What You need to know about sounds systems, to keep from smoking them!.
First and most important: DISCONNECT BATTERY! BUT first let us stop and remind our self that a car battery is DANGEROUS! VERY! DANGEROUS! It can EXPLODE and soak one with a nasty ACID! Always wear eye protection when dealing with a car battery! Never lay any tool on a car battery, as they will melt a BIG! screw driver, pliars, etc and EXPLODE in a hart beat!
Second most important:
Neve cross phase the POSITIVE & NEGATIVE aka hook them up backwards.
Third most important:
You only get one shot with the wires that hook up to the speakers. They must never touch each other or ground. Not always true! But live by this rule to be on the safe side.
Never power up a radio with naked wires laying around, tape, use wire nuts or connectors but always INSULATE them!
Radios inside a metal building will not pickup stations good. Shielding electronics in metal is called a Fairday Cage IF building has a good ground radio will not pick up any stations.
Be genital but Clean antenna connector with rubber pencil eraser. Keep antenna mast clean of wax and oxidation. clean with Brillow or bright pad.
Never bench test a radio i just sent back to You! Install it in car and make sure all connections are 100% right recheck then hook battery back up.
When in dought chicken out! and ask for help.
SPEAKERS: Are the tires of a sound system, done right they will give about five years of use. but are easy to blow, and the sun loves to munch on them.
Disk Jockeys SCREAMING will blow speakers for you!
Over power speakers once and they are DEAD. But
UNDER~POWERING blows more speakers. You keep turning up volume to get some punch and distort the amp driving the speaker's voice coil side ways in the gap and bam she's gone taking out the amp with her!
Look for speakers that have a SPL rating of 98 DB or above with ONE WATT of power NOT the 150 watt speakers!
6X9" and 6 1/2" are the best sounding speakers! You may add a 15" for more bottom end. They need to mounted solid. I use MDF board to add support to the rear package tray area.
Use glass or hard surfaces to reflect sound. Small twetters can be silicone glued to in place so as to point right at Your ears as much as possible. Sun visor, windshield, door post, or just about anywhere but be careful the silicone glue will pull paint off metal it works great on chrome & vinal. Most of the time it will rub off with no trace. But be careful and do not damage a classic!
Never belive any thing a salesman tells You!
If you say to YO self I am going to do this an quit STOP IMMEDIATELY! there is hopefully tomorrow or it wont matter any way.
Do not think that you a some kind if genus ALL the good audio stuff was discovered in the late 1800's and early 1900's septing this digital stuff and that's just P.F.M.
If you belive the DSCBEs test reports then you will never know that TUBES are the best sounding amps!
INSTALLING A RADIO WHEN YOU GET HER BACK FROM TONY MAC:
NEVER BENCH TEST RADIO INSTALL IT IN THE CAR!
TO INSTALL: Disconnect battery, Take a pencil eraser and gently CLEAN ANTENNA connector's small tip and large barrel. Volume & Tuning shafts use two set of nuts, one to hold shafts to radio and one set to hold radio to dash! Do not let shafts slide back into radio! Only using outside nuts can cause BIG PROBLEMS!!! Hook up ALL wires, Make sure radio is OFF, Reconnect battery and turn on Key, and then turn on Radio, Wonder Bar Radios have a tube that controls seek, when they are first turned on and you push the seek button they will move the dial pointer a short distance on dial and stop if you push seek again it will move the same short distance and stop until tube worms up. Raise power antenna and clean mast with isopropyl alcohol let dry and then. The ANTENNA TRIMER control will need to be adjusted to match radio with CAR'S antenna, it will be close but for best reception it has to be done in the car I will mark radio so you know what to adjust gently turn to tighten and back of a few degrees to best spot. To Adjust how many stations seek stops on adjust sensitivity control, the small slide switch in middle of the seek button for proper operation.
AFTER INSTALL: If it is a TUBE unit it will take about 30 seconds to one minute to warm up. If car is in 40žžžž¼ƒ or less temperature let car heater warm up radio before turning on, it is possible for tubes to brake glass from heating up if it is cold enough! If it is a solid state radio you may turn on immediately.
ADDING POWER AMPS:
As large power amps need more amps to run on than it takes to start the car! You will need to add 2 wires [size from 10GA to 00Ga depending on size of amp with FUSES on both wires at the battery! so as they can not touch metal with out going through a fuse!] going to the amp then on to the the radio with a 16GA or larger! These new wires from the battery becomes the power leads for ALL the sound system! Grounds on radio shaft and antenna will need to be insulated from car ground! iPod, CD Players etc should also use these for power IF not using their own battiers.
This STAR GROUNDING is BASIC AUDIO 101 it's the way recording studios tie all their grounds together to stop the NOISES caused by GROUND LOOPS! It keeps out as much bad stuff: motor pops, alternator whine, plug wire EMI, CBs, heater blower fizzle, with out the need of filters that help but don't work!
When the bass notes start to dime headlights a second battery is going to be need! Power Caps do 1/1,000,000 as much as adding a second battery would and cost twice as much.
Wiper noise with windshield antennas is caused by dirty blades! Dirty blades generate static electricity and that is what cause the noise! Clean blades and windshield with DAWN and put a good blade treatment on them.
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The only Delco Certified Radio Service for Signal Seeking Wonder Bar & 1958 to 1975 Buick, Cadillac, Corvette, Chevrolet, GMC, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Jaguar, Lincoln, Chrysler, Imperial, Avanti, Studebaker, Packard, Willys, Opel, Rekord, John Deere units.
Show quality cosmetology, studio standard electronics.
I work on ALL Delco Radios made before 1985. Including 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957 Corvettes all though i am not certified on Delco units before 1958 I do claim to be Heir Apperant!
Proud to say i am 4 to 6 months behind in work! IF You can not deal with me having Your Delco Radio that long then send in a $25.00 retainer and i will get back to You when it is Your turn to have Your Delco radio worked on!
As of 6/3/8 there is a minimum of $150.00 charge on any radio sent into the shop + return shipping/handling fees.
I welcome ONE phone call from anyone thinking about sending me a radio for restoration! Or a call from anyone who has sent me a radio for restoration! AND in a very rare event is having a problem! You will find that calling form 2 till 8 PM Central Monday through Friday [closed all holidays and some days with out notice!] is the best time for me to deal with phone calls and be able to give You an intelligent answer to Your questions. All though emails work much better!
IF You are SENDING me a unit for restoration! The terms witch i agree to work on Your radio and, how i do businness is outlined on the page! Please make sure to read and understand them! As well as how to pack radio so shafts are not bent or broken in transit! AND understand we do it my way or find another radio man!
''PLEASE'' use email i hate phone calls! BUT BEFORE DOING EITHER! Every question asked of me in the last 5 years is answered on THIS website in more detail and with more thought than You will get in an email or phone call. PLEASE UNDERSTAND! I just do not have time to RECOVER all this info in emails OR time to answer 30~90 phone calls a day and get any radios restored! ) EMAIL to: Mac @ WonderBarMan.com Put your last name first in subject line of all email or it most likely will be deleted unopened with all the spam i get! ~IF for some reason You have problems with that one BUT only after You have problems! cause IF You send an email to both at one time i will discard BOTH unopened try tonymacii @ webtv.net~
IF you want to know how to hook up, what radio will fit in what car, sell parts, give tech advise, help You identify the radio found in Aunt Tillies closest so as You can sell it on eBay! Then expect me to be _ISSED and tell You so! 731-696-4163 AFTER 2PM Central I REFUSE to help do it Yo~Selfers in any way! Sell parts. All the info i have to identify a radio is on the model# date code page.
No matter what make or model You are making money on my services! Looking at a mint 1966 Corvette with a none working radio You loose $5000.00! With one of my RESTORED units adding $1500.00 of value to vehicle!
