I replaced a bad line cord on a Capehart portable (Zenith Transoceanic style) and now lower half of Broadcast band doesn't work properly. I replaced the stock 6 ft. cord with an 15 ft. cord. Do you think swapping the wires around would fix it? I can't just flip the plug around as it has a polarized plug. I was thinking that the extra length of the new cord may be causing low voltage out of the supply? The radio worked perfectly on all bands before I replaced the plug. I also thought that I can hookup some batteries and try it on DC. If it works on DC then I think the extra cord length may be the problem.

The radio doesn't draw enough current for that length of cord to do anything to it. You probably bumped something else.

T.

You are right. Does the same on DC. If I hold a finger on the center lug of the tuning cap or even as I get closer to touching it the volume comes up to normal. I guess I either moved or broke something when I had the chassis out. I'll have to pull it back apart to see what's up.

If somehow that set had a line cord antenna, adding the extra length might have upset the internal antenna circuit.

marv

:I replaced a bad line cord on a Capehart portable (Zenith Transoceanic style) and now lower half of Broadcast band doesn't work properly. I replaced the stock 6 ft. cord with an 15 ft. cord. Do you think swapping the wires around would fix it? I can't just flip the plug around as it has a polarized plug. I was thinking that the extra length of the new cord may be causing low voltage out of the supply? The radio worked perfectly on all bands before I replaced the plug. I also thought that I can hookup some batteries and try it on DC. If it works on DC then I think the extra cord length may be the problem.
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It may be that you bent the tuner blades when you were replacing the line cord. The clue is the lower half of the band not working properly.(shorting) That would show up more because the blades are at the closest point. It's a good idea to keep the tuner gangs fully closed when replacing parts.

Agreed: Line cord coupling is mostly used for F.M. It wouldn't really be any good for AM and SW. You can test for a shorted blade by sliding a piece of paper between the leaves as you slowly close the tuning capacitor and see where it "catches." Or use a VTVM to see where the short occurs. This can take some time, but be patient. The fault is usually on one of the end plates, but not always.

:It may be that you bent the tuner blades when you were replacing the line cord. The clue is the lower half of the band not working properly.(shorting) That would show up more because the blades are at the closest point. It's a good idea to keep the tuner gangs fully closed when replacing parts.
:

Agreed: Line cord coupling is mostly used for F.M. It wouldn't really be any good for AM and SW. You can test for a shorted blade by sliding a piece of paper between the leaves as you slowly close the tuning capacitor and see where it "catches." Or use a VTVM to see where the short occurs. This can take some time, but be patient. The fault is usually on one of the end plates, but not always.

:It may be that you bent the tuner blades when you were replacing the line cord. The clue is the lower half of the band not working properly.(shorting) That would show up more because the blades are at the closest point. It's a good idea to keep the tuner gangs fully closed when replacing parts.
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