Cars with original radios

[Merc Cruzer]

Originally Posted by CarlG

93.7 is an FM Station

You are correct that it is a FM station but, the reason I can get it on AM is that is is simulcast on 1510 AM, sorry for any confusion, but if all you have in your car is an AM radio, tune in "The Rock" on 1519 AM:


"Following the move of its Sports Talk “Mile High Sports” from 1510 AM to 94.1 FM last week, Hunt Broadcasting has launched the Variety Hits “93.7 The Rock” K229BS Loveland, CO/KCKK-AM 1510 simulcast in Littleton, CO. The FM is 99 watts @ 716 ft. HAAT.:

[46ford]

Originally Posted by gearhead1952

Buffer caps are mounted to the vibrator pins sometimes under a metal shield. I use 1600V orange dips for the F1 radios I have done.

The 50s station is easy...middle of the dial. Haven't scanned for anything else in a while.

I used the orange caps too. Curious why you need a buffer cap with a solid state vibrator? There's no sparking in those.

Thank God we have a good country station here. Never could stand that 50s music, not even back in the day.

[LazarusLong]

Originally Posted by petehoovie

I avoid operating the radio in my '34 when the engine is not running....Those old vacuum tubes draw 8+ amps....

LOL! Thanks for the first laugh of the day!

[LazarusLong]

Originally Posted by CarlG

When I was in college (a hundred or so years ago), driving home from Phoenix to Las Cruces, I could always tune in to "XEG - The friendly voice of North America". An English speaking station physically located somewhere in Mexico. Didn't have to change stations the whole 8+ hour trip.

Was that the station that "Wolfman Jack" was DJ'ing for before he hit it big and came back to America?

[LazarusLong]

Originally Posted by 46ford

Be sure you recap your old radios before using them too much. Failing caps can take out resistors and other stuff.

I put a solid-state vibe unit in my '50, replaced a couple burnt up resistors and a few caps. Found the schematic online. Works fantastic now!

I have no idea what you are talking about. Can you dumb it down some?

[LazarusLong]

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Originally Posted by moonraker

I envy you in the States- here in Russia we don't have any stations within the radio AM range.

WOW! I can only imagine the looks you get driving that 39 in Russia.

Not to mention the grief and expense of finding replacement parts.

I came close to buying a Ural with a sidecar the last time I was in Russia. Really wanted one bad.

[cas3]

are you guys using carbon plug wires or other stuff to get ignition and generator noise to a minimum?

[gearhead1952]

Originally Posted by 46ford

I used the orange caps too. Curious why you need a buffer cap with a solid state vibrator? There's no sparking in those.

I leave the original circuit as is so that one could run either the mechanical or solid state vibrator.

[bigvince]

Wolfman Jack used to be on XERB and I know that was broadcast out of Tijuana on some tower that must have been 1000 feet high.

[JSeery]

Originally Posted by bigvince

Wolfman Jack used to be on XERB and I know that was broadcast out of Tijuana on some tower that must have been 1000 feet high.

I though he was in Del Reo TX, just the tower was in Mexico. The tower was there because they were transmitting at higher power levels than were legal in the U.S.

[JSeery]

This is a little long, but I thought it was interesting:

Bob Smith's (Wolfman Jack) career began on KCIJ-AM, a daytime station in Shreveport, Louisiana. The station owner, Larry Brandon, made a deal with attorney Arturo Gonzalez in Del Rio, Texas, who operated the Inter-American Radio Advertising, Inc. sales agency for XERF. XERF was one of the Mexican border blasters that transmitted with power far in excess of the licensed commercial radio stations in the United States. XERF had a 500 kW RCA transmitter that broadcast on a clear channel from Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, just across the Rio Grande from Del Rio.
Larry bought all of the available night time hours and began making prerecorded radio shows on 10 inch, one hour tapes which were then mailed from Shreveport to Gonzelez in Del Rio who had them delivered to Ciudad Acuña for airplay.
Brandon's programming on XERF reached Shreveport which according to Logan presented a conflict of interest for the people who were making them. However, it was on these taped programs that Bob Smith began to morph into Wolfman Jack in order to conceal his real identity from the XERF listeners and from his daytime employers at KCIJ-AM in Shreveport. Logan says that when Smith began to create his gravely voiced character of Wolfman Jack to which he added a howl, he told Bob Smith: "That howl of yours would wake a dead man and that dead man might be Hank Williams and he, sure as hell, doesn't want you 'Howling at the Moon'."
Taping came to an end when Brandon began offering XERF listeners an autographed picture of Jesus. It was then that Bob Smith took off from Shreveport to visit Arturo Gonzalez at his law office on Pecan Street in Del Rio. It was Gonzalez who sent him across the U.S.-Mexico border each day to do live programs.
Wolfman Jack's program was broadcast to much of the United States, into Canada and via AFN Europe from 9 to 10 p.m.. He played whatever music he liked, regardless of the performer's ethnicity. Any night a listener might hear a mix of blues music, rockabilly, doo-wop, zydeco, rock and roll, jump blues, rhythm and blues or jazz.
He frequently punctuated his broadcasts with howls, which, along with his gravelly voice, made him instantly recognizable. His style was borrowed from both Alan Freed and bluesman Howlin' Wolf. Many listeners assumed that Bob Smith was African American, though in fact he was of European descent.
His career from 1962 to 1964 in Ciudad Acuña was not without incident because he twice found himself involved in gun play during which victims died. Due to the lawlessness of the area, Bob Smith, after a brief detour to a Minneapolis station, took himself and his character of Wolfman Jack towards the West Coast and XERB, another border blaster that could reach Los Angeles, California.

[moonraker]

Originally Posted by LazarusLong

WOW! I can only imagine the looks you get driving that 39 in Russia.

Not to mention the grief and expense of finding replacement parts.

I came close to buying a Ural with a sidecar the last time I was in Russia. Really wanted one bad.

Yeah, it's pleases my ego a lot
Especially when people hear oldies from the radio...

Ural bike is f BEAST! I have great memories of riding it as a teenager. Without a sidecar it was a thriller!

[Merc Cruzer]

Originally Posted by 46ford

Be sure you recap your old radios before using them too much. Failing caps can take out resistors and other stuff.

I put a solid-state vibe unit in my '50, replaced a couple burnt up resistors and a few caps. Found the schematic online. Works fantastic now!

I am taking your lead, all new tubes and solid-state vibrator. If you take your radio out and remove the top plate there is a diagram pasted to the bottom telling you what tubes go in what locations. The original tube chart is in the lower left side of the picture. I then enlarged it by 300% just make it easier to read.

Under the heading of learning something new each day.......Where are quality vacuum tubes made these days??????

I found a guy locally with a large stock of NOS tubes made in the USA.

[petehoovie]

......Where are quality vacuum tubes made these days??????[/QUOTE]

Russia....

[gearhead1952]

Originally Posted by Merc Cruzer

I found a guy locally with a large stock of NOS tubes made in the USA.

Is he the guy repairing old amps? I want to say Littleton area?

[Merc Cruzer]

Originally Posted by gearhead1952

Is he the guy repairing old amps? I want to say Littleton area?

Not sure, this is Steve with Radio Service Center 918 S. Sheridan Blvd, Denver, CO 80226 (303) 922-8107. I am going down today to pick up the tubes. The solid-state vibrator should be here by Sat, then I can install everything and see how it works.

Update:

I stopped by his shop and picked up the tubes. His primary business is repairing Hamm radios, so he has an ample supply of tubes at all times. Very nice guy, good to know he is there.

[Merc Cruzer]

Originally Posted by gearhead1952

tubesandmore.com carry the solid state vibrators. Caps are capacitors. The originals were paper and wax and weren't very good back then. Need to be replaced with modern units.

Now to figure out where to interrupt the circuit to install the aux plug.