- 2026
- Jan
- 2
Another S-38C on my bench, part 5: All done and wrap-up.
Welcome to 2026. The weather here was cold and snowy, so I decided to finish up this radio.
This unit was simply a “replace the parts that will go bad so we can use the device.” As such, there’s not a whole lot to say here. I did a quick check per the schematic to make sure everyone was in the right spot, and soldered it in.
I did replace the power cord along with the suspect parts, simply because the previous owner put a short extension cord plug on it. I used one of my stock power cords with a bit thinner insulation. It works better going through the grommet and looks more period correct.
The money shot:
Unfortunately, I can’t post video here as the host doesn’t allow streaming due to bandwidth limits, but the unit sounds good and I don’t hear any silver mica disease problems.
I now have a working S-38C again. I may put this one on display in the front room, as it’s actually usable. I’m not sure yet. The other one I did earlier may go back on the bench to see if I can get rid of it’s noise problems. Who knows, but stay tuned!
A comment on the loop on top - this was a cheap tuned loop given to me by a friend. It works wonders, and takes up far less space than a longwire. I know these are available on that site named after a river, if you have desire to purchase one.
Here’s the complete series list for this unit:
Part 1, Examination and Diagnosis: https://wereboar.com … ation-and-diagnosis/
Part 2, Parts: https://wereboar.com … -bench-part-2-parts/
Part 3, We have parts: https://wereboar.com … art-3-we-have-parts/
Part 4, Installing the parts: https://wereboar.com … nstalling-the-parts/
Part 5: You’re reading it now!
That’s all for this device. Next up is an EICO 902 I/M Analyzer with some issues.
Previous part of this series: https://wereboar.com … nstalling-the-parts/
- 2025
- Dec
- 31
An EICO 902 Harmonic Distortion Analyzer Part 1: What’s going on?
While the Hallicrafters S-38C is waiting for a check before plugging it in, I’m starting on this analyzer. This is a standard null-type analyzer of a nature similar to many others. You input a frequency, null out the fundamental, and what’s left is the distortion. It’s spat out on a meter and scope terminals.
These devices seem to go for a lot of money, so I was quite surprised to be able to pick it up at Dayton 2025 for $30. I believe the gentleman I purchased it from was the original owner, and the device appears to have been factory built.
It’s in need of a cleaning:
Inside it’s dusty but relatively clean. A little rust on the transformer.
And the bottom is nice and clean and shows almost no trace of work.
The only imperfection I can see is this little wire snip, and I’d say that was left from the original build.
The top has one modification, someone cut open a tube shield. It was suggested that perhaps this tube ran hot and was not operating properly (thus the blackened metal,) and this was an attempt to make it work. Rather crude, and I may see if I can get a new shield and see what happens. If this is indeed an issue, I’ll cut the top to be a bit more clean than this let’s just chop-job it.
So, it’s in great shape. There’s some wax paper capacitors that will need changed, but it’s good enough to try out. First thing, is it needs a new cord. The original is barely hanging on at the input to the chassis, so it gets a new polarized cord. It also needs a pilot bulb lens, but I have some other lamps that may fit here. Fuse is present and not blown, but the glass is cracked, so that’s changed out. Plug in, and…
Nothing.
Turns out the power switch is completely open.
I only had one jumper with me, and it was in use as a temporary fuse. So, I decided to call it until I could get a proper fuse in the unit, at which point I’ll jumper the switch temporarily.
It looks like I can get this component apart to see what’s wrong, so I may do that in the near future. Stay tuned!
Next part of this series: Coming Soon.
- 2025
- Dec
- 30
The 2025 hamfest wrap-up and (almost) last post of the year.
This will be near to the last post of the year here on projects, and it’s something to browse while you’re waiting for the new year holiday to start. I found out earlier this year that you can reference galleries from different points within this blogging system, and thought it would be cool to have a year-end page with all of the stuff I saw at hamfests. So…here it is! The only ones that won’t be presented in that manner is the SCARF show in May and the Central PA hamfest - both of those because there were very few pictures. They’ll be links instead.
Without further ado, here is the stuff I saw this year at hamfests:
.
The Sunday Creek ARF Hamfest, Shade Ohio.
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The Cuyahoga Falls ARC Hamfest, Cuyahoga Falls Ohio.
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The TUSCO Hamfest, New Philadelphia Ohio.
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The Athens County ARA Hamfest, Athens Ohio.
.
The Dayton Hamvention, Xenia Ohio.
Friday:
.
Saturday:
.
The Scioto Valley ARC, Piketon Ohio.
https://wereboar.com … -2025-svarc-hamfest/
Breezeshooters Hamfest, Butler Pennsylvania.
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Columbus (Shriners) Hamfest, Columbus Ohio.
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Cincinnati Hamfest, Cincinnati Ohio.
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Johnstown Swappers Day, Johnstown Ohio.
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The Findlay Hamfest, Findlay Ohio.
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The Central Pennsylvania Hamfest, Clearfield Pennsylvania.
https://wereboar.com … ennsylvania-hamfest/
The Cleveland Hamfest, Berea Ohio.
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The Early Television Museum Fall Swap, Hilliard Ohio.
(no image annotations on these pictures)
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MARC @ MAPS Hamfest, Green (North Canton) Ohio.
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The Fort Wayne Hamfest, Fort Wayne Indiana.
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Here’s next year’s list. I’ve cut back some due to smaller shows all having the same vendors: https://wereboar.com … mfest-and-show-list/
That’s all for 2025. See you in the new year with more projects and more junk…I mean good stuff!
- 2025
- Dec
- 22
Another S-38C on my bench, part 4: Installing the parts.
Working inside a wild chassis is always an exercise in delicate maneuvers…you have to get in to places without burning or breaking other components that might be unreplaceable. I’ve spent a few hours replacing the paper capacitors in this Hallicrafters S-38C. At least, the ones I know of, some of the postage stamps might also be paper…but the majority of the problem devices are gone, modern parts in their place.
This one has been a bit different. For most of my projects, I’ve been gutting the chassis and starting over. Not here - the old stuff must remain because this is a more complex device with a lot of inductors and adjustable capacitors for the various frequency bands. I did take the time to move some of the parts to more convenient locales, however - mostly necessity as some of the new ones don’t reach as far as the old ones did.
I did choose some different parts after studying where they actually lay in the circuit. The yellow boxy part and the blue drop are both safety capacitors, chosen because these tie the line to various points like power and chassis ground. The remaining parts are regular film devices.
I haven’t soldered everything yet, I want to give it a final look over with schematic in hand. But, another hour or so, and this device is ready to play once more. Well, at least some of the local AM stuff, there’s just not much on SW these days that this thing can hear.
Time to clean the wax off my fingers and pull the schematics, and then clean the wax off of the new parts. That stuff gets everywhere!
Next part of this series: https://wereboar.com … ll-done-and-wrap-up/
Previous part of this series: https://wereboar.com … art-3-we-have-parts/
- 2025
- Dec
- 9
Another S-38C on my bench, part 3: We have parts!
In the last installment, we talked about getting parts for the Hallicrafters S-38C. Justradios.com comes through again with values marked per the schematic.
I have exact values as per the schematic, not that it really matters too much. But, if you can get them, why not?
2 x 0.05μF
2 x 0.02μF
1 x 0.01μF
1 x 0.002μF
and
1 x 0.022 for the across-the-line capactitor.
I’ll probably get to this in a couple of weeks, as there’s some holiday prep that needs to be accomplished this weekend.
Next part of this series: https://wereboar.com … nstalling-the-parts/
Previous part of this series: https://wereboar.com … -bench-part-2-parts/
- 2025
- Nov
- 29
Another S-38C on my bench, part 2: Parts
I’m only going to replace the leaky capacitors on this unit, so I’ve identified the following parts:
All of the parts marked with a yellow rectangle need to go. These are probably leaky enough that they could potentially cause issues with the device, and that black bumblebee part is a known problematic unit.
I’m going to order these pars if I don’t have them in stock, all @ 630V except the across-the-line ‘bee. Those have their own ratings, and I have plenty in stock.
2 x 0.05μF
2 x 0.02μF
1 x 0.01μF
1 x 0.002μF
I’ll probably just order my standard yellow films unless I can get a good deal on another type.
Edit: I got a good deal on some other types from justradios.com.
Stay tuned, there will probably be another post or two before we wrap up 2025!
Next part of this series: https://wereboar.com … art-3-we-have-parts/
Previous part of this series: https://wereboar.com … ation-and-diagnosis/
- 2025
- Nov
- 26
Another S-38C on my bench, part 1: Examination and Diagnosis.
Last year at Dayton, I had purchased an S-38C because I wanted another example, having had one when I was younger. Unfortunately, while I found one, it seems to have silver-mica disease. Really, really bad. So the hunt was on for another one.
I found this one at Findlay 2025:
It’s in decent enough shape. Back and bottom covers are present, even though the paper is deteriorating.
Inside, it shows a little work. Some new resistors, a filter that’s been resoldered, and a new power cord.
I’m going to replace the 6 tubular capacitors in this one so it’s somewhat safe to use. Of biggest concern, of course, is the bumblebomb present across the line. That absolutely must go.
Other than that, the filter is in good shape, so it stays for now.
Stay tuned for the next part of this series where we determine what parts we actually need!
Next part of this series: https://wereboar.com … -bench-part-2-parts/
- 2025
- Nov
- 24
An Unknown 2-dial TRF radio part 4: Full stop.
In the last part, we identified where the power connects. This part is about checking coils and transformers to identify any problem areas.
And…there’s a problem. The AF output transformer is open on the side that supplies the plate voltages. This is the leftmost transformer in the image.
While the Thordarson R-200 transformer was a common part for this type of radio, and they are out there in resale land…good examples can go for a bunchabuxx. Bad examples can still be somewhat expensive.
For now, this project stops. I’m not willing to invest a lot of money into what would ultimately be a gee-whiz device. I’ve whittled options down to these:
1: Find a transformer at a show. Perhaps Dayton or Cuyahoga Falls will have one at a reasonable price.
2: Try to open this one up without damaging the crimp ears that keep the mounting plate on the body.
3: Donate it to the Early Television Museum’s operating funds auction in the fall.
I’m thinking #3 is going to be the winner here, as I have plenty of other devices to work on. Stay tuned, this may yet show up in a future post.
Next part of this series: None at this time.
Previous part of this series: https://wereboar.com … s-inside-identified/
- 2025
- Nov
- 24
An Unknown 2-dial TRF radio part 3: Things inside identified.
When last we met, I had identified where the tubes went, so now it’s time to figure out where the power supplies need to connect. This looked very complex at first, but once I started reading about this type of radio, it became obvious how things were supposed to connect. But first, some other things to take care of.
There are a number of broken connections here. The original builder used some very precise bent wires in spots, and made “meh it has to connect” connections in others. Some of those have broken because they were just laid on their connection point without any kind of mechanical connection, and hit with a blob of solder. There’s even some solder blobs in the case indicating repairs were made in situ at times.
The first is the RF amp. This one was just laid on it’s terminal and soldered.
This one was resting against it’s connection point and poorly soldered.
And the final one is just a wire that pulled out of a poorly crimped fork. This one is the 90V supply feed for the final AF amp, and uses the headphones as it’s bias.
With that out of the way, it’s time to move on to identifying the battery connections. I’ve already identified the tube layout, so it was mostly a matter of tracing back to see where the plate of each tube went. It threw me for a minute that the detector and final AF amps both connection via one of the interstage transformers, but that’s how these were built.
I found it interesting that the unit has two 90V connections, but then it occured to me that the builder was trying to keep RF out of the AF to prevent squealing. If you’ve ever had a radio with a bad AGC capacitor, you know what I mean…
Before applying power, there’s going to need to be some substantial cleanup. All connections are oxidized to the point of insulation - the power switch, for example, doesn’t even read resistance when closed. The tuning gangs are locked up tight, and the battery cables are no longer conductors.
The next step is to check coils and transformers to make sure all are giving a useful reading. Stay tuned!
Next part of this series: https://wereboar.com … io-part-4-full-stop/
Previous part of this series: https://wereboar.com … fying-things-inside/
- 2025
- Nov
- 17
A PACO G-30 RF Signal Generator - Part 8: So we meet again
You probably remember this thing:
It wasn’t that long ago that this was wrapped up. (See the bottom of this post for that entry.)
However, a friend pointed out that the schematic didn’t match the unit. In particular, a capacitor in the audio oscillator wasn’t per the information:
C8 is a 103, aka 0.01μF capacitor, per the schematic. However, what’s in the unit:
That’s very clearly a 104, aka 0.1μF part. Note that the resistor in the image is the one that was incorrect and replaced in a previous post.
No problem, I have plenty of 0.01μF left over from various rebuilds. One goes in easily:
And,
It won’t oscillate. Okay.
The old part goes back in, and all is well. It’s oscillating again, right around the 499Hz it was the last time we looked at this unit.
So, what gives here? Well - I’ve found that many of these devices didn’t exactly follow the manufacturer’s information. Schematics were often printed before the unit was manufactured, and things changed. Problems were corrected, circuits were changed, new variants were released - all kinds of things that make what you have on the bench and what you see on paper deviate. You literally have to expect the unexpected here, or you’ll go crazy trying to figure out what happened.
I assume that the original owner probably put this part in, after discovering the same thing about the oscillator. Regardless, it’s back the way it was and bolted together again, waiting for it’s time to shine.
Previous part of this series: https://wereboar.com … rator-part-7-wrapup/