An old Becker Grand Prix

[watson2]

Hi guys. I need your help, please.
My radio is the one you can see in the first picture. I studied the Radio and antenna section of the manual but I did not find any radio with the same characteristics. It's a very heavy couple of units , probably coming 'aftermarket' in the first days of life of the car (feb-1964). It's a very old unit because it contains things that in italian we call 'valvole' a sort of cylindric bulbs that literally translated sounds as 'valves'. The speaker is ok, but the the smaller separate unit that could be an amplifier emits a continuous noise (someone told that's a relais).
I ask to you if  anyone has the electrical scheme or knows where to find it . I would like to take that radio on my 230.
Thank you in advance.

[enochbell]

Watson,

This is not an aftermarket Becker.  You have the same Grand Prix that was supplied with very early 230SLs, and yes, the separate unit is an amplifier.  You can source the tubes if you want to rebuild and this is actually quite simple.  The amplifier needs a good contact with the antenna (yes, the antenna) and that may be the cause of a buzz if you are having trouble.  Hope that helps.

g

[Jowe]

More info about this radio: http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/becker_grand_prix_tg.html

[Pawel66]

This may be handy: https://www.koenigs-klassik-radios.de/en/

[watson2]

Watson,

This is not an aftermarket Becker.  You have the same Grand Prix that was supplied with very early 230SLs, and yes, the separate unit is an amplifier.  You can source the tubes if you want to rebuild and this is actually quite simple.  The amplifier needs a good contact with the antenna (yes, the antenna) and that may be the cause of a buzz if you are having trouble.  Hope that helps.

g

Thank you enochbell. So the right word in English is tube and not valve. I thought at aftermarket because it seemed to me that in the data card there was no mention about the radio.
I submit it to you so that you can see and possibly indicate the data of the radio.
The good contact with the antenna must be obtained with its shield or its signal? Have you suggestions about how to build this contact?

Thank you to Pavel and Jowe too. Great links!

[mbpaul]

In English English, they are valves.  In American English, they are tubes.

[114015]

Dear Flavio,

Very nice shot you made there.
As the other mentioned, this will be a perfect original Becker Grand Prix TG (tube type or valve type radio) absolutely correct for your February  1964 230 SL
Surely your car came without this radio since you are missing option code 51/6 on your data card.

See here:
It's all there on our homepage:

https://www.sl113.org/wiki/DataCard/Start

https://www.sl113.org/wiki/DataCard/OptionCodes

Please make your key codes invisible/uneadablefor the public here on our homepage.


BTW,
this is what your radio will look like in your car.
As the others already mentioned:
absolutely period correct factory-ordered radio.
Only, that it did not come with your car when new.

Best,

Achim
('64 230 with non-factory aftermarket Becker Europa II stereo)

[watson2]

@enochbell  : you could help me a lot if you could give details about the connection between amplifier and antenna,

When I have spoken  to my technician about this matter and your "yes, the antenna" he didn't understand and he is couriuos to know the details I asked to you.
 
Thank you, Achim. Changes done.

[scoot]

That is a very special radio.  I have a working one that sits on a shelf with the other radios. 

I believe there to be more to rebuilding than just testing and replacing the tubes.  The paper capacitors fail after many years.  I do not know how to replace those.

Often Becker radios will have a schematic inside the radio cover itself.  Stuck to the lid of the radio and/or amplifier.  It's a small folded-up schematic -- if nothing else it should identify what the correct tubes are for the amplifier.

[mdsalemi]

In addition to Koenig's, in the USA there is Becker Autosound. Great people, used to run the service department of Becker before they decided they didn't want a service department, merged with Harmon, and now they are Samsung I think.

Anyway, Ed Ebel will happily talk to you about this radio and I'm sure repairs are in their wheelhouse. http://beckerautosound.com

[watson2]

Thank you Scott and thank you Michael.
Yes , my technician spoke to me about the possibility to find the schematic inside the radio, but unfortunately we didn't find it.
But we found that on Radiomuseum.org , so as many information about the components.
I will inform you as soon as possible about the repair and any development.

[watson2]

hello guys. Here I am again. The radio is already in use !!!
Nothing was broken. Just false contacts. A little quantity of contact cleaner , 2 or 3 condensers changed for precaution and it's Ok.

There are 5-10 seconds of delay before you can hear any sound when you switch on the radio, while the valves are warming up.
It has FM frequency ( even later radios had not FM) and , unbelievable, an automatic search of frequency .
Simply pushing the upper central bar the radio starts searching. When it reaches the right end of the serigraphy , then it returns back  to left. A beautiful hardware for that years. Affecting ...
If someone needs , I have the schematics. I will be glad to share. 

We have only a doubt: we (the technician and me) didn't hear anything coming from the radio. But the young daughter of the technician that was passing by, said that there was a buzz coming out of the amplifier of the radio.
Enochbell could tell us if the buzz is the one he was speaking about.