Modified Allwave 23 questions

[Troy Taylor]

Hello-

I just posted some questions about the Allwave 12 I bought last weekend and wanted to ask some questions about a second Scott radio I was offered, but turned down because I have some reservations about its degree of authenticity (it has obviously been modified), and whether or not it would be possible to restore it to it's original configuration.

The second radio is an Allwave 23 and I was all set to purchase it too, but then I took a look at the back of the cabinet and noticed the cover panel was attached with phillips-head sheet-rock screws.  I removed the screws and saw a large mystery box of components and modern wiring, and a terminal strip of wires going everywhere stuck in the bottom of the cabinet.  Some of the wires lead to a large MAGNAVOX speaker that had been shoved in there.  Obviously someone has removed the correct speaker and replaced it with this albatross substitute, and then created some sort of Frankenstein contraption to work around the electrical differences between the factory speaker and this substitute.  I do not have any pictures of this conglomeration, but it is definitely not original factory work, or the work of someone that shares my belief of the necessity of maintaining originality when working on vintage items.

Although it might be functional, or made to be functional, as-is, I am only willing to buy this radio if I discover it is possible to 'unmolest' it and return it to the correct configuration and components it would have had when built.

At the very least it will need a replacement speaker of whatever variety is correct for this radio.  (However, I do not know what kind of speaker this would be.)  Probably everyone wants these speakers for something, so I have little confidence in finding one, but if it is possible to do so, I will reconsider purchasing this radio if I can be sure it is restorable.  I would like to restore this radio correctly, but I have little interest in one that has been butchered in this manner if proper restoration is not possible.

Thank you and best regards-

Troy Taylor

[David C. Poland]

You do mean the RF coil cover? and not the antenna coil cover?

The antenna coil cover has cut outs at the bottom to accommodate various wires traveling on the chassis top surface. The insulation of those wires OK? and the cover carefully positioned to avoid pinching/shorting those wires.?

If broadcast band is non-functioning, do any of the short wave bands work?

[David C. Poland]

Regarding that tapped control you removed - save it. Later Scott models used a tapped volume control for a low volume loudness circuit at that tap. Those controls can go bad, or even have the resistance surface break at that tap. You may be glad to have it in your parts inventory.

[Norman S Braithwaite]

Indeed.  It is the BCB antenna coil cover in which the antenna coil secondary switch is located rather than the RF coil.

Norman

[Troy Taylor]

Thank you- I am starting to try and figure out what I did wrong and not having much success thus far. I took apart the antenna post (unscrewed it to check the insulation) and found no short. I measured 45 ohms resistance between the antenna post and chassis ground. This measurement was the same with/without the post connected, measuring just the screw connection itself. The insulation looks good; some sort of fiber material that has not deteriorated.
I also looked at the rotor switch, but am not completely sure if it is OK or not as I have not seen another one for comparison. But this one looks like all the contacts are touching. I can't get a good picture because of the tiny size and terrible angle of view, but the little contacts appear to be shaped like they are 'pinching' the rotor. One of these has the contacts bent away so it is not touching on both top and bottom like the others. I am reluctant to try bending it to look like the others, since it looks quite delicate and snapping it off would be a real problem. And I'm not sure if it actually wrong in this position or not.
Still hunting for the problem...

[Troy Taylor]

Strange- Until just now I was not able to see the comments from Dave or Norman from yesterday.  To clarify:  Yes, it is the RF coil cover and not the notched Antenna coil cover that I have to remove to get any sound.  I replaced all the crispy wires that are passing through the notches and have confirmed that none are pinched or shorting.  Lifting the RF coil cover slightly gives me volume.  Removing it completely does not help, unless I touch my finger to the coil, or the solder lug, or just hold my hand near.

I took apart the rotary switch again under the antenna coil cover and actually managed to get some pictures that worked.  I also took off the rotor itself.  Seeing these parts up close like this makes me think that they are damaged.  Am I correct in thinking that all of the five contacts should look like #1 and #4 (counting from the left), and that the one in the center is missing the lower contact?  Should I attempt to bend the other ones to look like those that are closed?

And does the lower wiper of the rotor (pictured upside down) need to be straightened?

[Troy Taylor]

[Troy Taylor]

[Norman S Braithwaite]

Yes, stator contacts 2 and 5 should look like 1 and 4.  Contact 3 is correct.  The bottom lug of the rotor is bent.  It should project straight out from the center.

Norman 

[Troy Taylor]

Hello-

Last evening I went through all the contacts in the antenna rotary switch to get them all properly shaped, and also carefully straightened out the wiper. Got everything reassembled again, held my breath, and powered it up. The radio lives again! Not sure how the contacts got bent, but I suspect that they had been like that a while. I don't have to jiggle the bandswitch knob anymore to get good connections.

I was quite fortunate to get it working in time to tune in a rebroadcast of a 1945 episode of the Dinah Shore Show, featuring Fibber McGee and Molly as guest stars! Fibber's closet came crashing down, which just made the evening perfect. I can only imagine how many times this particular radio played that running gag during the years when both the radio and the show were new.
Thank you all for the advice and suggestions! So glad I found this forum. Next up on the list will be checking out the tweeters and getting them back into service. And then I'll be attempting to sort out restoring the Volume Range Expander...

-Troy

[Thomas Day]

Good that you were able to get it fixed. The other option would have been to try to find parts from another set. Sadly, some of these chassis are only good for parts.

[Troy Taylor]

Hello-
Over the weekend I unscrewed the tweeters from the Warrington cabinet and replaced the 2uF cap. They are now playing with the restored original speaker right now on the dining room table. My plan was to start re-installing components back into the cabinet. I unscrewed both the 15" replacement Magnavox speaker and the homemade adapter box someone had installed prior to my purchase of the radio. This led to the discovery that the 'speaker mounting board' (I don't know the correct term for it) has been cut with a jig-saw to have a 15" diameter hole. Thus, the correct 12" speaker would only be fastened to air if I put it back into the cabinet as-is.

When I removed the tweeters, which were mounted on either side facing out, it became very apparent that they were mounted on homemade brackets as well. The edges are not straight or square, the pencil marks/notes for homebuilt work are still apparent, and the 4" holes were hand-cut with a jigsaw. Everything is clearly brush-painted brown. The center shelf also looks to be a handicraft and not a factory component.

So I now speculate: The tweeters were originally mounted above the 12" pedestal speaker like Mickey Mouse ears, facing forward. But, cutting the larger hole for the 15" speaker interfered with this original positioning. The tweeters were then moved to home-made brackets facing out. The 'adapter box' for the speaker was screwed into the base of the cabinet where the amplifier should sit, so the extra shelf was added to give the amplifier a place to go as it would no longer fit on the base.

I am looking for suggestions here from people who know what a correct/original Warrington cabinet with tweeters should look like, but my current plan is this:

-Make a new mounting board with an appropriate size hole for the 12" pedestal speaker.
-Mount the tweeters to this same board, facing forward, with holes cut using a hole saw, in the "Mickey Mouse ears" configuration.
-Use the homemade shelf and sideways tweeters brackets as kindling in the woodstove this winter.

Questions: Would this be the most authentic restoration to re-create the factory installation? What thickness of plywood should be used to make the new mounting board? Should this board be stained or painted?
I also found the remnants of a decal on the bottom of the cabinet that looks like it once said E.H SCOTT in red letters. Has anyone reproduced this decal that I can purchase?

[Troy Taylor]