Hacker RP25

[boiss]

The antenna of my radio has a screw stuck in the thin end ,
I was wondering what the end should be like and if it is
possible to get replacements.
Another problem is with the white beading on the front and rear panels.
Should this remain outside the case (round section) and how is it
fixed, mine has a couple of staples which don't seem very original.
What sort of glue to use to fix the beading?
BRs
Mike

[Mark Hennessy]

I'm afraid the original aerials are very hard to source - occasionally they appear on sale on eBay, but people selling them know how rare they are. I think I paid around a tenner for one once. On occasion, I've bought scrap sets just for the aerial. Today, it's my policy to only buy sets with perfect and original aerials.

To get a picture of what one should look like, have a trawl of eBay or the photo library at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hackerradiogroup/

If you have a screw in yours, then you are missing the top section, which is solid. And perhaps one or two of the upper tubular sections? Although there are people who can fix them - by keeping a large stock of complete and partial aerials, and by being good at mechanical engineering - I've never had much luck. But I'll give you a bit of a tip - the Hunter that's my avatar had a broken aerial, but I found that the aerial from a Fidelity RAD 15 was a close match. I had to swap them at the knuckle joint, as the Fidelity aerial slid down into the set via a collar rather than the outer stationary section that the Hacker uses. It's not identical, but a pretty good match... Fidelity sets aren't especially valued, so you might get a whole set for less than the price I once paid for just an aerial.

Regarding the white piping, that is glued in place - as you suspect the staples aren't original. Probably. I know that the RP10 used staples. In terms of glue, I just use a general-purpose glue suitable for use with plastics - can't remember the type now, and I'm not in the workshop.

As to how it should fit, it should be flush with the side and front/rear panels.

Does this help?

Mark

[boiss]

Thanks Mark,
I've got what's left of the antenna in the car (BTW how many sections should it have?) so that when I go to flea markets etc I don't forget it at home.
I've attached a pic of the beading at the corners which I think looks particularly bad.
I'll wait until it gets warmer before stretching the beading and evosticking it.
Cheers
Mike

[Nebogipfel]

Thanks Mark,
I've got what's left of the antenna in the car (BTW how many sections should it have?) so that when I go to flea markets etc I don't forget it at home.
I've attached a pic of the beading at the corners which I think looks particularly bad.
I'll wait until it gets warmer before stretching the beading and evosticking it.
Cheers
Mike

Mike the problem with the beading on the corners seems to be a common one, even some of the restored sets appearing on Ebay seem to exhibit it. I wonder if careful application of a hot air gun (or more gently a hair dryer) would soften it sufficiently to allow it to follow the corners again?

As an aside, on the subject of Ebay I have noticed unrestored sets being listed at prices close to that asked for restored sets. Being new to the world of Hacker I wonder if this is a taste of things to come?

[boiss]

I don't know really, there were a couple for sale in a flea market here for some months (An Autocrat and an FM only) tyey were 25 and 30 Euros respectively, just before Xmas they were reduced by 5 euros and they have been sold recently. They were both pretty poor examples !!
I bought mine as a non worker for 26 pounds on Ebay (UK) postage was 28pounds to Spain. There are many for sale but most say only UK, prices are all over the place,
It might be interesting to track the prices as sold, certainly it is wiser to buy a non
worker with a good case and complete without visible mods cheaply and fix the
electronics. I am not going to go mad, I'll sort out the beading, antenna and the inductive coupling to charge the batteries and run the set from external power.
The white printing around the dial edges isn't perfect but I'll live with it.
Overall I'm very happy with it and having used it at barbeques it gets some good
comments from the locals too.
Cheers
Mike