Ford Zenith Tube Car Radio Diagnosis to Repair Quarantine Video

[@sircube5917]

Hello Shango, I'm a young technician from Italy, I found your channel while searching for vintage electronics information and found a gold mine. Once, a teacher said to me: you could be the best on your field, but if you are an empty person you will be a shitty technician. Your random thoughts about life, society and explorations (not to mention your knowledge in the field) make me really think about those words. Thanks as always for the things that you share with the world!

[@shango066]

True but it's not without its struggles. There are plenty out there that think anything but plain white bread and a glass of water is wrong and become offended and irritated. Keep it up we need more Young techs into vintage stuff

[@sircube5917]

@@shango066 Yes, I agree... I will, thanks!

[@shango066]

@Pat Luxor Coby is price for a noble iconizer burglar so I'm not quite sure what your dish ran on Marshall animal bleibel myshare is

[@asbestomolesto]

Same here, from a fellow italian! You said it all.

[@georgegonzalez2476]

The two washers are supposed to be bolted to the chassis with mica washers. A primitive form of low-inductance bypass capacitors. You can replace them with 0.05uF disk ceramics with short leads.

[@Derundurel]

That's an interesting idea. I'm not sure I would have thought of that.

[@JCWise-sf9ww]

The Two Washers with the power wires soldered to them, is known as the spark capacitor, to filter the noise from the DC generator and ignition electricals in the car of that era.

[@georgegonzalez2476]

@@Derundurel Yeah, I'm kinda puzzled by it too as good bypass capacitors were available then Perhaps it was just tradition or maybe washers and bolts and mica were cheaper?? Not sure.

[@coptertim]

I remember turning on the AM radio in my dad's new 58 Roadmaster at night. The dash and headlights would dim until the tubes warmed up. I loved hitting the scan bar, turing on a motor to drive the tuner around the dial looking for stations, too cool! I also remember the vacuum powered wipers stopping when he hit the gas. A luxury car from a different world.

[@jwl9286]

I'm in Virginia and doubt I'll ever visit LA. I enjoyed the night tour of Whites Point. Looked it up on Google and followed along as you commented. I'll watch every video you make of the LA area, especially your comments. Tons of history for sure. Thanks. Of course the car radio was neat too.

[@pghcoyote]

And actually digging out the pictures mentioned. Thanks, Shango! I didn't expect to see them!

[@Martin4982]

Can't wait for Shango's Saturday Uploads, something decent to watch, and educational. Thank you for this entertainment with your comments that always make me laugh....

[@hestheMaster]

Nothing worse than trying to go over a messed around with any radio where the Loctal tubes are wrong. 12 days personally struggled with this virus two weeks ago. Even with it ongoing Shango still has his wits about him. Wonderful troubleshooting techniques man.

[@angel_dawn_morningstar]

" I'm not cleaning someone else's vibrator... " - a profound statement not often heard outside the porn industry 🤣😂😇

[@TrakThora]

😂😂

[@nickb.8876]

Man that radio was living in Marlboro country for a moment there. Or was it E-cigarette country? I think it's time to get your cigarette activate.. probably would have made you feel cigarette glaze.. Ok, I'll speak conventional English now. Great Video! Very much appreciated to a younger viewer like me. I'm also in SoCal, only an hour north. Your videos are a massive inspiration to me, and you are the reason I love electronics. I've been repairing antique radios for about 2 years now and basically fix everything I touch. You've taught me so much. The information and knowledge that can be gained from watching your repairs and troubleshooting are priceless to me. I look forward to seeing what you do next Saturday!

[@EdgarsLS]

wow, I didnt think LA emitted THAT much light pollution, but the video at the end really makes clear how much light comes from LA, really cool!

[@minty_Joe]

LAX and Las Vegas are one in the same, when it comes to light pollution. I bet we could solve a lot of our energy issues by cutting off Vegas for starters.

[@bwc1976]

Very cool hearing about and seeing photos from your 90's-era explorations! I'd love to see and hear more some day. Also it's always fun hearing you mess with telemarketers.

[@1_lens_view]

Looking forward to your mine video. Always enjoy your tours of old buildings and mines. Thanks for the radio video. I think I enjoy these more than the televisions. Oh, and the weather looks great. It’s interesting to see a third season (assuming earth quakes don’t count) there - sun, fire, and now some much-needed rain. Also, I’ve never seen LA at night outside of some restaurant or other at a business meeting. Enjoyed your tour at the end of the video.

[@rolandkeith5322]

bundaberg ginger beer there? wow I had no idea that those products would be over there....And the Quarantine deal is a pain ha!And quite a cool place you were at man...keep safe and get better.

[@JerryEricsson]

My first car was given to my by my dad, he bought it from an old friend who ran into the back of a pickup with it, it had not been fixed. Dad gave 25 bucks for it back then, and he told me that when I got it fixed up, it would be mine. It was a grey 1950 Ford Custom 2 door with an external visor over the front windshield. Came with a Ford flathead V-8 and a three on the tree. The front seat was worn out and stunk from the old man who had it, so in addition to finding and replacing the front clip and hood, I also found a front seat out of a modern (for 1965 Rambler Station Wagon. The seat would fold back and matched very nicely with the back seat, giving me a nice bed on wheels! I did get some nice action using that. This was before you could buy a tape player for cars, and since the car had a 6 volt system, if I wanted custom audio I had to find a better radio from a better. car. I ended up with a nice radio out of a Cadillac, got it from the junk yard for 5 bucks, it had motorized tuning with a floor switch so you could change stations with the tap of a toe. I loved that, plus it had 2 speakers, front and rear with built in fader, so much nicer the the original Ford radio. Thankfully most radios back then had a front plate that was mostly the same so she slide into the dash with no problem. Indeed I had a neat old car, my girlfriend painted the. bulbs in the two side interior lights red for, well sex appeal I guess.

[@pantherplatform]

At first I thought vibrator was being used sarcastically but now I get it. Your videos have helped me become a much better automotive diagnostic troubleshooter. Start with the first step every time.

[@aaronblair9583]

Get well soon man. Don't let it go too far if you need care. Tamiflu works wonders...Your videos helped me alot after my dad passed.

[@paulseymour]

"my cognitive ability right now is more on the presidential level" You never fail to disappoint shango066! Absolute gold!

[@Zickcermacity]

Actually, I find such political inputs to be distracting and unnecessary, and a potential turn-off

[@sting1111]

@@Zickcermacity you should enjoy KVAX it is totally apolitical.

[@Zickcermacity]

@@sting1111 Very funny. Now roll up your sleeve!

[@vincepalaa]

@@Zickcermacity Lighten up Francis

[@MrJDNJ]

Terrific info on the aluminum-solder issue! One has to question the intent of soldering wires to the side of a canister that didn't have wires soldered to it in the first place. (And then not checking continuity to the original location).

[@KameraShy]

Exactly. Excellent reminder of the not-so-obvious.

[@skuula]

You can have solder that will fuse to aluminum but it is hard to find. Those who build custom lithium batteries for rc models may know a source.

[@annaplojharova1400]

@@skuula Its not that much the solder itself, but the flux and generally the soldering process. Not worth the hassle unless really some very special cases. There is a reason, why practically no consumer product ever used such step...

[@skuula]

@@annaplojharova1400 Stannol of Germany have a solder called ALU1, which might be worth trying. Can't post a link here though.

[@georgegonzalez2476]

There.exists.aluminum.solder..Check.a.hardware store....It.does.require.hot.heat.and.scraping.though...And.it.is.nowhere.near.eutetic.so.cold.joints.are.common....Much.better.to.use.the.tin-plated.steel.ring.if.possible.

[@joshjones3227]

Thanks for the side tour. Some of my friends took me on an exploration of St. Pauls' steam and utility tunnels years ago. Everyone should do some urbex at some point in your life. It makes you appreciate all the things that make society possible, and yet most people never see. "Force multiplier"...I'm going to start using that. We used to say we were "science-ing" our way through a door or some other obstacle.

[@K1ZEK]

It is 11:41 pm and I don't know if I will be able to get to sleep, I have been watching your videos for years and this one takes the cake! It got very scary. I really hope you get well soon. 73 Leo

[@shango066]

Scary?

[@AMStationEngineer]

Hope you're mended soon, I turned down 'Omicron Road' last week, and it has not been a fun ride!. BTW, the shots from the Palos Verdes Peninsula made this feel like an episode of Dragnet. We used to see so much of Los Angeles in television programming, for the last few years, we haven't been close to anything looking like the Los Angeles River Basin. The saying "you can never really go back home", used to have one exception, and that was Los Angeles. Thanks, Shango for the "tour noir", and again, here's hoping that you are feeling human again, soon!

[@jeffreyhickman3871]

I didn’t realize that this was a TUBE type radio 📻 until now. Tells ya that they made them better then. Your friend, Jeff.

[@nevellgreenough404]

Yes, you can solder to aluminum using regular tin-lead rosin-core solder. The technique involves soldering under a drop of oil to exclude air. Scrape the aluminum under oil with a knife followed by scraping with a hot soldering iron. Add solder and the aluminum will eventually "tin". Once tinned the area can be soldered to as usual. Try it, it works and is very strong.

[@shlomsi2000]

Exactly, did that a few times. That method and/or there are some aggressive flux which work on some grades of aluminum (not all, but the type used in soft drink cans and most heatsinks do).

[@rossthompson1635]

Loved the field trip at the end, was not expecting that. Very engaging.

[@volvo09]

Good resurrection, that set is pretty rough, but at least it works. Love the pictures you had of the 90's artwork in the bunkers. Probably got tagged over long ago.

[@zman4150]

Hope you're feeling better Shango. Good work with the radio - I look forward to all of your videos, wether it's a TV, radio, desert excursion, or whatever you may come up with. Your sense of humor is a trip! I just hope you're up to date on your ninja skills - it sounded like there were quite a few coyotes at the park you'd have to fight off if your paths crossed...

[@jinglesalas]

Thanks for another great video. The first thing I do when I see you posted something new is look at the length. Really enjoy the long videos. The clip at the end was interesting too! Thanks.

[@robotcantina8957]

This video has a zombie apocalypse type feel to it. The bunker photos were icing on the cake, Get well my friend.

[@XMguy]

That’s the exact same radio shown in BTTF 2. The 46 Ford of Biffs.

[@coondogtheman]

Cool that you were able to get this radio singing again. I've had a battle with the bug. was out for a week and a half. Love the L.A. shots you should do more of these. With Thermal and night vision footage.

[@alphabeets]

It’s always a good idea to not clean another person’s vibrator. 😂

[@noakeswalker]

What an epic repair. I haven't seen a vibrator PSU for donkey's years. That little Malahit radio makes a good backup IF ! I enjoyed the stuff around the LA coast and the shelter art photos too.

[@JacGoudsmit]

It's amazing how well that thing sounds. Too bad there's nothing but crap on AM nowadays, but it really sounds almost as good as FM.

[@garp32]

Great video as always. Awesome troubleshooting work as well, even with the handicap. I agree, when I'm really sick...thinking is nearly impossible. Hope you're feeling better now. Lastly, thank you for the tour and the pictures. That looked like an amazing place to visit. Very cool!

[@jessecussins1444]

This is one of my favorite episodes, loved the urban exploration ending! Thank you documenting the artwork! +++

[@jimmyday9536]

Greetings from beautiful western IA! Hope you feel better soon!

[@TrakThora]

Its a pleasure to watch this video. Even to know you are not well at the moment.

[@phillanassa759]

Great Video. Sorry to hear you are feeling ill. I've been sick 3 times this fall//winter season. Some nasty stuff out there. Loved the tour of Palisades at night as well as the photos. The "Sell The House" one is great, definitely from my generation, features in Apocalypse Now, Scott Glen's intercepted letter to his wife and kids after joining Colonel Kurtz. You must be just a little younger than me. Cheers!

[@anirbannaskar7665]

Wish you a speedy recovery 🖐️

[@gerardcarriera7052]

Excellent video, very informative. Sorry to hear your under the weather, been there too. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

[@spiderpickle3255]

_"I'm not gonna do that on this, uh . . . another person's vibrator. They can open their own vibrator and clean it themself."_ Words of absolute wisdom👍

[@craignehring]

Get well soon, nice work poking around at this chunk of radio history

[@Suddenlyits1960]

Biff Tannens 1946 Ford has this same radio in it. Ford and Mercury used these adjust o matic radios from 1946-1948. The plug socket on the side is for the foot control switch.

[@VectraQS]

You are correct that it's late 1940s, looks exactly like the one out of my grandfather's 1946 Ford.

[@TheGuitologist]

A nice, old school variety flu bug. What a welcome change. Funny the things the last two years have made us appreciate.

[@edgecombe74]

I love your channel. I don't do electronic troubleshooting, but I love your technique and abundance of knowledge. I've spent hours watching your videos. Please keep them coming.

[@Localmode]

Wishing you a speedy recovery.

[@PaulWannenburg]

Great repair video. That Motorola vibrator sure is quiet. Although they sound pretty noisy with the car stationary you don’t hear them with the old6volt car underway.

[@alberthofmann420]

Shango, you are an amazing mind. One of a kind. Pure gold.

[@ralphj4012]

Despite man flu, the wit remains. Educational and entertaining, as always.

[@damianred2003]

Flu? Sounds like the rovid

[@moviemania1137]

@@damianred2003 The China Flu!! "Because it came from Chy-nuh.

[@damianred2003]

@@moviemania1137 man that's racist

[@godfreypoon5148]

@@damianred2003 Reality is racist, right?

[@georgelalonde2155]

@@TheMikeMan777 Racist loser

[@brianmoore5498]

more infectious personality than usual

[@frankcastle2876]

'I located a 7B8' Truly a treasure just to show that!!!

[@chilee6994]

I'm always intrigued when I watch your show.. Get well soon my friend

[@agostinodibella9939]

The M makes me think it was in a Mercury. It’s amazing how they packed all those vacuum tubes and components in there back then!

[@401ksolar]

Isn't M for manual tuning?

[@agostinodibella9939]

@@401ksolar Yes, I saw later when he changed the controls on the front. That’s what I get for commenting before seeing the whole video. I wonder how often these tube radios broke down from the vibrations while the car is in motion.

[@KeyboardBuster]

It means "manual" tuning mode

[@batterymakermarkii2654]

You were right, the radio is from anywhere between 1946 and 48, for Mercury's...I think the model is 6MF780, Zenith chassis 6D80

[@acefeeley9007]

I had that sh*t last January. Worst 5 weeks of my life. Go easy bro. Take care of yourself.

[@tedcowart3647]

Another great video! I agree the radio should have been trashed but walking the park at the end was very interesting. I'm glad you took pics of the artwork in the bunkers. Looks amazing. I wonder where the artists are now? It's a shame the kids these days can't explore like we did in the 70s and 80s. The government would lock us up now. Hope you feel better soon!

[@harbselectronicslab3551]

You can actually solder to Aluminium, the trick is beating the oxidisation......you have to use something like Mineral oil as you file the surface clean so it remains sealed from the air.....you then just solder through the oil with a really hot iron with normal solder.......we do this at work soldering coax to aluminium driven antenna elements.....there are a lot of KZbin vids showing how people do it, but yes it does work quite well as long as the area you want to solder to remains un oxidised.

[@KameraShy]

But sounds like a lot of trouble. I was thinking and couldn't recall any instances where I have seen solder to aluminum. Cans always had separate connections for terminals through the wafer and the tabs were just pinched to the chassis.

[@1959Berre]

Wish you a speedy recovery from this nasty bug. Take good care of yourself.

[@MyYouTube11163]

I love your videos. They refresh my memory, and I learn as well

[@brigganthewolf1461]

I know Saabkyle04 has one of these in his grandfather's '48 Ford tudor. Works great. Very cool.

[@iroll]

Damn shango... i started feeling symptoms myself, had to go smoke a charcoal-filtered clean air cigarette just to ward it off. Also - loved the Old L.A. tour, feel free to do as many of those as you want.

[@Martin-io4wc]

I do hope you are feeling better. Take care.

[@martiehensley4452]

i hope you feel better soon Boxy take care of your self.

[@akshonclip]

“My cognitive ability right now is more on the Presidential level” 🤣😂💀💀💀

[@daves9551]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@eefjuh5533]

Nice . I did read that at the exact moment Shango said it!

[@tedbell4416]

Great video as always Dr Shangoo , nice Marlboro voice. Get well soon and Merry Christmas 🎄

[@justsumguy2u]

Nice troubleshooting as always. I agree with your synopsis at the end---that one probably belongs in the trash, especially with a dead output transformer. The video of the shoreline at night was quite scenic, I dig stuff like that

[@levimevis5192]

I believe the 7C5 is the loctal version of the 6V6 tube, which means that this radio really had a powerful audio output system.

[@ricardosalesdemello4130]

ah! Hello friend shango gostei de ver o Radio valvulado voltar a tocar Ótimo trabalho seu amigo shango

[@phillipyannone3195]

Great video, I really enjoy car radio repair, especially tube type. Get well soon.

[@davidjames666]

@37:53 yes, i lost the ability to lift things up too, then I lost the desire to even do so, then I couldn’t manufacture any fluids. but it all came back after about a week. I am now back to my consecutive self again.

[@cipherthedemonlord8057]

Hope you get better couple in my family got something too. And loved that story and pictures about the bunker.

[@johnroberts4789]

Those pictures remind me of the sub-levels at Cal Arts in Valencia back in the day

[@azariayehezkel9064]

Shango You must stop smoking No one will save you We love you

[@TonyButchT]

Hope you feel better soon! Thanks for the video!

[@pantherplatform]

Wow. Back when cars came with in-dash heaters that also played the radio!

[@davepike6170]

Enjoying the video, even though your "under the weather!" Sure hope you feel much better soon!

[@aaronblair9583]

Making me cry towards the end....my father grew up in la in the 50's n 60's..Soo many stories. Cleaned John Wayne's pool, dated a mousekateer...rafted down the la river for the hell of it as a friend. His first wife pushed him off that cliff. No joke broke both legs and an arm ..fun day for him...lol. He told it as a funny story... Shortly after was tipped a lion cub whilst driving a tow truck from a guy that couldn't pay..cookie the lion birthed many babies at a zoo after she got too big. He was shot down three times in Vietnam...went I to the navy for anti sub warfare as an equipment operator flying on Hoover's. But ya know Vietnam...so he was mapping SAM sites... Visited grandma's(dads mom) several times in the early 90's...lived on beethoven a few blocks from Venice high.....spending days driving around la as a young child going to all the places he frequented are my fondest childhood memories... He loved Tito's tacos, I loved pickles from Johnny's pastrami....good times.. Went to the grocery store with grandma and asked for a Reese's pb cup...she said now and I got sad...the nice black woman behind me put her hand on my shoulder and smiled at me....out front gg left me with the cart whilst she went to get the car....that nice woman from the line came up and slipped me the Reese's pb cups...and told me not to tell! Who was said woman? Whoopie Goldberg......

[@tectalabyss]

Hey Shango066. Get to feeling better. Cool trouble shooting . All my best.

[@Nick215NY]

Shango........feel better. Thanks for all your great videos.

[@1marcelfilms]

The bird sounds in this video sound so realistic I thought it was outside my house

[@-z-zzzzz........5746]

Colorado conversation. Cool to see photos

[@kerozin520]

Photos are rad, world should see more of those

[@AWSmith1955]

LOL @22:00 the bird sounds like its croaking "February six February six February six"

[@Seiskid]

Here in Australia joe rogan treatments and other things that help are banned. Its so disheartening what our governments have done to us. Good radio diagnosis. I enjoyed this one.

[@shango066]

It's not openly available here. It's all about the individual's ability to adapt obtain substitute self-educate and understand something like that

[@thomassheehan7690]

If only there was a vaccine to give the body’s immune system an advantage over this virus! Oh well…In the meantime I’ll stick with my home-made cure of spaghettios, castor oil, and brake fluid. Joe Rogan’s got nothing on me in the COVID cure department!

[@SerenityMae11]

@@thomassheehan7690 Lol Thomas don't waste your time...they aren't smart enough to understand

[@shango066]

@@thomassheehan7690 it doesn't prevent infection or transmission and that's a fact

[@patricknesbitt4003]

First time I ever picked up a soldering iron way back in 1973 it took me about 15 minutes to learn that trying to solder to aluminum was like trying to nail Jell-o to a wall.

[@hightechstuff2]

Get well soon Shango!

[@Atomshamradio]

I love screwing with the robo calls🤣🤪😂

[@JayH7745]

Looks like it was originally in an old Mercury automobile. Considering the large M on the front ot the radio. Very cool!

[@redneckways1933]

Hope you get feeling better soon. I'm also in coratine with three days left. Great video as always.

[@bigalsmallengines]

Interesting to see people work on tube car radios. :) I handle the tele-marketers like you, but yeah they are no fun anymore. I try to waste as much of their time as I can so they drop you from their call list....LOL -Cheers to your video and recovery buddy! 🍻 -Al

[@jeffreymurdock8366]

Don't blame you for staying away from others. My neighbor and his wife caught covid. Her health took a bad turn after that and she had pneumonia and even though she was in the hospital she passed away a couple days ago. And to make matters worse he lost his job in 2020 and hasn't been able to find a job.

[@deepblueskyshine]

Get well! Your video reminds me the first or second lockdown in 2020 when I rediscovered parks and neighborhoods I liked very much in my childhood and youth and haven't walk them for a quarter of a century, although they are 20 minutes walk from where I live now and lived in during the most of my childhood... Someones have to be locked in in order to break out :)

[@harbselectronicslab3551]

Precision editing to the Frame !!

[@XMguy]

Hope you get better soon.

[@patjohnson3100]

Very interesting. My stock 1948 Ford Super Deluxe has the original Motorola it came with. Its front plate design is different from the Zenith you're working on. The front plate on yours looks nearly identical to the Philcos from that era I have seen. I was told Fords of the 1940s came with Philcos because Philco was a captive company. I think your guess that this radio is from the 1940s is correct.

[@LakeNipissing]

Thanks for the video given the very trying circumstances with your voice and "brain fog". Get well, sir!! Natural immunity is a good thing! Clever and convenient idea to use a digital tuning LW radio to tune the IF at 262 kHz. Thanks for the additional footage at the end. Missing So.Cal. this winter. It is Minus 30 and snow here, and I hate it.

[@polska207]

Omg you talked about a different way to treat you know what don’t you know we live in the world of what works is what the government says works and the experts they forced lol. Great video

[@shango066]

I don't operate that way

[@LyonsArcade]

Freakin' thing sounds pretty good man! Z-E-N-I-T-H

[@mikedrz]

Shango how many times you gonna get covid? I'll have the alpha beta delta and omi. Hope you are doing well now.

[@UHF43]

43:52 Rocío Dúrcal - Fue tan poco tu cariño.