Phonoland

Hi All. Now I'm working on a Westinghouse H122 radio and phonograph...1946 I think. I've run across two or three around the internet and all are missing their power cord, as is mine. However, an extension cord works very well for testing. After I plugged it in and the lights all flickered and a few sparks flew, I assumed something was wrong...lol I have taken the unit apart, mainly the cabinet and phono (the radio can be removed and used separately), and rewired everything. The wires were like Doritos and many places were exposed. With that done and a few other small alterations, I have the phonograph playing, needle and all.

The phonograph needs to be plugged into the radio...actually for the speaker. Here is what I get: there is quite a bit of hum and the volume stays very, very low. The radio works as well, but has the same hum and low volume. Recap? Tubes seem fine, electrical sources are now fine. What does everyone think? If I have the radio recapped, I would have to hire it done since I am a beginner and would not want to fry my heart with a capacitor. I don't know if this is an expensive procedure or not and I have been tempted to try it myself, but probably not a good idea.

Just looking for opinions and any suggestions as far as restoring this nice piece. I'm very pleased to be able to play 78 records, even if I can barely hear them...lol

Thanks for any advice/suggestions/opinions.

Ok...I'm going to recap the radio myself...lol I spent three hours with someone today that does this for a living. I got a very good lesson on how to recap this radio. We will have the next lesson after I'm done, satisfactorily. Soldering will be the hardest. I'm fine with a copper pipe, some solder and a blow torch, but I don't think this experience will help much with the radios. Blow torch + radio = melted glob...lol Everyone wish me luck!

If there are any cautions...send them my way.

A word of caution whenever turning on something that old; find yourself a variac and use that to bring up the voltage slowly while keeping an eye on things. A blown capacitor can be cheap to replace but the rare tube it takes out with it when it meets it's earthly demise can be quite expensive. Good luck.