Essential Vintage Radio Links

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Manuals / Schematics

Community / Repair / Parts / Sales

Antique Electronic Supply (AES)
www.tubesandmore.com
Tempe, Arizona

AES is listed in the Antique Wireless Association (AWA) publication "The AWA Journal."
Online and .pdf catalog with: tubes, chokes, transformers, capacitors, schematics, grille cloth, pilot lamps (bulbs), supplies and helpful guides. Very nice to deal with because they understand the art of giving quality service.
Antique Radio References
antiqueradio.org
Books, parts, useful how-to guides, etc.
Grundig "940W" repair page: antiqueradio.org/grundig940w.htm
Replacing old capacitors: antiqueradio.org/recap.htm
Dim-bulb Radio Tester (poor man's Variac): antiqueradio.org/dimbulb.htm

Antique Wireless Association (AWA)
antiquewireless.org
The AWA members meet on Tuesdays at the Museum Annex in Bloomfield, NY near the junction of Routes 5&20 and 444. The Annex is near the American Legion Hall.
AWA (Carolinas Chapter Antique Wireless Association)
www.cc-awa.club

Bavarian Radio Works (Ross A. Hochstrasser / W1EKG)
40 Walnut Street
Whitman, MA 02382
781-447-9104
bavarianradio ]at[ comcast.net
Bavarian Radio Works specialized in repair of European radio sets such as Grundig, SABA, Telefunken, Nordmende, Philips, Siemens, etc. Note: Whitman, Massachusetts is just south of Boston and about 40 miles south of Lexington. I visited the shop on September 1, 2005 and he was very generous with his time. Unfortunately, Ross has been trying to get out of the radio repair business. Clock repair is his current repair work of choice, and there have been reports of extremely slow turn-around times (over two years) on radio repairs. He does have a loft full of European radios, so he may be able to supply parts, but that is unconfirmed. Consider using Radio Daze for repairs.

Visited with Ross again September 14, 2012 and he said Kevin Frattalone (owner of Antique Sounds Restorations website) took a large portion of his old German radios from the loft above the shop, and actively works in the radio restoration business. As of September 14, 2012 Kevin is at...

Kevin Frattalone
300 State Avenue
Dayville, CT 06262
205-554-7067
kev6554 ]at[ aol.com
Antique Sounds Restorations

23-sep-2012: Sent email to establish contact. Took a few weeks, but finally got a nice reply.
28-sep-2012: Discovered Kevin's website, "Antique Sounds Restorations"

BVWS (British Vintage Wireless Society)
www.vintage-radio.com/index.html
BVWS section on repairing Grundig radios:
www.vintage-radio.com/manufacturers-and-sets/grundig.html

DX References and Links:
www.dxing.com
DX-ing is the art and science of listening to distant stations (D=distance X=xmitter or transmitter). There are many excellent resources on this site.

Electric Radio Magazine
www.ermag.com
"Celebrating a Bygone Era" (vintage radio articles and classifieds).

Mal Fuller
624 North Main Street
Wolfeboro, New Hampshire 03894
9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. eastern time
603-569-1946
radiodoc ]at[ localnet.com

Mal Fuller provides expert repair on domestic tube type radios. He began in the TV-Radio trade as a technician in 1956. Vintage radio repair is his only business and it operates full time. He has a large parts inventory to support the business. Expedites repair time in most instances. Communicate before shipping your radio. Mal is also a weekly staple on the "Allan Weiner Worldwide" shortwave radio program on WBCQ.
Glenwood Sales Company
594 Hague Street
Rochester, NY 14606
585-328-1600
Bruce Miller's email: glenwoodparts ]at[ hotmail.com

Glenwood Sales was under-staffed and poorly lit – with narrow, over-stocked isles, minimal heat, and a dank, musty atmosphere; a true Rochester classic! Those charming features aside, the place featured rack after towering rack of surplus electronic parts and discrete components. It was unusual for this type of business to still exist at the beginning of the 21st century. There used to be other surplus outlets like this all over town but I think they went belly-up and sold their stock to Glenwood! Once you became familiar with the layout, it was not difficult to navigate the aisles and actually find useful parts. It always got busy during the lunch hour with people looking for obscure parts to complete their electronic or radio project. They even provided several 1960s vintage overcoats at the front door for convenient fall and winter shopping. Their slick website belied the completely funked-out atmosphere of the store. As of October 6, 2008 the website was down, telephone disconnected, and email shut off. I believe they permanently locked their doors and sold the stock to other suppliers during the summer of 2008.

Grundig Repair (authorized):
ACT Electronics
21129 Norwalk Blvd
Hawaiian Gardens, CA 90716
562-809-0263
Adrian (owner)
actelectronic ]at[ aol.com
ACT Electronics / 07-sep-2004: Ordered a battery holder for the Grundig "Satellit International 400." Three "AA" side by side. $9.25 plus $5.50 shipping & handling ($14.75 total). Battery holder was marked 15041-044. These batteries were for the clock and programmable radio stations. WARNING: When changing the three "AA" clock and station memory batteries, leave the AC power plugged in. Otherwise, the station memory and clock times will be lost.
More Grundig Repair Shops (as of 2004)
Reference the Grundig website for updated listings

The Grundig (Eton) website states, "If it has been more than a year since the date of original purchase for your Eton (Grundig) product, your factory warranty has expired. Eton can assist you in locating a service center to repair your product. We refer our customers to the following service centers in North America:"

Note: These service centers are wholly independent companies that are in no way owned by, endorsed by, or affiliated with Eton. Their policies, procedures, and pricing are completely separate from and have no relation to those of Eton. Customers take full responsibility for engaging these service centers, and Eton is in no way liable for the service performed by these centers.
ACT Electronics
21129 Norwalk Boulevard
Hawaiian Gardens, California
90716
800-824-7094
562-809-0263 		Bavarian Radio Works
40 Walnut Street
Whitman, Massachusetts
02382
781-447-9104 		Columbus Electronics
1151 Sanford Street
Winnipeg, MAN.
R3E 3A1
Canada
204-775-0435 		Charles Electronics
11 Charles Street West
Toronto, ONT.
M4Y 1R4
Canada
416-923-5319 		EBM Electronics
80 Acorn Place, Unit 50
Mississauga, ONT.
L4Z 4E1
Canada
905-755-9527

Goldcrest Electronics
700 South Goodman Street
Rochester, NY 14620
585-546-8464
goldcrestmail ]at[ yahoo.com
www.goldcrestelectronics.com

Just Radios ( CAVEAT EMPTOR! )
www.justradios.com

Sam's Photofact Sets (copies) / Schematics (including European) / Manuals / Capacitors.

Reference (Capacitors): www.justradios.com/capacitors.html
Reference (Capacitor Tips for Beginners): www.justradios.com/captips.html
Reference (Capacitor Conversion Chart): www.justradios.com/uFnFpF.htm

Sam's Photofact Sets and Rider Technical Manuals are Available at the Public Library
Before you pay top price (eBay, online vendors, etc.) for photocopies of Sam's Photofact Sets, or Rider Technical Manuals, check your public library. Many libraries still have these documents readily available and will let you make copies for a nominal fee. A photocopy of a typical twelve-page Sam's Photofact Set will cost about $1.50 at your public library!

In the days of "point-click-pay" it is easy, and quite possible to over-pay for low quality, multiple-generation photocopies. It may not be obvious what the quality is like until you receive the package. Remember, the documents can be copied cheaply, quickly and accurately by yourself at the library.

Note that some websites have generously provided free online .pdf file schematics, but they have occasionally been found to be labeled incorrectly. This only becomes obvious when the schematics are used to create "shopping lists" for new components, or when the circuit troubleshooting begins. If the component values found in the radio are nowhere near the values shown in the .pdf files, then some investigation work needs to be done. Again, take a trip to your local public library and look up the Sam's Photofact Set or Rider Technical Manual for your radio, if available. These companies did not make technical documents for each and every radio ever produced.

The librarian will be happy to show you where they store the Sam's Photofact or other technical data sets. By making the copies yourself, you verify the schematics are correct for your radio, and ensure the top-notch quality of the photocopy. Take the money you save and put it towards the radio restoration!


McMaster-Carr Supply
www.mcmaster.com
Excellent selection, easy to navigate and order. Order includes link to carrier's tracking number. Found the 14" long 10-24 bolts for "Viking Valiant" cabinet. Sold in 5-pack. Also has pilot lamps (bulbs).
ODXA - Ontario DX Association
http://www.blandx.com/bdx2/odxa/dxcamp.html
Useful information, DX techniques, and a newsletter, "Listening In." Station lists, and much more, from the perspective of southern Ontario, Canada.

Paul Pinyot (KB3LZP/SK)
obituary (discovered 27-oct-2017)
www.ppinyot.com
Near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania
paul ]at[ ppinyot.com
Radio repair, consultation, radio amateur. Helpful communication via email.

Pilot Lamps (bulbs) for Tuning Dials
See: AES (Antique Electronic Supply), McMaster-Carr, Radio Daze, Grieder Elektronik Bauteile (Swiss).

Radio Attic
radioattic.com
Large archive of photos. Good for identification purposes.

Radio Daze
2144 Brighton Henrietta T.L. Road, Suite 200
Rochester, NY 14623
Phone: 877-653-8823 or 585-270-8178
Fax: 800-456-6494 or 585-270-8179
www.radiodaze.com
General Info: info ]at[ radiodaze.com
John Slusser: jms ]at[ radiodaze.com (owner)
Mike Slusser: mws ]at[ radiodaze.com (operations manager)
Brian Sargeant: bms ]at[ radiodaze.com (repair technician)
Phil Hazen: pmh ]at[ radiodaze.com (history)
Bill Rindfuss: whr ]at[ radiodaze.com (history)

18-aug-2004: Met Bill Rindfuss at the Radio Daze tent during the AWA swap meet. He previously left a voice mail (16-aug-2004) and recommended contacting Ross Hochstrasser of Bavarian Radio Works if I wanted to find a German tube radio. Tuning dial pilot lamps for Grundig radios (Type 40) are $0.35 and are sold by Radio Daze. They are 6.3v, 150mA (0.15A) with a screw-in base.

Brian Sargeant (1961 - 2022)
Technician at Radio Daze (as of May 21, 2010)
361 N. Washington Street
Rochester, NY 14625
586-1984

28-apr-2022: Sadly, Brian passed away January 31, 2022. He was a great guy, and one of the youngest people I knew who knew how to repair vintage radios. He will be missed.

03-sep-2004: Brian lives in Webster, NY and only uses his cell phone (no land-line home phone). Works on vintage radios and is quite reasonable by the sounds of it. Gets $14/tube if replaced, otherwise claimed he could go through all the components of the Grundig "2066PX" (capacitors, resistors, etc.) for $100 parts and labor. Two to three week backlog. Has never worked on a Grundig radio. He repairs coin operated machines for a living. Talked to him on the phone on 03-sep-2004. He was with Superior Sales & Service and recommended by Phil Hazen of Radio Daze.


Radio Heaven
Ron Lawrence (W4RON)
North Carolina (near Charlotte)
www.radioheaven.homestead.com
I visited Ron's "Radio Heaven" on Wednesday October 17, 2007. It was quite an impressive museum, and he graciously gave me the grand tour.
Radio Intel / Global Radio Portal
www.radiointel.com
Reviews / News

Radio Shack Catalogs
www.radioshackcatalogs.com/catalog_directory.html

Radio Swap Meet / Kutztown Radio Show (Kutztown, Pennsylvania)
http://www.dvhrc.com/kutztown.html
The Kutztown Radio Show is held twice a year in May and September. It has grown to one of the largest radio shows in the country, attracting collectors and dealers from all over the US. The Show is held at Renninger's Antiques and Farmer's Market.

Radio Reference Database (RRD):
Main Page: www.radioreference.com
Database: www.radioreference.com/apps/db

Useful site for identifying radio scanner frequencies (Fire, EMS, Volunteer Ambulance, Police, Sheriff, Towns, Highway, etc.) in the USA.
Radio Station / Transmitter Locator:
www.radio-locator.com
This is a useful site for identifying radio stations in the USA and Canada by call-sign or frequency. Includes daytime and nighttime coverage maps, power rating, etc.
Radiophile www.radiophile.com
Beautiful website with nice photos and descriptions of radios (wood, plastic, tube, transistor, ham), record players, recorders, etc.

Rochester Industrial Services (RIS)
1940 Lyell Avenue
Rochester, NY 14606
585-254-5880
www.rochesterindustrialservices.com

I met Doug Wagner (owner of RIS) at Glenwood Sales on my lunch hour (21-sep-2004) while rummaging through the isles trying to find capacitors for a Grundig tube radio (model 2066 PX) restoration project. He was very helpful, and a nice guy. He helped me navigate the isles, as it was my first visit to the rambling electronic surplus store. He said that Mike Glavich, who works in repair at RIS, works on radios too. "Jackie" is the receptionist, in case I ever wanted to call for advice, etc.
Charles Siegfried (specializes in Becker automobile radios)
2530 Pleasant Hill Rd
Sebastopol, CA 95472
707-823-7927
Charles Siegfried comes highly recommended by a member of the Mercedes-Benz International Ponton Owners Group (IPOG). Walter Quitt (r39o ]at[ yahoo.com) testified, "Charles Siegfreid in Sebastopol California, does an awesome job. Not cheap, but probably cheaper than sending your radio back to Becker of North America. We have had Becker Mexicos running for decades after he rebuilds them. His basic warranty starts when you put the radio back in the car. Three years total coverage. He does the job right, and replaces all the nasty capacitors. He knows all the usual fail parts and just puts new modern ones in, so they will last a long time. He claims almost zero returns for repairs, and I can believe it. He is a nice guy too."
Service Technology (ask for Joe)
3385 Brighton-Henrietta Town-line Road
585-427-2970
Joe repairs valve (tube) radios in the Rochester, NY area. Usually a minimum $49 charge to look at the radio. Will replace or repair power supplies, capacitors, etc. Charges by the hour. Is familiar with Grundig and Telefunken sets. Also repairs solid state stereos. Met him at his shop on 17-oct-2006. Got a screw for the antenna connection at the back of a Harman/Kardon 330c stereo receiver. Joe is a nice guy.
The Southern Appalachian Radio Museum (W4AFM)
Asheville, North Carolina
www.saradiomuseum.org
Located in a room on the campus of the Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College. Visited the museum on October 19, 2007. Was staffed by Norman (N4NH).
John Stone
350 Newman Court
Lake Bluff, IL 60044
847-735-0432
John Stone responded to an email I posted (c. 2004) in the usenet group: rec.antiques.radio+phono. John restores and sells radios. Good communication via email. May have a Telefunken "Opus 9" for sale for $550 after the cabinet is back from being restored. No ETA however. Has other models such as Telefunken "Gavotte 8" ($225) and Grundig "3028u" ($275).
Tube Tester Repair

Brian Sargeant (Radio Daze) recommended "Mike" (Buffalo, NY) for repairing tube testers like the Hickok TV-10B/U. He bought a pallet of tube testers from Radio Daze. Repairing tube testers is considered a specialized field.

Mike
716-822-2257

"Tubes and More" (Antique Electronic Supply)
See: Antique Electronic Supply

Tube Depot
https://tubedepot.com
Note: as of October 2020, the "Tube Depot" sold the JJ Electronic EL84 for $9.98, which was $1.07 less than Antique Electronic Supply.

Vintage Electronic Restoration Services
Renninger's Antiques Center Mt. Dora, Florida
Ted Miguel
407-754-2702
Recommended by Allan Weiner (WBCQ) January 2, 2009.
Repairing radios (including German sets), TVs, HAM, C.B., vintage car radios, and cosmetic work.

Herman Weber / Weber Electronics / Toronto, Canada
Repairs and sells German radios
416-621-2556
Got his contact info. from a fellow AWA member at the swap meet (August 18, 2004).

Jan Wuesten
fjz ]at[ die-wuestens.de
"Ask Jan First" www.die-wuestens.de/eindex.htm

Other Electronic Supply houses (not necessarily devoted to vintage radio)

Angela Instrument (audio electronic specialty items and supplies)
www.angela.com

Allied Electronic Supply
www.alliedelec.com

Digikey Electronic Supply (good online catalog)
www.digikey.com

Mouser Electronic Supply (good hard copy catalog / fast and reliable)
800-346-6873
www.mouser.com

Newark Electronic Supply
www.newark.com

Radio Shack
www.radioshack.com
Radio Stations

WRUR - University of Rochester (article about the history of WRUR on the university's web page)

WBCQ - The Planet
An eclectic shortwave broadcast station in the USA It can be heard on 7.490 MHz, 9.330 MHz, 18.910 MHz, and 5.110 MHz.

Located in Monticello, Maine – WBCQ is home to a wide variety of eclectic weekly radio shows like This Week in Amateur Radio International, The Lumpy Gravy Radio Show (hosts: "Cosmik Debris" and "Jane"), Radio Timtron Worldwide (host: Tim "Timtron" Smith WA1HLR), Allan Weiner Worldwide, (hosted by Allan Weiner) and many more. Allan Weiner talks on the air with listeners who call on the phone, reads emails from listeners, and chats with various guests (Mal Fuller, Ross Hochstrasser) on technical radio topics, and more. Mr. Weiner (the owner of WBCQ) wrote a book about how he got started and established himself in radio, and some of the incredible challenges and opposition he faced setting up various stations along the way. The book is entitled, Access to the Airwaves: My Fight for Free Radio (Paperback). Co-authored by Anita Louise McCormick, the timeline ends around 1996, before WBCQ went on the air, thus; does not mention the station at all. Still, it is a fascinating chronicle of the determination and motivation of a man thoroughly devoted to his ideals of free speech and passion for shortwave radio broadcasting. See: Essential Vintage Radio Books and Literature for more detail. Visit the WBCQ website for current programming schedules.

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Essential Vintage Radio Links
Established: August 30, 2007
Links Verified January 2, 2024
© Black Sparrow Photography / Jeffrey P. Miller (N2AWA)

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