|
Post by tthurlow on Mar 15, 2021 19:16:05 GMT
Hi, my Daf 44 has a EKCO cr230 radio fitted. Its quite an early radio with valves. It lights up but nothing else. Before I start looking I repair I want to be sure I've wired it up correctly. The photo attached shows a pink wire which I assume is the live feed from the battery. The other wire seems to be dual core, this has an insulated wire around which is a metal braiding which has a rubber insulation over. The metal braid seems to be the earth? You will see in the photo that the previous owner had the braid and the central core going to a chocolate block connector. The car has a single speaker with a twin cable. Would each of the speaker cables connect to this chocolate block!? Or is all that wrong!? Any ideas welcome. Tom
|
|
andrew
Likes DAFs
Posts: 1,104
|
Post by andrew on Mar 15, 2021 19:38:56 GMT
I'm thinking the pink wire is, as you surmised, the live feed. The other lead, to which the previous owner attached a connector block might be a speaker connection, but may well be an aerial lead. I'd suggest you wire up the speaker to the connector block first, since by doing this you'll do no harm to the circuits and all you're likely to hear is a "ssssssss"! Are there any other connections or plugs on the radio? Is the radio a 12 or 6 volt one and does this match your car's voltage system?
|
|
|
Post by tthurlow on Mar 15, 2021 22:09:38 GMT
Thanks, there is a separate aerial socket. No noise at all from the speaker. Got a feeling a valve or capacitor is kaput.
|
|
|
Post by starider on Mar 15, 2021 23:29:21 GMT
Are you sure it has valves? and not transistors. If you get it to work it will only possibly pick-up AM and LW. It must be a very early car radio to have valves.The ones we used to fit into DAFs in the 60s/70s were all transistor.I have a couple still under one of my benches, these are only MW and LW. I think you will have to find a specialist. I know there are folks who will fit modern parts into old radios to give AM and FM.
|
|
|
Post by bobdisk on Mar 16, 2021 6:08:31 GMT
Can we please have more pictures of the rest of it. I would say its a transistor radio. Valve car radios are much bigger, sometimes having 2 units. There will be a vibrator to supply the higher voltage that valves require. Attachments:
|
|
andrew
Likes DAFs
Posts: 1,104
|
Post by andrew on Mar 16, 2021 12:18:14 GMT
As already stated, it's 99% likely to be a transistor as opposed to a valve radio. There are numerous individuals on t'internet who will repair these radios, but with only long and medium wave your signal options these days are somewhat limited; Radio 4 long wave is in 1515 Khz and some "classic" pop stations use medium wave, but the quality of the transmissions are, by today's standards, pretty poor. What might be fun would be to have a modern DAB/FM radio fitted inside the carcass of your radio, thus giving you an excellent sound system, but with a delightfully "retro" look. These conversions usually come with a U.S.B. port as well, so you could connect anything from any external source you liked. I have a DAB/FM and CD player in my Daf 33 and it's perfectly OK to use the chrome telescopic aerial supplied with the car's original radio. My speakers are mounted just under the dashboard, as I felt mounting them on the rear parcel shelf would not only restrict the view rearwards, but as I'm generally in the car alone, the speakers would be better in the front.
|
|
|
Post by tthurlow on Mar 16, 2021 21:46:08 GMT
Forgive my ignorance, i saw glass bulbs and thought valves. Think its dead other than the light, might send it off to a specialist.
|
|
|
Post by starider on Mar 16, 2021 22:06:34 GMT
It looks pretty big! Where is it fitted in the 44? I assume under the dash above the passengers knees. One of the newer classic transistor radios would fit nearer the driver and take up less room. I think you may possibly find it quite expensive to have restored. Good luck!
|
|
|
Post by bobdisk on Mar 17, 2021 6:16:54 GMT
Tthurlow, that is actually a valve radio. The 3 glass tubes (as Americans call them) are the valves. The vibrator is the aluminium can to the rear at top right with the red wire. It is plugged into its base like the valves. The rectangular thing (with SA56x9 and the blue dot) is the transformer to take the vibrators AC voltage up to 200v+ for the valves high tension and 6v for the valve heaters.The pink wire is the 12V input, the screened lead is the loudspeaker connection. If you connect it and switch on, the vibrator should start, If it does be careful of the high voltage that should be there.I expect the capacitors (the wax covered tube at the bottom right, on the transformer is one, and the small aluminium tubes next to the vibrator are two more and many more small ones) will all have dried out and failed, so restoration would be expensive, and not worth it, especially as there is only medium and long waves. You would be better off finding an enthusiast to buy it as it is, and find a retro style unit with the performance that Andrew has with his.
|
|
andrew
Likes DAFs
Posts: 1,104
|
Post by andrew on Mar 17, 2021 9:00:19 GMT
Forgive my ignorance, i saw glass bulbs and thought valves. Think its dead other than the light, might send it off to a specialist. View AttachmentI apologise unconditionally-that is a valve operated radio, and all the rarer for that! Bloomin' hell, that's quite something you have there! I have have loads of questions: 1/ Does it run on 6 or 12 volts? 2/ Do you know anything about its history? 3/ To what car was it originally fitted? 4/ What's the manufacturer's name? Once again, sorry for the incorrect information, but what you have there is vanishingly rare, so DON'T convert it to a modern radio-it's delightful as it is!
|
|
|
Post by starider on Mar 17, 2021 11:23:39 GMT
Glad it's been ID'd. Sounds a bit dodgy to me, 200+ volts in a car!!! I would go with Andrew's suggestion and look for a retro/classic. If you pay postage I will happily send one of the ones I have. I don't know if they work, but they/it would be cheaper to have repaired.
|
|
|
Post by tthurlow on Mar 18, 2021 20:14:13 GMT
Thanks all. In answer to the questions it came with the car, would seem to be original to it although there is no sign of an aerial hole anywhere. The section at the back that has the vibrator and the transformer says 6v module on it. This can be unplugged from the main radio. Its a very tight fit. As its not working for now i have refitted it without the module on the back as its such a sod to get in with it attached. Will probably just keep it and stick retro look radio in.
|
|
|
Post by bobdisk on Mar 19, 2021 5:56:29 GMT
If it was fitted from the factory, or a dealer there would have been a telescopic aerial. Perhaps a front wing, or rear panel was replaced, and they did not bother with an aerial because it did not work. Amongst a fair number, these people do retro look radios;
|
|
|
Post by starider on Mar 19, 2021 19:12:02 GMT
Don't forget my offer of a period radio as we fitted to DAFs during the 60s/70s. I'll find them tomorrow in case you want details.
|
|
|
Post by tthurlow on Mar 19, 2021 22:10:41 GMT
Thanks starider, i will send you a pm
|
|
andrew
Likes DAFs
Posts: 1,104
|
Post by andrew on Mar 20, 2021 16:04:19 GMT
I don't think that radio was fitted to the Daf as an original fitting, since Dafs were produced in the era of transistorised ones. The Daf is an early 44, running on 6 volts electrics, so a previous owner must have fitted the radio, albeit from a previous car. In the 1950s many more cars ran on 6 volts than did in the 1960s, and car radios were valve operated, as transistors had only just been invented. The power consumption of these radios was much more than modern transistorised ones, as the transformer would have to raise the voltage from 6 to at least 90-200 volts, probably more.
I'm fascinated in this radio and look forward to hearing more of it.....
|
|
andrew
Likes DAFs
Posts: 1,104
|
Post by andrew on Mar 20, 2021 17:09:27 GMT
This might be an advertisement for the radio you have.... it's designed to run on a 6 OR 12 volt supply.
|
|
|
Post by starider on Mar 21, 2021 0:11:04 GMT
Sorry, I missed that your 44 is a 6volt, the radio[both Radiomobile by the way] are for 12 volts.
|
|