- soon to be "Billsradioden" -

Guys,

I get a call from the wife while she's at a garage sale. She's helped a friend bring home some items and in return received a radio. Asking me, "do I want it?" I say, "what is it?" opening the front door, she tells me its a Zenith Transoceanic. I said sure, those things are sought after by collectors and free is the right price. This is what shows up...

Not that I haven't rescued basket cases before but, What would you do with it ?

-Bill

http://billsradioden.shutterfly.com/

First, if all else is OK, keep the radio and thank the wife.

Second, out in the back yard I'd strip and clean the radio.

Third, restore it. It's not a W69P but still a nice radio.

Based on the picture, I would not consider it a basket case, mouse nest not withstanding.

If the tenants did not gnaw on the wiring, it looks like it could be restored without too much effort.

nice mouse trap. works too

I might give it a try although cleaning up a rodent ridden chassis isn't one of my favorite things. The tuning condenser is pretty corroded too. Thing is, i just finished a german set that was much the same. Maybe as suggested I'll take her down to the shop and de-louse, then shelve it for a rainy day. It will have plenty of company.

Thanks, Bill

I had a couple like that. Nice thing is they they worked when cleaned out.I HAVE 4 OR 5 .

I say 23% chance it works.
Vacuum it out and see what happens with a controlled power up.
I would only worry about the coils to the left, If they look OK, It most likely will be fine.
Great price too ! ! !!
Peter

Looks like a G-500 which is very desirable. It should clean up depending on how bad the mice damage is. The outside you can spray with the paint they sell for vinyl furniture, the satin looks good.

Yes, it is a G-500.... the label is visible.

OK,

This is what I expected, or more likely needed. A little encouragement helps a lot. I'll drag it to the shop tomorrow before the Bbq. and clean it out. Then we can see which side of the 23% we're on.

The last mouse chewed set I worked on was a Grundig where the coils and wire insulation were badly eaten away. It took a while, maybe I'll be luckier this time.

thanks, Bill

http://billsradioden.shutterfly.com/

There are two things you should be aware of, Bill, as you clean up a mousy radio. One is the Hanta Virus and the other is Brown Recluse Spiders. Spiders will hang out in the mouse nests, especially if it is old. Rodents carry the hanta virus, which is a killer. About ten or fifteen years ago there was an epidemic of the virus from people breathing dust from mice nests. The preventative was found to be moistening the mouse material with a mist of water before tackeling the job. Gloves help too. And wash up good after the job. Most likely you won't have to deal with the spiders, but keep an eye out for them. They are not agressive and are easy to corner and smash. They only bite when their space is constricted, like being caught up a sleeve, or at the back of your neck between you and your collar. In a radio, that's not likely to happen. Just something to think about.

Bill,
If you decide to restore it I have a lot of T-O parts for sale. Most likely I will have any parts you might need.
Randy James

Thanks Randy,

I actually have another Shelf Queen of this model.

The cleaning and eval. results are as follows:
All parts are present and servicable, that's the good news along with a v.g. testing 1L6. Otherwise,
Tuning condenser, corroded but servicable.
Chassis, not bad considering the nest
Coils, some chewed but fixable.
Underside, very clean but two split bumble bees and burnt (cracked) power resistor from visual.

I'm mostly amazed at the class and smarts of this mouse! On top of the chassis was an even layer of gravel from a driveway. The paper and then nesting was piled high to isolate and insulate from the lower level. The thumb hole must have been just big enough to get in and out of . Almost no corrosion on the chassis surface! Perfect mouse house.

Will post photos when it's done,
thanks, Bill

http://billsradioden.shutterfly.com/

With all that mouse stuff in there i would simply put it in the garbage or shut the back and give it away . Its not worth the small risk of getting ill .

Repair the battery harness, clean all the switches, and hook up DC to the battery input. There's a fair chance it will work.

Brett

The G500 was made in relatively lower numbers compared to the 8G005 which preceded it or the H500 that followed it. So it is a little less common (Though not rare). However, there were way more than twice the number of G500s made over the Pre-War model 7G605.

Nice find! I hope it cleans up well!
As many mouse nests I've cleaned up in my lifetime, if the threat of Hanta virus was significant enough, I would be dead by now.

-Steve

Brett,

You are the ultimate optimist. Would you really put power to a set with open coils and blown caps? I didn't mean to suggest that the split Bumble bees had been the mouses dinner

-Bill

I think they are across the AC circuit and line isolation. They can be omitted and it will still work and the bumblees are almost certainly open. Batterys are pretty safe...

Brett

Brett,

Thanks, I'm sure you're right. It was obvious though that the set is going to need some work to be reliable,. I rarely have an problem getting them working eventually. (did I jinx myself ?) Time for a scrub and a recap before power is applied imo.

Bill