Testing DeLuxe Radio (wonderbar) from mid-1950s
#1
Testing DeLuxe Radio (wonderbar) from mid-1950s
Can you test one of these radios (have a DeLuxe Radio, Delco in my '55) with a just a plain jane car speaker? I now have 2 radios that won't auto-tune nor pickup anything, really want to move to bench testing. I only have 1 working speaker in the car, I have another that is possibly in-op. I can setup the radio on a bench with an antenna and 12-volt power and ground to the unit. The speaker with these units, if you are familiar is somewhat integrated as it has an amplifier with a pigtail wiring harness that goes from the radio to the speaker assembly behind the dash. Anyone with insight?
#5
I am stating this from my basic electronics experience, not with your particular setup. Any radio output intended for use with a paired amplifier/speaker arrangement will be much lower in amplitude than an output labeled "speaker" for use with a speaker not paired to an amplifier. The impedance is still a factor and important but not as critical since the signal is much smaller with less energy from a radio designed to use an separate paired amp/speaker. All that being said I suspect you won't be able to discern any sound if you put a speaker on the output since it is so small, think of the output from a turntable. You MIGHT be able to drive the aux or turntable input of a home stereo amplifier if you have one like that. Again the impedance may be a slight issue but if you keep the signal down low and don't run it for a long period you would probably be ok. I presume you are just trying to troubleshoot the radio and that the speaker/amp intended for use with it is working since you said it is in the car. The socket on the speaker/amp looks like it is a three or four pin unit so you will need to know which wires are for signal and which wires are for power and ground for the amp. If you had a wiring diagram that would be ideal.
#6
I messed on the post title it should be "SUPER DELUXE" radio. Similar concepts though.
Thanks for the input, yes I have a schematic, they call the speaker, "power supply speaker". You basically have to test as a unit. I have 2 Super DeLuxe radios. I took apart the one I bought on ebay and cleaned the volume and tuner contacts, etc. Both radios work, but they both fail to auto-tune. My original radio goes round and round and I can't stop that without turning it off and back on again. The one I just cleaned worked for 2 minutes then clicked and lost reception. Then I tried to auto-tune and I lost all reception. When hit the wonderbar auto-tune on that one, the dial doesn't move but I finally got a station so I am just leaving it. The good news is the one I cleaned so longer has static and crackle when I turn the volume ****.
So, I have 2 options now, send my original out for a full rebuild (~$500) or I might just buy a regular "Deluxe" radio as it seems the auto-tune wonderbar business is just too problematic.
Thanks for the input, yes I have a schematic, they call the speaker, "power supply speaker". You basically have to test as a unit. I have 2 Super DeLuxe radios. I took apart the one I bought on ebay and cleaned the volume and tuner contacts, etc. Both radios work, but they both fail to auto-tune. My original radio goes round and round and I can't stop that without turning it off and back on again. The one I just cleaned worked for 2 minutes then clicked and lost reception. Then I tried to auto-tune and I lost all reception. When hit the wonderbar auto-tune on that one, the dial doesn't move but I finally got a station so I am just leaving it. The good news is the one I cleaned so longer has static and crackle when I turn the volume ****.
So, I have 2 options now, send my original out for a full rebuild (~$500) or I might just buy a regular "Deluxe" radio as it seems the auto-tune wonderbar business is just too problematic.
#7
Update, my auto-tune feature starting working! It only works from left to right and I have to turn the unit off to manually move the dial all the way back to left, but its working now! After cleaning and light lubrication, it seems way better.
#8
I suspect the auto-tune radio has some sort of servo mechanism in it. I always cringed when a washing machine broke, just contemplating the complexity of the electro-mechanical function switch jumbled my brain. Maybe that auto-tune radio would be the same way.
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