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Coffee House => Coffee House Boards => CH / General => Topic started by: redrumloa on December 04, 2010, 06:27:50 PM

Title: I am more retro than you! ;-)
Post by: redrumloa on December 04, 2010, 06:27:50 PM
Look at what I scored today!

(http://i56.tinypic.com/xm49w6.jpg)

(http://i52.tinypic.com/rm0e3q.jpg)
Title: Re: I am more retro than you! ;-)
Post by: ChaosLord on December 04, 2010, 06:30:15 PM
You win. :D
Title: Re: I am more retro than you! ;-)
Post by: Karlos on December 04, 2010, 06:49:23 PM
Wow, and I thought "Radiation King" was made up :lol:
Title: Re: I am more retro than you! ;-)
Post by: Franko on December 04, 2010, 07:13:49 PM
Drool... :cool:

I'd bet half if not all of those lovely old valves are still working... :)
Title: Re: I am more retro than you! ;-)
Post by: adz on December 04, 2010, 11:27:33 PM
Still in working condition Red or sold as is? :lol:
Title: Re: I am more retro than you! ;-)
Post by: Karlos on December 04, 2010, 11:44:32 PM
Quote from: adz;597115
Still in working condition Red or sold as is? :lol:


It picks up tunes straight from the past...
Title: Re: I am more retro than you! ;-)
Post by: nicholas on December 04, 2010, 11:52:03 PM
I bet Paula sounds even more beautiful when you feed her through those valves! :)
Title: Re: I am more retro than you! ;-)
Post by: redrumloa on December 05, 2010, 02:24:58 AM
Quote from: adz;597115
Still in working condition Red or sold as is? :lol:

I'm about to hook it up and see. The older gentlemen I bought this from stated it does work, but the tuning cable (mechanical) is broken. A look inside confirms that, but I should be able to manually tune it. That shouldn't be a terribly difficult fix.

No plans to sell this right now. I will fix it up and use it. However, the gentleman I bought this from says he has a much bigger unit with built in record player. I may go check that one out as I've wanted a record player lately. Also I found out my wife and son have been considering getting me a very, very large stereo (vacuum tube) with record player from the consignment shop where my son works (assisted living community for semi-active seniors). If I get one of the larger units this one may become available. Otherwise I'll continue to fix this one up and restore it for myself.
Title: Re: I am more retro than you! ;-)
Post by: adz on December 05, 2010, 02:33:05 AM
Quote from: redrumloa;597156
I'm about to hook it up and see. The older gentlemen I bought this from stated it does work, but the tuning cable (mechanical) is broken. A look inside confirms that, but I should be able to manually tune it. That shouldn't be a terribly difficult fix.

No plans to sell this right now. I will fix it up and use it. However, the gentleman I bought this from says he has a much bigger unit with built in record player. I may go check that one out as I've wanted a record player lately. Also I found out my wife and son have been considering getting me a very, very large stereo (vacuum tube) with record player from the consignment shop where my son works (assisted living community for semi-active seniors). If I get one of the larger units this one may become available. Otherwise I'll continue to fix this one up and restore it for myself.


Hope it does still work, it just screams Fallout 3!
Title: Re: I am more retro than you! ;-)
Post by: Karlos on December 05, 2010, 02:33:47 AM
Quote from: redrumloa;597156
...Otherwise I'll continue to fix this one up and restore it for myself.


...a few weeks pass...

(http://iligan3pm.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/wpid-radiation-king-radio-papercraft-fallout-new-vegas.jpg)
Title: Re: I am more retro than you! ;-)
Post by: redrumloa on December 05, 2010, 03:30:28 AM
Bummer, it doesn't work. Looks like I will be taking a crash course on vacuum tubes!
Title: Re: I am more retro than you! ;-)
Post by: Franko on December 05, 2010, 03:39:15 AM
Dunno if they still make them but my old Dad used to have hundreds of old valves and he always swore by the one's that were made in the old USSR and Czeck Republic... :)

(might be a wee bit hard to come by these days... :))
Title: Re: I am more retro than you! ;-)
Post by: mechy on December 05, 2010, 04:36:27 AM
haha red,it so cold in florida that you need a heater? :D
Title: Re: I am more retro than you! ;-)
Post by: adz on December 05, 2010, 09:43:49 AM
Quote from: redrumloa;597174
Bummer, it doesn't work. Looks like I will be taking a crash course on vacuum tubes!


Damn...Keep us posted, would be cool to see if you can get it working again :)
Title: Re: I am more retro than you! ;-)
Post by: Karlos on December 05, 2010, 11:31:29 AM
Looks like it just needs a new fission battery ;)
Title: Re: I am more retro than you! ;-)
Post by: redrumloa on December 05, 2010, 04:28:44 PM
Shame on me, I didn't even mention what it is! This is a Philips BX998A radio, made in The Netherlands. From what I read online it is from 1955, but the date code on my unit seems to indicate 1954. It was apparently very high end back when it was released. This site (http://people.cs.uu.nl/gerard/FotoAlbum/RadioCorner/Articles/PhilBX998.htm) has some good info.
Title: Re: I am more retro than you! ;-)
Post by: Karlos on December 05, 2010, 04:32:30 PM
Man, I love looking at old technology like this. Pure valvepunk pr0n :D
Title: Re: I am more retro than you! ;-)
Post by: Karlos on December 05, 2010, 04:37:46 PM
Quote from: Franko;597176
Dunno if they still make them but my old Dad used to have hundreds of old valves and he always swore by the one's that were made in the old USSR and Czeck Republic... :)

(might be a wee bit hard to come by these days... :))


Actually, my old manager at the previous place I worked was a radio enthusiast (in the technological, rather than the "ooh, that's a nice radio" sense). He bought several ceramic power amplifier valves rated at 2.5kW from some old soviet supply for the "moon bounce" competition (literally, bounce a signal off the moon and recover it).

These things were nothing like your common idea of valves of nice little glass envelopes with delicate coils and screens all lit up. They were big, heavy and had huge copper radiators on the top to which cooling fans were supposed to be fitted during operation. The looked more like sparkplugs from the devil's own internal combustion engine than a piece of precision (which they in fact were) electronics.
Title: Re: I am more retro than you! ;-)
Post by: Franko on December 05, 2010, 04:46:23 PM
Quote from: Karlos;597269
These things were nothing like your common idea of valves of nice little glass envelopes with delicate coils and screens all lit up. They were big, heavy and had huge copper radiators on the top to which cooling fans were supposed to be fitted during operation. The looked more like sparkplugs from the devil's own internal combustion engine than a piece of precision (which they in fact were) electronics.


Yeah my Dad had a huge collection of the things, some of them were monsters, I think the Soviet one were bullet proof, so when the KJB kicked your door in and began shooting they at least didn't damage your TV set which was a pretty scare item back in the old USSR... :)

The odd thing was my Dad was never a TV or Radio engineer but he always seemed to be working on someones old TV Set or Gramaphone and that's were I as kid picked up my interest in all things electronic & technical... :)
Title: Re: I am more retro than you! ;-)
Post by: adz on December 05, 2010, 09:33:35 PM
Quote from: Karlos;597209
Looks like it just needs a new fission battery ;)


Well it is from the 50's :lol:
Title: Re: I am more retro than you! ;-)
Post by: redrumloa on December 06, 2010, 03:30:02 AM
Some more pics for those interested.
 
http://i55.tinypic.com/28vbpsm.jpg
 
http://i56.tinypic.com/2dulcn9.jpg
 
http://i51.tinypic.com/vg54jd.jpg
 
http://i52.tinypic.com/30nf902.jpg
 
http://i56.tinypic.com/28045qu.jpg
 
http://i56.tinypic.com/2q022l1.jpg
 
http://i52.tinypic.com/xmlk55.jpg
 
http://i54.tinypic.com/10i53wn.jpg
 
http://i53.tinypic.com/e9dw5c.jpg
Title: Re: I am more retro than you! ;-)
Post by: Tenacious on December 06, 2010, 06:25:30 AM
Quote from: redrumloa;597266
Shame on me, I didn't even mention what it is! This is a Philips BX998A radio, made in The Netherlands. From what I read online it is from 1955, but the date code on my unit seems to indicate 1954. It was apparently very high end back when it was released. This site (http://people.cs.uu.nl/gerard/FotoAlbum/RadioCorner/Articles/PhilBX998.htm) has some good info.

That's a beauty!  I have a Norelco from about 1962 and some other tube radios (a Zenith shortwave from 1937).  Tubes (valves) are still cool.

Often, the old paper capacitors dry up and short out.  Be careful in there.
Title: Re: I am more retro than you! ;-)
Post by: NoFastMem on December 06, 2010, 05:30:24 PM
Quote from: redrumloa;597017
Look at what I scored today!

(http://i56.tinypic.com/xm49w6.jpg)


You say retro, but it clearly says 1080p on the packaging. :)
Title: Re: I am more retro than you! ;-)
Post by: Karlos on December 06, 2010, 06:04:01 PM
Quote from: Karlos;597269
These things were nothing like your common idea of valves of nice little glass envelopes with delicate coils and screens all lit up. They were big, heavy and had huge copper radiators on the top to which cooling fans were supposed to be fitted during operation. The looked more like sparkplugs from the devil's own internal combustion engine than a piece of precision (which they in fact were) electronics.


I think I found a supplier on ebay:

(http://i.ebayimg.com/15/!B9QogSgBmk~$(KGrHqEOKkUEzHjyRCezBM5Sm!Jzn!~~0_12.JPG)