Hello. I got this radio from a friends junk box cause I've always loved to play with them and it was free. I'm not afraid to take it apart if it's fixable but that's what I'm not sure of. I've found the maintenance manual and other helpful posts here with pictures but I'm not sure where the antenna is broken. It won't budge when I push the button in and try to lift it. I'd just like to know if I could fix it or not with my limited knowledge. I have a good friend who can solder very well and we have lots of tools. Thank you and its been a pleasure looking through the forums here. Everyone is so polite and helpful!

Looks like you will need to find a donor radio to get the plastic parts that make the handle. Sometimes those can be had cheap on eBay if they are chrome pitted real bad on the cabinets. As long as the antenna assembly is still intact, you would be good to go. Since the handle is part of the antenna, there is not much you can do with that. The whip part may be able to be straightened, but I can't really tell from the pix.

That's easily fixable. First- be very careful not to break the end of the handle loose! You wan to use the remaining material as a hinge and to align the other parts. Unscrew the bottom of the handle (6, er, now only 4, screws into the handle, and one into the antenna itself), and the top will come free. Get some Testor's Liquid model cement (not the kind in a tube, it comes in a bottle) or Tenax 7R and an applicator. You get those at a hobby shop or on-line. For the liquid cement, put it on one of the two broken surfaces, and join it back together, and then tape it in alignment with masking tape and A LOT of tension. Let dry, it's fixed. With the Tenax, it's a little trickier but a lot stronger. Close up the break loosely, use the applicator needle to apply the very thin liquid glue that will run into the crack on capillary action. Then tape together tightly with masking tape. In either case, you should see some dissolved black plastic squeeze out of the joint. Let it sit about a day before handling it. Take off the tape it will be essentially OK, but ugly. Sand it with a sanding block and 240 wet/dry, till you can't see the joint, then 400, then 600, then 1000, then 1500, then use automotive rubbing compound, and it will look much better than new.

If you break the end all the way off, don't worry. Use masking tape to create a "hinge" on the top, and then proceed as if it hadn't broken.

On the antenna itself, pull the end out a little, unscrew the red tip, then use pliers to gently bend it back. If it breaks off, don't worry, just cut the end off square, clean it with acetone or lacquer thinner, drill the red tip to fit tightly over it, then epoxy the tip back on. Losing 3/8" doesn't matter to the performance.

Once you get it all straight and connected, follow the directions (found here and elsewhere) to reinforce the handle with epoxy putty. You may have to end up gluing the end that was broken back together since the screws probably pulled out.

I have fixed A TON of these handles. I would guess that 75-80% of the radios 1000/3000s have something broken or wrong with the handle. It's almost always because of what happened here - someone put too much force on it pushing down, like they were using at a way to prop themselves up. The other direction (failed due to *upward* pull) is pretty rare. I always carry mine holding the hinge end of the handle, at an angle, to avoid putting too much load on the free end.

Brett

I think the end that is broken is covering two of the screws. I tried to get a better picture but it's hard to get the lighting to go under the handle. If the screws are in the same spot on each end of the handle then the two on the broken end are covered by the red piece. Is the red the end of the antenna? If the four screws need to come out, I'm not sure how to get these two out. Thank you again

That should be pretty easy. There are supposed to be 6 screws holding the top of the handle to the bottom. the two in the end you show clearly broke out. There is a pair of screws in the middle, and then another pair at the hinge end of the antenna. Raise the antenna vertically (your pictures are of the "latch" end) and look the bottom of the handle where it says "Zenith" in faded gold letters and you will see the two holes halfway up and two holes at the bottom near the hinge. And another screw sticking out about an inch up, right in the middle. Remove all of those screws, and the bottom of the handle will separate from the top, and come off, leaving the bare antenna sticking up. Once you do that, I think you can just look in the broken end for the screws. I would bet a little bit of money that the screws are missing but if the aren't they should be easy to get to. I bet they pulled out or broke the threads in the top half, then fell loose later.

Brett

So let me make sure I've got the right idea here. To get the screws out, I need to raise the handle? If I take the two on the hinge end out first would that help the latch end come lose? As of now I can't get any part of the handle to move so I can't raise the antenna. Maybe getting those two at the hinge end out would relieve some pressure on the other end? Until I can get the handle up and see what's supposed to be where, it's kinda hard to see how the whole antenna/handle works. Thank you for your patience.

OK, I guess I didn't read carefully enough. To get the antenna up, push the latch, and then pull on towards the hinge end (away from the tip, to get it around the screws holding the latch hinge. Or pry on the tip with a screwdriver. I just tried that on one of mine and I could get about 1/8" of clearance pretty easily. Even if you bend the uprights, it will bend back.

The alternative would be to take the side of the cabinet off. Remove the chassis, remove the screws on one end or the other, and then take the side off. That seems excessive to me, I am 100% sure you can get it off with a little "arm" put into it. It got jammed from a lot of force originally, a lot of force will get it loose. The handle is already broken, the tip is jamming it, so just forcing it open will be fine, I think.

Brett

Okay so I got the handle free and the antenna is still in really nice shape except for being bent at the end. I kinda feel like an idiot now though because before I got the handle lose I'd removed two screws on the hinge and when I raised the handle the hinge popped out and I can't for the life of me figure out how to get it all back together. The spring is pretty stiff and if Im guessing right I just need to muscle it down enough to get the handle and everything back in place and alined right? Are there any pictures anywhere that show all the pieces and the best steps to putting them together? thank you

I am not at home so I can't actually replicate and take pictures. For the most part, I usually get the hinge pins on the handle caught on the fingers that hold it in. Then stick the handle and fingers in the case, at which point the fingers will pop off the hinge pin and catch in the grooves. At that point you have the hinge pins in the groove and the hinge and spring assembly in the case, but it won't go all the way in. I reach in with my thumb inside the case, push up the bottom of the hinge and spring and push with the other hand to force it in the groove. When the spring gives a little bit under thumb pressure, it will slip right in there.

Once you have the trick it's a few seconds process, but you do have to use some force in the right places to depress the *very strong* spring. The other issue is that you have to be very careful not to pinch the wire to the antenna in the mechanism. There are a few grooves in the nylon plunger and a notch in the retainer that provide clearance for the wire. When it is together, the wire is free to move a bit. If you get it pinched, take it apart and start over. While you have it apart, check the wire very carefully for previous pinches and missing insulation. I worked on a Royal 3000 that was great on AM and LW, and dead as a doornail on FM and SW. After screwing around for about week, I found that the antenna lead was pinched in the hinge mechanism and was shorting out the antenna. Unfortunately if the insulation is compromised, you will probably have to replace the entire wire, because there isn't enough clearance to be able to sleeve it with any common insulation like heat-shrink tubing.

I will probably be home end of next week, if you still need assistance let me know and I will be able to take one apart and put it back together and take pictures.

Brett

Thank you so much Brett! Your instructions for getting the hinge back together could not have been better. It all worked exactly as you said. I would not have thought of removing the faceplate to get underneath the spring. After doing it a few times, the antenna got caught on the first try, it will be no sweat in the future. Now I move on to the larger issue of finding a power source. I don't even know if the radio works but I enjoy learning about this kind of stuff so it's fun. It doesn't have a battery pack but I'd like to know if it works before I go and buy one. I need to read a little more about the polarity stuff but if I'm just trying to see if it works is a 12 volt battery the least complicated way? Thank you again for the time you've taken to answer such basic questions.

The stock battery pack is the best bet. Any 12V battery will work in a pinch IF you get the polarity right. This link has a picture of the battery pack PLUG with the required polarity:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=188174

Obviously the pins are the mirror image of the plug. If you look at it from the back with the radio upright, there will be one pin on the right, and two on the left. The top pin on the left is positive and the lower pin on the left is the negative. Note that this radio is POSITIVE ground to the chassis, unlike a more common negative ground.

You didn't mention whether this is a Royal 1000 (battery only) or a 1000-1 (battery or wall wart via plug on the left side plate). If it's a 1000-1, then you can use a 9-12V "wall wart", BUT, beware - it's a 3/32 mini-plug, not a much more common 1/8"/3.5mm plug, and unlike almost all of them, the TIP is negative and the shield/ground is positive. If you get it the wrong way around you will very likely damage the radio because there is no diode protection for reversed polarity. I sincerely doubt that there is any existing pre-made wall wart with the right polarity, so you have to wire up the plug yourself.

What I would do, if I were you, and you were the least bit uncertain, turn the radio on, volume full up, put it on BC band, put the dial around a known strong station, then just very briefly attach the power supply lines on the pins. I would give you about 4:1 odds that if you get the polarity the right way, the radio will play. Most of them still work to some degree even after 50+ years. If you don't get a blast, then carefully check again.

Still no joy, then come back and we can troubleshoot it. This is a great group and I guarantee that someone here will be able to figure out what it wrong with it, as long as you persevere.

Let us know how it goes in any case!

Brett

As far as I can tell it's a Royal 1000. There are no signs of any power cord. Just the three pins. Chassis number is 9HT40Z2. Here's a pic too. My old phone doesn't take the best pics.

It's a 1000, is seems. The external power jack would be over on the left side of the case in this photo.

Brett

The right side as the photo is oriented is where the jack would be. Left if you face the front of the radio.

Oh, you mean THAT Right. You are of course correct, what can I say, I have been working graveyard shift for about 2 months now...





Nonetheless, it doesn't appear to exist, so it's not a 1000-1.

Brett