Who's our resident radio guru?

[GearHead]

I picked up a 1941 Zenith floor radio a couple of years ago (I think there's a post somewhere on here when I bought it).
I know it's not in working order but have not tried to do anything with it yet.
I do have electrical knowledge but would like any input on what to look for on these old models before I go plugging it in (besides the obviouse of making sure the cords is good and all).
Where would I start to look to diagnose the radio first?
Thanks for any help you can provide!
This the model although not a pic of mine.

Erick

 

[carouselvic]

LizzieMaine

 

[dhermann1]

Depending on how far out in Jersey you are, you might bring it in to WaveLLC in Manhattan. They have resident repair people who can test it and replace the capacitors, etc. It looks identical to my '41 Zenith 10S567. The 10 stands for the number of tubes. Can you see how many there are inside? Number of tubes is a rough measure of the quality.
Recapping is a necessity, because old radios have paper caps that tend to burst into flames at the most inopportune moments.
That's a mighty nice radio, and properly restored should give you lots of enjoyment. Again, I always tout the SSTran AMT3000 AM transmitter. It will take any audio input and send it to your old AM tube radio so you can listen to vintage radio and music authentically.
Congrats on a great acquisition!

 

[LizzieMaine]

dhermann's points are all well taken. I'd add that Zeniths are prone to having bad power transformers, so the first thing to do is take a look in back and see if you see any evidence of pitch or tar dripping around or under where the transformer is mounted. And *sniff* as well -- if there's a strong burnt smell, you have transformer problems, and it'll need to be replaced. Replacements exist, but they aren't cheap.

Don't plug it in and test anything until the filter capacitors have been replaced at the very least -- the electrolytics across the power supply. If they short, your transformer will cook very quickly.

 

[Diamondback]

Yeah, capacitors are something you gotta be real careful with--I don't know if old paper ones go "kaBOOM!" like modern ones, but in my senior electronics class the instructor would set one to blow (under controlled, safe conditions, but usually nothing small) at the start of every quarter to remind us of what mishandled electronics components under voltage could do.

----------------
Now playing: John Barry - Bond Look Alike
via FoxyTunes

 

[Absinthe_1900]

Buy a Variac™ to power it up slowly, if you are really keen on doing your own work.

Love those Black Dial Zenith's!

 

[GearHead]

Thanks for all the input.
It does have 10 tubes as well.
I'll check out the shop in Manhatten as it's not to far away and just have them do the work to restore it when I get a few bucks together.

Erick