Ford/Zenith radio
 

Rebuilding radio for the 46. Been told I should switch to a solid state vibrator. Where do you find them. I can find the original ones but nothing solid state.thanks

Re: Ford/Zenith radio
 

https://www.tubesandmore.com/product...tomobile-radio
Try this place I have not done business with them.

Re: Ford/Zenith radio
 

Thanks for info on the solid state piece. Sounds like a few people had problems with noise after installing them

Re: Ford/Zenith radio
 

Actually, they are quiet and work perfectly. What you do loose is the hum the vibrator made, and it turns on a bit faster. I miss the hum sound, but that is progress for you.

Re: Ford/Zenith radio
 

The solid state vibrator replacements are polarity sensitive so a person needs to know whether they radio set will be run as negative ground or positive ground and what voltage will be used. The units should be available for all contingencies.

This outfit advertises the 4-pin type if that's what it has. They should be plug & play but a person can make one if they have a mosfet transistor & a few other components.
https://www.radiosforoldcars.com/productsF.htm

There are likely other sources as well like the one posted previously.

Re: Ford/Zenith radio
 

Thanks, 4pin positive ground,6v. I'll look into it,just curious as if it's really worth the change

Re: Ford/Zenith radio
 

Many times the points need to be cleaned in the old vibrators. A lot of them can be brought back to life. They are not polarity sensitive. the old radios needed the higher voltage to make the tubes function properly. Tube type amplifiers have excellent frequency output. A lot of electric guitar players still prefer the old tube type amps to the solid state units. The old capacitors are the things to replace in the old radio sets.