I am in the process of restoring my 1951 Zenith H511-Y radio. The power cord is shot, crumbling insulation (after almost 60 years I'm not surprised), and I'd like to replace it. The only replacement cord I can find at the moment in my junk box has a polarized plug. I've never replaced a standard cord with a polarized one before now. Is it possible to use a polarized cord like this with a radio that originally had a standard 2-prong plug? I'm thinking that the wide prong of the polarized cord will connect to the rectifier tube (35W4) in the radio, while the other prong connects to one side of the AC switch. Is this the correct way to wire the cord or is it the other way around (wide prong to the switch and the narrow prong to the 35W4)?


Thanks in advance.

The wide blade is the neutral and the narrow one is the "hot". If your power switch goes to ground then you will have "potential" on the chassis in the off position. A good idea is to make the hot be switchable, ensuring that the chassis is always at ground/neutral.