Hi everyone! I run EnryLab, a personal electronics and restoration website, and I'm developing a free experimental tool called Tube Finder.

It's intended to help narrow down the identity of vacuum tubes with worn or missing markings by comparing any readable characters and physical features with the records in my archive.

If you have an unidentified tube from a vintage radio, I'd really appreciate hearing whether it suggests useful candidates:

https://www.enrylab.it/en/identifica-valvola/

The page is in English. The archive is still evolving, so data may be incomplete and the results are possible matches, not a definitive identification or confirmation that tubes are electrically interchangeable. Please check any candidate against its datasheet and pinout, and don't power an unknown tube just to identify it.

If you try it, what clues did you enter, and were the suggested matches helpful? Missing tube types, confusing fields, or incorrect results would all be useful feedback.

I'm the creator of the site and tool, and I'm sharing this to get feedback from fellow enthusiasts. Thanks for taking a look!

Picked this up on FB today. It powers on and I see the tubes warm up, but it outputs no “static”, just an increasingly loud hum, which I understand is typical when the caps go.

I’ve recapped some old computers before but never anything nearly this old (not to mention the lack of a pcb) so I wanted to ask a few things

1. What’s the best way to determine which caps I should replace. Should I just pick out every fabric one and do those?
2. I understand that the non-fabric caps can be left alone unless they have also gone bad, thoughts?
3. Is there anything else I should check/work on, or should I recap first then see if anything still isn’t working?

Everything works except the tunong indicator.

My buddy has had this for a while. Anyone know the scoop on this Japanese company/ device? Supposedly from 1953. It's a cool little gizmo

Recently picked up this thing. Originally bought it for cheap as decoration for it's Fallout aesthetics but it has grown on me and I'll try to fix it.

The tuning needle and therefore it's cable have gotten loose, so i can't tune into stations (i think it shouldn't be that bad to fix)

The turntable doesn't have a needle and rotates a bit slow, I'll try to give it a good clean and see if it helps

I have some experience in electronics from years ago. Now that I'm retired I am thinking of picking up an old radio to dable on.

I was offered this one. I haven't picked it up yet but I imagine it doesn't work.

Is it worth anything not working? How about replacement parts?

Hi! I’ve been searching for a good picture of an actual 048” 4 Flute Bristol Spline screw head and I’m coming up short.

I’m looking for it because I repair Polaroid SX-70 cameras that use a tiny 1mm square screw head. But I’ve stumbled upon the fact that the Bristol Spline fits perfectly. The manual mentions the splines in a few spots but the wording is confusing lol.

It’s just one of those things that has been bugging me.

Apparently I should have listed this as a restomod. Sorry for the mis classification

Recently I saw an old (1920's) Am radio console in a thrift store. The radio was torn apart, the speaker was missing, there was missing veneer in multiple places but it had a certain charm. Next thing I knew it was in my car awaiting a new home. A few weeks later it sings again. The veneer replace worked pretty well but the lacquer has a few areas that have turned white but all in all I like it. I wish I could fix those.

!920's radio console

GRS 8" woofer from Parts Express

Up2Stream Amp Audio Amplifier Board  - one of the few amps I could locate that converted stereo streaming to mono for this build.

If I were to do it again I would try a different finish but overall I think it turned out well.

Hi y’all! I know this probably isn’t all that vintage compared to most things here but I wasn’t sure where to go ask otherwise. I have this 1960’s Panasonic AC/DC tube radio that works great, but reception is just ok. I have cleaned it up gently and most recently cleaned the antenna terminals and connector bar with IPA. I did take a fine grit sandpaper and cleaned the contact side of the antenna connection bar which bridges to the power cord antenna. That did help with signal strength but I think I’d like to use an external antenna. I am familiar with screw type antennas but not this plug style. Can anyone recommend an antenna I can order for this radio?

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I was gifted this awesome radiogram by a friend yesterday and thought I'd show it to you all. It's actually very interesting, because the chassis had been designed to be AM only, however it was equipped with a seperate add on FM tuner by the factory, since it has the FM Band (in german UKW) on the radio dial and selector knob.

I brought it to the basement first for testing, cleaning and repair purposes however it works absolutely perfect since the capacitors had already been replaced in the 80s.

It has a bakelite chassis since steel was rare in the late 40s / early 50s in east Germany.

As for tubes, it's got: ECC81, EF80, EF80, EF80, EAA91, ECH11, EBF11, EF12/12, EL12N.

Even for just testing in the basement, reception is great on FM and the record player works, too. The sound is amazingly rich and the electrodynamic speaker even produces some thump since the EL12N can output around 5-6 Watts in this configuration. Treble is also not bad.

This console is going to be set up in the living room, of course, I'm going to oil the cabinet first as well as giving it a good clean.

Sorry for double posting, wanted to include this video into my first post but didn’t work.

(TL;DR) First sound check in the basement after receiving this awesome radiogram.

Faceplate has viewing port to see the tube filament glow inside the case. It is embossed with DET, PHONE and 22V. A Vogue "Nonpariel" type 30 tube is the detector, replacing the crystal.

I have not been able to find anything about this particulaur rig, and there is a substantial amount of FADA documentation online. The faceplate has remarkable similarity to the face of the model 167A, was this the prototype of the 167A?

Hi all, I have a r505 Roberts radio I inherited from my grandmother. Would love to get it working but no clue about how to power it as it doesn’t have a cable with it.

Just wondered if anyone knows what cable would be compatible, if any (I’m uk based and have zero knowledge on radios)

Thanks in advance 😊

I have what I believe is a Montgomery Ward Airline 62-317 radio, dating to around 1936–1937.
The radio appears complete, including the original tube chassis, speaker, dial, and knobs. The wood cabinet shows normal age-related wear.
I have not tested it electrically and don’t want to risk damaging the original components.
I’m considering selling it and would appreciate some advice:
Does the model identification look correct?
What would be a reasonable asking price in its current, unrestored condition?
Would collectors prefer it left untouched?
I’m located in northern Illinois and also have two larger vintage radio cabinets.
Thanks for any advice!

I have a radio that I use pretty much everyday. A Roberts Radio R9993 Portable. It belonged to my great grandma and I got it after she passed and I was wondering just how old it was but no website I find says what year it was released and it’s irritating me.