Sounds like a bad solder joint, get a pair of pliers, and grab the wire, and gently pull on it while reheating the joints. This can help seat the connection, for lack of a better term.

You know, I was just thinking about doing the same thing. And, I am not that great at soldering.

I will give it a go.

Double check your wiring.

Nearly everyone here can tell you how easy it is to inadvertently connect a wire or component to the wrong terminal. I've done it more then I care to admit

I resoldered a couple of the connections, as they looked worse than normal. I made the situation worse. Now I am not receiving any station at all.

And I rechecked the wiring, and it all looks right to how I am reading the schematic.

Any other suggestions? It was sounding so fantastic after I had moved through the push pull amp section, but when I moved to the tone control section, it has all gone to hell.

I am at a loss.

How about a picture or three.

I still suspect a wiring error of some sorts. Go back through and carefully examine all wiring around the tone control area thoroughly. Also make sure no component leads are touching where they should not be touching.

I will post pictures later tonight.

Tube Radio, I think you are correct. I just haven't found it yet. I will go through it again and again until I see it.

Thanks for the replies. I won't throw it through the window just yet ...

Ok, here are some pictures. Not the best quality, as I was using my ipod. I can take better pictures once my camera is charged, if need be. Please be gentle with your critiques, please. I will listen to all advice. This is my first attempt at doing anything remotely like this ...

I labeled each part as I believe it to be.

This is the side I've been working on, overall view. The radio worked beautifully when I had replaced all of what is tagged with blue tape on the left hand side, from the top of the photo down.


The radio ceased to work when the items on the top and right side.



Another view of the trouble area.





Thanks!
Nicole

I still see some paper capacitors (the reddish and goldish cylindrical components) in the radio and unless you have already replaced them do so before any further troubleshooting. It could be that one of those parts failed causing your radio to stop working.

I stopped replacing anything because I was afraid I had done something wrong, and didn't want to continue, lest I compound my error. Should I continue with the replacement of the caps & resistors? I have replaced about half of the capacitors & resistors.

EDIT: I was replacing some parts, then plugging the set in to "test" what I had done, and stopped when the radio went from being improved to being worse, than when I started. Should I not be concerned that it is playing worse now? Each time I have tested after replacing some parts, the radio played the same, or was better than, when I first tested the radio.

Yes look over your previous work very carefully and compare with the schematic.

Ok. I will continue to go over what I have done, comparing to the schematic, and see if I can figure out what I have done that may be wrong. I will also continue with the replacement process, and pray that the tube radio gods will find favor with me.

I will update later tonight. Thanks!

First find your original trouble, but you can check the other original capacitors to be sure none have shorter then check the rest of the original resistors to be sure none have gone out of tolerance.

Simply replacing components without fixing the problem is a very good way to create even more problems.

That said just keep with it you'll find the trouble. It could simply be something so simple you're overlooking it. I have done that more times than I care to admit.

Think of this as a good way to improve on your troubleshooting skills.

I finally had time to get back to my radio.

After retracing my steps many, many times, I did find a spot where I had made an error in hooking up the replacement capacitor. It was in the candohm section, which is/was/is very confusing to me. I reattached it where I think it should go, and now I do get a radio station. It is still not as good as it was the one beautiful night when it sounded fantastic, and I was receiving lots of stations loud and clear .

I have decided not to continue forward until I fix my "fix". My troubleshooting skills are not good enough to just replace everything, without finding my problem, and then worrying about it after. I have read many posts from people who have just replaced everything, and when the radio doesn't work, we never hear from them again. I don't want to be one of those.

I will continue reviewing my work, and poring over the schematic, until I find the other errors.

Thanks, Tube Radio and Glasdave, for your encouragement.

Your welcome, and it gets easier. Please check the value of the candohm, they can be flaky. They can become intermittent from heat, and cause voltage problems, which will affect your sound, etc.

+1 on the candohm, I was just working on a Zenith which played ok as I was working and then it went silent... With some head scratching I found that the 6F6 output tube went south that fast. Replaced it and kept going replacing resistors, Found candohm reading 3M in a 11K section, Now it plays well.!
You can always look at your starting pics to help you compare to how it is now,
And those red plastic Caps are bad, How bad we don't know and really don't care, But you may want to go ahead and carefully replace them.
And remember that reception will usually be much better at night than in the day.... That alone may make the difference,
You also have been working on this for a while and I am wondering if you have bought anything new and plugged in in the house of installed a dusk till dawn light of something to make hum in the lines since it played real well.
Just some thoughts.
Peter

+1 on going ahead and replacing the rest of the capacitors. If you replace them ONE at a time you shouldn't have any trouble or mistakes and if you are unsure take a picture of each capacitor before you replace it so that you know exactly where it goes.

Did you clean the controls and switches? This needs to be done especially on band select switches.

Wow. Thanks for the response!

I will check the candohm. If it is bad, how do I replace it?

I have not purchased anything new that would cause extra interference electronically. I did get an iPad... But had it the day it played beautifully.

I have been diligent about taking pictures. The really sad part is that I took pics That Day with my new iPad, and those have been lost. I have tried everything to find them, but they are truly gone. That is why it has been so difficult in tracking down my error. Back to using my camera. The bright side is it really forced me to work with the schematic more, and I am better at reading it. No longer does it look like a crazy mess.

I will replace the capacitors, one by one, being extra careful, and the resistors, too. I haven't yet cleaned the band switches. What would be good to use?

Thanks again for all the help.
Nicole

Okay, the part number for the candohm is R 22, which is a double resistor. One side should measure 40 ohms, and the other, I think is 200, I can't read that one very well. I think the short side will be the 40 ohm, and it also, goes to ground. To replace it you will need a terminal strip, and separate resistors. Let us know what you find and we can advise from there.