Radio Restoration
 

Got an old radio as a gift and am attempting to restore it back to its original beauty.

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Its a Constellation 1116 made by the Gulf Tire and Supply Company of Pittsburgh, PA, sometime in the 1950s.

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The valves still glow beautifully. Tuner is a difficult turn, but it still gets in AM stations just fine. FM appears dead for the moment.

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And what's the white strip of crumbly stuff tacked inside the case just above the tubes? Looks almost like a really cheap heat shiel-- aw, crap.

Trying not to breathe deeply. I'll remove the asbestos after soaking it with water, first.

I was just about to say....

I used to be into this type of thing, but, I didn't have the resources, and the library shelves were bare on the subject. This was in my pre-internet days. Good luck on your project, but, remember, "Pics, or it didn't happen."

Is that the 'antenna', running around the inside of the cabinet?

Yep! It gets local stations fairly well. Haven't tried it at night to see if it can get anything distant.

...and there is no FM on this unit. The unlabeled switch on the front is not a "band" switch, but a "phono input" switch for the connection on the back.

Asbestos ... use a face mask - a proper expensive one - do it somewhere you can thoroughly clean afterwards.
May seem excessive, but mesothelioma is a horrible way to go.

ETA: better yet, pay someone to do it for you, so they can dispose of the junk as well.

Oh for christ's sake, rip it out, put it in a baggie and throw it in the fucking trash. But remember it's there for a reason, so the antennae doesn't melt.

Do it outside and stay upwind - jus sayin.

Most of the time it's a Cellar joke but my dad actually died from asbestos inhalation.

Asbestosis is no joke, but everybody here over 40, has already inhaled 10 times the asbestos in that radio. The rest have had plenty of exposure too. Sure, use common sense, but spreading paranoia, like you were a government agency, is ridiculous.

I snort asbestos for breakfast. And nothing bad ever hap

Isn't that what they put in cigarette butts these days?

An acqauintance of mine worked at an audiophile store inthe 80's that was very big on tube amps and the like. One of the tube suppliers bought their tubes from Russia and marketed them under the name "Commie Virgins."