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Problems with Traditional Roberts Radios |
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#1 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 14,808
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Problems with Traditional Roberts Radios
Has anyone else had tuning problems with Traditional Roberts Radios (Wooden Case/PP9 Battery)?
As soon as the warranty expired on every one of the three I have owned, the volume and tuning controls have been subject to annoying crackling sounds. It got so bad each time that I had to leave the radio permanently tuned to one radio station. The noise created when you touch the volume or tuning knobs is not caused by interference. |
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#2 |
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Join Date: May 2006
Location: Aberfeldy
Posts: 7,035
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buy another make , dont last long do they?
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#3 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 14,808
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Quote:
buy another make , dont last long do they?
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#4 |
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: North Derbyshire
Posts: 41,794
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Quote:
The wooden cases are hand built to last for ever but the internal electronics just look cheap and nasty. These radios are expensive to buy too.
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#5 |
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 14,808
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Quote:
Roberts were taken over a number of years back by Morphy Richards, and are just cheap chinese rubbish these days - even in their best days Roberts were only second best anyway. The BEST radios ever were made by Hacker - now sadly defunkt
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#6 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: London
Posts: 41,720
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Quote:
Has anyone else had tuning problems with Traditional Roberts Radios (Wooden Case/PP9 Battery)?
These look like and are priced like they should last for ever but they are rubbish. I have a cheaper (but not cheap) Panasonic Radio bought 25 years ago that still works and sounds like new even though that is the one the builder always uses. Have had to chip plaster and mortor off it but it goes on. |
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#7 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: North Derbyshire
Posts: 41,794
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Quote:
I've got a Hacker RP35 Herald in the loft....doesn't work unfortunately....built like a brick shithouse though.
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#8 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Sussex
Posts: 12,173
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A squirt of switch contact cleaner usually cures this problem, don't use WD40 though!
Take the electronics out of the wooden base (usually a side screw at each end) and a couple of squirts and then turn the control a number of times and that usually clears the problem. Sadly Roberts radios use cheapy electronics to go with their nice wooden cases...... |
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#9 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 14,808
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Quote:
A squirt of switch contact cleaner usually cures this problem, don't use WD40 though!
Take the electronics out of the wooden base (usually a side screw at each end) and a couple of squirts and then turn the control a number of times and that usually clears the problem. Sadly Roberts radios use cheapy electronics to go with their nice wooden cases......
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#10 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: North Derbyshire
Posts: 41,794
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Quote:
So glad you posted....I did at one point today have the radio in one hand and WD-40 in the other....close shave
![]() Perhaps Orbitalzone would care to explain his reasoning?, I know some people do seem to have a hatred of WD40 - is it perhaps from some personal experience, or just from urban legend?. |
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#11 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Newtownards, N.I.
Posts: 44
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In my experience, WD40 dries out to a sticky residue that gums up fine works like switches and locks. Personally, I always go for a combined cleaner- lubricant, like good old Servsol super 10.
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#12 |
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Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 8,812
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Quote:
In my experience, WD40 dries out to a sticky residue that gums up fine works like switches and locks. Personally, I always go for a combined cleaner- lubricant, like good old Servsol super 10.
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#13 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Sussex
Posts: 12,173
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The reason for not using wd40 is that it leaves an oily mess and potentially in a high voltage device (not this roberts) it could be a source of ignition fuel, it certainly isn't an ideal thing to have any excess of.
Also as mentioned, it can go all gummy and / or dust then sticks to it. Nice. It's no urban legend, but from experiences of engineers...I'm not saying you can't use it with care (make sure none goes eleswhere and cleanup all excess) but it's really not good advice to give I don't think. Switch cleaner was made for cleaning switch contacts, WD40 was made for engines and gate hinges. You can get switch cleaner like servisol that cleans only, and they do some that has a little lubricant to smooth out worn pots, wd40 on the other hand is far too extreme for this sort of thing. Oddly enough, Philips used to make some good switch cleaner, it was probably about the only decent thing they made hehehe |
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#14 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Aberfeldy
Posts: 7,035
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wd40 can be used instead of brake disc cleaner for brake discs so would it harm your electronics?
ask a mechanic its strange but true...... the first time i did it thought the brakes wouldnt work! |
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#15 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Sussex
Posts: 12,173
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However car brakes are not the same as electronics, and besides, years ago my over helpful friend cleaned my motorbike for me, I got on it and drove away only use the brakes and they didn't work. The idiot, I mean friend, had cleaned the discs and pads with WD40 and it took ages to clean off the damned stuff.
Maybe that's why I don't use WD40 on electronics or brakes I do use it for squeaky hinges and such like. However, before Nigel says that I'm anti WD40 (is there a club then?) due to my near death motorcyle wd40 related incident, I'm not against it, but don't recommend it for cleaning control pots or other electronic items, also I've seen some wrecked equipment that daft customers tried to fix with it - such as the squeaky video recorder that got a squirt of WD40 inside, it made a nice mess there! still if it works for others then who am I to stop you ?
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#16 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: North Derbyshire
Posts: 41,794
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Quote:
However, before Nigel says that I'm anti WD40 (is there a club then?) due to my near death motorcyle wd40 related incident, I'm not against it, but don't recommend it for cleaning control pots or other electronic items, also I've seen some wrecked equipment that daft customers tried to fix with it - such as the squeaky video recorder that got a squirt of WD40 inside, it made a nice mess there!
As for 'oily messes' and 'gummy', you don't spray it 'willy nilly' everywhere, just small accurate squirts where it's needed, in my experience it doesn't go 'gummy' and often provides a long lasting repair. Certainly cleaning volume controls with it I've had them last many times longer than the pot did in the first place, and more than ten years is common. |
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#17 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Sussex
Posts: 12,173
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Quote:
NEVER, NEVER - squirt WD40 in a VCR or cassette player, it completely destroys it - both are mechanical devices that rely on friction to work
Still it did stop squeaking though! |
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#18 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Newtownards, N.I.
Posts: 44
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I recall getting a VCR in may years back (worked in a TV repair shop in a past life), and the sod that owned it hadn't even bothered to wipe the butter off the butterknife before twiddling the pots in the mainboard.
At least we know which ones to re-adjust... |
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