The Radio Workshop vintage radio repairs and restoration by a vintage City & Guilds qualified radio and TV engineer

Hi, I'm Ray. I've been repairing and restoring valve radios for over 40 years. It's funny to think that the radios I now work on weren't classed as vintage when I repaired them back in the early 1960s. Things were different in those days. There were no life-time guarantees or other daft sales gimmicks to drum up business. There was no need for such ridiculous things because the trade enjoyed a friendly and trustworthy relationship with their customers. The majority of new customers came from word of mouth recommendations, not ambiguous sales techniques.

Back in those days, customers were loyal because they were looked after by their local service engineer. If there was a problem with a radio I'd repaired, it went without saying that I'd put it right - free of charge. That's the way it was back in the good old days.

I'm from the old school and, as far as I'm concerned, nothing has changed. If I repair your radio and, several years later it develops a problem due to my workmanship, bring it back to me and I'll put it right. I won't quibble about the date on the guarantee. I never forget my golden rule... Without you, the customer, I would be out of business. Whatever happened to the days when service engineers valued their customers? Where are those engineers now? I can't speak for them, but I'm still here.

The golden age of radio is not dead - it's just covered in cobwebs. There are many people who appreciate the old days of listening to the wireless, and I'm one of them. One aspect of old valve radios that intrigues me is the notion that the BBC Home Service would have emanated from the loud speakers during the war years. Churchill would have spoken to the nation, and a host of interesting programmes entertained families during the forties and fifties. I imagine a beautiful radio with a highly polished wood or Bakelite cabinet in the lounge, the man of the house smoking his pipe and listening to the Suez crisis during the fifties while the children played with tin toys on the floor.

Housewives' Choice, Mrs Dale's Diary, The Billy Cotton Band Show, Music While You Work, The Goon Show, The Clitheroe Kid, Round The Horn, ITMA with Jack Train, Ken Dodd, Sing Something Simple... All these programes and more would have been listened to on valve radios. As I child, I had a valve radio on my bedside table. The dial lamp glowing in the dark, I'd listen to a play and lose myself in the plot. Great stuff.

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Many of you reading this will recall listening to your own or your parents' classic valve radio in the lounge and enjoying Listen With Mother or an evening drama or short play. A vintage radio is something which should be used and enjoyed, and you can enjoy yours once again. If you have an old radio in the attic, drag it out and wipe the dust from the cabinet. Do you remember that radio taking pride of place on the sideboard? Having spent forty years in the attic, it probably won't work - and I advise you against plugging it in. However, it needn't cost you a small fortune to have it repaired. If you have a vintage valve radio which you've found in the attic and you'd like to hear it working again, click HERE.

There were a lot of short wave listeners in the old days, and I was one of them. Many early radios covered the short wave bands and it was great fun tuning around during the evenings listening to broadcasts from far away lands. If your old wireless covers short wave, you might try putting an aerial up, click HERE for details. Some of the better, expensive, radios had an extra valve, called an RF amplifier, for improving short wave reception. But even the standard sets will pull in stations from all over the world with a wire simple aerial.

ONE-STOP WORKSHOP?
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ESTIMATES FOR REPAIRS ARE FREE

Whatever your needs, whether a quick get-it-working repair or a full restoration job, I can help you. Do you just want a new mains lead and plug fitted? Do you just want that crackly volume control cleaned? Perhaps you'd like me to give your radio a safety check. Maybe your radio needs a full service. Whatever your needs or budget, I can help you. One stop... All your needs catered for in the one stop Radio Workshop. If the wooden cabinet is looking rough, I can strip it and replace the veneer HERE.

YOU CAN FOLLOW THE PROGRESS OF YOUR RADIO REPAIR HERE

CLICK HERE FOR EQUIPMENT THAT I DO NOT REPAIR

Radio is, and always has been, my life.

This is a Wireless Set Canadian No 52 I don't normally repair or restore military equipment but... Well, I must admit to having a soft spot for the 52 set. This one is in for service and I have to say it brings back fond memories. I owned the receiver and transmitter many years ago. I wonder what happened to them?