The radio in my '50 Pacemaker has an issue with the tuning mechanism. By the tuning knob it will go up to 13 but will not progress to 16. I have taken the radio out of the dash and looked at the mechanism. The "friction clutch" slips when it gets as far as it wants (to 13). You can gently pull the tuning bar and it will go happily to the top of the range but there is a mild scraping sound like there is unevenness with one of the moving parts. Any tips to help resolve the issue or increase the pressure on the "friction clutch"?
I am not a radio expert and I do not want to disassemble it further as apart from this it works fine. I have set a pre selector to 1600 and can wind back down so that may have to do. Would be nice to have it working properly via the knob.
I appreciate any useful input.
I would just pick stations in the lower frequencies to listen to.... 😆
I guess this doesn't fall under the category of useful input. I was curious if there were other radios that you could inspect alongside yours. Stepdown radios are pretty common here in the states, not sure about in the land of Kiwis. If you could find one that turns to the full range you might notice differences. Hopefully this part was useful...
You need to lube all the pivots of the tuner mechanism with 3 in 1 oil or something similar SPARINGLY. Do not get oil on the clutch surfaces. Separate the clutch by pushing in on one of the pushbuttons and clean them with a little lacquer thinner, just wipe them off do not soak them! If this doesn't do it the clutch will have to be disassembled and a new facing put on it and re-adjusted.
Thanks Steve, I will have another look tonight and failing having any result from that I just may have to follow Aaron's first suggestion 🙂
Eureka! The selector works like new now so the solvent did the trick. Now to re-install tonight and make sure all else is still OK.
Thanks guys for your help
When I drove the car home from Dunedin in the 80's I tuned into 4ZB in Dunedin, and that radio was still receiving it until I went over the top of the Hope Saddle, over 500 miles away! Is there anything worth listening to on A.M. anymore?
Yes sure is - if I can get Coast Radio and Newstalk ZB that will do me 🙂
National program on Radio NZ is my preferred station!!
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