I recently purchased an AK 40. I am only getting very weak sound out of the speaker and ever so slightly louder when i put my finger on top of one of the tuning condensors. Any suggestions anyone?
Thanks,
Gerry

has any work been done on it by the previous owner? it might need some caps, an alignment and could have weak tubes or out of tolerence resistors. if none of that was done i would start with there

:I recently purchased an AK 40. I am only getting very weak sound out of the speaker and ever so slightly louder when i put my finger on top of one of the tuning condensors. Any suggestions anyone?
:Thanks,
:Gerry

Which tuner are you touching that causes the volume to increase?

Check that that the tubes are making good contact in their sockets. Clean the pins and the sockets.

Check the grid leak resistor - often drifted up out of sight. Check the grid stopper resistors ahead of the 2nd and 3rd RF stages - sometimes they are open. Check the resistors in power supply - if they are too much out of tolerance, the voltages will be out of whack.
Doug

Check for continuity in the antenna ckt and everyplace else, using a colored pencil as you verify against the schematic: http://www.atwaterkent.info/TechData/Drawings/Images/AK09800sch.pdf

Check the pin voltages at each tube.

Swap the tubes around to see if it makes a difference.
Doug

:Which tuner are you touching that causes the volume to increase?
:
:Check that that the tubes are making good contact in their sockets. Clean the pins and the sockets.
:
:Check the grid leak resistor - often drifted up out of sight. Check the grid stopper resistors ahead of the 2nd and 3rd RF stages - sometimes they are open. Check the resistors in power supply - if they are too much out of tolerance, the voltages will be out of whack.
:Doug
:
:Check for continuity in the antenna ckt and everyplace else, using a colored pencil as you verify against the schematic: http://www.atwaterkent.info/TechData/Drawings/Images/AK09800sch.pdf
:
:Check the pin voltages at each tube.
:
:Swap the tubes around to see if it makes a difference.
:Doug

I am touching the screws on top of the far left tuner. I will try cleaning etc. but need to get the proper equipment to check the rest. Thanks so much for the input. :Which tuner are you touching that causes the volume to increase?
:
:Check that that the tubes are making good contact in their sockets. Clean the pins and the sockets.
:
:Check the grid leak resistor - often drifted up out of sight. Check the grid stopper resistors ahead of the 2nd and 3rd RF stages - sometimes they are open. Check the resistors in power supply - if they are too much out of tolerance, the voltages will be out of whack.
:Doug
:
:Check for continuity in the antenna ckt and everyplace else, using a colored pencil as you verify against the schematic: http://www.atwaterkent.info/TechData/Drawings/Images/AK09800sch.pdf
:
:Check the pin voltages at each tube.
:
:Swap the tubes around to see if it makes a difference.
:Doug

Thanks for the input. I am just getting back into this after a 10 year absence. I dont think anyone has messed with it.I guess i will have to get all the equipment i need to check it.:has any work been done on it by the previous owner? it might need some caps, an alignment and could have weak tubes or out of tolerence resistors. if none of that was done i would start with there
:
::I recently purchased an AK 40. I am only getting very weak sound out of the speaker and ever so slightly louder when i put my finger on top of one of the tuning condensors. Any suggestions anyone?
::Thanks,
::Gerry

Gerry: You refer to getting "all the equipment" you need. That set is pretty simple, and a digital multimeter should suffice for troubleshooting.

Don't start replacing tubes on the hunch that they might be weak. If the filaments light, then the tubes are likely not causing your lack of sensitivity.

Since your volume increases when you touch the first tuner, I'm suspecting something wrong in the first RF stage. Check for continuity throughout that section, including the antenna coil. (That testing should take just a few minutes of work with an ohmmeter.) I assume you have a decent antenna wire attached?
Doug

:Thanks for the input. I am just getting back into this after a 10 year absence. I dont think anyone has messed with it.I guess i will have to get all the equipment i need to check it.:has any work been done on it by the previous owner? it might need some caps, an alignment and could have weak tubes or out of tolerence resistors. if none of that was done i would start with there
::
:::I recently purchased an AK 40. I am only getting very weak sound out of the speaker and ever so slightly louder when i put my finger on top of one of the tuning condensors. Any suggestions anyone?
:::Thanks,
:::Gerry

By the way, what are you using for a speaker?
Doug

Ho Gerry

Do you have an antenna connected in back? AK40 requires an antenna.

Can you see the 26 tubes lit? Sometimes screws at the power supply connecting board aren't tight enough and can't carry high current.

Do you have B+ voltage on pin #2 of tubes. This voltage can be very low when power supply filters start leaking.

Audio interstage transformers can be open and some sound will still be heard.

Norm

:I recently purchased an AK 40. I am only getting very weak sound out of the speaker and ever so slightly louder when i put my finger on top of one of the tuning condensors. Any suggestions anyone?
:Thanks,
:Gerry