up the area. My thinking is the hole will allow some of the heat under deck to vent. Any thoughts? 73, Glenn WA4AOS Patrion member

[@SenileOtaku]

"yes, someone was in here and screwdrivered this..." (/me looks the other way...) What, me? (cluelessly fiddling with radios in the 1970's)

[@W1RMD]

Lots of equipment has sacrificed it's lives in the name of my education!

[@rotaxtwin]

Nice clean find, glad you were able to save it.

[@Piltdownpaul]

Well that sounds fantastic, superb restore.....

[@GadgetUK164]

Excellent job =D Wonderful restoration!

[@tedvanmatje]

You're a dark horse mate....didn't know that you were into the 'dark arts' (aka tubes, lol) Was just about to pop over to your channel and catch up on your projects. Hope that all's well at your end and that things are looking up? Right then. Time to go and watch some Amiga stuff :)

[@dbeaumontresident847]

That's a pretty looking radio!

[@TheRadioShop]

Beautiful classic you have there Paul. Really nice. You did an outstanding job on the restore, but I do not have to tell you that :p Always a pleasure.

[@graemebrumfitt6668]

A bit of Mr Carlson's Lab with my dinner, do mind if I don't. Some strong signals in there Paul. TFS, G :)

[@gregoryclemen1870]

I have incorporated a "CL 90 THERMISTOR" in all of the radios that I work on now. the thermistor is wired in series with the tube heater circuit for soft starting ,and cutting down on heater burn out of the low voltage tubes on start up.

[@michaelmace924]

Dude, I absolutely love watching you bring old radio equipment back from the dead. I enjoy watching a Craftsman work, it's so satisfying. I would love to build my own radio using technology from the 40s. If you see this comment, do you think you could maybe send me a link to what I would need tool wise to build something like that, or a list? I don't think I would need much in the way of tools but I would definitely need access to some blueprints schematics etc. Please help? Lol thanks a lot in advance

[@derofromdown-under2832]

An excellent presentation Paul... WELL DONE!!! 10/10

[@greggaieck4808]

Mr Carlsan I like the color of the radio cabinet off white that's cool

[@1959Berre]

Art deco, the most beautiful style period in technology and furniture design. The "sun ray" dial plate seems to be in perfect condition.

[@HammyTechnoid]

DX listeneing.. oh wow.. memories. When I was a kid, I'd grab our AM radio at night and listen to Chicago. I lived in a town 30 miles east of Pittsburgh PA, so Chicago was way far way. They had a show that played Beatles music (fairly new back then) for an hour and a half. I would have my little rim drive 3 1/4in. reel to reel tape recorder and hold the little ceramic mic up to the speaker and record those songs. Incredible.

[@kraig8812]

I have some friends from Pittsburgh that like this kind of stuff.

[@wimseffelaar8950]

I’m so glad I found your channel! I like how you work and explain the repairs. Thank you Sir from the UK

[@oldergoy]

Great video Paul it is great to have you back again and what a beautiful radio to restore. John ve7ban

[@MrCarlsonsLab]

Thanks John!

[@jamesplotkin4674]

Your channel so deserves to have 1M+ subs. It's that good!

[@Denvermorgan2000]

I really enjoy your work its top notch.

[@greggaieck4808]

Mr Carlson the radio cabinet is in good condition and looks like new

[@robertcalkjr.8325]

Thanks, Paul! That is a nice little radio.

[@MrCarlsonsLab]

Thanks Robert!

[@lurkersmith810]

The cool thing about those old AM radios is they were made to be serviced with minimal equipment, so you don't even need a scope (or extremely accurate oscillator for that matter) to align them. Back in the day, before frequency counters, you'd set your oscillator to point to (typically) 455KC on the dial, (which was close enough) and either use a voltmeter to measure the output or peak by ear. (Really accurate equipment was way too expensive back then for the average radio repair person.) For dial alignment, if you could find a station close to the target frequency, it was more accurate to align by that than your oscillator. So, learn basic electronics, get an old basic RF oscillator and you can work on these old radios without having a "Mr. Carlson's" style lab!

[@justinidiot7161]

I like your channel. Just subscribed. I only waited to be sure it was active. All the videos recommended have been over a year old. This new one popped up & I subscribed. Nice work!!!

[@TheDrunkenMug]

Hey welcome to the channel. MCL (Mr Carlson's Lab) is a GREAT place for learning and enjoying electronics, old and new. Be sure to check out the video's on the big AM broadcast-station transmitter he has standing in his lab. That thing is absolutly bannana's :D Oh, and the series of video's about the 'Supreme Vedolyzer' is very, very, very cool. :) Greetings, Raoul

[@larrydaniels6532]

I now have the desire to buy an oscilloscope, great video!

[@Me11oIngenuity]

I have a Wards Airline that's identical, right down to the dial window sunburst look. This was a great vid for me to do mine! Thank you!

[@greggaieck4808]

Mr Carlson verv good sensitivity

[@PhG1961]

Excellent video and very well explained. Although your videos are long I watch untill the end !

[@nickblackburn1903]

Thanks for the video, this was definitely your best one so far, very clear and informative. Lovely Radio there.

[@BigDaddy_MRI]

What a great video!! Thank you, Mr. Carlson!!

[@Tipperary84]

New subscriber love these kind of videos well done

[@thehoovie]

Just wanted to say I really enjoy your video uploads. I rarely comment on KZbin, just because I don't comment doesn't mean I don't like your content.

[@MrCarlsonsLab]

Thanks for taking the time, your comment is appreciated!

[@BigEightiesNewWave]

Work of art wow....museum piece.

[@chefbink61]

Another great vid!!! Thanks for sharing.

[@LoftechUK]

Brilliant video. Amazing and great coverage of radio restoration

[@dannyfreitas2120]

that is so clean assume Dan

[@franklynpolster8949]

Reminds me of the 1940 G.E. radios with feather touch tuning also with pre-sets.

[@billyeast6819]

Always a greatly informative video

[@seeitpickitbinit2510]

My late father had a 50’s Murphy valve job restored to perfect working condition. Whilst it waiting to be used, I trod on the mains lead, smashing it to pieces. It still sits in my shed, it probably might work, but the case was beyond repair. So embarrassed by my clumsiness🙈🤦‍♂️😢😳♥️

[@PapiDoesIt]

I learned a lot about capacitors! thank you.

[@WolfgangMahringer]

Wow, what a nice looking radio! Great work!

[@a1wireless1964]

Very nice resto on that radio, only thing is the power cord from that era would not have been cloth covered cloth covered was more from the 1930s and by the time period from that radio the court would have been rubber.

[@neville132bbk]

Looks like a beautiful late model Bakelite or similar model. My beautiful and heavy wooden cased made in NZ Columbus needs at least a particular valve replacement..but they aren't cheap.....and with the radio running on 230v, safety is important.

[@harrystevens3885]

Tell you what it would have been nice to see the Belmont next to that Silvertone Radio chrome finished death trap to show how isolation should be done........Great video that somebody I know needs to watch....:):)

[@SDS-1]

I love your vids so so much. I learn all the time. It's just hard to finish sometimes cause your voice is relaxing like Bob Ross. Keep up the good work!!!!!!!😀😀😀🤗

[@ambetanterix]

This radio and myself have the same age !

[@johnsimms3957]

Good job! And very educational.

[@yokiniqu]

Subscribed, love your videos.

[@DustanWebb]

Another great video!

[@spymaine89]

wonderful, i will never do, but great to know others do.

[@andrewstewart8704]

Love your Vids Mr Carlson 👍😊 Your knowledge and vids are amazing! Hello from sydney Australia 😊

[@fredfeldmeier8228]

Wonderful as always.. Thank you Mr Carlson.. ur the best indeed.. no doubt about it.!!👈😎👌

[@I967]

Absolutely excellent content.

[@MrCarlsonsLab]

Thanks!

[@tomjones239]

I wish I lived near you so I could beg you to properly align my cheap analog AM radios for the best performance. I had to return a Sony ICFP36 I bought recently due to poor reception. I bought the P26 version and even though it`s a very inexpensive and small radio with a tiny ferrite antenna it works surprisingly well on AM. The P36 has the exact same circuit but it was weak. The replacement I got today is much better but still not nearly as good as the better aligned one I have. I have better digital radios for AM but I bought the Sony true analog radios because battery life is over 100 hours and I wanted them for emergency purposes for hurricanes/tornadoes or in case this virus shuts things down nationally. Plus, true analog radios are extremely rare and the more common DSP radios don`t tune the same and have "soft mute" that causes havoc with fading nighttime stations by muting the signal when it becomes weak. AH...modern technology! Us AM DXers don`t like it! Your videos are fascinating and I share them with others on the internet! I can imagine myself as a radio repairman in days gone by....

[@videopreview756]

Wonderful job! I would have liked to have seen if the radio was actually working at all before the restoration. It would also have been interesting to see if the 73 year old caps were still anywhere close to spec? I'm always wondering how long components last. I'll bet the new electrolytics, as good as they are, will dry out a lot sooner than those old paper caps failed? What do you think? A real treasure! Thanks for the video!

[@gerardcarriera7052]

As always, a great, informative video.

[@m.k.8158]

It's interesting that Belmont put that resistor in series with the tube heaters:normally, on an AA5, the heaters are directly across the line-the heater voltages add up to 121 volts, so no resistor needed. Of course, as line voltage tends to be higher than it used to be, the resistor is not a bad idea-the radio's performance should not be affected much, and the tubes should last longer.

[@cjay2]

Yeah, I noticed that as well. 10 ohms in series there. Strange. If the filament string were 0 ohms cold at startup, it would pull 12 amps. Clearly the cold filaments must have way more resistance cold, so the 10 ohms seems useless. It probably is cold-current-limiting anyway.

[@1977Bonishow-man]

Great job, keep it up !

[@SuperMeganw]

Very good Video From GARY IN THE UK 73.

[@lowdog2121]

Your restoration videos are great! Could you give some tips on replacing dial cords (strings?)

[@charlesdorval394]

Great work as always ! I have to admit, I'm a bit disappointed that we didn't get a money shot of how the preset mechanism worked mechanically inside, but then the part of the public interested in this must be pretty limited hehehe

[@MrCarlsonsLab]

Hi Charles. I did another Belmont restoration some time back, the preset mechanism is shown in that video.

[@charlesdorval394]

@@MrCarlsonsLab Oh, wonderful! Tthat's probably why I had a vague idea on how it's probably working hehehe Thanks for the reply, I'll go watch that again

[@annierenard5954]

very good video thank you

[@MrCarlsonsLab]

You're welcome Annie, glad you enjoyed!

[@pipesmokercowboychris]

Very cool. I'm just created a Patreon account and looking at joining you. I'm wanting to learn on how to repair electronics like radios. Ham, CB and other radio communications. I lack troubleshooting. I know a bit of simple troubleshooting and that's it..

[@HappyQuailsLC]

Unworkable Fixative spray is helpful for old paper speaker cones

[@orange70383]

I'd love to see you tackle one of the 1950's/60's big German table top radios. A big Saba, Blaupunkt, Emud, Telefunken or the like, I've got 3 of them that I'm half afraid to touch because they just seem so different from good ol' AA5's.

[@bobr.6312]

I noticed that one of the components under the cabinet was made by 'DuMont'...As in DuMont TV Network and DuMont TVs...we had one in the 1950s...no longer sadly...It was almost the 4th network.

[@nickjarman2783]

Nick Jarman Recently found your channel and enjoy it immensely. I have come to own my fathers Halicrafters S-38B since he passed last year. I would love to have someone with your thoroughness and skillset to bring it back to working order.Do you perform such repairs for subscribers?

[@jma8352]

excellent work!!

[@ke4est]

Awesome restoration as usual! 73, KE4EST