GE E50 Vintage Radio Repair

[@JerryEricsson]

I can recall my father making such splices with friction tape and string, even on lamp cords and such. We once rented a farm and the house was wired for power, however there was no power in the upstairs bedroom which was shared between me and my two sisters. My sisters got the bed, I had a bedspring on the floor with old coats and blankets piled on to form a mattress of sort. Dad wanted us to have power so he drilled a hole in the floor of our room next to the wall, then spliced three lamp cords together to reach from an outlet on the living room wall, up to the bedroom, the spliced on another long drop cord and put a single light with a chain switch in the middle of the bedroom. We would leave the light on in the morning, come down stairs and unplug it till bedtime when we would again plug it in so we could see to climb the stairs. My sisters always went up first, got ready for bed then called me to come up. Nice privacy there. This worked well until my sisters decided to paint the room since it was bare sheet rock. Well they went out in the toolshed and found a gallon of paint left over from the previous residents. They painted the ceiling and walls, only problem, the paint was made to paint old tractors, it was a very dark glossy green. Man that cut down on the power of the 30 watt bulb dad had furnished us, eventually he got us a 100 watt and we could again see but the glare off those walls were horrid! Ah growing up in the 50's, man that was the life, when we would shout "It's A FREE COUNTRY!" and mean it. Sad to see today that we now need permission to enter a store and must cover our faces with ridiculous masks. It is amazing how quickly freedom can disappear. Looks like the Chinese have won WWIII without firing a shot, our nation is quickly going from a free nation to a communist dictatorship overnight. Once President Trump leaves the White House the conversion will indeed be complete.

[@craignehring]

Nice, great radio That cord repair? I have a 1937 Toastmaster toaster with a fabric covered asbestos cord set that after damn near electocuting me, I finally got around to replacing. The cord did enter the toaster through a Bakelite feed through but the strain relief was actually string wrapped around the individual wires and then the fabric of the round cord. I could invision a person who's sole job was to terminate these at the McGraw electric company in Elgin Illinois. I did my best to replicate this when replacing this cord with a silicone/ fabric wrapped three wire cord and grounding the chrome steel frame housing. Thanks shango066 for a great year of videos from you. They are always informative and entertaining.

[@thebestisyettocome4114]

I goggle this gentleman. I had no idea how big he is. Very well know for his content. For his hard work and dedication to the history of radio and television, he truly should be given a KZbin award for his videos. He's the Real McCoy! Thank you

[@45AMT]

That's the way my 1937 GE F63 is. Super sensitive! Even with no antenna.Very well built sets. Before GE got cheap.

[@maryrafuse2297]

This radio has a strong personality. Amazing that it worked needing so many things fixed. It has a strong will to live. I love your video's. Have a Happy and Healthy 2019.

[@JacGoudsmit]

Wow that sensitivity is amazing. If I wouldn't have seen it on video I wouldn't have believed that that was recorded during the day. It sounds more like short wave radio in the middle of Europe, in the middle of the night, in the 1970s. Happy New Year!

[@barryfairwood2174]

Happy NewYear! Excellent video, keep up the good work. The cloth tape on the line cord splice is friction tape. This tape was used with rubber tape, and friction on top. Sixty years ago black vinyl replace it.

[@rdsledge]

The best thing about all your videos to me is the running commentary with the dry sense of humor. You have a Happy New Year too!

[@LarryDeSilva64]

I bought this same radio in unrestored condition for $10 from a place I get radios called Ham and HiFi. Been slowly repairing it. My radio was solid black it almost looked like bakelite it was so smooth even though its a wood case. Thanks for sharing this video.

[@martinda7446]

Happy New Year, and thanks for the wonderful entertainment. You have given us much pleasure in this house.....Well you have...

[@MsCori76]

Martin D A - I absolutely agree, shango has given us all a wonderful entertainment for 2018 & I hope we see more of him in 2019.

[@matthewrichards88]

Incredible how it produced that sound with good sensitivity with original components from the 30s! Amazing stuff

[@Synthematix]

Shango all the best for 2019, and what a beautiful design on that radio! this radio deserves a full restoration, with new paint and full cabinet repair

[@skuula]

Huh, isn't it nice enough as it is? Anyway I'm not for deleting history from things historical, but every one his own taste.

[@johnbellas490]

That Radio is a real EYE CATCHER indeed, I like that color combo!! That splice job is quite SUPER really, real attention to detail with that job!!! Nice old radio really!! I agree with trying to fix up the finish on this radio !! It would really be an eye dazzler then !!Happy New Year to you and your family ! John Bellas KC2UVN

[@niteqllc]

Perfect design! Warm and cozy!

[@garp32]

Happy New Year Shango. Thanks for your dedication to the hobby, your humor, and education to the masses.

[@berniken6511]

Thanks Shango for all the excellent videos from 2018 and all the best for 2019...............................................Berni

[@phillipyannone3195]

Love the old man, or old lady, repair on the line cord. I use to know people did that sort of thing. Grew up in the 20's and 30's.excellent video, have a happy new year.

[@erikj.2066]

That actually reminded me of seeing the string ties you see on motor windings. Wonder if whoever did that repair had experience with that type of work.

[@kenhancock8931]

Thanx shango!!! hope you have a great new year!!!!

[@lfowkes11]

Looks like that was originally a 25Hz rated model with that extra large transformer core. We see a lot of Canadian radios here in Michigan like that. Transformers run nice and cool on 60Hz

[@bobtk2352]

Larry Fowkes if you quickly stop the video just at 2:45-2:47, when he just starts to show the schematic, the power transformer has values for both 25 cycles and 50/60 cycles. So, you're right - it could run on 25 cycles, accounting for the huge transformer.

[@brianfletcher9774]

Huh ? 25 Hz for the line power frequency??? I know I’m not that old, but what’s with that ? I thought all of North America was 60 cycle and other countries were 50 or 60 cycle. Notwithstanding the 240 vs 120 voltage difference between North America and the rest...

[@lfowkes11]

@@brianfletcher9774 Areas in Canada and New York that received power from the Niagra falls hydroelectric systems were 25Hz. I suspect other areas that used hydro power back in the 30's and 40's were as well. You can always tell by the unusually large cores in the power transformers. Because of that they run very cool on 50 or 60 Hz. I have 4 or 5 sets that have 25 Hz transformers. They are pretty common around here.

[@featherbrain7147]

@@lfowkes11 I never knew that there was ever 25Hz! Shows you're never too old to learn!

[@DEW409]

Thank you again for all of the time and effort you put into these interesting and educational videos. I watch every single one of them, the longer the better. I even started watching your mine videos this weekend. Can't imagine what those guys went through to dig all those things out. Just being in there looks real sketchy. Wish you and all of your mine exploring buddies a happy and safe new year.

[@bitrot42]

Best wishes for 2019 and beyond. May you have many interesting, rewarding projects, and may the rest of us be lucky enough to keep seeing them!

[@pafoofnic]

Neat radio, unusual color. Another fantastic shango066 repair video. Happy New Year! Grumble, grumble.

[@chuffpup]

Very nice radio. That paint job looks very much like Japanese lacquer. It was a fashionable oriental thing at the time I imagine.

[@TheGuitologist]

Happy new year. Great little radio.

[@brittisaacrossman]

What a rare find, indeed! Such a cool piece. Thanks for sharing!

[@terryvaughn8466]

Thankyou for your videos, I really enjoy them and learn alot. I love bringing these old radios back to life and you help me do it. I dont understand you getting some thumbs down. It seems there are always some negative people around. I hope you keep doing radio in 2019. Happy New Year !!! from Alabama. p.s. it was 60 degrees today.

[@JerryEricsson]

I do envy you with all those radio stations. I can remember living in such places, El Paso was like that, as was Arlington Va, in the shadow of Washington DC. I now live in South Dakota. Our home is a rather dead spot, I can get 1 AM Station, the local radio station, and zero FM. If I get in the car, I can get many more stations on AM, and 3 or perhaps 4 FM depending on which street I am on. Our cell tower (we only have one, Verizon) is about 2 miles from here, I get 2 bars, sometimes 3, the wife has an Apple Iphone, she gets only 2 and sometimes 1 if she is in the kitchen. We have friends who live near the cell tower, they can't get phone service in their house without an external antenna. There is a town some 70 miles west where I responded to major crimes, as they only had a 1 man force who also read water meters and plowed/seeped the streets. It is surrounded by hills that are filled with uranium and iron. We responded to a man with a gun call over there, our squad cars were 2 blocks apart and we could see each other but our radios (500 Watt Low Band) could not contact each other.

[@teacfan1080]

Happy New Year to you too! I was surprised how cold you described it being there. On New Year's morning up in North Dakota where I was visiting family, THAT was cold. Town of Rugby, about 60 miles to the east of Minot where I was, they had the state low of -26 F and the windchill hit -50 F. Cue up "Baby, it's COLD outside!".

[@fireantsarestrange]

Oooohh... that one is a nice oldie. Works great. Looks cool.

[@lsrx101]

When I first saw this set, I thought "meh. Just a low end GE". But the more I look at it the more I really like it. I like the color combination. A nice unmolested set. Happy New year sir.

[@hestheMaster]

Nice powerful radio. Had unique power transformer from 105 to 240 Volts switched. Rating was indeed 55 Watts. Very little distortion due to a secondary Pi network on the feedback " AVC" line . She would sound rich with the tone control operating . R9 says 1000 Ohm 1 Watt but it really should be higher like 1200 Ohm 2 Watt. Cool cabinet design. Big bucks back in the day! I prefer the E52 which had better wood stain look than the E50. This was a black and orange (faded to a red sheen) stain/painted radio. Happy Halloween

[@ned8880]

Many thanks for the top notch quality content that you provide Shango. Your knowledge and humor rate A+++. Eagerly looking forward to the gems coming in 2019. Happy New Year to you.

[@ianhand5006]

Thanks for all of your videos during 2018. Happy New Year from the UK.

[@kg4yhr]

Only you shake a rectifire tube and it comes to life nice job and happy New year to you

[@lyntonprescott3412]

Happy New Year. Thanks for all the great videos.

[@ethelryan257]

A very happy 2019! You bring me much joy and a lot of knowledge every year!

[@outthereassociates7155]

We used to call that "Friction " tape.

[@TheTrueVoiceOfReason]

Definitely friction tape. That was known to unravel itself with age (sticky drying out) so whoever did that job knew what they were working with!

[@davidraezer5937]

Awesome video Shango. I have learned a lot from your informative and funny videos.

[@alphabeets]

Hey Shango, thanks so much for your kick ass videos. A whole lot of us out here love these and we always look forward to the next one. Happy new year to you, bro.

[@danvercillo]

Thank you for all the cool vids and laughs this past year and Happy New Year Shango!

[@Ronbob59]

Very nice find. I have a 1936 Grunow Teledial I found for $75. Ya just never know what will show up. HNY...

[@jeeptrail08]

i really like the design of that radio. Such a good looking set. Happy New Year Shango and thanks for a year of great videos!

[@josephcote6120]

What a nice radio. Great find & restore.

[@richardweinberger2756]

I recapped a cheapy tube guitar a few days ago from the 60's. When I turned it on I heard Korean radio :) Nice to finish the year on a positive note. Happy Holidays to all, Shango I hope the explosives and gunshots don't keep you awake in the L.A. area tonite. My neighborhood is quite active.

[@quantumleap359]

Shango 066 - my go-to electronics funny guy! Thanks so much for the videos in 2018! Happy New Year!

[@philipdecatanzaro1822]

About as easy as it gets. Thank you shango066 for a great year!

[@ai4ijoel]

Bottom right switch is a band selector and if the shortwave band goes down to 1.6 MHz, that will cover the AM expanded band from 1610 to 1700 including 1630 and 1650 near Los Angeles.

[@jeffreyhaynes5774]

That is a very good looking and sounding radio,keep up the good work.Have a good ,and happy new year.

[@davepike6170]

Happy New Year, Shango066, thanks for another year of quality electronic service and entertainment too! Way cool GE radio there. I thought you might enjoy a little Michigan type cold weather there!😉 Man, I had no idea it ever got nearly that cold in the LA area!

[@vancouverman4313]

The tape on the cord replacement is old fashioned electrical tape which is still used for wrapping hockey stick grips. I prefer it to modern vinyl tape for certain applications because it becomes as hard as rock as it ages and stays waterproof. Great for outdoor electrical applications such as antenna leads.

[@richardhz-oi8px]

High quality, before GE cut every corner they ever could starting in the 1950s.

[@jamrug3472]

I'm slightly biased but I really don't like GE just because it was merged from a edison company and edison was one the biggest thieves, frauds and idiots that lived on Earth.

[@garymckee8857]

@@jamrug3472 you are correct about Edison.

[@BetamaxFlippy]

@@jamrug3472 Right there with Tesla boi

[@scratchback2001]

Thanks for the videos! It's been a blast! Happy New Year Buddy!

[@chetpomeroy1399]

Happy new year, Shango! I don't think 11 degrees is all *that* cold. Back in Bismarck, North Dakota the overnight temps in winter often dipped down to -30F or so, but it would heat up to the positive single digits by the afternoon. As you know, that radio came off the assembly line when the only commercial broadcasting available was on the AM band, so the receiver *had* to be of good quality to compete for customers. FM was still on Armstrong's drawing board in 1937.

[@mrpedrodrodriguezsr7628]

Geez you shouldn't even test those caps , just replace them ! That line cord should have a strain relief . Glad you did that! Happy New Year !

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Shango likes to show the diagnostics, which some of us appreciate. You learn more that way then by just replacing parts.

[@mrpedrodrodriguezsr7628]

As a retired engineer I do appreciate troubleshooting , but I do appreciate more evading future troubles and those caps smell like trouble! You can seriously damage a circuit with leaking or shortened caps! That is also a part of the process of troubleshooting.

[@miltonjimenez5771]

Happy new year and lots of good health

[@javierbiaggi3072]

Great radio, great fix Happy 2019!

[@MrChief101]

Very nice end o' year, Shango! Best of the New Year!

[@jeffking4176]

Happy New Year. Cool radio. 📻👍🙂‼️ That would make a great DX radio.

[@andrewcottrill3248]

Great year end video. Happy new year & looking forward to more next year...

[@herbertsusmann986]

Good radio for sure. 1937 is not really that old in my book. I like to work on sets from the 20s. Those are even simpler and they dont use any electrolytics at all so often the caps are still good. Happy New Year Shango, your videos are always great!

[@vincentdiverniero4679]

Another nice job happy-new-year Shango

[@marekmaslak8040]

Happy new year,you do a good job.

[@markmarkofkane8167]

Happy New Year to you, Shango!! Nice old radio.

[@joeblow8593]

Happy New Year and thanks for all the great videos

[@russredfern167]

I agree, very good find. Wouldn't mind having that one myself.

[@jamescorvett]

Happy New Year, shango . A little neutering of those caps you got it rockin like new.

[@circuitblog01]

Happy new year dan i wish to you a good year and same to you all

[@iamdarkyoshi]

I've gotten myself a zenith transoceanic radio that could be powered by mains or a giant battery pack that sits under the radio chassis. All original parts except the tubes. Going to be a very fun repair.

[@Desuk1991]

Have a great new year. Greets from holland

[@featherbrain7147]

Ah, the smell and mystery of the guts of an old radio, I love 'em! I've got a few myself. Perhaps I'll put some of my work on KZbin. Trouble is, I'm old and I'll be gettin' off the bus soon...is there time...?

[@brianfletcher9774]

Great radio. Would have been nice if the owner would have wanted that completely rewired. That old wiring really makes me cringe, but like you said...”use a power strip”. I might add...never leave the radio running unattended. Just my two cents, Happy New Year Shango !

[@tectalabyss]

Have a great New Year Shango. Oh and thank you for sharing. :)

[@robertwalker3506]

It would be nice to hear old radio programs on that radio.

[@Radiowild]

Ladies and gentlemen, it's 5 O Clock Charlie! at 9:20. Happy New Year!

[@sarahhoward9081]

Now that's a cool looking radio!!!

[@MsCori76]

Happy 2019 New Year, shango. Xxoo

[@AKWoland]

See a final repair result is gonna be cool!

[@georgegonzalez2476]

That was before the Great Cheapening at GE. They made sturdy and capable radio back then. Those funny knobs they also used on their big consoles of that era. And oh, the very fast tuning, that is the two-speed knob transmission stuck on the high speed. Needs lots of oiling. It's that small brass sleeve right behind the tuning knob. They used it on many models all the way up through the "magic Brain" models. Very astute of you to notice the lack of AVC circuitry. I can only imagine that GE wanted to avoid paying RCA and/or Hazeltine for the AVC patent. So maybe they were already going down the slippery slope toward cheapness. Sad.

[@bigmotter001]

Thanks Shango066. Best holiday gift for your followers. See you in "19. Take care!

[@reginaldlawrence412]

That great radio. I used power strips for my old radios too

[@chrisingle5839]

Happy new year to You!

[@nickchatziandreou4863]

YOU ARE THE BEST HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ATHENS AND NIKOLAS 813

[@garymckee8857]

Where do you obtain the hard copies of the schematics for all these old radios?they look interesting.

[@michaelclutton8446]

Thanks for all the great videos, was really surprised when you said your temp was 11 deg (I presume thats F because you said ice)

[@TooManyInterests775]

Happy New Year, Shango!

[@ai4ijoel]

Upper left knob looks like fine-tuning for both bands, so that will make up for the quick lock to lock turn of the main tuning.

[@zx8401ztv]

Have a good grumbling / happy / annoyed 2019 shango066 :-D That radio sounds really nice.

[@yannkitson116]

Happy New Year Shango066!

[@umajunkcollector]

Edison GE and RCA tech, only a few years after Tom died, radio was like twenty five years old, and superhet was like ten years or so, amazing.

[@nancydarling4918]

Interesting video. Thanks.

[@agostinodibella9939]

That’s a nice old radio!

[@chriscimino7854]

If it has a bumblebee in the tone circuits its gold and gives the best tone 😆

[@gmcnewlook]

Love the Art Deco? styling and colours on that thing

[@Antony_Jenner]

Happy New Year shango066 Good job all round......

[@SuperJeremi10]

Hey shango66 what do you normally charge for repairs diagnostics in here in galveston i love watching your videos. I have an old am table top with phono inputs. A littls clock on it cant remember the brand ive had it awhile i put it away some time back when it began to malfunction. Im sure it needs a recap and at random times the clock will stop running in it after it has been plugged in while it jas an alarm in it. The sound was low week and distorted it did still picknup some am stations. I thought it would be neat to have you do a video on it.

[@morse.500thomas6]

Happy New Year to you sango Great job on the radio

[@martinda7446]

For some weird reason I wanted to watch the power meter advance when you got the heaters going on that tube...Did it....OK you told me 54W...

[@motoxdudeNV-UT]

With all the recaps why the background hum once the station is tuned-in? Local static source?

[@TerryMcKean]

That set's definitely sensitive. I see that it also covers the 160 and 80/75 meter ham bands... how's it do in those bands, especially with a resonant antenna hooked up to it?

[@pianokeyzintennessee7273]

Hello shango066..I watched a video of about the abandoned warehouse you posted..I live in Tennessee..I know of an abandoned tv radio shop ..there WAS factory literature service manuals big big factory notebooks and lots of old TVs... haven't been there in awhile..the place was sold .but it's abandoned currently..may be able to contact the owner if you'd be interested to see what's there..