Hello everyone yesterday I picked up for $20 at a garage sale near me a 1940s vintage Westinghouse AM/FM Radio model H-1821 (which all the service literature such as Sam's and Rider's referred to it as an H-182, which is kind of weird when the back of my radio specifically says "Model H-1821").

It's a "Walnut" Bakelite cabinet and the unit has all miniature 7 and 9 pin tubes in it which I thought was kind of unusual for a radio from the mid to late 1940s, it also uses a 4 watt 120v nightlight bulb for the pilot light.

I had to order a NOS Interlock cordset for the radio off ebay because the original cordset had worn through to bare wire at where the cordset attached to the back of the radio.

The Radio is almost pristine minus a few paint splatters on the cabinet, of which most of it I was able to get off without harming the bakelite (there's still a couple of bigger paint splatters on the cabinet and tuner dial that I can't seem to get off as easily as the smaller splatters).

Just out of curiosity, how rare is this set? I'm wondering becuse when I google this radio's model number nothing comes up in search results, not even anything in Radio Museum's website!

Thanks for your help with this Radio.

This one sold pretty cheap.

https://picclick.com/Vintage-Bakelite-Westinghouse-Radio-Model-H-1821-Working-Condition-372381683411.html

jr

This one sold pretty cheap.

https://picclick.com/Vintage-Bakelite-Westinghouse-Radio-Model-H-1821-Working-Condition-372381683411.html

jr

Yeah I see, but that doesn't explain why I can't find any information on it like when it was made or whether or not this Radio had an RF stage, AVC or things like that.
Like I said Radio Museum's website doesn't have it in their records.

Do you have a chassis number? The Sams (#53-25 published in 1949) for model H-182 covers chassis numbers V-2128 and V-2128-1.

jr

Do you have a chassis number? The Sams (#53-25 published in 1949) for model H-182 covers chassis numbers V-2128 and V-2128-1.

jr

Yes i do have the chassis number, it's Ch. V-2128 which I have like almost all of the early Sam's folders dating between 1947 to 1949 except this one for some reason.

The tube lineup is almost exactly like the Zenith 6 tube AM/FM radios from that time period.

If you have Sams set 50 folder 22, it covers the model H-202 and H-204 (chassis V-2128-3) which is nearly the same radio but with a selenium rectifier.

jr

If you have Sams set 50 folder 22, it covers the model H-202 and H-204 (chassis V-2128-3) which is nearly the same radio but with a selenium rectifier.

jr

Thanks I'll take a look and see if I have that one when I get a chance.
What's the best way to clean up and polish Bakelite after cleaning paint splatter off with goo gone?
I'm asking because the Bakelite finish got dulled after I finished cleaning the cabinet.

Unfortunately I don't have set 50 period.

Good news is that my replacement cord should be here tomorrow!
Which means I should be able to power up the unit and see what its current working order is like.

Do you know why these radios would not have their pilot lamp installed? I'm asking because I saw a youtube video of someone restoring one of these radios and that one also was missing its pilot lamp as well.

Was it because it was a nightlight bulb and they didn't want to risk damaging the bakelite cabinet with the bulb?

Thanks I'll take a look and see if I have that one when I get a chance.
What's the best way to clean up and polish Bakelite after cleaning paint splatter off with goo gone?
I'm asking because the Bakelite finish got dulled after I finished cleaning the cabinet.

I use #7 white polishing compound, which I get at Ace.

Picture please :-)

Well I got the replacement cord in the mail the other day and I went to plug in the radio to test it out, and the radio had no hum to it whatsoever (the power supply filter cap can is of the dry electrolytic type like what's in my 1931 Westinghouse, which is still working with its original filter caps in place) but for some reason there was no stations coming in on the radio, nothing on the AM or FM Band and I tested all 6 tubes in this radio and they all tested like brand new, so I'm not sure what's going on with this radio.

Any Ideas as to what could be wrong with this radio?

Below are some pictures of the unit as resquested.

Well I got the replacement cord in the mail the other day and I went to plug in the radio to test it out, and the radio had no hum to it whatsoever (the power supply filter cap can is of the dry electrolytic type like what's in my 1931 Westinghouse, which is still working with its original filter caps in place) but for some reason there was no stations coming in on the radio, nothing on the AM or FM Band and I tested all 6 tubes in this radio and they all tested like brand new, so I'm not sure what's going on with this radio.

Any Ideas as to what could be wrong with this radio?

Below are some pictures of the unit as resquested.
Check B+. If it is low change rectifier, if it is still low after that your lytics are bad. I've worked on easily 200 radios and can tell you that 1 or 2 surviving caps of a type or make is FAR from a confirmation of reliability of parts of the class.
If your B+ is normal and you have no reception inject audio at the grid of the first audio amp stage and see if you get anything at the speaker. If you get reasonably strong audio the problem is in the band switch, RF, converter, IF or detector stages, if you get no audio go over the audio stages. Divide and conquer.

Check B+. If it is low change rectifier, if it is still low after that your lytics are bad. I've worked on easily 200 radios and can tell you that 1 or 2 surviving caps of a type or make is FAR from a confirmation of reliability of parts of the class.
If your B+ is normal and you have no reception inject audio at the grid of the first audio amp stage and see if you get anything at the speaker. If you get reasonably strong audio the problem is in the band switch, RF, converter, IF or detector stages, if you get no audio go over the audio stages. Divide and conquer.

I've changed the rectifier tube out for a known good 35W4 rectifier tube and it still wasn't working.
I'll take the chassis out of the cabinet and check out a few things in the radio's underbelly.

Also one thing I forgot to mention, I was monitoring the current being drawn by this radio using my Kill-A-Watt Meter and the current draw is spot on with what is marked on the back of the radio which is 30 Watts and 0.25 amps, so I'm not sure what's going on with this radio and why I'm not getting any stations in on it even though according to the Kill-A-Watt Meter the radio isn't running abnormally (like my TV is.)

Have you tried injecting audio yet? That test divides the possible problems in half at least. Since it is a series string radio plug it into an isolation transformer or use a battery-powered signal source for injection.

Have you tried injecting audio yet? That test divides the possible problems in half at least. Since it is a series string radio plug it into an isolation transformer or use a battery-powered signal source for injection.

No I haven't yet. I don't even know what I would use as a sound source to inject sound into the radio.

Got a beater Walkman/CD/mp3 player? Got an isolation transformer to power the radio and some lousy AC powered audio source with a line out jack? Got an audio signal generator? Audio is audio.

There is a small chance you could fry any source device by touching it to high voltage...use something you don't care about or a test generator designed to take some abuse, or be extra careful in how you go about connecting it (dc blocking caps are not a bad idea).

Could also use the old touch a screwdriver to the grid of each tube, starting with the output tube, and isolate the problem this way based on the amplitude of the click and buzz noise the screwdriver makes.

Got a beater Walkman/CD/mp3 player? Got an isolation transformer to power the radio and some lousy AC powered audio source with a line out jack? Got an audio signal generator? Audio is audio.

There is a small chance you could fry any source device by touching it to high voltage...use something you don't care about or a test generator designed to take some abuse, or be extra careful in how you go about connecting it (dc blocking caps are not a bad idea).

I have an old portable battery powered tape player, but that's about it.

Also I tested the B+ voltage coming off of Pin 7 of the 35W4 rectifier tube and C2 (which is the first section of the power supply filter cap can), and according to the schematic it should measure 120v and I got about 130v, does that indicate anything problematic?

Anything within 30% on a voltage test is usually ok especially B+. Line voltage in the 60s and earlier was usually assumed to be 117V and nowadays it is assumed to be 124V.

Granted if it is high at 117V input it could mean a stage is not drawing it's fair share of current....like say for instance the audio output transformer is not passing B+ to the audio output plate...

Another troubleshooting method is (assuming you have the manual and it lists the voltage at the pins of the tubes ) check the tube voltages and see if anything is too far off designed value.

Anything within 30% on a voltage test is usually ok especially B+. Line voltage in the 60s and earlier was usually assumed to be 117V and nowadays it is assumed to be 124V.

Granted if it is high at 117V input it could mean a stage is not drawing it's fair share of current....like say for instance the audio output transformer is not passing B+ to the audio output plate...

Another troubleshooting method is (assuming you have the manual and it lists the voltage at the pins of the tubes ) check the tube voltages and see if anything is too far off designed value.

Well my Kill-A-Watt Meter says my outlets are putting out about 122 Volts AC. so with that in mind it seems that the B+ Voltage is within tolerance, which leaves us with only two options as to why the radio isn't putting out audio or picking up radio stations, A) we have an open IF or RF transformer or B) the output transformer is open, either one of those issues could cause my radio's symptoms.