TIL my grandma's old vacuum tube radio wasn't broken - I was plugging it in wrong

Found my grandma's 1954 Philco radio in the attic last spring and spent two weekends trying to get it to work. Turns out those old radios have a polarized plug situation where one prong is wider than the other, and I had been forcing it in backward on the original outlet. A guy at the local electronics shop showed me how to check the wiring with a simple multimeter, and the thing fired right up after I flipped the plug. The chassis was hot enough to give you a real shock if you touched the metal case wrong, which surprised me since I'm used to modern grounded appliances. Has anyone else dealt with these old two-prong setups and the safety issues that come with them?

2 comments

2 Comments

tarab5416d ago

Great, so grandma's radio was basically a death trap with tubes. Nothing says "family heirloom" like a chassis that wants to give you a free haircut upgrade. I'm all for vintage stuff but that whole hot chassis thing is wild. My grandpa had a TV from the 60s that would bite you if you touched the antenna and the metal trim at the same time. We called it "the tickler" and just learned to keep one hand in our pocket.

dylan_green5816d ago

Wait so did your grandpa ever actually get zapped by that thing or did everyone just know to avoid it? Ngl Ive heard stories about old TVs being dangerous but calling it "the tickler" is next level. My buddy had a radio from the 30s that would light up your finger if you touched the ground and the chassis at the same time. We just put tape over the screw holes and called it a day. Makes you wonder how many people back then actually got hurt vs. just learned to keep their hands to themselves.