Dan Hiebert Posted August 7, 2012 Report Posted August 7, 2012 Greetings all! The speaker in my D24 has been shot for quite some time. I've noticed through searching the Forum and Technical Archives that I can use a modern speaker with some fitting modifications. Does anyone know many watts to to use? I did find 4 ohms impedence, but not how many watts will work. I hooked up a spare 4 ohm/25 watt door speaker just to see if it would work - it doesn't. Maybe it's too small (not enough watts) for our radios? It "thumps" when I turn the radio on and I can see the diaphram flex, then relax when I turn it off. My radio (802) worked quite well before the original speaker went south. I hooked up the green and yellow wires since those looked like the ones attached to the diaphram on the old radio, but the bare braided wire was attached with the green one. Should I try it again with the green and bare-braided wire? (Only other reference I could find was to attach the braided wire and the blue wire - but I don't have a blue one, and that was after I had quit for the night.) I haven't resorted to the handy book of expletives, I just ran out of time last night, and figured I'd ping the elite before I hit it again tonight. Quote
Oldguy48 Posted August 7, 2012 Report Posted August 7, 2012 Dan, There are a number of posts on the forum about a replacement loudspeaker, but I think you can use a common replacement loudspeaker (like from Radio Shack) that is 8 ohms. You'll probably have trouble finding one with 4 ohms these days. As far as wattage, a speaker rated for 4 or 5 watts would be plenty robust enough. Chances are your radio isn't providing any more than 1/2 to 1 watt when you're listening to it anyway. I believe that the original loudspeakers used an electromagnet powered from the radio chassis rather than a more modern permanent magnet to provide the necessary magnetic field for the loudspeaker. That would explain why the voice coil in yours thumped when the radio was powered up. You must have used the electromagnet connection rather than the voice coil connection. Quote
Big_John Posted August 7, 2012 Report Posted August 7, 2012 Dan, There are a number of posts on the forum about a replacement loudspeaker, but I think you can use a common replacement loudspeaker (like from Radio Shack) that is 8 ohms. You'll probably have trouble finding one with 4 ohms these days. As far as wattage, a speaker rated for 4 or 5 watts would be plenty robust enough. Chances are your radio isn't providing any more than 1/2 to 1 watt when you're listening to it anyway. I believe that the original loudspeakers used an electromagnet powered from the radio chassis rather than a more modern permanent magnet to provide the necessary magnetic field for the loudspeaker. That would explain why the voice coil in yours thumped when the radio was powered up. You must have used the electromagnet connection rather than the voice coil connection. Car speakers are generally 4 ohm and home audio speakers are generally 8 ohm. 4 ohm speakers are pretty easy to come by. Quote
Oldguy48 Posted August 8, 2012 Report Posted August 8, 2012 This link may be helpful to you. http://www.turnswitch.com/speakers.htm Quote
Dan Hiebert Posted August 8, 2012 Author Report Posted August 8, 2012 Thankee kindly for the info, guys. That is an interesting and informative site that Oldguy posted the link to - company even has the right size speaker for our rides. I think I'll save myself some hassle and order one in the near future. Interesting that the speaker cone is supposed to deflect in some applications (although it sez may-or-may-not with Chrysler radios), and the direction it does lets you know if your wires are reversed or not. After dinking around with it again last night I figured out that according to the shop manual's test procedures, my radio may not be working anymore after all - no "pilot light" and no hum, although the speaker was getting "power". I'd forgotten that these old radios with tubes and vibrators are supposed to be "noisy". Naturally I ran out of time again before I could delve into the radio itself. Endeavor to persevere. Quote
Adrian41D-19 Posted August 8, 2012 Report Posted August 8, 2012 i have a 800 model in my 1941 dodge, all original, the radio work, i turn the volume at the full but the sound is very very low have you an idea? lamps? speacker? the antena was check by myself, is ok Quote
Oldguy48 Posted August 8, 2012 Report Posted August 8, 2012 Lots of possibilities, but you could try temporarily connecting a different loudspeaker to it. Wouldn't have to be an exact replacement to test things out. You might have a defective vacuum tube or two. You can pull them out yourself and find someone who can test them for you (maybe a local amateur radio enthusiast can help you out there). Be careful that you don't get the tube numbers mixed up when you re-install them. The tube numbers will be etched into the glass envelope of the tube and can be difficult to read. The radios also use a vibrator to produce the operating voltages for the radio circuit. That component could also be suspect. If you don't have any success after that, your radio may need some internal repairs such as some new capacitors, etc. Again, if you know of any amateur radio operators (especially older ones) in your area, they can probably give you some advice or even make the needed repairs for you. Good luck and welcome to the forum. Quote
Adrian41D-19 Posted August 10, 2012 Report Posted August 10, 2012 Hello, thank you very much for your advices! i think i know an old guy in my city, he have in a past a store, selling radio and TV and olso repair it.... he doesnt work, he's so old now, i hope is still alive maybe my father remember his name.... thankyou! Quote
Oldguy48 Posted August 10, 2012 Report Posted August 10, 2012 You are welcome. And if you are successful in getting your radio working, please let us know what repairs were needed. That information might be helpful to others here who are having similar radio problems. Good luck. Wayne Quote
Bingster Posted August 10, 2012 Report Posted August 10, 2012 Great web site. Thanks for posting! Quote
Alshere59 Posted August 11, 2012 Report Posted August 11, 2012 i have a 800 model in my 1941 dodge, all original, the radio work, i turn the volume at the full but the sound is very very low have you an idea? lamps? speacker? the antena was check by myself, is ok My Mopar Model 803 had the same problem. It was a bad tube. Research each tube and find the one that is for the amplifier. In my case it was this one 6C4 Power Amplifier. It cost about 4 dollars US. So it is worth a try. Quote
RobertKB Posted August 11, 2012 Report Posted August 11, 2012 Oldguy48, thanks for posting that website. I am going to order a speaker for my '48 Dodge D25 right away. Radio works but speaker is shot and the speaker they show is perfect. Quote
Adrian41D-19 Posted August 16, 2012 Report Posted August 16, 2012 My Mopar Model 803 had the same problem. It was a bad tube. Research each tube and find the one that is for the amplifier. In my case it was this one 6C4 Power Amplifier. It cost about 4 dollars US. So it is worth a try. thank you!! i dont work on my radio since my last post here... i see it later i think i dont have time for myself Quote
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