Fake Blaupunkt Stuttgart radio

[SplitBusVanatic]

Anyone ever seen one of these.
Not mine.
Spotted on uk splitbus FB page.

Thought it was cool.
Wouldn’t mind trying one for my ‘66.
I can’t afford the real thing just yet.

[pyrOman]

That's pretty trick!
_________________
Some people are so busy being clever they don't have time enough to be wise.

[EverettB]

Nope but that is cool!
_________________
How to Post Photos
Everett Barnes - [email protected] | My wanted ads
"Water is the only drink for a wise man" | "Communication prevents complaints"
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[EmpiGT]

Did someone build that? The parts seem to have rust pits and looks aged? Pretty cool!

[cru62]

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2304350

Nice guy. Very responsive and willing to do modifications. I didn’t buy one. Yet.
_________________
"My biggest worry is that when I die, my wife will sell all my parts for what I told her I paid for them"-Jon

Jokes about German sausage are the wurst.

Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[hitest]

If you look up "retro car radio" on amazon there are many iterations of that low-power, digital head unit. Too small for this old man's opinion. But it sure look like one that has been creatively refaced using a classic deck unit. Very cool.
_________________

[teahead]

[cru62]

^^^^ That’s the same guy in Thailand.
_________________
"My biggest worry is that when I die, my wife will sell all my parts for what I told her I paid for them"-Jon

Jokes about German sausage are the wurst.

Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[sgellis]

[MrPolak]

[BarryL]

[SplitBusVanatic]

That’s cool.

[SplitBusVanatic]

Following on from the fake blaupunkt I picked this from a seller in Germany.
Delivered to my door for a total of €46.
I don’t know if it works. And I don’t know even how to test it.
Can anyone tell me how to test it ?
It says it can be 6v or 12v.
My bus is now 12v.
I don’t see a tab to pull out and flip and re insert like you’d see on other blaupunkt radios.
The black six pin plug has hirschmann written on it.

I’m guessing it’s a Frankfurt ‘K’ radio.

Any help would be appreciated.
-Dan.

[mdege]

It looks like you have just the head unit. The cable with the Hirschmann plug goes to a second unit which includes the amplifier and the power supply.

The radio as such has a select-able input voltage 6/12 V.
_________________
- Michael

1965 21F: Restoration of a former '65 firetruck
1963 Typ3 Notchback project
1988 Multivan Magnum 112i
1984 Standard: My son wanted a bug for his first car

[SplitBusVanatic]

Thanks for your reply Michael.
Is it possible to test or even use this without the second unit. ?
I’ve seen these on the internet surely.

Can you tell how to switch or ensure it is setup for 12v ?
- Dan.

[Who.Me?]

I have a broken 1950s Blaupunkt Frankfurt that I may try to restore in future.

The head unit operates at high voltage.

As Michael says, you're missing a vital component. The missing unit (a combination powerpack and amplifier) generates the high voltage from the battery via a transformer. It connects to the head unit via that multi-pin plug on the braided yellow wire.

The switching for 12V or 6V input is done within the missing unit. It outputs high voltage to the head unit.

...

A transformer needs a moving magnetic field to operate. The magnetic field 'moves' by 'growing' and 'shrinking' (increasing and decreasing in strength). The magnetic field is created by current (moving charge - in this case, electrons). As they start to move, they greate a magnetic field that 'grows' until it reaches a peak. When they stop moving, the field collapses or 'shrinks'.

Imagine 'waves' or ripples of magnetism radiating from the wire like ripples on a pond when you throw a stone in.

The expanding/collapsing magnetic field can be achieved by supplying alternating current (AC) to the transformer, where the current moves, stops, reverses, moves, stops, reverses etc. and each time it moves and stops the magnetic field grows or collapses.

In a car though, you have direct current (DC) from the battery.

DC current can be made to 'move' by just switching it on/off/on/off etc., so the current moves and stops, moves and stops and the magnetic field grows and shrinks, grows and shrinks etc.

The missing unit contains a plug-in component called a 'Vibrator' (Zerhacker or 'chopper' in German) that is an electromechanical vibrating switch. It rapidly switches the DC on and off. It's about the size of a D-cell battery and has some pins on the bottom where it plugs in to the circuit board. It's combined with a component called 'rectifier' that contains capacitors which stores electrons (charge) when the switch is on, and dumps them in to the circuit (moving electrons - current) when the switch is off. That fills in the gaps in the output from the transformer when the switch is closed.

To change the input voltage, you have to rearrange some wiring AND replace the vibrator in the missing unit with one for 12V or 6V. I've yet to find the correct 12V vibrator for my power pack, so I bought a solid-state vibrator alternative that does the same job, but it will need to be hard-wired in (you can open a dead vibrator and wire them inside). http://royalsignals.org.uk/vibs/

So, you need the missing power pack / amplifier unit, a vibrator with the correct voltage, a bit of soldering to rearrange some wiring in the power pack /amplifier. Then you will probably need to replace most of the capacitors, including all the electrolytic ones in both the power pack and head unit. I think the resistors need replacing too because they're paper-wrapped units that degrade with time and possibly some of the valves if they've blown.

Hence why mine is still in a box in the loft.
_________________
Andy


Looking for info on my truck's history. Are you from Campbell California or nearby. Do you recognise it? ... http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=636786

[SplitBusVanatic]

What a brilliant, informative reply.
That is EXACTLY the information I needed.
Thank you so much Andy.

So. The hunt is on first of all, for a working 12 volt amp/powerpack that will suit this six pin plug.

Does anyone know of a chrome trim that would suit this radio. ?

Also knobs. Ivory or gray/grey/Grau ?

If I can’t get it working for less than the cost of a replacement old working blaupunkt, it will serve as a nice dash filler for the time being.

Thanks again fellas.
-Dan.

[SplitBusVanatic]

I found the Thai fake blaupunkt radio on YouTube.
Looks pretty cool.



Link

[SplitBusVanatic]

So I bought another cheap radio with amplifier/power pack to see could I get one radio working at least from the two.
I got caught in a German ebay vortex. What can I say.
Anyway.
Question.

Is this the correct way to have the voltage selector to use 12volt ?
Photos are of outside on the amplifier/power pack.
And last photo is inside the main chassis of the radio.

Can I now wire this to a 12volt battery on the bench to test this radio.

[SplitBusVanatic]

So I managed to get it working..
Who Hoo. Thanks to Rich Oakley for some guidance.
Basically with this model, the tabs need to actually show the voltage.
So if you change over the plastic tabs to reveal ‘12’ then that’s it set to 12volts.
In the photos above it is set to 6 volts.

So i set them them both to 12 and played around with the radio on the bench.
With a 12 volt golf buggy type battery fully charged.
And a cheap Chinese antenna.
I tuned in to FM and is playing away here on all stations for the last 90 minutes.

To say I’m delighted is an understatement.

Now the goal is to see if I can get this power pack mated up to the €46 older Stuttgart.