Radio, 1950 Champion

I am "new" at this and I need some advice. I "think" I have the correct radio for my 1950 2 door Champion. It's a STUDEBAKER PHILCO MODEL S- 5123 The knobs (Slide rule type..not a pushbutton) look like the bullet of the car. Is this the CORRECT radio and if so, HOW do you mount it. I have no mounting brackets, Could someone please describe them or give me an idea how it mounts to the firewall? How does it hook up electrically? Also, where/how/how can I get an antenna for this radio? Where does it go. Also, If someone can allow me to contact them (via email/phone) for future questions about this car, I would be most grateful. Thanks, Tom LaMartina, Lynchburg, VA

Tom LaMartina

[rockne10]

On the bottom of the bezel there are two holes just slightly inboard of the knobs. Two special screws go vertically to the bottom edge of the dash. Then there is a long bolt with an ell on the end; the ell fits through a small hole just under the cowl edge and the threaded part goes through a bracketed hole in the bottom rear of the radio and is cinched up with a wingnut.

A single power wire with inline fuse should come from the radio to the ignition switch. The antenna would be located on the top of the post between the drivers door and the left front fender. Any antenna will work but it would be nice to find something that appears like the original. There's always one for sale on ebay that claims to be original type.

These cars also had the option of an internally controlled (crank-up) antenna. If you can find a good one at a swap meet, it will set you back a couple hundred dollars. Installation of the crank-up antenna requires very precise positioning of the hole in the body.

Welcome to the Forum, Tom.


Brad Johnson
Pine Grove Mills, Pa.
33 Rockne 10
51 Commander Starlight
53 Commander Starlight

previously: 63 Cruiser, 62 Regal VI, 60 VI convertible, 50 LandCruiser

[Dwain G.]

Yes, that is the correct radio. Studebaker's accessory number is AC-2113. There are copies of the installation manuals available.

[img] http://home.comcast.net/~jdwain/53C.jpg [/img]
Dwain G.

[Roscomacaw]

Tom,

Just come back here with your questions!

Miscreant adrift in
the BerStuda Triangle!!

1957 Transtar 1/2ton
1960 Larkvertible V8
1958 Provincial wagon
1953 Commander coupe

[pyrodork]

A single power wire with inline fuse should come from the radio to the ignition switch.

okay, i'm currently kinda/sorta working on 2 radios. one for the stude, one for the plymouth. the stude radio i know isn't right for the year, but i got it cheap and i'm going to rebuild it and use it until i get the correct one. the one for the 37 plymouth is correct and it has a separate control unit from the radio itself; connected by some steel cables.

now onto the question... the stude radio has one wire. the plymouth radio has one wire coming from the radio (with a fuse holder end on it), and two wires from the controller box that go to the power/volume knob. both these wires have chopped ends. i assume one wire had the other end of the fuse holder on it, while the other one went to the power source. ACTUAL question is, while i'm still working on these radios and testing them, how do i connect them to a battery? would i get an extra wire to (+) ground it to the shell of the radio and use the (-) terminal for power? and i read on a different post to use a 10 amp fuse on the stude radio. is this correct? it just seems high. i was going to use a 3 or 5 amp on the plymouth radio.

extra fancy bonus question:
the plymouth radio has a weird antenna plug i've never seen before. it looks easy to rewire to a standard female antenna plug, but does anyone know what this type of plug is called or where i may find the male end? it has 2 bayonet pins and twists in. almost like a BNC plug.

thanks! nice to revive an old post!

[Bud]

The correct radios for your car would be a S4927, 4923 or 4924. The 49 series radios have a rectangular case where the 51 series radios have a slanted back to clear the windshield wiper linkage. Pyrodork, send me a PM with your email address and I'll help you with your radio questions. Bud

[Jeff_H]

On the Plymouth radio: I assume there is a mechanical cable from the volume knob on the control head that goes to the radio? Take your meter on ohms and check the continuity between those 2 wires with the on/off switch in each position. If they are shorted when in the ON and not when in the OFF, then your assumption about where they go seems on the mark. I am suprised they would have the switch in the control box like that and not just have the mechanical cable that turns the volume do it or is this not the normal setup where you turn the volume down low and then it clicks off?

A 10A fuse actually sounds a little small.... If its a 6 tube radio, probably about right though. The 8 tube radio will pull more current and may need a larger fuse.

I'd caution that if these radios have not been "restored" or otherwise used or gone through recently, they are not likely to work. Or, if they do work, not for very long. All the capacitors in them should be replaced with new/fresh parts. The vibrator modules are possibly stuck or have corroded points too. Replacements are available.

There are folks who regularly restore and refurb old car radios. Like anything else in the old car hobby, not cheap. Depends on what you want for your car.

[pyrodork]

ah, okay. my stude radio is for a 42-46, i think. well, i can fix it up and resell it.

for the plymouth radio, there's mechanical cables for the power/volume, tone, and tuning. in taking them apart yesterday, i saw the power switch is located in the controller unit. not sure if that's the volume too, but i'd assume so. there is more resistance when the cable is connected, so there's probably something on that end, too. the switch is definitely located in the controller, though. i found it weird that the tone knob is a 3-position switch and not a standard pot.

i've been dinking around (amateurly) with electronics for nearly my whole life. i've restored this and that before, so i don't think these radios would be a problem. the stude radio was untested when i bought it, but the plymouth radio had been tested without an antenna and works (although obviously got no reception). regardless, i'm replacing the caps.

so to reiterate and make sure i understand you (as i don't have much experience with meters), if it shorts (or beeps or whatever... i told you i don't have much experience with meters) when it's on, but it's fine when it's off, then those two wires go together? the guy i bought it from said he didn't think it made any difference which wire it connected to. i chose the wire based on the length of the remaining wire. i assumed the longer wire went to the power source and the wire that was almost as long as the mechanical cables was the one that connected to the radio.

but again, how do i connect this to a 6v battery to play with it before installing it in the car? i'm assuming the one wire goes to the negative, but wouldn't there need to be a ground wire coming from the positive to complete the circuit?

[royvaldez]

Bud is correct, but you can still use the radio you purchased.

[starlightchamp]

I'll try to post a graphic of the mounting. I have restored a half dozen of these radios. Gave them all away except
the one in my 50 Starlight and one in a friends car. All the above is good advice. The fuze is 10 amps for a six tube.
I measured a draw of six amps as typical. The tube heaters eat up most of this current. Don't fool around with the
innards if your not radio smart. The voltage on the tube plates is around +250 and can bite!!
Most of the time the vibrator is dead. You can replace with a solid state one for about $38. If you do have some
electronic experience, get a schematic on line and change out the electrolytic filter capacitors-they will be dried out.
I always also replace the coupling capacitors between stages.

[pyrodork]

i'm not really concerned about the 40's stude radio. the red dial indicator is missing anyway. i just want something that's functional to have more than dead air in the car, and that looks kinda fancy (i like chrome).

thanks for the mounting diagram! that's going to help a lot once i get -a- radio for the stude going!

where would i get the replacement vibrator if i need one? i go to antiqueelectronicssupply.com for my stuff now, but have never needed one of those before.

[Jeff_H]

so to reiterate and make sure i understand you (as i don't have much experience with meters), if it shorts (or beeps or whatever... i told you i don't have much experience with meters) when it's on, but it's fine when it's off, then those two wires go together? the guy i bought it from said he didn't think it made any difference which wire it connected to. i chose the wire based on the length of the remaining wire. i assumed the longer wire went to the power source and the wire that was almost as long as the mechanical cables was the one that connected to the radio.

but again, how do i connect this to a 6v battery to play with it before installing it in the car? i'm assuming the one wire goes to the negative, but wouldn't there need to be a ground wire coming from the positive to complete the circuit?

The idea was if the actual power switch is in the control head and not in the radio itself, then those 2 wires would either be shorted together inside the switch when its turned to the ON position and open circuit when in the OFF position. Your meter in ohms or continuity test mode will show that. If you can confirm that, then which wire goes to the radio vs to the car ign switch or battery is up to you most likely.

Yes on the battery connections. Connect the Positive + post of the battery to the radio chassis/frame and the negative goes to the power wire. This is if you know for a fact it was a positive ground vehicle. If there is a solid state replacement vibrator installed in either radio, its critical you get the polarity correct as it will be damaged otherwise. When installing one of those vibrators, there is a choice of + or - ground versions and someone may have converted the car and swapped the vibrator so check the markings on it. The mechanical vibrators don't care (at least the ones I am familiar with, not sure about that Plymouth).

[pyrodork]

i haven't tested the plymouth radio yet (still no battery... and who knows where my meter is), but i think that is correct... that it doesn't matter which wire goes to the power.

thanks!

[starlightchamp]

Pyrodock,
Radio vibrators here. Be sure to get proper polarity ground. 6 volt.positive ground vibrator for early 50's cars.

http://www.radiosforoldcars.com/whoF.htm

[pyrodork]

great! thanks!