Radio

[bigjones]

Hi all,

Normally I wouldn't think about listening to the radio in the MG.

Recently I've been listening to a jazz station in the garage and I've found that, while I'm not a big jazz fan, it has an unusual calming effect on me.

So, I'm thinking off trying to fix up the radio in the ole MG. It is the original 1500 British Leyland radio, You <span style="font-weight: bold">would not believe </span>the number of people who look in astonishment when I tell them "Yes, it is the original British radio - it still picks up the BBC".

Anyways, it kinda works but not very well - crackly and not very loud. Is it worth taking the console out and cleaning up connections and that sort of thing or should I just forget about the idea.

Cheers

 

[Sarastro]

It's probably not too difficult to clean up the antenna and maybe the speaker connections. Might help. It's also possible that a connection is loose or even broken at the antenna. (This could happen and you'd still get stations, just not well.) Check the resistance from the center pin of the cable to the "wand" of the antenna, to be sure it's continuous, and also from the center pin to ground to be sure there are no shorts. Wiggle the cable around a bit to make sure it stays OK when the cable is bent, especially at the connection to the antenna. Problems at the connection between the cable and antenna are pretty common.

If there is a problem in the connection to the speakers, it probably will cut in and out, not just get crackly. But I suppose it's possible.

With time, aging of components, and vibration, these old radios often need a little tweaking of their adjustments. Unfortunately, as they get older, those adjustments often freeze, so you can't adjust them without risking damage. Below is a picture of a Blaupunkt radio I recently worked on. (It's from a ~1960 Mercedes.) The adjustments are the screwdriver slots in the square cans. The ferrite slugs in the cans are very brittle, and they were mostly frozen. The AM was still working, but I know I could have made it better if I could have adjusted it.

Loved the comment about the radio still getting the BBC. Reminds me of the time back in the 1950s, when I was maybe 5 years old, and my parents got a new TV. I was afraid it would have different programs and I wouldn't be able to see the ones I liked any more.

 

[jvandyke]

I would take it apart, clean all connections. Then I'd take the radio itself apart and clean the pots (spray with contact cleaner). But I've not done one of these radios so no personal experience.
Then if worked decent, cool, if not, I'd throw in a cheap $80 Sony, AM FM, CD, MP3 input. Won't fit quit as nice but will work a ton better!

 

[bigjones]

Steve and Ivandyke,
Thanks for the comments.
It will be nice quiet work for me this weekend.
Cheers,
Adrian

 

[walshja]

I had a problem with my original radio, the tuning knob stopped working, or was working sporadically

So I took the unit out, opened her up and used clock oil in a syringe to hit all the moving parts.

radio works perfectly now !!

it is amazing looking inside the radio to see all the transistors, resistors, or whatever they are call, but it sure was a lot of parts and work for a simple am/fm radio !!!

 

[Sarastro]

Yes, the Blaupunkt had a similar problem. The tuning shaft was frozen; turned out it was just in the bushing where the shaft goes through the front panel. Cleaned it with a little contact cleaner, then a tiny drop of teflon oil. Similarly cleaned and lubed the mechanism behind the pushbuttons.

I too am amazed at how they crammed so much stuff into that little box.