I had several old sw radios that worked fine except that the dial cord
was slipping. Very annoying. But replacement cord is hard to find and
can be tricky to replace. The problem is that the cord and tuning shaft
became highly polished over the years and there wasn't much friction
left. I got a can of "Gunk" Belt Dressing, sprayed some into a glass,
and applied it to the cord and the tuning shaft with a camel's hair
brush. That was three months ago and the tuning has been fine ever
since with no slippage. The belt dressing is the type used to spray on
automotive v-belts.

ve3... wrote:
I had several old sw radios that worked fine except that the dial cord
was slipping. Very annoying. But replacement cord is hard to find and
can be tricky to replace. The problem is that the cord and tuning shaft
became highly polished over the years and there wasn't much friction
left. I got a can of "Gunk" Belt Dressing, sprayed some into a glass,
and applied it to the cord and the tuning shaft with a camel's hair
brush. That was three months ago and the tuning has been fine ever
since with no slippage. The belt dressing is the type used to spray on
automotive v-belts.



One of the tricks Grundig and Telefunken used to employ, rather than
the usual dial cord (which brings to the project it's own unique set of
obstacles), was steel wire. It doesn't fray, has limited stretch, and if
the wheels are clean, doesn't slip, either. It needs to be tensioned
with a hefty spring, but in the absence of dial cord, which is getting
difficult to find these days, steel wire is a good alternative.

I've restrung the dial on my S 53A using steel wire instead of dial
cord, with exceptional results.

I once read somewhere that rosin,(resin?) like the kind people use to
rosin their violin bows works good on dial strings.I never have tried it
though.I do own some old,old musical instruments and some rosin.
cuhulin

On 12 Feb 2006 12:33:16 -0800, "ve3..." wrote:

I had several old sw radios that worked fine except that the dial cord
was slipping. Very annoying. But replacement cord is hard to find and
can be tricky to replace. The problem is that the cord and tuning shaft
became highly polished over the years and there wasn't much friction
left. I got a can of "Gunk" Belt Dressing, sprayed some into a glass,
and applied it to the cord and the tuning shaft with a camel's hair
brush. That was three months ago and the tuning has been fine ever
since with no slippage. The belt dressing is the type used to spray on
automotive v-belts.

wax

"D Peter Maus" wrote in message
...


One of the tricks Grundig and Telefunken used to employ, rather than
the usual dial cord (which brings to the project it's own unique set of
obstacles), was steel wire. It doesn't fray, has limited stretch, and if
the wheels are clean, doesn't slip, either. It needs to be tensioned
with a hefty spring, but in the absence of dial cord, which is getting
difficult to find these days, steel wire is a good alternative.


Bob's Antique Radios now has dial cord:

http://www.radioantiques.com/supplies.html

I haven't tried Bob's dial cord although I did order some other stuff a
couple of months ago. I got my current supply of dial cord from Antique
Electronics Supply and/or Ocean State Electronics. As far as I know, both
sources still have dial cord.

I used to have an old fishing reel with some line which was
indistinguishable from the dial cord Hallicrafters used in the forties and
fifties. I assume it was silk core with a black cotton braid.
Hallicrafters suggested "18 lb. test" dial cord as a replacement back then.
The modern fiberglass core cord ought to be at least as good. One of the
regulars at rec.antiques.radio+phono recommends dacron fishing line as dial
cord. I'd be a bit leery of pure nylon cord, as I've heard it will stretch
out more over time than other cords, although I've never tried it.


I've restrung the dial on my S 53A using steel wire instead of dial
cord, with exceptional results.

Half wire and half cord, like the Grundigs, with a tension spring in the
middle?

Frank Dresser

Frank Dresser wrote:
"D Peter Maus" wrote in message
...

One of the tricks Grundig and Telefunken used to employ, rather than
the usual dial cord (which brings to the project it's own unique set of
obstacles), was steel wire. It doesn't fray, has limited stretch, and if
the wheels are clean, doesn't slip, either. It needs to be tensioned
with a hefty spring, but in the absence of dial cord, which is getting
difficult to find these days, steel wire is a good alternative.


Bob's Antique Radios now has dial cord:

http://www.radioantiques.com/supplies.html

I haven't tried Bob's dial cord although I did order some other stuff a
couple of months ago. I got my current supply of dial cord from Antique
Electronics Supply and/or Ocean State Electronics. As far as I know, both
sources still have dial cord.

I used to have an old fishing reel with some line which was
indistinguishable from the dial cord Hallicrafters used in the forties and
fifties. I assume it was silk core with a black cotton braid.
Hallicrafters suggested "18 lb. test" dial cord as a replacement back then.
The modern fiberglass core cord ought to be at least as good. One of the
regulars at rec.antiques.radio+phono recommends dacron fishing line as dial
cord. I'd be a bit leery of pure nylon cord, as I've heard it will stretch
out more over time than other cords, although I've never tried it.


I've restrung the dial on my S 53A using steel wire instead of dial
cord, with exceptional results.

Half wire and half cord, like the Grundigs, with a tension spring in the
middle?

Frank Dresser



Actually, all wire, no cord. Tension spring on the wheel at the
tuning cap.

Works like a Champ.

"ve3..." wrote in message
oups.com...

I got a can of "Gunk" Belt Dressing, sprayed some into a glass,
and applied it to the cord and the tuning shaft with a camel's hair
brush. That was three months ago and the tuning has been fine ever
since with no slippage. The belt dressing is the type used to spray on
automotive v-belts.

My National NC-140 has an aluminum disk that originally had a coating on the
outer edge that was supposed to ride inside a grove on another disk. The
coating had worn off and it was slipping. I applied the same belt dressing
that you used to the outer edge of the worn disk about 10 years ago and it
is still working as it should today. RM~

PS, I keep a can of that stuff around, use it on table saw, belt
sander,drill press, air comp and etc., it's great stuff but never apply it
to a notched automotive belt, my son learned the hard way.

A perfect dial cord material is the cord used in parallel rule devices
used on drafting boards in place of t-squares. Some schools still use
parallel rules instead of computers in drafting training . This cord
is perfect. It has a steel core and a plasic flexble sheath. Although
the draftsman has been largely replaced by the CAD operator, some
office supply stores and such may have some old stock sitting in the
back room. It is worth a look and the schools that still use parallel
rules will be getting replacement cord from somewhere. There is about
25 feet of cord used in each parallel rule, so an out-of-service rule
would also be a good source. All the drafting supply stores I once knew
are gone now, but the cord is too good to throw away.

I own a big old,old parallel drafting rule and a small one that is about
the size of a legal note pad.It has a hole in the middle of the cover
(sort of like the front of a hard back book) for the knob that lossens
and tightens the L shaped rule to fit through when the cover is
closed.The L shaped rule can be adjusted to any angle desired by
loosening and tightening the knob.It is a very handy little device for
drawing straight parallel lines on paper.I bought them at the Goodwill
store about ten years ago.I am not going to remove the cord (I didn't
know there is a cord in there) out of my big old parallel rule though.I
dont think my small parallel notebook size parallel rule drafting device
has any cord in it.They bough still work just as good as the day they
were made,perfect parallel lines.
cuhulin

The parallel rules used in drafting offices were about 5 feet long and
5 inches wide.They had long cords trailing out of each end that were
strung around pulleys mounted at each corner of the board (maybe
3'x5'). When properly set up the rules would maintain perfectly
parallel lines all over the board. Set squres were used on the top and
bottom edges to draw various lines. If you have a complete parallel
rule, it should have a lot of cord wrapped around it. Although the cord
is great for stringing dials, it would be a shame to wreck a perfectly
good parallel rule, although they are not used much these days. Those
old rules, primitive as they may be, helped design all the things from
bridges to radios from 1945 to 1980. Drafting machines were also used,
but they didn't have the ability to easily draw long parallel lines
such as those needed for structural steel, although they were good for
detailing parts.