always check for set screws when you come across a stubborn knob that cant be removed easily. you cannot remove the knob until you loosen the set screw. on zenith transoceanics, the band select knob has a set screw.
wiggling could lead to breaking things IN the radio. the chassis wont come out if the knobs are still on the radio. this is common on zenith metal chassis radios.įirst pull off the knobs. chances are the face of the radio will serve as a mounting place for the chassis. these radios are much more complicated internally and beyond the scope of this instructable though some of the info presented here applies to those sets.
#Facing of an old transistor radio series#
On the zenith royal 1000, 2000, 3000, and 7000 series radios there is a mechanical fastener to access the battery area. the wd40 may stain a leather cased radio so keep that in mind. if you're careful you'll pry them apart without breaking anything. let it sit a minute then take a pocket knife and work the blade into it trying to split both halves. give the clasp a shot right were both halves meet. take a can of wd40 and put the straw on it. If the clasps are frozen you may be able to save them. if the clasps are broken off, you'll have to conjure up some way to keep that door shut while moving the radio around. its not uncommon to find these clasps broken off or frozen shut. to change batteries you unsnapped the clasps and flipped the door up.
Most of these covered radios used a snap clasp to keep the back of the radio shut. the pleather (fake leather) radios were also made this way but it was more common to find them as a fiberboard box that was wrapped in a leather looking plastic material. the leather ones were sometimes all leather with a metal face that the radio bolted into or a metal case with the leather glued on. much of the info provided though does carry over to other brands of metal chassis transistor radios.Ī great many of the large lunchbox sized radios came in a leather or pleather case. this instructable will deal only with large zenith metal chassis transistor radios. because of their quality, many still survive. some models like the transoceanics cost as much new as a decent used car would have cost at the time. Zenith radios were generally better built than any of the competitors and priced accordingly. one company stuck it out till the bitter end, it's name was zenith. some american companies quickly moved production to japan, others just had their radios made for them.
by the late 50's, the japanese began to produce transistor radios at prices that american industry couldn't compete with. Transistor radio manufacturers came and went. right on their heels where several other american companies and so the battle for the transistor radio market began.
In the mid 50's an american company named regency produced the world's first commercially made transistor radio. they were the ipod of the 60's and 70's and many have become sought after collectibles. even early ones are common finds at yard sales and fleamarkets. Transistor radios have been in production for over 50 years now. This instructable takes for granted that you can solder, work with small parts, read values on capacitors, and have a basic understanding of electricity.
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