Lafayette Explor Air KT 135 Refurb

1960s Lafayette Explor-Air KT-135 rebuild/refurbished.
Before/After pictures at the very end.

[@andrewford2783]

A wonderful restoration. Tremendous attention to detail. I did a lot of SWLing back in the Golden Age in the late 60s early 70s on a Heathkit Mohican, sadly I don't own it anymore. GW8JHT.

[@framefu]

A God-level restoration. Congratulations !!!!

[@GARCKY]

Thank you. I built that kit when I was 13 years old. I did a lot of SWLing using it. It really was a remarkable little receiver for the money. I remember following the instructions to the letter, and was rewarded by a well-working radio the first time I turned it on.

[@ry491]

Great job . I have restored quite a few of those simple early TRF short wave recievers . With a decent aerial it's amazing how well they perform . They are such fun to use too . Sad those days are gone but at least we can relive them !

[@qrpcrzy]

Wow! What a great job, you sir are a true craftsman. I really enjoyed the video. Thank you.

[@jonestimePMC]

Greetings from the Philippines.. VERY Nice restore! Love to watch a person that truly restores and not just cleans and paints. Well Done Sir!

[@dougb3699]

I built one of those in 1970 and I still have it.

[@hoosiernick]

Did you check out how much those Jamboree On The Air Valley Forge Stickers are worth? A shame you could not save it.

[@electronicguy]

This is a great video.keep up the good work

[@fibberscloset498]

I so enjoyed this video. Thanks!

[@noyan2006]

Congratulations very good work 👌👍🧿

[@DoctorBill]

Thank You for the memories of my point to point wiring days building prototype power supplies for the military. In those days we did wire harness wrapping with a special flat waxed string. Made for some pretty wiring.

[@stuartirwin3779]

Looks very similar, if not identical, to the Knight Space Spanner. You've done a superb job. Inspirational!

[@michaelsimpson5417]

Yes, it sure does. Layout and circuit are very similar.

[@johnwest7993]

I helped an 11 yo build one when I was about 15, back in 1965. It worked quite well. Of course we lived in a rural area, and that was the golden age of SW, back when there was actually something interesting to listen to.

[@msf60khz]

Beautiful work.

[@richarddillman2510]

Mesmerizing. Thanks!

[@jamesmarks36]

Nice work

[@michaelsimpson5417]

Thank you!

[@chappyhappy3675]

Great job, Mike. I'm also a KT-135 lover.

[@michaelsimpson5417]

Hah, I know! I watched you build one from scratch on your channel.

[@KennethScharf]

Basic SW set, but it was a shock hazard with its transformerless power supply and grounded chassis. Heathkit made a very similar radio, but they put in an isolation transformer in the power supply so it was a lot safer. Major effort "Rekitting" it. Nice work on the decal. You know you CAN buy new set screws (probably Allen head though). I think I would have removed all of the covering from the cabinet, cleaned up the back sides and the wood, and then re-attached with spray on contact cement. Came out real nice! Good for another 55 years!

[@michaelsimpson5417]

Hi Ken, the problem with the set screws is that they had become one with the knobs. Even after the knobs were cracked apart they wouldn't come out. I've made set screws by using a Dremel to cut off the head of a screw and then making a slot in the top of the shaft. Spray on contact cement is hard to work with. A year later the radio looks better than ever, so the Elmer's glue-all worked out fine.

[@KennethScharf]

@@michaelsimpson5417 Yes, you did a good job there. I've had some problems using Elmers glue, but at least it IS water soluble so it cleans up easy.

[@EC5ABG]

Muy buen trabajo👍😍👏👏👏👏

[@sergiyur5rbz636]

Нічого собі. Не пошкодували часу на відновлення. Мені є чого у вас повчитись. 73!

[@Dennis-mq6or]

Knobs would be the same as the Knight Kit Space Spanner. And for loosening those screws you would have needed an induction heater, or a very hot soldering iron to only heat the setscrew with..

[@michaelsimpson5417]

I found that some of the earlier KT-135s did indeed have the same knobs as a Space Spanner. After that they used a similar looking knob that has a smooth collar where it flares out at the base.

[@randolphnakamura7357]

That's a nice regens. I've rebuilt 4 of them. A heck of a lot safer than the Knight kits.

[@gonzagagomes2861]

Perfeito, meus parabéns

[@michaelsimpson5417]

Thank you!

[@phantomphixer5821]

Can you tell me what photo editing program you used?? I'm restoring one that has the same rust problem you had.

[@michaelsimpson5417]

I'm using an old program called PhotoImpact 8. Are you going to make a decal? It may be easier if I just send you the file I made, as I spent hours on it. I could also send you the program, since you can't get it anymore. My website is www.analogdial.com/index.htm There is a KT-135 section. At the bottom of the main page is my email address. -Mike

[@DennisMathias]

This looks familiar. I think I paid 23 dollars for the kit..shipped. After building and playing with it for a while I installed a whip antenna through the case and a handle from an old cupboard. I don't recall what ever happened to it.

[@gonzagagomes2861]

Ótimo trabalho

[@michaelsimpson5417]

Muito obrigado!

[@cwradio4571]

Great job, how many hours do you have in it?

[@michaelsimpson5417]

If you mean how long it took me to rebuild it, I'm not sure. It took time to set up the camera for each shot. A task that takes ten seconds to perform could end up taking five minutes. I had no way to monitor what the camera was seeing because the display is on the back of the camera.

[@cwradio4571]

@@michaelsimpson5417 I know it takes hours on top of hours to do that kind of work. I have seen many of those radios trashed. I wish they would have seen your video in how to do it correctly.

[@krzysztofmitus7435]

📻🎶👍👍👍

[@martincvitkovich724]

FM Band?....Great inspiration to say the least. I have a few Heathkit CB Base radios, I thought about redoing.

[@michaelsimpson5417]

Hah, I noticed that, too. That was a station that broadcasts on both AM and FM. I wasn't too concerned with what it was picking up, I just wanted to show that it worked. The short wave bands were pretty dead at that time of day, though.

[@martinbuinicki1056]

Documents were easily worth the purchase price.Oh, and Kroil penetrating oil and time to set on those control grub screws?

[@michaelsimpson5417]

Yes, I could have used more patience with the screws. One problem was that the slotted end was half missing on two of them, so there was no way to use a screwdriver. I was hoping to drill them out.

[@janedoe6182]

Nice analog multimeter XD

[@boualemdib4292]

B ravo