Mopar model 812 car radio, (early 1950's Chrysler product)

Do you have six dollars and fifty cents? A NOS Sams Photofact can be yours:

MOPAR Models: 812/813/815/816/817 AM Car Radio. - $6.50

This is a six volt

FWIW:

There were solid state vibrators available. Not sure where to look and/ or find one today.

Bob AZ

I have renovated a vibrator, usual pitted contacts problem, robbing contacts from a power relay or switch and swaging them into the carrier.

Look here for your vibrator:-

Colin in AUS

Thanks for all the info guys.I don't know for certain yet if I need a vibrator but I do need to order a schematic. Lenny

Pull the vibrator out of its case and look for welded contacts. Lots of times they can be separated and dressed with a relay file or fine emery nail file. Sometimes you can even bang on the vibrator and loosen the contacts if they aren't stuck together badly. I ran across this Youtube video some while back. It will help you immensly

yes, this can work. I've repaired a few over the years by disassembling and using an auto points file on the contacts. They are usually easy to take apart, too.

I think I know who might have solid state one (Antique Electronic Supply) I built one for an old Blaupunkt 3 band radio laid out in wavelength rather than frequency for a 73 vehicle. My replacement was huge though. Threw it together with a few parts from. Radio Shack.

ote:

Guys, the OP says his vibrator buzzes when he applies 6 volts directly to it. That argues that the vibrator is not the problem, but that there's an open circuit between the power supply and the vibrator.

I would suspect that either the socket contacts or the pins on the vibrator are corroded.

It looks like most of the other replys totally missed the fact that the vibrator isn't vibrating in the radio, but does work with DC applied directly. I just did a quick check and two terminals of the vibrator are usually connected directly across the DC input. That should make troubleshooting fairly simple, even without a schematic.

Of course, if this is point to point wiring, it's probably a rats nest of wires in there. But no lead free solder!!

PlainBill

I did miss that... Likely it is good and there is a supply problem then

Did you see Spam's first post:

When are you going to be back on tv?

On 4/20/2011 1:14 PM mm spake thus:

Well, if that's really him, he doesn't know how to spell his own name. It's Clem Kadiddlehopper, as anyone who ever saw Red Skelton could tell you ...

That's right, missed it. The video I posted can be used to troubleshoot it further, the circuits are all pretty basic.

Thanks everyone for the response I just came home from the hospital after having my hip replaced so I've been away from my repairs and this group for a few days. Lucky my shop is in my home so when I do feel like it I can try to get back to work. I did get the Sams from a guy in another group and I also got the vibrator to vibrate and the radio to work somewhat before I left. Possibly it was the rapping on the can that started it up. I also had some buzzing in the speaker and bridged an electrolytic across one of the terminals of the three section cap in the radio which improved it. So I'll replace that and possibly cut the vibrator open when I feel better. I remember doing that MANY years ago. Wow this thing draws 6.50 amps at 6,0 volts! I guess it HAS been a long time....Lenny

- BTW thanks Meat Plow for the redirect to the video. It was a real good review.

Make sure those suppressor caps on the vibrator are changed. Very important not only for the life of the reed switches but also to suppress EMI-RFI. Start with those and the power supply. Remember it's 6 volts so it's going to appear to draw an unusual amount of current over a 12 volt tube radio. Once you get the voltages up to snuff you may want to tweak the receiver by disabling the 455khz osc (that thing should have a superhet receiver) and insert a modulated tone signal of 455khz at the (guessing here) G2 pin of the first tube in the line through an .01 cap. Then a voltmeter at the output. Start with a minimum reading on the VM then adjust the caps and IF cans for max. Need a plastic hex tool for the cans they have two slugs, one for the in and one for the out. Just some tips to spruce up that old goat.

I've worked on my fair share of them back when you still found them on cars driven every day.

Hope the hip job went well. I've seen one of those done and in this video, they split you open like a pig for a roast. Hope I don't go through that although I had a month of therapy on my right hip last June. Found out a have lost about 50% of the range of motion for both. Doing some stretching exercises now trying to get some of that back.

A lot of old car radios used a 262.5 KHz IF to prevent image problems at 910 KHz. 262.5 KHz puts them all out of band.

My buddy who restores prewar radios replaces all the caps as a matter of course. I wonder if that's a good idea for 50s radios as well.

This clarifies a mystery for me. My mother once let slip she ran down the car battery by listening to the radio when my parents were parking during their courtship.

Old being before what year? I was just a young pup learning back in the