1969 VW Motorola Sapphire IX AM Radio Restoration 9SMV

[JRUBIN]

Today we will be starting the restoration of a 1969 Motorola Sapphire IX Am radio that I picked up from Jason from the Bug ranch. This is a 12 volt model for Types 1,2 and 3. A basic model which also has memory buttons. This is in terrible condition, though complete and appears to be unmolested. So well take a crack at it and see what we can do.

Upon removing the top cover we see that the inside is about as dirty as the outside. The front knobs are then removed along with the nuts so that the face-plate can be removed from the unit. Someone used mastic to hold it together, this will have to be addressed later. Disassembly of the front face plate continues with the two round spring clips to remove the plastic tuner indicator panel, this is followed by the backing plate.

I sprayed everything mechanical with out, just so I wouldn't break anything, Ill deal with proper lubrication later, I don't want to break anything. Somehow, the clutch and friction plate of the tuning system survived. Slowly things are able to move and turn, this includes the pots, those however were hit with Deoxit. GP electronics cleaner was used to clean out the remainder of the unit. The bulb was surprisingly in good condition.

I tested a quick cosmetic event on one push button, and it turned out to be pretty nice. As documentation was well written by Motorola, I decided to quickly go through every coil and measure the specified resistance. Everything passed for all coils. Going through the power switch and volume knob showed that basic function worked as well.

At this point the circuit board is removed from the rear of the radio to gain access to the filter cap with an ESR meter. The results are garbage. Also with the board removed, access allows for the last of the coils to be tested, those were good. All that is really needed is the replacement of the filter cap.

The filter cap is de-soldered from the unit, also de-soldering the main board ground, providing for more room to work. Some quick resting of the cap out of the unit shows that significant damage would occur or immediate fuse blows would occur if power was applied to this radio.

With everything disassembled, everything is cleaned up with a brush, inside and out, lithium grease is applied to all friction surfaces. Also the rest of the push buttons are polished. Finally the tuning display is also detailed.

Once the new capacitors arrived, the traces are first repairs on both sides of the board, the caps are installed, axial, with the ground wrapping around. There are 3 caps replacing the one multi-cap. In the next video well continue with power on testing and troubleshooting.

 

[JRUBIN]

We continue from the first half if this series, having installed the new electrolytic capacitors to replace the single filter cap. A temporary and longer ground was added to the circuit board allowing for functioning outside the mount. My power supply is set up for 14v current limited, and a length of wire extends from the antenna terminal. Immediately, as it turns on we hear the radio picking up stations, which is a good sign, though lots of interference, so I decide the board can be safely mounted in after the caps are taped together.

The tone and volume knobs are put back on for testing, the tone seems ok, but the volume will need to be revisited later. I take this time to remove the finals so that it can be cleaned and new thermal paste applied. After this, the Flir camera is used to determine if good heat transfer is occurring. I than put the bulb back in quick to test the simple light circuit and it was good, along with the bulb.

The lower bad section of the volume knob was calculated at 20%, So that it doesn't first come on too loud I decided to slightly attenuate the incoming signal off the volume to reduce overall volume of the radio. This was done in a manner that allowed for easy swapping of the resistors should I change my mind as to the value, later.

The tuning dial indicator is cleaned with a Dremel, followed by the taping up of surrounding areas. Krylon florescent is applied with a small brush after preparation. This is followed by the installation of all associated back plate parts.

The faceplate needed to go into the parts washer at the bug ranch to remove the mastic, during which time the top cover went into the sand blaster. The cover was painted with a metallic along with a light clear coat. The cover however needed to go back into the san blaster to remove the old chrome. There was so much damage under the chrome though, it was re-contoured on a belt sander. It was also heated and straightened.

A dummy antenna was fabricated from a cardboard box and two capacitors, to do some calibration steps for the radio. Only some of the cal steps were conducted as to not risk damaging needlessly some components. More Heathkit test equipment comes out for the occasion.

Back to the cover, hand sanding started at 200 to 800 grit after which the entire plate was painted black so selected sections could have the paint sanded off before clear coating everything. While drying, the original knobs are cleaned, the inside connection portions are epoxied where the stress cracks are exposed. The chrome tone control is also polished at this time.

At this time the faceplace is re-introduced, followed by the controls and knobs. An old style in-line fuse adapter was dropped off by Jason, so it was cleaned and installed. The radio is ready for testing, temporarily installed in the Delorean. With the radio installed we take a moment to listen, as well as with a running engine in the background, also trying out the memory buttons. the radio is returned to Jason for a 68 Bug installation.