Hi Guys,
Well a while ago, I scored an Ebay cheapy National RX-C48 (15v - 3 piece Panny). The top of the amp casing had melt marks all over and the speaker grills had dents etc. After I got her working OK, I posted a mini restoration post here at Boomboxery then after an hour or so of blasting, the right hand woofer let go!
So where do I find a period/model correct woofer for the rare RX-C48? I didn't even bother looking for replacement parts so I was forced to park the old girl on the shelf. 
Fast forward to yesterday: The local council offers a once a year general refuse collection. It's my suburbs' turn today so almost every house has a huge pile of junk outside ready for collection. Whilst doing my mail run, I'm always on the look out for boomers (the only electrical items I normally see are CRTvs). So today, what do I see on the side of the road? The usual pile of broken up furniture, an old bath tub, a mower catcher, a busted bird cage and on top of the pile, a very dusty RX-C48! (I spotted the boomer going past at 60 kmh!)
View attachment 5350
View attachment 5351
So do a big u-turn and low and behold, I find a complete unit with original power cord. I was pretty busy at the time so I threw it in the back of my van and continued my run.
A few hours later, I get home and plug the RX into the mains to see what's what.
The bad news: The right channel is out on radio mode and there is no output on tape mode. Fair enough, I thought, they did throw it out for a reason.
The good news: The outer case of the speaker boxes and grills, plus the main component box are almost mint! The front panel, whilst not mint is also in much better condition than my other one. After plugging in the speakers into my old unit, I find I've now got a set of 100% working drivers.
So now I get to work cleaning up the speaker boxes removing the piece of rotten foam that was sitting in front of the woofers.
View attachment 5352
View attachment 5353
I then gutted the main unit which is extremely easy on a Panny and did the same to my original unit. I then gave the donor cabinet a warm bath to remove a tonne of bird feathers and other associated crap!
View attachment 5354
After re-installing my original guts into the new casing, I swapped over my original handle and antenna as they were in slightly better condition.
View attachment 5355
After a few adjustments etc, the RX is now a fully working unit minus the dented front panel, melt marks on top and dented speaker grills!
Cost of restoration = $0.00 - even I can afford this project!
And to think the Panny would have been in land fill within hours of my discovery.
You never know what you'll find on your travels with a wondering eye.
The finished result:
View attachment 5356
View attachment 5357
A healthy right woofer at last!!
View attachment 5358
View attachment 5359
View attachment 5360
View attachment 5361
James....
Well a while ago, I scored an Ebay cheapy National RX-C48 (15v - 3 piece Panny). The top of the amp casing had melt marks all over and the speaker grills had dents etc. After I got her working OK, I posted a mini restoration post here at Boomboxery then after an hour or so of blasting, the right hand woofer let go!
So where do I find a period/model correct woofer for the rare RX-C48? I didn't even bother looking for replacement parts so I was forced to park the old girl on the shelf. Fast forward to yesterday: The local council offers a once a year general refuse collection. It's my suburbs' turn today so almost every house has a huge pile of junk outside ready for collection. Whilst doing my mail run, I'm always on the look out for boomers (the only electrical items I normally see are CRTvs). So today, what do I see on the side of the road? The usual pile of broken up furniture, an old bath tub, a mower catcher, a busted bird cage and on top of the pile, a very dusty RX-C48! (I spotted the boomer going past at 60 kmh!)
View attachment 5350
View attachment 5351
So do a big u-turn and low and behold, I find a complete unit with original power cord. I was pretty busy at the time so I threw it in the back of my van and continued my run.
A few hours later, I get home and plug the RX into the mains to see what's what.
The bad news: The right channel is out on radio mode and there is no output on tape mode. Fair enough, I thought, they did throw it out for a reason.
The good news: The outer case of the speaker boxes and grills, plus the main component box are almost mint! The front panel, whilst not mint is also in much better condition than my other one. After plugging in the speakers into my old unit, I find I've now got a set of 100% working drivers.
So now I get to work cleaning up the speaker boxes removing the piece of rotten foam that was sitting in front of the woofers.
View attachment 5352
View attachment 5353
I then gutted the main unit which is extremely easy on a Panny and did the same to my original unit. I then gave the donor cabinet a warm bath to remove a tonne of bird feathers and other associated crap!
View attachment 5354
After re-installing my original guts into the new casing, I swapped over my original handle and antenna as they were in slightly better condition.
View attachment 5355
After a few adjustments etc, the RX is now a fully working unit minus the dented front panel, melt marks on top and dented speaker grills!
Cost of restoration = $0.00 - even I can afford this project!
And to think the Panny would have been in land fill within hours of my discovery.
You never know what you'll find on your travels with a wondering eye.
The finished result:
View attachment 5356
View attachment 5357
A healthy right woofer at last!!
View attachment 5358
View attachment 5359
View attachment 5360
View attachment 5361
James....
I love these machines and would, if it meant I'd also find one in someone's outthrowings, be on a boat to Australia tomorrow. Get the kettle on. 
