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Success Stories If you have successfully repaired or restored a piece of equipment, why not write up what you did and post details here. Particularly if it was interesting, unusual or challenging. PLEASE DO NOT POST REQUESTS FOR HELP HERE!

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Old 10th Mar 2022, 3:03 pm   #1
llama
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Default Tesco RAD-108

OK not vintage (but the stations it gets can be!) but these inexpensive little sets have had a fair bit of discussion so this repair might be of interest to anyone else who snapped one up. Have I remembered right that there are different versions but using the same designation? Mine seems to have two additional designations: SC522389 and 170731.

Mine got dropped onto a quarry-tile floor from a height much less than a metre. Switching it back on produced signals but at constant near-maximum volume. Where there's life there's hope.

To open the set there are two screws at the bottom on the back and one on the back under the flap. I removed the one sitting under the telescopic aerial on the back - I shouldn't have but correcting my mistake was easy enough. The back lifts up from the bottom with a little prising around the earphone/power sockets and unsnaps at the top.

The main PCB is good quality heavy gauge SRBP and it's held in by two little screws near the ferrite rod aerial. Also two latching black plastic lugs near the bottom - again, easy enough to free up. The 2 slide switches some away with the main PCB, which helps. The volume control is mounted on another scrap of thick SRBP and its contacts with the main board are simply solder blobs. These had torn the PCB pads off the volume control proper. There was also evidence of hot-melt glue - presumably to hold the little PCB prior to the blob soldering.

With the little PCB out I drilled a hole - smaller than 3mm - in an area of the main board where there was plenty of body. I took 3 strands out of a CAT-5 patch-cord and found they passed through fairly easily. So these replaced the previous solder-blob connections. I didn't bother with any holt-melt glue because the little PCB is located well enough without. A quick check proved the set now worked.

The main PCB went back into the case easily enough. I spotted a little flat spring tag and saw it should be under the telescopic aerial. So I lined it up and used the screw I erroneously took out to reassembe this part. I re-tensioned the flat spring to make sure it pressed onto the main board properly when reassembled. The top of the back needs locating first and then it folds down into its correct position with a little wiggling of the earphone/power socket. The battery cover has sufficient flexibility to refit with care. The 3 long screws are the same so fitting those completes the reassembly.
Graham
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Last edited by llama; 10th Mar 2022 at 3:07 pm. Reason: typos
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Old 5th Apr 2022, 12:42 pm   #2
Hybrid tellies
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Default Re: Tesco RAD-108

That’s a nice repair and write up. They did work rather well for the price you paid for them.
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