Let the fun begin....

 

Emerson BW 231 - 1938

The Half Mae West....

My typical parts-is-parts replacement method

this is one of the easier parts to replace.

Capacitor C7

That's all, kids!

New Restoration Project - the "1/2 Mae West...." 1938 AM - Short Wave Radio

 

A recent gift - from a friend familiar with my interest in restoring old radios.

This is an Emerson model BW-231 - also known as the Half Mae West.

Emerson "1/2 Mae West"

What's the frequency Kenneth?

Emerson Logo Detail

A brush with some old-school Rock and Roll

Carl Griffin - Grammy Awards, Motown, a Jazz record label... and much more - 

bought this from Joey Dee - Peppermint Twist - in 1968.

He never played it, as it was in need of restoration. I hope to get it rocking' and rollin'!

It is a good candidate  for restoration - the circuit is a common 6 tube receiver design

that was popular for several decades - schematics and modern replacement electronic parts are available.

First Look Inside....

The primary parts to replace are the old wax, paper, and 'bumble bee' capacitors - the electrolyte

inside the originals disintegrates - turning the capacitor into something that may short,

act as a resistance, and ignite or explode, damaging other componentsthat are NOT

easy to find replacements for - e.g. transformers coils, etc.

Under the hood....

Component density isn't too annoying - this will be relatively easy to get to the parts that need replacement.

Wax caps - the four tubular tan bits....

Not sure what the two little red bits are... will need to figure that out before powering up.

Next step - I will draw diagrams and schematics, recording the values of each of the parts that are removed. There are about ten parts I will order and replace, followed by some more detailed detective work to identify any mysteries as I progress.

Stay tuned in, so to speak.