Have I fried my Roberts radio
Discussion
I got myself an old Roberts revival 550'off eBay. To be fair to the bloke selling it to me he wrote on a post it note, make sure you use the right adapter withy it and that it has a negative polarity.
I didn't see this until too late, and tried a 9v adapter I that powers a more modern Roberts radio I also have.
Turns out that that adapter isn't the right polarity. The radio didn't turn on but when you turned the volume button you could hear a sort of pulsing from the speaker .
Have I fried my new radio after five minutes of owner ship? I'm going to pop out at lunch and get a big pp9 battery to see if that works as well. But I'm a bit worried I've buggered it now. Is it likely I could get away with it?
I didn't see this until too late, and tried a 9v adapter I that powers a more modern Roberts radio I also have.
Turns out that that adapter isn't the right polarity. The radio didn't turn on but when you turned the volume button you could hear a sort of pulsing from the speaker .
Have I fried my new radio after five minutes of owner ship? I'm going to pop out at lunch and get a big pp9 battery to see if that works as well. But I'm a bit worried I've buggered it now. Is it likely I could get away with it?
Possibly a similar thing here ...
We bought a new Roberts Solar DAB radio and, a few years later and long out of warranty, it started behaving weirdly. When it was switched on there'd simply be a repeated 'snap' sound coming from the speaker and the display would flash in time with it. We forgot about it but I had another look a few days ago and now the display simply lights up when the power is attached, but there's no noise and no information on the display. It's always been used with the adapter provided when it needed external power and it's only ever had the original batteries in.
We bought a new Roberts Solar DAB radio and, a few years later and long out of warranty, it started behaving weirdly. When it was switched on there'd simply be a repeated 'snap' sound coming from the speaker and the display would flash in time with it. We forgot about it but I had another look a few days ago and now the display simply lights up when the power is attached, but there's no noise and no information on the display. It's always been used with the adapter provided when it needed external power and it's only ever had the original batteries in.
If you're lucky the makers will have put a reverse polarity diode in the circuit. Trouble is series diodes drop the input voltage so if it's already marginal, they may leave it out. If you have cooked it, the damage might be limited to the first few components in the supply line, but you need a good analogue electronic bod to sort it.
just purchased a pp9 battery from screwfix for 5 quid and the radio fired up. I was a bit worried I had knackered it earlier but I think ill stay with the batteries now.
they are nice old things Roberts radios aren't they. this one is a bit battle scarred but im sure it has a few more years of radio four left in it yet..
thanks all.
they are nice old things Roberts radios aren't they. this one is a bit battle scarred but im sure it has a few more years of radio four left in it yet..
thanks all.
princeperch said:
they are nice old things Roberts radios aren't they. this one is a bit battle scarred but im sure it has a few more years of radio four left in it yet..
My family had 4-5 of them, proper radios that weigh a ton, sound good and last forever. And now you see so-called 'Roberts' horrible plastic tiny DAB things, such a pity.Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff