How to Convert Vintage Tube Radios

Some of the earliest home radios manufactured from the 1920s until the late 1940s used an electronic component known as a vacuum tube, or more specifically a cathode ray tube, to help warm up and power the circuits inside the radio. The beginning of the 1950s saw the advent of the transistor, which was a semi-conductor device with three leads that could allow the flow of current in one direction, but block it in another. Transistors had many advantages over vacuum tubes. They were lighter in weight, cheaper to produce and had extremely long lives. Some radios, made during the time period when the vacuum tube was transitioning to transistors, are easily converted.

Things You'll Need

• Phillips screwdriver
• Transistors
• Soldering iron
• Solder

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Instructions

1. • 1

     Unplug the vintage radio from the wall.

   • 2

     Use a Phillips screwdriver to remove the radio's case screws and then slip the case off the radio.

   • 3

     Unplug the cathode ray tube, or tubes from the radio by hand. Bring them to an electronics parts store and have an attendant match a transistor to the tube.

   • 4

     Plug the soldering iron in and let it heat up while positioning the transistor, or transistors, in their spot on the circuit board where the tubes were installed.

   • 5

     Hold the tip of the solder above the transistor connections and touch the soldering iron to it, allowing the solder to melt.

   • 6

     Replace the radio casing and tighten its retaining screws with the screwdriver.