That's great news Ridge! Exactly what I was hoping you would say.
I wish I still had mine now.
I wish I still had mine now.
SX-88 it...is...ALIVE!!!
- Thread starter ridgescan
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ridgescan
Member
Kruser what are the odds you can get hold of that fellow you gave her to? I say you at least try and see what status she has in his life so to speak. Maybe she's just sitting parked and unused. I would LOVE if you could get her back! After seeing your story of selfless giving to a youngster simply from your heart for his betterment and experience, you deserve to have the odds in your favor.
majoco
Stirrer
Great job, Ridgy! It gives a sense of real pride when you're operating something that you fixed up and is working so well - and you still get the warm glow (not only from the tubes!) a long time down the track. Good DX to you buddy.
ridgescan
Member
Thanks Martin! It sure does but I'm more proud of this radio for being such a tough contender! She's built like a tank and doesn't hesitate to act like it
73s friend.
73s friend.
Fast1eddie
Member
Very, very nice and a job well done. Now you have me hankering for a tube rig.....it's on my wish list along with a clean Icom R9000.
ridgescan
Member
Thanks for saying that Ed. hey here's an sx-28 that apparently is in good working order on ebay for $200. This is one impressive receiver IMO. I always like the 28 myself.
Hallicrafters SX-28 Super Skyrider WW II vintage 1942 transceiver | eBay
maybe a good start to your collection?
Hallicrafters SX-28 Super Skyrider WW II vintage 1942 transceiver | eBay
maybe a good start to your collection?
ridgescan
Member
Well the old gal was home to a family of mice when she was stashed in the basement of the previous owner's home. I have had her 24 years now and even though she went through a total restoration the cleaning was left to me. I took before/ after pics of the chassis. As you can see those meeces did a number on it. They even chewed a wire or two which sucks because the wiring in there is really nice braided cloth. I have a disability that inhibits full or prolonged movement of my right arm so I did what I could with my left hand and what you see is 6 hours work.
I would also love advice from my friends here on how to furter rid the chassis floor of the remaining piss patches.
I did this with Turtle Wax rubbing compound, toothbrushes, fine steel wool (vaccuum nearby) and cotton pads.
before
after
I would also love advice from my friends here on how to furter rid the chassis floor of the remaining piss patches.
I did this with Turtle Wax rubbing compound, toothbrushes, fine steel wool (vaccuum nearby) and cotton pads.
before
after
Halfpint
Member
Since it's gone and destroyed the plating there really isn't all that much you can do. However, one thing *I* would recommend is for you to find yourself some KROIL get a little of it in a small cup/cap/lid/or whatever and take some quetips and sparingly apply it to the various patches on the chassis, let it soak for a while and then wipe the area clean leaving only a *very slight* film behind. You might then wait for a month or so and take a clean rag and rub those spots again and then do another application and initial wipedown and see how things are looking again another few months later.
In some cases I've actually see what one could almost call `blueing' happen and in others just very clean and almost rust free metal. The `secret', if one could call it that, is in the careful *light* application and shortly after rubdown actually helps stop the rusting, breaks loose the rust that can be broken loose, and then the remaining slight film helps keep it protected from further oxidation/rusting. The only other way you could actually restore the chassis would be to do a complete strip down, remove the original plating, replate it, then rebuild it back up. Something even I hate to contemplate having to do. (I *have* done that on a *few* *very* `collectible?' `antique' Hi-Fi / Stereo tube amps, preamps, and tuners. Even when I told the owners that it would cost them, easily, 3 - 4 times what the units *might* eventually worth they went ahead and OKed the work and, amazingly, never griped at the final bill and went off smiling!? [These were old Marantz, McIntosh, and Harmon Kardon units. And I did a *lot* more than just `prettify' the chassis!])
Oh, yeah... Make certain that you do this type of work in a *well* ventilated area and be *very* sparing with both the KROIL in the container you are working from *and* in the application thereof. A *little* goes a *long* way and it, the KROIL, can sometimes be hard to find. Not to mention that *some* people like to charge like it was gold for it. It is pretty danged good stuff for a lot of different situations. Besides salvaging chassis I've broken loose nuts and bolts that others have said could be, salvaged the blueing on old rifles and handguns, restored a couple handguns that were basically big globs of rust that only *faintly* resembled a handgun, quieted up tuning condensors that basically only need to be `relubed', and numerous other things with just a `drop or two' of it. While it isn't a *complete' `miracle maker' there have been times when I've been pretty closely incline to start thinking it was. And... *Yes* I *have* been `skunked' a few times! I admit it. But, knocking on the proverbial wood, it has succeded more times than it hasn't.
In some cases I've actually see what one could almost call `blueing' happen and in others just very clean and almost rust free metal. The `secret', if one could call it that, is in the careful *light* application and shortly after rubdown actually helps stop the rusting, breaks loose the rust that can be broken loose, and then the remaining slight film helps keep it protected from further oxidation/rusting. The only other way you could actually restore the chassis would be to do a complete strip down, remove the original plating, replate it, then rebuild it back up. Something even I hate to contemplate having to do. (I *have* done that on a *few* *very* `collectible?' `antique' Hi-Fi / Stereo tube amps, preamps, and tuners. Even when I told the owners that it would cost them, easily, 3 - 4 times what the units *might* eventually worth they went ahead and OKed the work and, amazingly, never griped at the final bill and went off smiling!? [These were old Marantz, McIntosh, and Harmon Kardon units. And I did a *lot* more than just `prettify' the chassis!])
Oh, yeah... Make certain that you do this type of work in a *well* ventilated area and be *very* sparing with both the KROIL in the container you are working from *and* in the application thereof. A *little* goes a *long* way and it, the KROIL, can sometimes be hard to find. Not to mention that *some* people like to charge like it was gold for it. It is pretty danged good stuff for a lot of different situations. Besides salvaging chassis I've broken loose nuts and bolts that others have said could be, salvaged the blueing on old rifles and handguns, restored a couple handguns that were basically big globs of rust that only *faintly* resembled a handgun, quieted up tuning condensors that basically only need to be `relubed', and numerous other things with just a `drop or two' of it. While it isn't a *complete' `miracle maker' there have been times when I've been pretty closely incline to start thinking it was. And... *Yes* I *have* been `skunked' a few times! I admit it. But, knocking on the proverbial wood, it has succeded more times than it hasn't.
ridgescan
Member
What a surprise I never expected a professional restorer to come in here and I am glad to have your advice!
The chassis floor and the variable capacitors box strike me as being aluminum-is this correct? Also, the KROIL you suggest-being a penetrating type oil, should I need to worry about it "migrating" into and across contact points in the Qcoils and such?
Thank you for your help Halfpint!
The chassis floor and the variable capacitors box strike me as being aluminum-is this correct? Also, the KROIL you suggest-being a penetrating type oil, should I need to worry about it "migrating" into and across contact points in the Qcoils and such?
Thank you for your help Halfpint!
Halfpint
Member
That possibility is one reason why I stress that you use it *sparingly* and make certain you carefully clean up afterwards. If you have problems with any of the other metals in the receiver I'll probably have to do a bit of `crawling through' some of my assorted notebooks to see what we've tried in the past. (You'd be amazed at some of the things we have had to do to not only `restore' but also `fix' some people's equipment!)
*One* example was a, at that time, slightly old Kenwood Solid State receiver that had spent most of it's life in a cabin that was heated via a wood stove. The owner brought it in because it had just stopped working and everything they'd tried hadn't brought back to life. When we opened it we discovered that it was *full* of `ash'! The first thing we did was to carefully blow it clean with compressed air. That only removed basically the loose stuff. So, taking things to the next level we took it to one of our local `quarter' car washes and took over a bay and blasted it clean and then went back to the shop and used more compressed air to get what little water remained out of it. The next step was that, since it was in the summer, we set it outside in the sun for two days. After that we then hooked back up to one of our benches and slowly brought up the power. Lo-n-behold when the power reached 110VAC the unit immediately started working as if nothing had ever happened. The *only* thing(s) we had to replace were the dial lights which the owner had said hadn't been working for several months. (This, BTW, *wasn't* the only piece of equipment that we `took to the wash' to get started on repairing! Because Boulder CO is a `College Town' and *some* people like to `party hearty' and/or sometimes think that because *they* are drinking the stereo sometimes also `needs a little drinky drinky'! Since a lot of what was consumed, drink-wise, has a sugar content sometimes just a simple scrubbing is not enough. *Especially if* they have waited for a few days, or even as long as a week, to finally bring it in! Done *properly* a *good* washing is sometimes the absolutely best way to eliminate any possiblity of a later problem cropping up as the sugar gradually carbonizes and creates basically shorts. Also... There is a problem with `smoke damage'. There are times when, maybe the student's next door neighbor managed to set their apartment ablaze yet the FD managed to get there quick enough to contain the *damage* to *that* apartment and the only thing that happened to the owners apartment was that it became extremely smoke filled. After the clean up they find that their `surface cleaning' wasn't enough and their sound system isn't working like it used to. [I think we ran across all sorts of `strange' things *because* of where our shop was. Especially after talking many times with other "Hi-Fi Stereo Repair Shop" owners over the years.])
Now days I try and `pick-n-choose' what `projects' I take on because, besides having retired a few years ago, I like to be able to spend more time with my wife and our 2 teenaged children. When we, my wife and I, ran a `full-time' shop we sometimes put in 10 - 12 hour days and really didn't get all that many vacations or other relaxation.
ridgescan
Member
I enjoyed that-a good read. Thanks again halfpint for those tips! It's looking actually pretty darn ok at this point so I am going to go about it carefully until it's near perfect. Then I gotta figure out if anyone sell the tube ID decal labels for the chassis floor-what's left of those are now totally gone. It's pretty fun though doing this stuff.
Halfpint
Member
Ridgescan, PM me and we can `talk' a bit more about your `baby' and what might be possible for you to do about some of the other things you want to do.
ridgescan
Member
ok thanks a lot for the help!
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