Silvertone 10 AA5 Clock Radio One IF Transformer NO Second Had 1950s Special

[@Synthematix]

That mains cord is absolutely beautiful, and the radium in the clock face is even better.

[@UHF43]

As long as you don't lick it.

[@zulumax1]

I wanted to see Shango take the geiger counter out and here it go wild!

[@2packs4sure]

This radio is in the 1952 Sears fall and winter catalog for $27.95..

[@albear972]

According to the inflation, that would be a cool $325.29 for that in today's bucks (3/24) for the most of the most basic AM radios.

[@gabrielleeliseo6062]

Only Shango would think..."Just straighten out the horribly disintegrated line cord enough that it no longer shorts and let's figure out what's wrong with this radio..."

[@karlpottie7399]

Totally safe 😂

[@gregoryclemen1870]

@@karlpottie7399when using the lamp, a short circuit will not matter!!!!

[@_-_Michael_-_]

One day the light bulb says Bye Bye and epic thing will happen hope there will still be something of Shango to upload it for us 😂

[@jaakkolehto1487]

Bulbs do not explode when shorted

[@Jonassssss6]

​@@_-_Michael_-_a lightbulb goes open when it fails

[@FireandFrostHVAC]

Hey Shango, I’m a commercial refrigeration mechanic, we use silver solder on refrigerant linesets all the time. That solder you got is 96.5 % tin, 3% silver, & 0.5% copper. The AG03 on the label is the silver content. It wets and flows nicely, but you do need the paste flux for it to work well. I’ve used 6% silver solder in my electronics projects and it does work well, but it’s a bit pricey for old radios… Great video, thanks!

[@gregoryclemen1870]

I am a retired hvac-r tech. , I worked on the large chillers, constant temp refrigeration, and U.L.T. cascade freezers where a lot of times you had to braze copper to steel, needing high % silver content , that would do a great job of draining your wallet!!!!. 1 troy ounce was super expensive.

[@brucewinningham4959]

I have seen plenty of Clocks WITHOUT a Second Hand back in the day.

[@zulumax1]

Do you happen to know what the melting temperature is?

[@mike289homebuilt5]

​@@zulumax1google says 650 to 780 degrees. We do silver solder at my work with adjustable digital soldering irons. soldering with ours was done quickly just long enough for it to get fully wet. Our wires and terminal were pre-tined.

[@TexasEngineer]

Blast from the past. I remember my parents getting this radio about 1953 or 54. I was about 4. It was a Sunday morning that they used it for the first time. I heard it go off and I went to their room. They were so happy because they had their coffee percolator pluged into. The radio woke my dad up for work for at least a decade.

[@vwestlife]

A free bonus is the nice healthy dose of radium you get from the clock dial.

[@shango066]

I will take the counter too it

[@BudTheDrummer]

@@shango066In the '60's, Mattel had a Glow in the Dark paint. It was thick like paste and I painted images on the cellar walls and floors to go with my 4' blacklight tube. Hey, if my Sheffield Allsport Wrist Watch with Glow in the Dark Dial didn't kill me, what would?

[@LakeNipissing]

@@shango066 That would be an interesting test. If it isn't glowing brightly anymore, it might be past the half life.

[@townhall05446]

I doubt there is any danger from it.

[@nmccw3245]

@@LakeNipissing - the half life of radium is 1600 years…. 😱 Dead phosphor.

[@50shadesofbeige88]

"A big catalog store called Sears that used to exist". Thanks for that. 😂

[@twiff3rino28]

Sad but true 😢

[@ltsiver]

They went back to their roots and took Kmart with them.

[@Smugginz]

I just walked into a mall that had old signage for a sears store. Was such a trip.

[@PeopleAlreadyDidThis]

My father-in-law would have lived a third-world existence if not for Sears. He bought everything there.

[@CATech1138]

considering the internet has become the mail order

[@drussell_]

Sears manufacturer code 132 is Arvin. The standard E12 (10% tolerance) capacitor series is {10, 12, 15, 18, 22, 27, 33, 39, 47, 56, 68, 82} Old-school E6 (20% tolerance binning) is {10, 15, 22, 33, 47, 68} AG03 on the solder is 3% silver.

[@johnyetman3179]

I loved watching him mess with that line cord so it would clear the short eventually , and bring power to that radio! The second I saw that cord, I knew he wasn't going to change it! Watching him plug in that broken plug made me smile inside!

[@TubeRadioRepairRestoration]

Agreed.... that is a safe power cord. Love the videos, keep them coming

[@BruisersBeaters]

I Do Cars subscriber here as well of course. Watching him tare down engines the way he does is super educational. He's taught me a ton of stuff I never knew before.

[@norcal715]

Watching @Shango066 resurrection and also looking forward for @IDoCars Saturday night engine teardown.

[@j.d.m.3287]

has he torn down a Tesla electro vehicle, yet?

[@_-_Michael_-_]

“I don’t know what kind of Riky Dink cheap ass shit this is… But hey, it uses the tripple filter capacitor.” is going to Shangos hall of fame of great sarcastic lines 😂😂😂😂

[@jkuebler89]

Reminded me of my grandpa. Whenever he said stuff it held so much more weight, venom and humor.

[@alanmaier]

I've been watching Eric and I Do Cars for years. Been trying to buy a used water pump from him for a long time. ;)

[@janosnagyj.9540]

😅 So I'm not the only who attempted that 🤣🤣🤣 I'm watching him as well and now I know also why YT was offering me that channel for watching 😉

[@DonnyHooterHoot]

Me too! I've emailed for some oil pump gears and never heard back.

[@agoogleuser704]

@@DonnyHooterHootI think he runs an eBay store, would those not be on there?

[@1McMurdoSilver]

Thank you Shango... Saturday morning education and entertainment.

[@BudTheDrummer]

When I was 15yo in 1973, I too switched the 50C5 with a 35W4. there was a bright blue arc, the tube cracked at the base and the envelope jumped up the second i plugged it in! Only recently and through your videos am I now ready to try messing things up again!

[@gyost8147]

I still have a Silvertone vacuum tube record player in the basement that was given to me as a kid to keep me busy one summer (1977, it had been my uncle's when it was new)

[@randyab9go188]

Sears was the Amazon of its day. I miss Sears of the 60's -80's. Good quality stuff there.

[@BudTheDrummer]

Ours in Hamden Ct had a lower level and at the bottom od the escalator was a clothes dryer with poker chips floating on the hot air!

[@scottrance-im7xz]

I've been watching alot of your videos , and do get good information with lots of interesting and helpful tricks and tips . I think your approach ... while somewhat quite careless , reflects a more simplistic approach to these radios . Your hands on approach I can relate to old auto mechanics tearing into an old vintage engine or just adding gas and trying to start it . Yeah your cord thing here did show your dim bulb tester at work.

[@johnnysokko8505]

I also have been watching I Do Cars for a while now. The guy's business is right across the river from me. I friend, who is a fellow BMW fan has met him and said he's a good dude.

[@MrCrystalcranium]

I've watched I Do Cars for a while now as well. Sometimes it can be a little contrived when he says "Whaddya think we're gonna find when we open the valve cover huh?" when you know he's already seen what's under it. But I still enjoy it. My latest YT binge watching is James Condon's small engine repair channel. About 80% of the content is getting garbage, rust bucket portable generators running and putting out decent quality AC power again but there are restorations of other small engine based machines as well. He does good, methodical diagnostic and repair work a step at a time. I've put some of it to good use getting my snow blower running well...something it never did out of the box from day one.

[@TheDevice9]

I really enjoy the diagnostics on these old radios which are like something I might work on. I especially enjoyed the line cord with dim bulb demonstration.

[@HankPanky]

Of course we're going to replace this power cord before doing anything else. Nope! 😂

[@scottrance-im7xz]

Timely video for myself. I just got a 1951 Ivory model 11 and will begin on it soon .

[@bobbyk6585]

How many yards of solder have I chewed on over the decades? Use it as a catheter... That one got me...

[@tedbell4416]

Plug it in plug it in 🎵

[@myradiovideos]

BUT!!! He kept his rubber gloves on, I wanted to hear the siren from the ambulance!!! 😞

[@LakeNipissing]

Yes I watch I do cars. "That looks in great condition, we're gonna save that" ... then it goes flying across the shop.

[@AndyFletcherX31]

One factor to consider when selecting resistors is the voltage coefficient of resistance (VCR) which is normally around -200ppm/V. This means if you put 200V across a resistor its resistance will go down about 5% whilst the voltage is applied.

[@rriflemann308]

Those very distinctive and very brown Sears radios were very popular in the 1950s and you saw them everywhere.

[@rriflemann308]

the solder, 96.5%tin and 3% silver with .5% copper, nice stuff,

[@RonaldMeyer-b1u]

Yes, I love your TV and Radio resurrections but the oscilloscope episode with the bubbling capacitor was entertaining as heck and the Sony TV with the derelict zener diode was a tribute to your persistence and my favorite video so far. Thank you very much.

[@drussell_]

For the 6.8k resistor, since you have a whole bag full, you could easily just use four resistors, two sets of two each in parallel, connected in series to "make" a 1-watt.

[@RonaldMeyer-b1u]

Sir, Yes I love your TV and Radio resurections but my favorite exploritory involved that old oscilloscope with the bubbling capacitor - that was the bomb and that Sony with the derelict zener diode - I absolutely loved your persistence as that was my favorite video of all. Thanks a bunch.

[@nekosarantango865]

Ive been using the same 35w china iron with 45° bend in tip for years,. The tip is incredibly handy for sneaking onto burried components

[@jimhickey2276]

I live in a little town in central Ga and have all these tube am radios and most of my cars have tube am radios. There's isn't shit on anyone and I miss it. I used to have a radio on all day, one in every room and that was up untill around 2010.

[@drakeps360]

Definitely radium on the clock hands, im in the middle of trying to get a similar truetone radio working that has the same brand clock in it. I originally picked it up because it set my geiger off but now im learning a bit about old radios waiting on more parts and the manual. already swapped the tubes got it to turn on so far but no sign of any tuning as i turn the knob.

[@agoogleuser704]

That Soviet neon tube is cool, would love to use something like that as an indicator light 😮 reminds me of grandpas old electronic stuff

[@JerryEricsson]

When we moved off the family farm to town, we first moved into a rooming house, the old fart who owned the place loved old radios, he had one exactly like that in his kitchen, he had it wired to his electric peculator to start his morning coffee at 7:00 AM.

[@GS-yr1hm]

I have watched many people restore electronic equipment but this video is a hoot what bothers me is anyone with common sense would never plug in an old radio with a power cord in this condition execpt shango way to go youre my hero

[@sgath92]

I feel emotionally attached to tools that I use every-day. I learned how to solder on a GE soldering iron, made circa 1960s. They used a proprietary tip-heating element design that was also OEM for one of the 70s era heathkit soldering stations. Tips have been unobtanium for, IDK, 30 years now. Once the tips started getting scarce I switched to the Radioshack plug-in irons (nothing fancy like temp control) and had one in 25W, 40W, and 60W. The 40W finally kicked the bucket a year or two ago and I must have spent 20 hours online trying to find a NOS replacement because I just had to have the same tool again to feel normal and finally tracked down a Hong Kong company that HAD to have been the one supplying Radioshack for their 1990s irons because aside from the color of the handle its 100% identical in every way and even uses the same tips. With the "right" tool again, the inner peace returned... until I broke the tip on my Utica #778 needle nose pliers (their 1939 product catalog, btw, shows all the hand tools they recommended the radio repair shop have, it mysteriously lacks any nut drivers).

[@chaoskaiser72]

I just got a pretty little bakelite-case Silvertone that this one reminded me of; has the finest in swooshy mid-century styling but with the gaudiest looking old west font on the dial.

[@Truckguy1970]

A friend of mine had something similar to this when I was a kid. The clock worked but the radio didn't but instead of getting the radio fixed, he plugged another radio into that outlet on the back so he would still have a radio for the alarm lol

[@chrisingle5839]

Missed a trick... not plugging the Custom nightlight into the into the socket on the radio.😊

[@agoogleuser704]

True! 😮

[@petemiksich5760]

The clock was made by General Electric (Telechron) for Arvin use and Silvertone badging.

[@davepike6170]

Love that little Soviet neon lamp! I gotta get me one!

[@ricardosalesdemello4130]

oh hello shango, good afternoon old friend, oh shango I enjoyed seeing you fix the radio, it looked great! It worked well because you changed some electrolytics that were no longer good, and with the replacement of valves, I noticed that the operation of the radio improved a lot

[@ricardosalesdemello4130]

Okay friend shango QSL

[@jimw7ry]

"I'm just a common radio, drive a common van My clock ain't got a second hand If I have my say, it gonna stay that way 'Cause high-browed radios lose their sanity And a common radio is what I'll be" Indeed Shango! Great play on a song by John Conlee!! Well done Shango!

[@ThomasWalker-m2y]

I remember that radio in my parents house in the 50ds and 60's when i was growing up

[@natechrisman5333]

I love it you need to do more AM radio videos

[@robinsonsoto8471]

I do like your videos and I enjoy them, i learn from them. You have an announcer voice. Like radio station.

[@jimlocke9320]

During my high school and college years, I owned a GE model 535 clock radio which is similar in front layout to the Silvertone. The clock was on the left and tuning dial on the right. The speaker, however, was in the middle, partly covered by the tuning dial display panel, which was made of sheet metal. The radio had 6 tubes and 2 IF transformers, but did not have a third section in the tuning capacitor. The radio used GE's "mechanized chassis", where wires were dropped into wells for connection to the tube pins and for interconnection. With the exception of a few hand soldered joints, the soldering was automated with the wells being dipped in a pool of molten solder. I didn't find that this 6 tube radio received distant stations any better than a good 5 tube radio. I understood that the extra tube mainly improved AGC performance, so there was less variation in volume when tuning weak and strong stations. By the time that I graduated college, my radio was pretty beat up, having been owned by a careless teenager (myself!), so it got junked. I did buy several of these radios on ebay, later in life, out of nostalgia, and restored them.

[@richardbernardo3528]

Love your videos!

[@2packs4sure]

Lol,, I thought you were kidding about plugging in that damn cord,, that was funny

[@airplaneengine]

Those look like Harbor Freight soldering irons. I have a few of them and they do work fairly well when new. However, the tips don't last long on them (even with your typical proper care), but they can be ground, reshaped and tinned when needed.

[@TechGorilla1987]

@12:57 - That resembles a thread tension spring on an older sewing machine.

[@jwl9286]

Comparing your circuit to a regular two IF circuit it appears the IF transformer would be the load resistance if it were a two IF design. What a great find and even more to calculate the wattage of the circuit. Smokification, another great one! All American Five radios just make us feel good. Thanks for another great video.

[@BudTheDrummer]

I miss the nicotine paste and the rodent piss!

[@dhelton40]

So many things on this set remind me of Zenith, that I wonder if they built these for Sears.

[@error52]

I have a Philips radio-cassette with the exact same IF arrangement, except solid state. Model 22RR293, bottom of the line for 1971, medium and long wave only. I was just as surprised when I saw that the single IF stage is just two transistors, connected with a 10nF cap. There's only one AM station to receive there, weaker than the K-Mozart, so receiving it on the Philips requires a long, outdoor antenna. When I do manage to coax it into receiving something, however, audio performance is pretty good, so there's some silver lining.

[@seesea-sv3xw]

My mom had a green Silvertone Radio (Tube) with white nobbs in our kitchen back in the 50s & 60s it had great, sound deep, rich sound . I remember when she bought a solid-state AM/FM that was crap in comparison. Give me a tube set any day

[@Indiskret1]

Watcher of "I do cars" here too. Entertaining, revealing and educational.

[@harryshector]

Those neon bulbs are what standard NE2s looked like 60 years ago. Those ‘peanut’ versions that are available now - when you can actually find any aren’t “REALLY” NE2, even if they are so labeled…

[@robinsattahip2376]

Interesting relationship between that tube and the off-value resistor. Thanks, never saw that before.

[@Desert-edDave]

I've never seen a neon lamp like that Soviet thyratron, looking down at it from the top, it looks like it would be a really cool indicator lamp. Very cool. 👍

[@drussell_]

The _"lamp"_ part is just a side effect of the thyratron action, although it was often exploited by making the end visible in the apparatus to monitor the state. This is the kind of thing that made many of the original _"blinkenlights"_ panels blink their lights.

[@rotaxtwin]

Yeah I like the I Do Cars guy, I like digging in to those failed engines with him. Learn something and always entertaining.

[@DonnyHooterHoot]

Our local Sears was turned into indoor storage units quite a few years ago now. It and the WHOLE mall it was in! Taken over by "them". Oh well.

[@johnyetman3179]

Nothing can top his clothes washer EOL.ITS A MUST SEE!

[@user-uz1yv2oc9v]

Great video as always, thank you for taking the time to put this together! I also saw that bentley mulsan engine strip down video, youtube must be sending us the same thing! Was hoping you'd hit the bypass button to find the short in the line cord! 47uf and a 33uf in parallel will give you an easy 80uf capacitor and are both common values available today. Strange they went with something that large but probably to try and take the hum out at a cheaper price. That LA Times is anaemic! It's so sad that many of the younger tik-tok 5 second attention scrolling generation will not get the satisfaction of sitting down in the quiet with a newspaper and a drink and taking 30 mins to actually read and think about something rather than just react on impulse to a 5 second clip. The solder is 96.5 tin, 3 percent silver (AG) and 0.5 copper.

[@hugh007]

That looks like the most complex chassis I've seen. Must have been a bear to assemble in the factory. Thanks

[@richardbrobeck2384]

Shango Yes growing up Sears was our go to place !

[@johnfranklin5277]

Definitely watch I DO CARS. He's a good guy, and a great sense of humor.

[@ntsecrets]

I think connections museum just did a video about how those neon thyrotrons were used as indicators in the air raid siren control system.

[@superhet7281]

A Master Class on AA5 troubleshooting. And fun to watch! I wonder why more manufacturers didn’t eliminate the second IF transformer. Leave it to Arvin! Just be happy it had an IF stage at all - Arvin made a lot of AA4’s for Sears with no IF stage.

[@randynelson2265]

That lead free solder can really suck. That Soviet neon lamp is really cool. You ever try to build a circuit board for one of these old all American five tube radios?

[@realjakeparks]

“Huh, looks like we got a short” 😂

[@alanmaier]

EIA code 132 for sears is Arvin

[@tedbell4416]

Arvin, I'll be dog

[@randyab9go188]

Arvin cutting corners.

[@gregoryclemen1870]

@@randyab9go188 ARVIN did not cut corners, it was built to SEARS specifications, and companies would beat each other up on price just to get the contract with SEARS!!!.

[@gregoryclemen1870]

the E.I.A. code for ARVIN( columbus ind.) is # 248. the sears mod. prefix number 132 is made by ARVIN.

[@drussell_]

_Sears manufacturer code_ (an internal Sears code,) *NOT* _Electronic Industries Association (EIA)_ code!!

[@dbingamon]

Yeah, there are plenty of AA5 videos out there, but no where else can you get it combined with humor, bugs frying, political commentary, tin whiskers, disintegrating line cords and "this is a test" in one place. I keep coming back for more.

[@BudTheDrummer]

shango066 should be a Jeopardy Clue Category!

[@HughMcVea]

Hi Shango I watch I Do Cars, I enjoy his videos and have been watching for years.

[@accord91ex]

I also watch the "I Do Cars" channel. Good stuff, I watch his videos much like I watch yours. Something to watch/listen to while doing other things, and learn along the way.

[@kennethmcclure29]

I greatly appreciate your humor with this radio. Thanx for the laugh Ken from gpt ms

[@hestheMaster]

Loose tubes sockets are a problem when the miniature tubes were in a horizontal position. Every wax paper capacitor is leaky and the firecracker E cap is bad. Don't expect it to be a good performer with that and one IF transformer. A 47uF with a 33uF cap ( both very commom) can be soldered in parallel to make 80uF! The restoring and hunting for any bad resistors on this poorly engineered radio was a real eye opener with the added commentary and the silicone glued to the tubes! Thanks Dan.

[@leroyjenkins09]

I have a lot of Silvertone stuff from this era, yes house brand, but good quality stuff!

[@jamesplotkin4674]

I do cars fan, too. Nice little radio, even without a second IF.

[@OldSkoolF]

Always love your vids!

[@ralphj4012]

The tuning cord pully and bracket directly in front of the speaker seems very odd (to me).

[@newrad2007]

Eric is awesome. Been watching his channel for a bit now, always look forward to Saturdays with Shango and I do Cars.

[@georgegonzalez2476]

Did you know: the original audio output tube for these 7-pin miniature radio radios was the 50B5. Until just a few years later, somebody noticed that if an end-user swapped the 50B5 with another tube from the radio, a serious shock hazard resulted. The tube was quickly repinned as the 50C5 which solved that problem.

[@gregoryclemen1870]

the tube basing of the 50B5, and the 50C5 are not the same. I made a mistake years ago, when I grabbed a 50B5( by mistake) and put it in place that was a 50C5, and I blew out the 150 ohm cathode resistor.

[@georgegonzalez2476]

Yes, that's the whole point. The 50B5 had an unfortunate pinout that could cause big problems.@@gregoryclemen1870

[@dosdoktor]

Hopefully I come across someday, I really wanna visit that tube collection. If I learn how to properly service this old stuff I may do the same at some point.

[@arizonaalchemy7572]

Shango you must be Crazy or Insane or BOTH ! L-O-L !

[@brentschmitt3338]

I used to have this one

[@MarioMania05]

It would not be a radio video without Shango saying "let's see if 1260 comes in" Nice Catch on KCBS, I'm suprised you couldn't get KBRT

[@mehmeh5471]

One day the uploads will stop and we will know why, shango pushed his luck

[@Monaco-BuilditFixitDriveitEver]

That’s funny.

[@mrbyamile6973]

He had his high voltage PPE nitrile gloves on, tested to 10,000 volts protecting him from fly-back transformers on TVs, asbestos and everything else known to the state of California to be hazardous.

[@Steven-re7xt]

No. 47 bulbs and some 43. Work as indicator. Of power. PS my old buddy Frank baker bless his heart . Had a drawer of kits that did the job. Tks

[@rexoliver7780]

Wow the safety man’s delight! Crumbly intermittent shorting cord,then the radium infested radio dial pointer and clock hands! What more can go wrong! But it’s a cool old radio nonetheless! Just wear your rad suit and use your lineman’s gloves to plug in and move the cord--BUT keep the cord away from your curtains!

[@docnele]

Thank you for your interesting (and equally entertaining) content breaking boredom of my sick leave (back surgery). Shango, did you hear about 1965-66 micro-receiver made in USSR and exported as ''Astrad Orion' and "Micro" made by Angstrem in Zelenograd and later Minsk Radio Plant?

[@acoustic61]

Good radio for the bathtub.

[@VectraQS]

It never occurred to me that you could use a dim bulb to protect against one of these cords. I, however, will continue immediately replacing them before I do anything else.

[@LeonardoX86]

i didnt know the I Do Cars channel but i watch a lot Jennings Motor Sports, he's to cars what Shango is for tube stuff. No fancy crap, just straight to the point, home repair

[@50shadesofbeige88]

I've got a real nice Craftsman iron from the 70s. I have to use it anytime I run into a PCB with a large ground plane. It puts the Pinecil to shame. However, it also weighs about 10x as much. 😂

[@HughTVDX]

Around 25:50 when you're testing resistors, red,red black which is 22 ohms reads about 219 ohm on the HP and you say it's OK?? 0.219K

[@johnnytacokleinschmidt515]

😮nice description! Beautiful man! Just beautiful.

[@hightechstuff2]

LOL! Yep, I watched that Bentley Engine Teardown last week.

[@garp32]

Good demonstration on how the dim bulb works.. 😂 On a more serious note.. NPR? Seriously? Radio is far from dead. But you nailed it on content. Top 40, talk, etc has made it stale and boring. I'm extremely fortunate to be in a market AND have a local station that is proud of their content and attracts listeners young and old. Their internet stream (which is CQUAM AM stereo) attracts over 7,000 hours listened every month all around the world. We just need less corporate owned, boring, predictable, and coming soon after a bailout.. agenda based programming. This is where the guys who are old school owners/ programming directors who actively listen to their public can make a difference. Not the voice tracked garbage that's out there owned by the big corporations. It obviously doesn't work as one is already going bankrupt. Great vid btw!