I inherited my grandfather's RCA 8K1 radio and I'm
trying to get it running. I've cleaned it thoroughly
to remove the accumulated dust and dirt, changed the
power cord and plugged it in. When I turn it on, I do
get the lights in the dial to work, and the tubes to
light but I get a persistant hum that over rides the
signal. Any ideas? I am also trying to figure out how
to attach an antenna and what type to use, any expertise
would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hi,
It sounds like your only real issue at this point is just the filter caps. These can be replaced with new caps easily enough, and will probably all that really needs attention. These will be the two round cans on the chassis. Digikey has a good selection, and they ship quick.

As far as an antenna, a long length of wire will work, otherwise if you have an old loop from another radio, you can attach that too. You can try and duplicate how the loop was attached in the other radio to get best performance from it, but you will get acceptable results most of the time even if you connect the longest loop section to the antenna connection.

: I inherited my grandfather's RCA 8K1 radio and I'm
: trying to get it running. I've cleaned it thoroughly
: to remove the accumulated dust and dirt, changed the
: power cord and plugged it in. When I turn it on, I do
: get the lights in the dial to work, and the tubes to
: light but I get a persistant hum that over rides the
: signal. Any ideas? I am also trying to figure out how
: to attach an antenna and what type to use, any expertise
: would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.