Selena Vega 215 Part 1: First look and investigation of faults

[@electronicsoldandnew]

I had my own saga with noise, and it was indeed the power line wifi extender. It took me ages to find the source of the noise as I was switching off one side of the pair at a time, and you really have to switch off both to get rid of the noise. Drove me bonkers.

[@Radiocruncher]

+M Caldeira thanks for the comment. It definitely improved when I switched the upstairs one off. I will have to turn them both off when I'm listening for stations as the noise is unbearable

[@electronicsoldandnew]

Yes, and with the valve radios I restore it is actually worse as the AVC voltage created by this massive signal swamps out any true reception.

[@arenaengineering8070]

9:40 Contact pads are silver plated. They can be cleaned with a rubber eraser without damaging the thin layer of silver.

[@Radiocruncher]

I just tend to use switch cleaner and a cotton but now. It they are badly corroded then a fibreglass pencil

[@josemesquita603]

Nice video, Thanks. That model seems to be the export version of the domestic model Океан-214 (Ocean 214) from Minsk factory. While the domestic model covers the 64-74MHz VHF FM band, the export versions had to cover the 88-108MHz VHF FM band.

[@Radiocruncher]

Thanks Jose. I think there’s 3 different versions depending what market they were made for. All with different frequency ranges

[@SpectreOZ]

Great video Graham, I really must buy one of those wonderful fibreglass pens for the next time I have to clean the finger contacts on my Astrad 👍

[@Radiocruncher]

Hi Dave and nice to see you about. Glad that you liked the video. The fibreglass pen is extremely useful. Thanks for watching

[@nor4277]

I am glad to see someone else use the river glass pens ,I have a couple of them with refills one from the former radio shack and the rest from eBay the also offer a brass pen and one other type ,my favorite is the river glass .they are great for cleaning battery contracts the a battery leaked on .can and is good to keep around too nice job on your radio I love watching your videos ,I getting to be a fan of British radios ,the Roberts are amazing

[@Radiocruncher]

Thanks Ron. I use the glass fibre pen a lot. It’s less aggressive than steel or brass and does the job well

[@user-vr6cq6er3c]

F

[@ШенолСюлейман]

Very good radio receiver from USSR i love this retro radio

[@Radiocruncher]

They are very nice radios with good reception. Very well made

[@user-vr6cq6er3c]

12

[@martinburke362]

Bought my selena in 1983 still going strong even the light still works

[@Radiocruncher]

They are well built

[@rajjjrajjj6851]

I want that please cal me 7569389129

[@ahmedkhan6587]

@@rajjjrajjj6851 I have brand new for sale

[@ahmedkhan6587]

Bought year 1999 from Doha Qatar

[@giggling_boatswain]

This Belarusian receiver also has an ancestor from the USSR. VEF family pyriemniks were produced in Riga.

[@Radiocruncher]

Thanks Olgert. They are nice radios

[@Andrewausfa]

Lovely sets these, the seal is original mine all have red 'plasticine' over the screw.

[@Radiocruncher]

that's interesting Andrew. Shame I had to dig it out really as I like to keep it as original as possible. I did watch your video on one ages ago. if you need anything for yours I have a spare set for parts that also looked like it had been dropped as the bottom is missing!

[@VintageElectronicsGeek]

All that lovely man made noise...kinda makes you miss the Russian Woodpecker! Im sure you're aware, the parent company of this radio also mfg'd this radio for Russia under a different badge, it's called a Ocean 214, one on eBay now. Great video!

[@Radiocruncher]

Sooooo much noise! I was aware of the Okean 214 as I used the service manual for that version. Thanks for the comment and watching

[@ovi_4]

Nice presentation, Now regarding that constant banging noise it seems to be everywhere it is very likely to be either your soldering iron PID and or your lighting above you. Whenever i need to work with radios I always switch (temporarily) to incandescent Halogen lighting)

[@Radiocruncher]

Thanks for the info! It is our power line adapter that transfers the broadband to our TV downstairs

[@almightysmith225]

Great video

[@Radiocruncher]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

This is one of the few portable radios that use a double balanced Ring mixer might be worth replacing it with a SBL1 ring mixer module because if you look at the Ring mixer in the radio you were working on and the circuit diagram for the SBL1 you will notice some of the diodes are in the wrong way round.

[@user-vr6cq6er3c]

J

[@redhotdutchtv]

13:10 Vatican Radio, arguably the most beautiful interval signal music on shortwave.

[@Radiocruncher]

Very well spotted and thanks for watching

[@shakeybill82]

It is indeed. I have a studio copy of this interval signal from studio tapes

[@radio-ged4626]

They have one screw covered in a Plasticine or wax seal from new, so it's probably never been looked at before.

[@Radiocruncher]

Hi Ged. Always good if it hasn’t been worked on before

[@RatsAndFunTV]

Hello. I whant to ask you something, if possible. Here is what the matter. I have got a SELENA B212. I have forgoten to switch it of during it whas turning with some bateries, and the day after, when i found it like this, the bateries was knock down. I have put some news to restart the radio, but unfortunately, that don't work at all. So i don't know what could be dead, and i can't try it on the 220 volts because i have not the cable to do this. Have you got an idea of what could be dead and how can i repair the radio?? If you can help me , it will be very wellcome, because this radio is in my familly from i was a teenager, and i whant absolutly to keep it, because this is my best radio. Sorry for the explainations, i'm french and my english is not so good.

[@Radiocruncher]

I’m not sure why it would not work with new batteries. It may be that one cell is bad. Also check the battery contacts in the radio. Apart from that it will be a case of stripping it down and testing voltages

[@RatsAndFunTV]

@@Radiocruncher Thank you for your answer.

[@hamohamo234]

Hello, I have Vega 210 but it is the same like yours. The problem is that radio works but the volume is very low, I can't turn up the volume to the max. Do you know what is the problem? The volume turn thing is working, I can lower volume but when I reach maximum it is very low.

[@Radiocruncher]

Hi. Problems with low audio are most likely to be bad electrolytic capacitors in the audio amplifier. There is an IC in there as well. I would change the electrolytics first and see how it goes. Good luck, Graham

[@user-vr6cq6er3c]

U

[@TheRichardSpearman]

There was also an inferior "Made in Republik Belarus" version; weaker wooden cabinet, and no tuning meter. probably made in the mid-1990s.

[@Radiocruncher]

Thanks William. Sounds like one to avoid

[@Bilbo56]

If you can get away with running an ethernet cable that would be better than using powerline powerline obviously causes a lot of radio interference and I was amateurs are trying to fight Ofcom to prove that that is the case enjoying your videos day

[@eliasragi7472]

Excellent demonstration. Thank you. May I ask for thoughts on why the FM band seems dead, all other bands work perfectly. Thank you.

[@Radiocruncher]

They have issues with the little ceramic capacitors so worth checking those

[@eliasragi7472]

@@Radiocruncher Thank you. Will keep you updated.

[@valeriavaleria3260]

Hi, It was great video!! Iam about to buy a Selena Vega 212, but it does not have a power lead...do you know what kind of power lead may i use into it? all advice is very appreciated

[@Radiocruncher]

Hi Valeria. The power leads for these radios are unique. There was a discussion thread on the vintage radio forum which looked at various options. As it's mains power it can be difficult to modify it safely. Link to the forum thread here www.vintage-radio.net/forum/showthread.php?t=131039. Thanks for watching. Graham

[@valeriavaleria3260]

I thank you very much for your help!!

[@valeriavaleria3260]

However, I have a plan, which I would like to share with you and ask you if I am wrong.. My plan is...on the top of battery pack, hook up the black lead of the 9v battery clip to the spring that is also known as the negative lead. Then hook up the red lead of the 9v battery lead to the flat side of the lower part of battery pack also know as the positive lead. Then clip it with the Diago adaptor connector with the 9V battery snap. Then the Diago adapter will be connected into the variable voltage (from 9V TO 24V) replacement AC DC in power supply 1500m A.

[@Radiocruncher]

Hi Valeria. As long as you get the positive and negative the right way around then it will work. I am not familiar with the Diago adapter but have just had a look on the internet. I assume you mean the white adapter. It looks like this is used to replace a 9v pp3 battery therefore the connections are reversed to snap into the cable wired to the radio. The only issue i see is that with a switch mode power supply you will generate a lot of noise especially on LW, MW and SW. If you only listen to VHF (FM) then it will probably be okay. You really need a linear power supply which will be a lot better. Hope this helps. Graham

[@valeriavaleria3260]

Hi Thanks you once again!! If I decide to use a D Dummies battery..it will help?

[@iana6713]

My Selena 215 has exactly the same lump of plasticine/putty in the same screw hole. Could it be some kind of factory quality seal? It's a good performer on the SW bands, LW and MW but FM is there however faint.

[@Radiocruncher]

Hi Ian. Yes I think you are right about it being a seal. Shame to disturb it really. Sounds like yours needs a service and new capacitors. Thanks for watching. Graham

[@TheRichardSpearman]

You are correct re the seal. The handbook with my example of the radio said that this was factory fitted, and, if missing, indicated that the radio had been "tampered with" by unauthorised service personnel. The fact that it was intact in the video's radio shows that it had never been opened.

[@ПавелХлебосолов-е3ю]

Это заводская пломба, мастика и на ней ставился штамп ОТК (отдел технического контроля) на заводе, при нарушении пломбы потребитель лишался гарантии, как и сейчас впрочем 😊 А как у Вас пломбировали аппараты на заводе?😊

[@valeriavaleria3260]

Hi Again, So how about to use a single 600mAh Li-ion Rechargeable 9 Volt Battery?

[@Radiocruncher]

Not sure what the current drain is on one of those radios but I suppose if it's rechargeable then you could just keep a spare charged and swap them. It would be better to connect 2 or more in parallel. This gives the same voltage but increases the capacity.

[@valeriavaleria3260]

thanks vm for your help

[@FredWilbury]

Thanks I'll give it a go. Fred

[@FredWilbury]

Hi I've one of these from new now it only works on fm I've cleaned all the contacts I did that before I found your vid at moment only run on mains power . I not an electronic expert any suggestions would much appreciated... Fred ps it's been in use most days since I bought it !

[@Radiocruncher]

Hi Fred. It's unusual to have one of these working on FM and not am. They are very good radios when they are working. I did find that a couple of boards on mine had become unclipped. Most faults are caused by dirty turret connection so make sure you got them all clean and the corresponding connections in the radio. They are pretty complex radios so there's no easy fix really. There's lots of info on the internet so worth a search. Thanks for watching. Graham

[@FredWilbury]

⁠@@Radiocruncher cheers many thanks for your reply Graham

[@davidsmethurst1056]

I've just bought one of these radios spares-or-repair on eBay, and found that some of the SW bands don't work very well. On opening it up I've found that the AM aerial rod has jumped out of its holder, had its paper wrappers slightly damaged and two of the coil wires snapped an inch or so from the patch pins on the right hand side :( I've never worked on one of these before (I normally do Hackers and Roberts) so I don't know whether it's worth repairing it or keeping it as a parts doner. Do any of the similar models use the same AM aerial assembly, I wonder?

[@Radiocruncher]

Hi David. If it’s just 2 coil wires then you should be able to scrape off the insulation and solder them back together sealing the wires with nail varnish. I think the B210, 212 has the same aerial. It’s only used for LW and MW though. The SW bands use the telescopic. I suspect the turret tuner will need cleaning and you will almost certainly have to replace the electrolytics. Recent work on a few of these has proven that they are way out of tolerance. Thanks for watching. Graham

[@davidsmethurst1056]

Radiocruncher Hi Graham Thanks for the info. The turret tuner contacts definitely need cleaning and hopefully that along with the AM aerial repair, will get it going again. I don't usually do blanket replacement of caps but I might make an exception for this! Cheers, Dave

[@Radiocruncher]

Hi Dave. I have recently done a B212 with poor audio and bad sensitivity. Both the issues were caused mainly by bad caps. Just lift a couple of the small axial ones and test them. I’m sure you will find they are bad. Make sure you also clean the corresponding spring contacts on the turret tuner as people forget this and it’s normally very dirty. It would also benefit from an rf alignment as all the sets I have done have been way out. Takes ages though as each little board on the turret tuner needs doing apart from FM. Good luck and let me know how you get on. I may be able to sort you out a kit to convert it to mains if you haven’t got the lead. Cheers Graham

[@Radiocruncher]

facebook.com/645286855648346/posts/878991755611187/

[@davidsmethurst1056]

I finally got round to having a proper look at my B215 today. The AM aerial is now fixed and all the contacts on the turret tuner are now nice and clean. All wavebands are working well apart from FM which only picks up one local station very quietly! I'm tempted to replace all electrolytic caps on the IF board and then investigate the area around V6 if that doesn't fix it. The tuning meter also moves to the far left and stays there on FM only, which might be a clue..... I've also discovered one of the tone control knobs is broken which is a pain, as I don't have any spares :(

[@MrBilbo44uk]

Anyone know where I can get two dial bulbs. Weird ampage. 2.5v 0.068A . Or suggest led conversion. Repairing one of these now. But no power into radio. Possibly previous voltage surge. Both bulbs blown. No power to one capacitor. But 23 volts to.other one. Possibly voltage regulator fault.

[@Radiocruncher]

Hi Tim. I can’t find any of that spec but did find this post on the vintage radio forum www.vintage-radio.net/forum/showpost.php?p=259426&postcount=6

[@scaleop4]

i have a VEGA 402 it works but it seems deaf as far as i can tell. i mean you can hear some stations but with full volume its weak

[@Radiocruncher]

Hi. It will probably need the capacitors in the amplifier changing

[@Bilbo56]

From memory I’m sure all the lights were green or at least the carolling made them look green

[@sirwavell]

What's the difference between this model and a Selena Vega 217 model ?

[@Radiocruncher]

Hi Jock. I’ve never heard of a Vega 217 and google came up blank. They did do 3 versions of this radio which had different frequencies available for different markets

[@sirwavell]

@@Radiocruncher .. Selena B 217 model does exist, I have one. www.radiomuseum.org/r/radiotehni_selena_b_217b21.html

[@Radiocruncher]

Nice one Jock. Just had a look and the FM only goes up to 101mhz on it. I’m sure the 215 goes to 108

[@sirwavell]

@@Radiocruncher . Mine for some strange reason picks up more SW stations when powered via AC mains as opposed to DC battery power.

[@coroamanicolai4527]

@@sirwavell The power cord and the electrical wiring of the house acts as an antenna. On shortwave this is very important since the wave length is quite big (tens of meters).

[@SoddingaboutSi]

Mine has turned up today but I can't find a service manual.Did you track one down ?

[@Radiocruncher]

andrewausfa emailed me one. if you text or message me I will send it over

[@Radiocruncher]

+Radiocruncher your email address that is

[@Radiocruncher]

+Simon Spiers on their way. hope your Russian is good

[@sebastiangal4779]

Hi! I have the same radio, but always I was interested in, what the function is on the second button?? Is it for wide/thin FM? And It works only in FM mode?? Thank You, best wishes from Poland :)

[@Radiocruncher]

Hi Sebastian. The 2nd button down is AFC for FM only. It helps keep the station tuned if you are slightly off. Thanks for watching and if you need more info let me know. Graham

[@sebastiangal4779]

Thank You so much :) Tell me please what type of headphones I can use for Selena?? On the back side there is wrote about 60Ω. It is mean I can not use less than 60Ω headphones? Maybe 2x32Ω serial connected will be ok? Have a nice evening!!

[@Radiocruncher]

Hi Sebastian. I wouldn't worry to much about matching the impedance with headphones. A mismatch will affect audio quality but we are not really in the hifi league with this radio. Have a look at this link for more info nwavguy.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/headphone-impedance-explained.html

[@sebastiangal4779]

Thank You for the link :)

[@muhammadimraniqbal870]

Dear sir, how r u? Selena B 215 have red valve?

[@Radiocruncher]

No valves in a Selena

[@arenaengineering8070]

My advice is to measure all electrolytic capacitors. This is the weak point of these receivers.

[@Radiocruncher]

Yes they are usually bad. Thanks

[@babikonada9322]

👍

[@Radiocruncher]

Thanks Babi

[@SpectreOZ]

I can't get over the noisy RF interference, it has gotten worse here at this location of the years but is still no where as bad as your interference, my condolences.

[@Radiocruncher]

It does make it very difficult when aligning these radios. I have to go around and turn everything off. The video recorder, soldering iron and power line adaptor are the worst culprits

[@SpectreOZ]

+Radiocruncher The soldering iron? I would have thought being intended for electronics it would be suitably RF shielded... I have found the LG line of product to be amongst the worst offenders here, namely flat screen CRT TV's and PC monitors, a shame really.

[@Radiocruncher]

You would think it would be well shielded but unfortunately you get what you pay for and this was a budget desoldering/ soldering station. It's been a godsend so I wouldn't be without it but have to remember to turn it of when I'm tuning the bands

[@ashwinsolanki4368]

😊❤❤❤

[@Bilbo56]

I had one of those believe it or not

[@moussalahrech5502]

Does it contain mercury ???

[@Radiocruncher]

I’m not sure what part might contain mercury if at all

[@user-vr6cq6er3c]

F d

[@jabirali3051]

Kia Pakistan k ander salena Ke repairing shop hay

[@ياسالخفاجي-م5و]

All the old Russian radios noise especially selena viga Ihave one but its weak except am it's very clear your brother yas shaheen kerbal Iraq

[@zaheerjutt9523]

I have this radio

[@Radiocruncher]

A very nice radio. Great reception and sound

[@SaimAli-hy6lf]

This radio have red mercury?

[@ahmedwakrim2150]

If some one can help me to repaire my lovley selena,,, morroco thanks

[@Radiocruncher]

Hi. What’s wrong with it?

[@badressam473]

11:20 why is it making a continuous sound like a machine gun 😅

[@حسامجعفر-د6ث]

USSR

[@Radiocruncher]

Yes very nice radios

[@muhammadrafique3903]

RAFIQUE MASTOI DG Khan Pakistan 🏝🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰

[@moodyga40]

wrong tools burs screws

[@Radiocruncher]

Totally agree. Thanks for watching

[@user-vr6cq6er3c]

Y

[@НиколайГорячев-ш2ь]

Продайте мне её:)

[@Radiocruncher]

I’m sure I could find one to sell you

[@НиколайГорячев-ш2ь]

@@Radiocruncher Ваша цена?

[@user-vr6cq6er3c]

F g