I saw a bunch of old antique radios fixed up real nice and then remembered that I have one in my basement. I wonder if it would be worth the effort to fix it up. Here are some pics of what I saw and what I have
Anybody here fix up an old radio and convert it to a guitar amp?
- Thread starter Leonardocoate
- Start date
JustABluesGuy
Friend of Leo's
We have a couple of old radios that I thought about converting into amps, but then I found out about the Fender Greta, and bought one of them instead.
One radio and maybe my life have beed saved. I have thought about rehousing the Greta into an old radio though.
One radio and maybe my life have beed saved. I have thought about rehousing the Greta into an old radio though.
richiek65
Poster Extraordinaire
Here's mine that I sometimes think I should do something with
I am not the least bit handy, know nothing about electronics...
( though have read about how tube amps work, in guitar/amp books, for 30 years- still understand nothing!)
...but I once ( early 1980's) 'made' a guitar amp!
Explain:
My first electric guitar and amp ((bought in 1976) got stolen in College in 1980, ( after Hallowee House party), which is when I got married & expecting a baby...
So, no money for fun stuff in '80, I was not able to get another 2nd electric 'till 1982- I bought an Electra Phoenix ( Strat copy w/SG horns! $239- good guitar), but no amp.
So being Mr. Wizard, I went to Radio Shack and spent maybe $20 on a Telephone Amplifier ( for maybe hard of hearing folks?) and a 1/4" plug. screw on terminals/no solder.
The amplifier was just a 9V battery box ( amplifier and speaker, with ON/OFF, Volume knob) that looked like a transistor radio.
Attached to amp was a maybe 6' cable, with a suction cup 'pickup' that you attached to receiver end of telephone; and this would amplify what the person you were talking to was saying into the amp.
I just cut off the suction cup pickup, attached the 1/4" plug= crappy guitar amp! Perfectly raunchy too!
But it worked, 'till I could afford a real amp
( though have read about how tube amps work, in guitar/amp books, for 30 years- still understand nothing!)
...but I once ( early 1980's) 'made' a guitar amp!
Explain:
My first electric guitar and amp ((bought in 1976) got stolen in College in 1980, ( after Hallowee House party), which is when I got married & expecting a baby...
So, no money for fun stuff in '80, I was not able to get another 2nd electric 'till 1982- I bought an Electra Phoenix ( Strat copy w/SG horns! $239- good guitar), but no amp.
So being Mr. Wizard, I went to Radio Shack and spent maybe $20 on a Telephone Amplifier ( for maybe hard of hearing folks?) and a 1/4" plug. screw on terminals/no solder.
The amplifier was just a 9V battery box ( amplifier and speaker, with ON/OFF, Volume knob) that looked like a transistor radio.
Attached to amp was a maybe 6' cable, with a suction cup 'pickup' that you attached to receiver end of telephone; and this would amplify what the person you were talking to was saying into the amp.
I just cut off the suction cup pickup, attached the 1/4" plug= crappy guitar amp! Perfectly raunchy too!
But it worked, 'till I could afford a real amp
FiddlinJim
Tele-Holic
I used an old GE radio, but built a new chassis for it (5F2A circuit) and installed a new Jensen 6” speaker.
capnhiho
TDPRI Member
Last year I bought a 5F2A head build from a Reverb builder, then set about finding something to use for a cabinet. I scoured eBay, CL, Etsy, etc. and finally found an antique radio in a suitably sized wood cabinet. I didn’t want to gut a radio that might be restorable but the original chassis in this one had already been replaced with a MOPAR car radio. I tossed the car radio and this is what I ended up with:
Ironically the radio is a “Teletone” brand, which I considered extremely appropriate…
Ironically the radio is a “Teletone” brand, which I considered extremely appropriate…
Last edited:
tacobender
TDPRI Member
I’ve got this, still waiting for a power cord to check it out.
NTC
Tele-Afflicted
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2003
- Posts
- 1,572
I have one I am converting into a bluetooth speaker, but it also has a guitar input - and a Weber speaker. I reused the rectifier, output tube and a preamp tube and converted a socket for another preamp tube. It has series string heaters and I have added an isolation transformer.
I cheated. Put an Ibanez TSA15H head into a 1936 Silvertone. Its chassis was tube-robbed, its grille busted, grille cloth rotted, so a big conversion seemed okay. I put a WGS 10C/S speaker in it that's really beautiful. Smooth and clear.
(The Electromaster badge came from an old water heater.)
(1948 is the model number, not year of manufacture.)
(The Electromaster badge came from an old water heater.)
(1948 is the model number, not year of manufacture.)
For the reason above, I’ve converted a few Newcomb AM tube radios into 5F2a type guitar amps. The original circuit uses a power transformer, 6V6 output and 6AV6 preamp stage. The internal speaker is hardwired so I add a speaker out Jack to run an external cab. Newcomb made lots of A/V stuff in the 60s, mostly for schools and institutional purposes. Solid electronics but nothing as pretty as some of those old hardwood radio cabinets.
Yeah. These non-PT devices are extremely dangerous because the power tubes run on AC voltage straight out of the wall, and they're ungrounded.
You can make them safer to operate by installing an isolation transformer, but that does not remove all the danger. The best thing to do is convert the existing circuit to something resembling a small tube guitar amp with a three-wire AC mains cable and attention paid to the tone-shaping section in the preamp.
Have a squiz at several vintage guitar amp schematics and you'll start to see repeating patterns and similarities because there are common conventions shared by guitar amp makers.
Here's a good primer on the topic.
Good story....You should have got a college credit for that...somebody gave me a broken amp and I managed to accidentally fix it. I ended up writing a paper about the experience and got a decent grade on that project....I still have no idea what I did to make it work
I like!...that is similar to the one I have
That is along the lines of what I was considering. I love the look...I'm digging all the wood work with these relics...thanks for sharing
Engine Swap
Friend of Leo's
Had this old chassis kicking around for years, but never found the right project for it.
oh yea...suit case amps are just as intriguing
Thanks!
So much time has passed, that I don't even know if I actually had the 'formed idea' to make that Phone Amplifier Amp,
9or if I just went into the Radio Shack to buy blank cassette tapes & window shop the radios & Stereo stuff ( something I did often), and just saw the Phone Amp and had a lightbulb moment.
The fact that I had the idea, and actually made the amp without destroying it, AND it actually worked, is for me, remarkable!
After reading this a few times I realize I have some learning to do. I hope to see pics when you are done
