1951 GE AA5 AM Clock Radio Repair

Shango, if you could teach electronics, you should. You have a natural ability. I'm no where competent as you are, but from watching your videos, I have already learned so much. Thank you so much for posting these videos. They are an inspiration! By the way, I love definitely love the sarcasm in your videos!

Those postwar AA5 radios were inexpensive and durable, and despite their reputation as low-end receivers, as long as you put in replacement components of the same values as the originals, they'll work quite solidly and reliably! It's amazing to me that they dominated the home receiver market for 35 years!

That's a rather nice looking one. Lots of useful knowledge scattered across these videos.

I love old tube radios ,when they are restored ,I love how you can get new life out of them I like how tubes sound I bet newer radio don't last as long ,or sound as good.

Just purchased one of these, waiting for delivery. Refrigerator white, 1950–completely re-capped, [& etc]. $ 80.oo. Looks fantastic. Glad to hear you talk about H.D.radio. I had questions.

It is amazing to me that you were able to find and re-engineer a fix for this problem. Nice!

I'd do anything to get my HAM radio HF training from Shango. I'm sure he would be the most awesome teacher haha

Your correct HD Radio never caught on I like AM radio CBS news comes to mind your videos teach me so much. I like the Spanish radio stations

I got mine ( same as mine. Mine crackled too. Mine had a dirty tuning capacitor.) Mine does receive quite well. And clock keeps perfect time. 📻🙂

710 WOR here in NYC shut off HD Radio a while ago, ironic as that was the only AM station I could consistantly lock and listen to in HD. I also hear that WCBS 880 turns it off during their Yankees game broadcasts, I hope it goes away forever as it kills any chance of DXing WLS 890 here. Despite being a clear channel, I rarely can get a lock on its HD signal 30 miles from their transmitter. HD Radio will likely stick around on FM, it seems to work fine there.

GE also made the model 535, an AA6 (6 tube) clock radio. Note that shango066's radio is designated to be a "radio alarm clock." The model 535 was a "radio clock". In the early days of adding an electric alarm clock to a radio, providing the "wake to music" feature, apparently the industry hadn't settled on the name "clock radio" (making "clock" the adjective, instead of "radio"), which we use today. The GE model 535 was similar. It did not have the third section in the variable tuning capacitor, which some AA6 radios had. I acquired a hand me down GE model 535 when I was in my early teens, repaired it, and kept it running until I graduated from college. I am quite sure that it suffered silver mica disease. I didn't know what was going on, so, when all else had failed, I replaced the IF transformers with those from a junk radio and got my model 535 running again. Briefly in the video at about 5:21, we see that the B+ feeds to a tap on the audio output transformer primary. One primary winding lead goes to the plate of the audio output tube. The other goes to a 1K resistor and from it to the second filter capacitor, providing B+ for the other tubes. The DC in the two sections of the primary provide partially cancelling DC magnetic flux, allowing GE to use a physically smaller audio output transformer. (Too much DC magnetic flux will saturate the core. Designers use a core with an air gap and also use enough metal to handle the flux.) The downside of this strategy is that some of the output signal power is delivered to the 1K resistor instead of the speaker. If the audio output transformer requires replacement and you only have a transformer without a tap (scavenged from another radio), tie the tap connection and the 1K resistor connection together.

Don't need HD radio. These older radios can outperform the newest radios it seems. I have an early 1970's Zenith Circle of Sound clock radio that I use when I'm at home visiting family. That radio picks up a station in my home town 280 miles away (AM) very clearly with minimal background noise. My car doesn't even pick it up as good!

Hi shango: I don't know what you're doing, or even what you're saying half the time, but I enjoy watching your channel. The best part is watching these pieces of history being brought back to life. Thank you!

Thanks shango066, always learn something. Thanks

I have that exact radio and it works after replacing all tubes and caps

Great video as always Shango.

Cool!... that set is well built! I like how they put the tubes down into metal foxholes ;-)

Any videos of mines and the desert with ham radios and abandoned places that's video was awesome the old TV's you found and one radio from the desert - I like the min videos and how you explorer

One of these got away from me....I was cleaning out a hoarder house and there was a nice Emerson in great shape sitting in the "toss out" pile. Next time back at the house it was gone. Too bad.

I used to be one of those guys that only rebuilt a slug-tuned IF can if I had to, but nowadays I actually consider it a part of radio restoration. If SMD only happened once in awhile I'd take my chances, but most of the radios I get have it or develop it shortly thereafter.