Greetings from Upstate NY. My first post so be kind.
I have collected a few radios. Some wood, some bakelite and different vintages. Am at the point where I want to work on them electrically. I have experience and the education in electronics. Was wishing to work on the older sets firs. Example: Philco 630 console. I need to stock up on capacitors, resistors and the like. I can either purchase "kits" to give myself an assortment but I may end up with a lot of unused parts. Is it smarter to purchase individual components? Just unsure on how to approach the parts need... any advise?

Welcome, Tim -

Well, if you have the electronics knowledge then you are off to a good start...Some folks may buy or build kits, but that is really not necessary, unless you need parts on a 'right now' basis like a repair shop. The kits are expensive because of the number of parts they contain + cost of a case to organize if desired.

I recommend determining what you need based on schematics and once you have a list of parts, then place an order. As anyone on here can tell you, with old radios, it starts with replacing all the electrolytic and paper caps.

I like to use the lower cost distributors, being in the EE business for a living, but others use radio sites that have a narrowed down selection that make part spec'ing easier for the novice.

Dave

:Greetings from Upstate NY. My first post so be kind.
:I have collected a few radios. Some wood, some bakelite and different vintages. Am at the point where I want to work on them electrically. I have experience and the education in electronics. Was wishing to work on the older sets firs. Example: Philco 630 console. I need to stock up on capacitors, resistors and the like. I can either purchase "kits" to give myself an assortment but I may end up with a lot of unused parts. Is it smarter to purchase individual components? Just unsure on how to approach the parts need... any advise?
:

This supplier is highly regarded. He offers for kits for pre- or post-war radios. If you plan on restoring more than a handful of radios these kits are a good way to go. It beats being short a minor part or two to finish a job. With this supplier add the extra dollar or two to expedite the shipping... it's worth it. Good Luck.

http://www.justradios.com/capkits.html

Tim,
Unless you're on a budget like me, the kits may be a good investment. I usually go thru a radio schematic and list 1 of every cap/res in the set, intending to replace all. Except for tubes, I'll order 1-2 extra of every component, including mica caps. I replace ALL paper and electro caps, or bad mica caps and resistors beyond 20% tolerance. Unused parts left over after detailed tests can be retained for stock. Most reputable suppliers are referenced on this site regularly.

marv

:Greetings from Upstate NY. My first post so be kind.
:I have collected a few radios. Some wood, some bakelite and different vintages. Am at the point where I want to work on them electrically. I have experience and the education in electronics. Was wishing to work on the older sets firs. Example: Philco 630 console. I need to stock up on capacitors, resistors and the like. I can either purchase "kits" to give myself an assortment but I may end up with a lot of unused parts. Is it smarter to purchase individual components? Just unsure on how to approach the parts need... any advise?
:

What parts you "stock" will be influenced - to a degree - by what vintage of radios you intend to collect & repair. Most sets from the 1930's will require only a couple of different values of e-caps in the 350 to 450 DCWV range.... I ALWAYS seem to be running out of 10 MFD@450V e-caps!!! Most All-American Five radios (AC/DC...ie., no transformer) will use either 22 &/or 47 MFD@150V e-caps. There are a half-dozen or so common bypass caps that are called for frequently in a wide variety of radios. It's really nice to already have small stock of the frequently required components - rather than waiting around for the postman and twiddling your thumbs on each radio you intend to restore.

:Greetings from Upstate NY. My first post so be kind.
:I have collected a few radios. Some wood, some bakelite and different vintages. Am at the point where I want to work on them electrically. I have experience and the education in electronics. Was wishing to work on the older sets firs. Example: Philco 630 console. I need to stock up on capacitors, resistors and the like. I can either purchase "kits" to give myself an assortment but I may end up with a lot of unused parts. Is it smarter to purchase individual components? Just unsure on how to approach the parts need... any advise?
:
Hi Tim- and welcome to the club. I hope you realise that your life has changed forever-
I agree with the suggestion about 47mfd @150 electrolytics. You'll use them in almost every repair.
I would add .005, the coupling cap between the detector and output stage. Also .0047, which removes the RF component at the audio stage.
I also stock .01, .02 and .05
Here are a couple of suggestions I'd like to pass on-
#1 and the most important-when ever you remove a chassis from the cabinet ALWAYS put a piece of cardboard over the speaker.
#2 get an isolation transformer and a variac, (or some version thereof). These are usually available on eBay.
Note- if you don't have a variac and are just itching to get started, build a "light bulb tester". Simply put a lamp socket in series with an extension cord. I'd use one mounted on a board for safety and stability. Use a 60 watt bulb. Plug the set into the outlet and plug the cord into the wall. Turn it on. If the bulb stays dim, proceed. If the bulb comes on VERY bright-STOP!!! You have some problem, probably in the power supply. Proceed with caution. The main advantage to this method is that it acts as a variable resistor and protects other components, (and the wife smelling smoke).
I get my parts from Antique Electronic Supply, (www,tubesandmore.com). Some people think they charge too much, but they usually have what I need, plus some really neat kits. I bought the AM broadcaster, and will soon get the battery power supply.
SO-
Good luck-
don't blow yourself up
and
most of all-
HAVE FUN!!!
terry

::Greetings from Upstate NY. My first post so be kind.
::I have collected a few radios. Some wood, some bakelite and different vintages. Am at the point where I want to work on them electrically. I have experience and the education in electronics. Was wishing to work on the older sets firs. Example: Philco 630 console. I need to stock up on capacitors, resistors and the like. I can either purchase "kits" to give myself an assortment but I may end up with a lot of unused parts. Is it smarter to purchase individual components? Just unsure on how to approach the parts need... any advise?
::
:Hi Tim- and welcome to the club. I hope you realise that your life has changed forever-
:I agree with the suggestion about 47mfd @150 electrolytics. You'll use them in almost every repair.
:I would add .005, the coupling cap between the detector and output stage. Also .0047, which removes the RF component at the audio stage.
:I also stock .01, .02 and .05
:Here are a couple of suggestions I'd like to pass on-
:#1 and the most important-when ever you remove a chassis from the cabinet ALWAYS put a piece of cardboard over the speaker.
:#2 get an isolation transformer and a variac, (or some version thereof). These are usually available on eBay.
:Note- if you don't have a variac and are just itching to get started, build a "light bulb tester". Simply put a lamp socket in series with an extension cord. I'd use one mounted on a board for safety and stability. Use a 60 watt bulb. Plug the set into the outlet and plug the cord into the wall. Turn it on. If the bulb stays dim, proceed. If the bulb comes on VERY bright-STOP!!! You have some problem, probably in the power supply. Proceed with caution. The main advantage to this method is that it acts as a variable resistor and protects other components, (and the wife smelling smoke).
:I get my parts from Antique Electronic Supply, (www,tubesandmore.com). Some people think they charge too much, but they usually have what I need, plus some really neat kits. I bought the AM broadcaster, and will soon get the battery power supply.
:SO-
:Good luck-
:don't blow yourself up
:and
:most of all-
:HAVE FUN!!!
:terry
:
:
:
;Hi! Tim,
First I collected a decent batch of radios.Then got the schematics for them. I recorded all the capacitor sizes and quantity required keeping paper and electrolytics separate. This clued me in to what would be my most popular caps.I then checked out the deals at the JustRadios site. He has a deal under the heading "Mylar Film Capacitor Bargain Bin". Here you can buy Mylar capacitors 400v rated in bags of 75 and 630v rated in bags of 50. Many of the paper caps in the radios I have are rated at 200v. So if the the cap size was popular, I bought a bag of 75 and a bag of 50. If the cap size was less popular, I bought a bag of 50 at 630v. If it was a cap where I only needed one or two, I just bought a few at 630v.I ended up with a really nice cap assortment this way. And at these prices you don't mind putting two together to achieve a certain value.I didn't put together an assortment of electrolytics yet. For those I'm looking at the deals at the WJOERADIO site.
Just My 2 Cents.
:Bob Masse
:

As a bonified 2 plus year newbie...I can relate. Been there like many others.
I sent you an email of my stock as organized in
plastic craft section boxes.
I find this quite useful to keep a close eye on inventory and to find them quickly. I am too lazy to
post the photos but if anyone would like to see the pictures I can email them to you too if interested.
I also organized a 5 watt resistor kit. FInd my email
in the posted by _______cleek here
Bob E

:Greetings from Upstate NY. My first post so be kind.
:I have collected a few radios. Some wood, some bakelite and different vintages. Am at the point where I want to work on them electrically. I have experience and the education in electronics. Was wishing to work on the older sets firs. Example: Philco 630 console. I need to stock up on capacitors, resistors and the like. I can either purchase "kits" to give myself an assortment but I may end up with a lot of unused parts. Is it smarter to purchase individual components? Just unsure on how to approach the parts need... any advise?
:
Thanks to all for your responses and advise.
Tomorrow is shopping day. Live 15 miles from Radio Daze so I'll start there. They're nice and will provide advise as well. They also have a bunch of old radios to "daze" at. Thanks again

Tim

Hi Tim:

I got tired of trying to order a couple of this and a few of that.
... so I treated myself and bought a good reasonable stash of parts that I'll most likely need for ALL radios from 1930 to 1949 that I restore most often and enjoy.

It didn't really cost that much ... and after all, it's a GIFT to myself!
... one I enjoy everyday now in my retirement. So I deserve it.

Then I had to come up with a nice simple storage arrangement to keep the lower voltage caps separate from the high voltage ones etc.

Here's what I came up with:

I have a similar - though less extensive - setup to Peter's. Some form of this stock and organization will be rewarded with fewer head aches. Break or clip a cap lead too short? If you've ordered only one.....you'll scream like Howard Dean!!!!