I get a hum in radio but does not play

[josh1331]

The antenna goes through roof could the hum mean a bad antenna?

[ford38v8]

My wife hums too, but she can't carry a tune in a basket.

[Allan Lundblad]

Josh,
I had a hum in my '37 Biz Coupe way back in 1957 or so. Almost 75 now and the hum is now in my head but I seem to recall it might be a tube or a transformer. I suggest a repair shop to have it tested.
PS I used to drag race at Charlestown. I was born in Cranston, RI, raised in Apponaug, RI and escaped when I got out of the Army in'62. I miss Captain Jack's Seafood but not much else.
Allan

[ford38v8]

Henderson Co? That's near Greeley. I got lost in Greeley for two days and nights once before I finally escaped! They do have good mountain oysters there, you betcha!

[Allan Lundblad]

Alan,
You're right. We are about a half hour south of Greeley and a half hour north of Denver.
Some of the best Rocky Mountain Oysters are cooked at the Indian Hills Café right off Route 285. You betcha!
Damn, now its on my mind and I'll have to stop and get some on my way to my son's place in the hills outside of Fairplay!!!!
Regards.
Allan

[Graeme / New Zealand]

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Originally Posted by Allan Lundblad

Josh,
I had a hum in my '37 Biz Coupe way back in 1957 or so. Almost 75 now and the hum is now in my head but I seem to recall it might be a tube or a transformer. I suggest a repair shop to have it tested.
PS I used to drag race at Charlestown. I was born in Cranston, RI, raised in Apponaug, RI and escaped when I got out of the Army in'62. I miss Captain Jack's Seafood but not much else.
Allan

I've got a hum in my head all the time. Damn tinnitus.

GB

[Snouts out]

What kind of car? A model,or V8.

[Fibber Mcgee]

More than likely it's the vibrator or capacitors in the radio. Those are the two most failure prone parts in car tube radios. I've recapped 3 1940s home radios and it's not that difficult and pretty cheap if your up for it. I believe they make a solid state vibrator to replace the original.

[rotorwrench]

The vibrator is usually what is humming. Make sure you test outside in the open air. Garages are usually full of fluorescent lighting that can cause a hum and steel buildings will shield the RF waves a good bit.

The amplifier tubes need to be tested and the set could probably use a good going over for bad capacitors or maybe transformers. Those old capacitors sometimes pop like popcorn. Turnswitch does repairs and conversions to modern solid state AM/FM plus they have compatible modern speakers unless you want the original stuff. Speakers can be reconed

[Tim Ayers]

Hums are usually caps. Crackles or weak output are usually power and/or pre-amp tubes. If the radio hasn't been used for a while, it will need new caps.

Sometimes you can tell by looking at them. There may be crusty stuff coming out from the ends or they will look swollen or burnt or dark in color.

It is the lack of use that makes caps go bad. If it was used every day since new, more than likely they'd be OK.

Like someone said, they aren't hard to replace if you can solder.

[Royal Ryser]

A while back, I was working inside of my 36 tudor, when I heard something humming. I thought a previous owner had installed an electric fuel pump. A bit later, I started hearing voices coming out of the overhead. The radio had decided to start playing! Who knew? I was relieved to know the voices were not in my head, this time.

[big job]

Originally Posted by Allan Lundblad

Josh,
I had a hum in my '37 Biz Coupe way back in 1957 or so. Almost 75 now and the hum is now in my head but I seem to recall it might be a tube or a transformer. I suggest a repair shop to have it tested.
PS I used to drag race at Charlestown. I was born in Cranston, RI, raised in Apponaug, RI and escaped when I got out of the Army in'62. I miss Captain Jack's Seafood but not much else.
Allan

Charlestown, now thats a memory, yeh around 1962 a bad ass tri power
430 Lincoln we ran.....sam

[supereal]

I had my radio converted to a AM/FM receiver. The appearance is unchanged, and the FM band does away with the inevitable spark plug noise so common in old cars so you can actually use it.

[josh1331]

41super deluxe v8

[dono50]

Usually the vibrator on an old radio is bad but most likely a capacitor/capacitors are bad.
You can buy a solid state vibrator from Antique automobile radio in Palm Harbor,Fl

[josh1331]

Originally Posted by Allan Lundblad

Josh,
I had a hum in my '37 Biz Coupe way back in 1957 or so. Almost 75 now and the hum is now in my head but I seem to recall it might be a tube or a transformer. I suggest a repair shop to have it tested.
PS I used to drag race at Charlestown. I was born in Cranston, RI, raised in Apponaug, RI and escaped when I got out of the Army in'62. I miss Captain Jack's Seafood but not much else.
Allan

. You made the right choice, if we were younger we would have left also.