Locating replacement parts for radios that have been out of production for over fifty years can be both frustrating and problematic. It's easy enough to get quality resistors & capacitors at a reasonable price from Mouser Electronics but I'm talking about items such as speakers, transformers, pilot bulbs, and power cords. Of course this is subjective and depends a lot on what your are looking for and to what extent you are willing to compromise. Notably, we often buy junk to repair junk.

More often than not, the typical vintage radio has a rotted or petrified power cord that needs replaced. In the past, it was quick and easy to just cut the end off an extension cord. But lately, the imports are limited to 16 gauge wire with thick, inflexible insulation. Searching big box stores is another disappointment as a simple replacement lamp cord costs about $7. It's not that I can't pay $7, I just don't want to. So back to searching for junk, I was able to find an old VCR tape re-winder with a 6' cord & polarized plug at a local thrift store for just $2. It worked perfectly for my RCA 9X641 restoration.

When I search for parts, I usually avoid sellers on eBay and those with "Vintage" or "Antique" in their names as, in my opinion, some charge exuberant prices. I did however find a supplier that sells replacement cords with reasonable prices and shipping. This may also be of interest to those who like cords with POLARIZED vintage-looking plugs.

http://www.grandbrass.com/catalog.cfm?c ... ord%20Sets

Pilot Bulbs
On the topic of pilot lamps, many of the RCA AC/DC radios call for a type 51 (7.5V .22A) but more often than not, I find #47 (6.3V .15A) has been substituted. This is probably because the #47 is more readily available and at less cost. A quick inventory of my bulb stash reveals an abundance of #47 and no #51. Apparently they were in short supply. To use the #47 with the 35Z5 rectifier, wire a 100-ohm resistor in parallel with pins 2 & 3. This will shunt the extra current and enable the #47 to glow at a more reasonable brightness. It also reduces the cold-start bulb flash.

Finding replacement pilot bulbs can be frustrating as some suppliers that include "antique" in their logo are, in my opinion, price gouging. Using the common #47 for example, the price can range from a whopping $4.50 per bulb to just fifty-cents. It really pays to shop around. For those who don't mind forfeiting brass for tin plating, inexpensive pilot bulbs are available in 10-packs at Amazon. After all, the AA5/AA6 radios all use tin plated miniature bayonet (BA9s) sockets anyway. Has anyone ever seen a brass pilot lamp socket? I didn't think so.

Bob's Antique Radios has reasonable prices on power cords and panel lamps, including #51. Both items are on this page:
http://www.radioantiques.com/supplies.html#cords

I've gotten vintage style power cords and plugs from Sundial Wire.

http://www.sundialwire.com/

Larry

When I'm at yard sales, thrift stores, etc. I usually snag any old extension cords that I see, if they're in decent shape. Cut the socket off and you've got a period cord, with plug.

I buy 18 gauge black or brown lamp cord off the spool locally and use real antique plugs that I pick up at flea markets for pennies. Right now I have about twenty plugs of various types in stock.

I usually visit lamp houses or stores which repair house lamps, to re-stock on vintage plugs. Some of these old plugs will have ornate designs which look neat when it's on the end or a cord leading to your radio. I usually pay around a buck for each or sometimes free.

Great tip, Lance.

I've never seen antique plugs at flea markets. Are the one's you are finding in a bucket or attached to something? I've been using cords with molded polarized plugs to keep the chassis at ground. If you hold one lead of a neon checker in your hand while touching the other to the chassis, it should faintly glow (via body capacitance) when the power switch is off and not glow when the power is on. Most AC/DC sets have a resistor/capacitor combination between B minus and chassis. This accounts for faint glow you see when the power switch is off. When properly wired, the cord's ground side connects to the switch and the switch is an open circuit until turned on. I don't agree with this scheme but that's the way many manufacturers used to do it. I'd rather have a fuse in the hot side going to the switch and the ground side permanently wired to B minus. This would also eliminate the need for the resistor/capacitor combo between B minus and chassis. I'm guessing that maybe it was done that way because early power plugs were not polarized.

http://www.japandeluxetour.com/app/user ... ity_02.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_eb37WApx8
http://www.o-digital.com/uploads/2179/2 ... _2_209.jpg

Check this lamp site that Nick D. made mention of recently. Check the 'plugs for wire' and 'lamp wire and cord sets' areas. The quality, styles and prices of their vintage looking parts is very impressive:

http://www.grandbrass.com/

Wow! That's a nice link. You think they might have anything like this?

download/file.php?id=19866

All kinds, including that one, right here: http://www.grandbrass.com/catalog.cfm?c ... ord%20Sets

It sure looks familiar. I just can't seem to place where I've seen it.

Where I find antique plugs loose at flea markets is in boxes of assorted junk that people bring from having cleaned out the garage, etc.

One recent piece of junk I bought on eBay had a nice vintage plug (pictured above) that is in a like-new condition. Very amazing for it's age. However, the RCA 9X641 being upgraded has an AC/DC chassis so I didn't use it since it's a non-polarized plug and I want to keep the ground side on the power switch.

It's just a matter of personal preference but last week, I ordered ten very cost effective cords from Grand Brass. As mentioned earlier in my initial post, the SPT-2 has heavier insulation (UL rated) than the SPT-1. You just can't beat $1.44 each for a replacement cord. At various big box stores, replacement lamp cords are selling for nearly $7.00.

http://www.grandbrass.com/ShowItem.cfm? ... ord%20Sets

Sometimes a thrift store will have a large box of random cords-- some will have nice old plugs and some may be round and cloth-covered. The cords from old electric fry pans are particularly old-looking.

Nice website but (help me understand) why would anyone want a cord that looks like it goes to a waffle iron?

Perhaps someone restoring a waffle iron?
Jerry

You know when visitors come to the house the first thing I have them do is bend over and look at my vintage plugs and waffle iron cords.

No comment

Probably no worse than having visitors look at a stack of QSL cards or talking over the radio to a complete stranger. <yawn>

All joking aside, there is a product to clean contacts called DeOxit but rather expensive. If a Bloke just wants to clean a few tube socket pins, is there any way round spending $16 for a can of that stuff?

Today, I sprayed some 99-cent isopropyl alcohol into a 35Z5 tube socket, burnished the contacts by plugging a tube in & out a dozen times, then dried the socket with a hair blower. It seemed to work fine; all the cracking/popping/hissing went away and the pilot light stopped flickering. But, I have no idea how long it will last. I do however have a can of "No Ox" battery terminal grease. Maybe I'll put a small amount into each hole and work it down.

http://www.sanchem.com/files/Electrical ... _1_003.jpg