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Old 30th Dec 2016, 11:22 pm   #1
swulf70
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Default Trying to identify early 70's UK Ford car radio (Blaupunkt Hamburg)

Hello,

I am trying to identify the Ford car radio shown in the attached image. There's no obvious serial number on it (there's a paper sticker which has lost anything that may have once been typed on it).

The radio is suspected to have been fitted to a Ford Escort Mk1 from the early 70's. If anyone can point me to a service manual, circuit diagram or any additional helpful information about this set it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
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Old 31st Dec 2016, 12:49 am   #2
Phil G4SPZ
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Default Re: Trying to identify early 70's UK Ford car radio

I have a vague recollection that "Ford" car radios were just re-badged Motorola models. If you search for images of Motorola sets from that era you may find something that looks similar.

I remember repairing a fault in the one I had. I don't remember the details, other than it was an IF stage fault, but I did manage to fix it, so there's hope...
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Old 31st Dec 2016, 2:20 am   #3
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Default Re: Trying to identify early 70's UK Ford car radio

Plessey used to make car radios for Ford in the late 1960's, but Ford switched suppliers to Blaupunkt in the early 1970's. The photos do not look like the Plessey-manufactured Ford car radios that I have (bought cheaply from the Plessey Staff Sales shop in the early 1970's when they were clearing the remaining stocks), which use a 3 pin plug and socket similar to those used in some contemporary batteries for the Speaker connections.
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Old 31st Dec 2016, 8:37 am   #4
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Default Re: Trying to identify early 70's UK Ford car radio

That looks like the Blaupunkt that I had in my 1973 Cortina. That crinkly finish on the knobs matched the Cortina dashboard appearance. It was an excellent performer. It's still in my loft somewhere.

When I last checked, it had developed a fault, so when I do find it. that'll be another one for the 'round tuit' list!

Martin
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Old 31st Dec 2016, 9:22 am   #5
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Default Re: Trying to identify early 70's UK Ford car radio

This appears to be the same radio. The date code is 04.79 there are the model no. Stickers though if that helps http://www.ebay.com/itm/European-Ori...dXxftd&vxp=mtr

Good luck

Graham
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Old 31st Dec 2016, 9:30 am   #6
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Default Re: Trying to identify early 70's UK Ford car radio

I'm not certain that it is a Blaupunkt. All their radios of which I know, including the Ford badged ones had silver coloured top & bottom covers. The early models used a 2 x round pin plug & socket for the speaker connections, changing to DIN sometime in the early 70s, whilst the supply lead was connected via an 0.25" 'lucar' terminal. I don't recall any Blaupunkt Radio having black top & bottom covers, and I was service engineer at a Blaupunkt Main dealer for over 23 years from 1971-95. The radio in the eBay link is definitely a Blaupunkt, dating from 1979 according to that code. All BP radios always had a white label on one side which included a part no. beginning 76xxxxxxxx, serial Number and model name/Number. That shown in the link above is a Ford badged version of a Hamburg.

Last edited by 'LIVEWIRE?'; 31st Dec 2016 at 9:34 am. Reason: To add more info.
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Old 31st Dec 2016, 9:39 am   #7
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Default Re: Trying to identify early 70's UK Ford car radio

What looks like a black top cover is an IBM Thinkpad!

The covers themselves are not visible in either picture.
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Old 31st Dec 2016, 12:12 pm   #8
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Default Re: Trying to identify early 70's UK Ford car radio

Correct, Chris. I should have gone to Specsavers! A further look at the photos convinces me that it is indeed a Ford Badged Blaupunkt Hamburg dating from the early 70s.
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Old 1st Jan 2017, 11:25 pm   #9
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Default Re: Trying to identify early 70's UK Ford car radio

Thank you all for your very helpful comments and info!

I'll look for further information on this Blaupunkt Hamburg model. Soon I will take the covers off it and see what sort of state it is in inside, then try a controlled switch-on and see what it does.

If anyone does know of any links to servicing manuals or schematics, it would be much appreciated!

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge.

NB: Radiocruncher/Graham - it does indeed look to be very similar to the one I have. I'll try and track some schematics down from the info the seller gives. Thanks!
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Old 4th Jan 2017, 8:51 am   #10
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Default Re: Trying to identify early 70's UK Ford car radio

This could be a Ford 'Motorcraft' unit. When I was repairing car audio equipment in the 1980's, I seem to remember that Ford had a plant in Mexico that produced electronics. Yes, they did also install re badged Blaupunkt units, especially in vehicles that were built in Germany.

Sorry, I can't help with any service info, but a picture of the inside could well nail the manufacturer.

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Old 6th Jan 2017, 2:02 pm   #11
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Default Re: Trying to identify early 70's UK Ford car radio

I have found the radio on the radiomuseum.org site:

http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/blaupun...r_7632525.html

The photos are sufficient to show that this appears to be the same unit (minus the 'Ford' badging). The number on the main PCB is the same as mine, and the component placement looks identical.
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Old 6th Jan 2017, 4:40 pm   #12
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Default Re: Trying to identify early 70's UK Ford car radio

Well spotted and they have the schematics!. Good result and good luck sorting yours.

Graham
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Old 7th Jan 2017, 8:45 pm   #13
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Default Re: Trying to identify early 70's UK Ford car radio

I'm pleased to see the Blaupunkt Hamburg radio seems to work fine. I fired it up for the first time on a bench power supply at 12V with a 100 mA current limit, just in case. That was enough to get a sense that things were OK. An 8 Ohm speaker and a makeshift aerial and I was in business. It sounds very good!

I am now trying to clean it up, and in doing so I've found a couple of tricky points. If anyone can advise me with the following, I'd be grateful!

* How do you (safely) get the volume and tuning knobs off? =D It seems like it should be easy, but things don't seem to want to yield to pulling... I don't want to pull too hard and break something. There are no visible grub screws or anything.

* How do you get to the backlight bulb behind the tuning display? I can 'almost' get to the bulb by undoing the front panel screws, but I'm missing something. One edge of the panel that needs to come off comes away, but it looks like the tuning indicator obstructs it...

* Also will likely need a source for a new bulb, if anyone knows of anywhere...

Thanks again all. It's good to be able to report some progress!
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Old 8th Jan 2017, 2:07 am   #14
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Default Re: Trying to identify early 70's UK Ford car radio

On the contemporary Plessey-manufactured Ford radios, you just have to pull the knobs off. Mine were certainly difficult to remove for the first time in 30+ years when I checked the fixing nut screw thread size last month in connection with a query in another tread. The knobs are fitted onto shafts that have milled flats and are held in place by friction using spring clips where the metal of the clips bears on the milled flats. Levering off using a pair of screwdrivers on opposite sides may work. I suspect the Blaupunkt models would use a similar arrangement.
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Old 8th Jan 2017, 10:01 am   #15
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Default Re: Trying to identify early 70's UK Ford car radio

The Volume & Tuning Knobs on all Blaupunkt Radios of that era imply pull off. Some have metal spring clips around the inner shaft of the knob, but later ones were simply made of a hard plastic. The 'D' shaped inner part of these, which fits over the spindle in the radio, can sometimes break. As to the indicator bulb, you first need to remove the fascia, unclip the scale by gently levering from the top centre (if a chromed 'dial case' is present, pull this off first), then, with the pointer turned fully, IIRC, to the left, the black backplate can be removed by gently prising it out from the RH side, after which the bulb can be removed by twisting and pulling it outwards. It's an SBC or similar type rated 12/14v @ 100mA or similar. The later bulbs were green, but a clear glass one will suffice.
I may have a couple of suitable bulbs. If so I can send you one for £1 if you PM me your address, and may also have a diagram somewhere(if I can find it!) which shows how to dissasemble & reassemble the scale/lightbox. Like most things it's easy when you know how!
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Old 11th Jan 2017, 10:58 pm   #16
swulf70
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Default Re: Trying to identify early 70's UK Ford car radio

Dear Livewire,

Thank you for the info and the offer of bulbs. I think I have found them on eBay

Just have to get the old one out without breaking things!

Thanks again.
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Old 15th Jan 2017, 5:20 am   #17
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Default Re: Trying to identify early 70's UK Ford car radio

Does anyone know how to set up the station presets? It appears that you can deliberately pull each selector button out much further than normal - and it seems to serve some purpose - I wonder if it is related to setting the presets, and if so, how do you do it?

Cheers all!
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Old 15th Jan 2017, 9:37 am   #18
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Default Re: Trying to identify early 70's UK Ford car radio

The procedure for setting the preset stations on these radios was to tune to the station, pull the selector button out then push it back in. To check it has preset correctly, tune away from the station then press the selector button, it should return to the preset station.

Keith
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Old 15th Jan 2017, 10:16 am   #19
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Default Re: Trying to identify early 70's UK Ford car radio

Those are the correct type bulbs,swulf70. If you carefully follow my description of how to remove the fascia and backplate, you shouldn't have any trouble. Be aware especially of two things, (a) that plastic pointer is fragile, and (b) the bulb is fiddly to remove. This is best accomplished with a piece of (plastic or rubber)tubing which is a tight fit over the bulb, which is then removed by twisting gently so that the 'ears' on the bulb's body clear the slots in which they fit, then pulling the bulb out. Fitting the new one is, as they say in all the best instructions( I haven't found the diagrams yet!), the reverse of the above procedure. Regarding the push-button tuner, almost all car radios, prior to the introduction of digitally tuned ones in the late 1980s, worked in the same way. The mechanism may be a little stiff if the presets haven't been altered for sdome years. If neccesary, clean & relubricate, with a light grease, the various mechanical parts, but do not get any grease or oil into the clutch mechanism, which is behind the tuning spindle, and do not dismantle any part of the push-button mechanism. They are fiendishly difficult to reassemble correctly (Guess how I learned thar!)
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Old 15th Jan 2017, 5:51 pm   #20
swulf70
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Default Re: Trying to identify early 70's UK Ford car radio

Thanks Livewire and Keith - very helpful!

Following what Livewire said, I did get the bulb out without damage. It turns out that just using the tuning knob wouldn't get the station indicator far enough to the left of the dial to allow the fascia to be popped all the way out cleanly. However, I was able to manually push the tuning linkage so that it would go further than the tuning dial wanted it to go and that worked. Success!

Another weird thing was that the 'two-pronged' speaker connector had one pin firmly jammed in the socket. Looking at photos of the connector from elsewhere on the web I couldn't see what on earth could be holding it in. One pin would appear to want to come out but the other would go so far and then stick. Net result was that the old speaker connector wasn't coming out. Finally I just convinced myself to apply force with a hefty screwdriver - lo and behold I forced the connector out and found that one pin had a bizarre notch about halfway down on one side. Can't imagine it was deliberately made that way (certainly no other photos of the connector I saw showed it), almost looked like someone had drilled it for some reason. The other pin was plain and smooth, this one had this strange feature. Anyway, it was this that had caught up in the female side of the speaker connector, and only decent force got it out. It does explain why the speaker wires were cut off about 6" from the unit!

Other things that may help future restorers:

* The (great) majority of self-tapping screws on the unit need a 5.5 mm hex driver
* The nuts on the rotary controls need a 14 mm spanner
* I was able to get really good results on cleaning the rotary knobs by using a product called 'Mother's Back-to-Black Restorer'. I don't know if it is available in the UK but it really made them look new. It's not a black dye, it looks like a white cream and it must penetrate the plastic somehow rather than colour it. Anyway, it gives a very good result.
* eBay is still a source for 'proper' Blaupunkt fascia bulbs (with the 'ears')
* Several German stores are online who sell 'correct' Blaupunkt speaker connectors with various lengths of cable.

I am currently working on stripping and respraying some of the fiddly sheet metal fascia components while waiting for bulbs, cables etc. to arrive. When I am done I hope to post a few more pictures to show how things went.
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