rca: 5QR 74FM; Superheterodyne

Hi all, Firstly, about me, I am writing a book on the restoration of HP calculators from 1972 to 2000. In the mean time I have a collection of restored reverse painted 6 transistor radios. Recently I have graduated to tube radio restorations and have a beautifully restored Normende Electra from1964. I completed the cabinet and internal restorations and it now sits in the dining room. I will post pictures later. This brings me to my latest acquisition, which will require some cosmetic work. The radio is an RCA 5QR 74M. The cabinet is scratched and some one has done a hack job on the grille fabric. They have also removed the metallic fretwork. The material is easy to replace, the electronics should be easy (have not plugged it in or tested it yet), but where does one find the fretwork? Is there an online source? I have tried the google approach with no success. Next step, with emails from you, will be to visit my club, SPARC, and see if they have this model in the parts room. Any help on sourcing the grille would be appreciated. I will be posting a step by step article on the cabinet and electronic restorations. Also restoring an older version BEOLIT 600. Got the FM side working and have just compiled a CAP list for purchase and replacement. I will also document this restoration. This was filthy and covered in nicotine!!! In fact it was completely unserviceable until I disassembled it and washed the electronics in an alcohol bath. After a dry assembly I got the FM to function, albeit weakly. A brief test with caps bridging some of the installed caps showed a cap problem. Until then, thanks for your help. Geoff Quickfall in Vancouver, Canada.

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Hello Geoff,

there is a thread that details some suppliers, but I cannot locate it right now.

What strikes me is the typical German face of the radio, and it was easy to find: it's quite similar to the Graetz Musica 4R217, except for the "3D" speakers and the grated band.

I'm almost certain that the cabinet (and probably the chassis too) has been made by Graetz, perhaps you are able to find some part that match.

Kind regards
Mark

 

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Danke Mark, I have to check out my SPARC warehouse as they may have a grating / grill. Opened the back and found the magic eye EM80 hanging freely in the back. I was wondering what the hole was for in the grill! I will be stripping the case and redoing the pinstripe replicating its factory look. Off to work, Cheers, Geoff Ps the tablet will not separate paragraphs so excuse the format of the posting please.

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Mark Thanks for the link, identical except for speaker layout and some trim. Gives me some hope about the look when completed. Geoff

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