Retrofitting a 1940s (?) Radio Cabinet

[Palanan]

I have an old radio cabinet, with speakers and turntable, that probably dates back to the 40s or 50s. For years I’ve had the notion of updating it somehow, but when I plugged it into a modern wall socket it promptly blew out.

I don’t have any experience with rewiring something like this, but even so I’d like to try. Has anyone tried a project along these lines? And does anyone have an idea of how much time and effort would be involved?

[Solamnicknight]

By blew out, what happened when you plugged it in? Circuit breaker in the house go off? A lot of times the wiring on old appliances especially the power cord tends to dry rot. Bit of a fire hazard but not difficult to replace. I recommend googling radio repair or seeing if a local library has some electronics repair manuals or can request some. Electrical Soldering isn’t super difficult. You want ventilation (open window or garage door) though the fumes can be a bit iffy. Also pencil irons melt solder at 375-425 degrees Fahrenheit so obviously be careful with that. I work on antique model train ranging from the 40s to the 70s so that’s how I know this stuff.

[DavidSh]

From that estimated era, I would expect the equipment to use vacuum tubes. Unless you are a serious retro-electronics hobbyist, that's probably not worth trying to maintain. You may be able to get a more modern tuner and amp that you can fit in, if you are up to a little carpentry, but I've never done this. I think my parents replaced their turntable in a cabinet-mounted system once, but that was a long time ago.

[Solamnicknight]

From that estimated era, I would expect the equipment to use vacuum tubes. Unless you are a serious retro-electronics hobbyist, that's probably not worth trying to maintain. You may be able to get a more modern tuner and amp that you can fit in, if you are up to a little carpentry, but I've never done this. I think my parents replaced their turntable in a cabinet-mounted system once, but that was a long time ago.
Depends, transistors were commonplace by the 1950s and even if it’s a vacuum tube radio it may be worth fixing up. Old tech can be quite resilient. Plus gutting antiques like that tends to ruin any value it may have and certain antiques are definitely valuable. I’d definitely look for a forum beyond this one on antiques or radio repair! There’s likely skilled craftsmen and technicians on there that could help. Also as mentioned definitely look for print/web/youtube videos that could help. Best of luck!

[Aedilred]

I have an old radio cabinet, with speakers and turntable, that probably dates back to the 40s or 50s. For years I’ve had the notion of updating it somehow, but when I plugged it into a modern wall socket it promptly blew out.

I don’t have any experience with rewiring something like this, but even so I’d like to try. Has anyone tried a project along these lines? And does anyone have an idea of how much time and effort would be involved?

Much will depend on the nature of the "blowout" in terms of how much effort is required... It could be as simple as replacing a fuse and getting a transformer to prevent future blowouts, or require essentially rewiring the whole thing, 1940s circuitry and all, depending on the extent of the damage. If you're not confident in what you're doing, I would definitely recommend at minimum checking a specialist site or forum. I've found this one (https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=20), for instance.