Realistic Model 12-666 AM/FM Radio Repair and Restore
This radio was given to me by a relative that was given to him by someone who was throwing it out and did not want anymore. Stating that it turned on but the volume did not work and it would not pick up any radio stations.
He also stated that the AM/FM sector switch did not work either. Upon opening the radio I found it to be dirty and the battery compartment a mess from batteries that have leaked and caused corrosion.
The first Thing I spotted was the wire coming from the circuit board to the antenna was broken off at the bottom of the antenna. This was the cause of the radio not pick up any stations.
The wire was soldered to a ring terminal connector at the end of the antenna. There is a screw that goes through the case of the radio and the ring terminal connector and in to the end of the antenna.
To fix this I just attached a new ring terminal connector to the end of the wire and inserted the screw back into the antenna.
The next step was to inspect the volume, tone and AM/FM sector switch. Before testing them with my multimeter set on continuity mode. I sprayed them with electrical contact cleaner and moved them back and forth a few times.
This fixed the problem. I turned the radio on and tried the AM/FM sector switch, volume and tone. Everything worked fine and I was able to pick up some radio stations.
The last step was to give it a careful cleaning. This took me a long time to do. I started with the battery compartment. I used a basic small flat head screw driver; fine grit sandpaper and isopropyl alcohol.
Here is the inside of the radio and circuit board cleaned up.
The radio all put back together and cleaned up.
The last two pictures I tried to take in better lighting.
If anyone is interested here is a link to service manual and schematic diagrams to a model similar to this one. https://audiocircuit.dk/downloads/realistic/Realistic-12_655-pr-sm.pdf
This was pretty much an easy repair mostly dirt and corrosion. Too bad I do not have a replacement knob cover. It would have made it complete.
This article was prepared for you by Mark James; Pennsylvania U.S. Mark is a computer Technician and electronics hobbyist. Holds two associate degrees one in Computer systems technology and one in electronics engineering technology.
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Note: You can check his previous repair articles on GE 3-5025A Tape Recorder Repair and Restore
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