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Klondike Mike Cap Kits

Robb

Honorary Member Silent Key
Dec 18, 2008
11,432
3,651
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Silicon Valley CA, Storm Lake IA
Was wondering if Klondike Mike still sells cap kits for the Realistic Navaho TRC-458, as they do not appear on his Ebay page.

Hey KM; I need a kit to restore this radio that started out on my bench as a parts radio, as it was a right mess. Got the rest of it working, but want to finish the job and let it roll for another four decades with fresh caps.

Nichicon caps?

This radio will be FORTY YEARS OLD this January.

BTW; what caps are upgraded to different values in this kit? Are there any rebuild tech tips/notes that you supply with it?
 
Last edited:

FWIW, for those about to give your 858 chassis radios a new start, I have dug up some xlnt sources:

http://unit399.wixsite.com/858ssb
Site contains a wealth of tips and mods from unit_399, a forum member here - along with a MOSFET final mod from ExitThirteen - also a forum member.

I used the 138XLR schematic to straighten out the final/driver in this TRC-458; then I installed a IRF-520 MOSFET final and a 2SC2166 driver. Also did the two mods to the mic audio circuit. Replacement of the mic jack to the standard 4-pin Cobra wiring is next, as replacement of the meter lights with LEDS too.

Two slightly different schematics that will help sort out this radio. The first is for the Cobra 138XLR, which has slight differences from the Navaho/858 chassis. The second is the Realistic TRC-449:

http://www.cbtricks.com/radios/cobra/138xlr/graphics/cobra138xlr_sch.pdf

http://www.cbtricks.com/radios/realistic/trc_449/graphics/realistic_trc_449_sm_sch.pdf
 
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I am not against a kit but I would rather source my own caps so I know they are fresh and real not fake. Most kits do not contain all of the lytics for the radio just most of them. You never know how old the caps are or if they are real. If people put a kit together they have to buy in bulk to get the price down. So how long are they sitting on those caps. If they get a good deal on surplus or NOS caps they likely will not turn it down where I will.

I compared two kits on Ebay and one online for my Lincoln Radio and neither kit had the same number of caps or the same value of caps. On top pf that when I physically opened up my radio and got out a flash light about 1/2 of the listed values in the kits did not match my units capacitor values in 100% of the instances the voltage and capacitance in the kits listed contents was lower than the voltage and or capacitance of the parts in my radio. I took both covers off and spent an hour writing them all down 3 times over to make sure I did not miss one of make a mistake. Their where a few I could not read.

On top of that when I looked at various other radio's I ran into much the same in some cases it varied by the board used in a model other times the year, again by location of the factory and some was just routine production variation based on what was on the market and price point I am sure.

So I am not sure I have a lot of faith in kits especially if I was going to send a unit out instead of doing it myself. I only like top tier capacitors in my gear. When I can make them fit I like to use 3000, 5000 or 10,000 hour caps and 105°C or better. Sometimes space limitations will not allow it you have to use a 85°C or 1000 hour cap but not if I can help it. How many shops or kits do you think are going to use top tier caps, fresh, better than 85°C and better than 1000 hour rated? Do not get me started on ripple current and leakage etc....I am an audio geek more than rf geek and to me capacitors are too important to just chance to a kit or to someone else. Their is nothing I hate more than having to do a job twice or having to send a radio or other toy back to a shop because parts or labor did not make it past the warranty period. On top of that I did not want any 6.3V, 10V or 16V caps in the radio if I could help it. By looking at each cap and in some tight spaces measuring the available space I knew exactly what I could get to fit.

CB radio's are usually so crude and so large you could fit caps the size of egg's on the board and still kick the lid closed! LOL I do not mean that in a bad way either just mean they are more tolerant space wise. That said the older radio's tend to have a lot more caps in them than modern designs especially when talking about leaded electrolytic.
 
I am not against a kit but I would rather source my own caps so I know they are fresh and real not fake. Most kits do not contain all of the lytics for the radio just most of them. You never know how old the caps are or if they are real. If people put a kit together they have to buy in bulk to get the price down. So how long are they sitting on those caps. If they get a good deal on surplus or NOS caps they likely will not turn it down where I will.

I compared two kits on Ebay and one online for my Lincoln Radio and neither kit had the same number of caps or the same value of caps. On top pf that when I physically opened up my radio and got out a flash light about 1/2 of the listed values in the kits did not match my units capacitor values in 100% of the instances the voltage and capacitance in the kits listed contents was lower than the voltage and or capacitance of the parts in my radio. I took both covers off and spent an hour writing them all down 3 times over to make sure I did not miss one of make a mistake. Their where a few I could not read.

On top of that when I looked at various other radio's I ran into much the same in some cases it varied by the board used in a model other times the year, again by location of the factory and some was just routine production variation based on what was on the market and price point I am sure.

So I am not sure I have a lot of faith in kits especially if I was going to send a unit out instead of doing it myself. I only like top tier capacitors in my gear. When I can make them fit I like to use 3000, 5000 or 10,000 hour caps and 105°C or better. Sometimes space limitations will not allow it you have to use a 85°C or 1000 hour cap but not if I can help it. How many shops or kits do you think are going to use top tier caps, fresh, better than 85°C and better than 1000 hour rated? Do not get me started on ripple current and leakage etc....I am an audio geek more than rf geek and to me capacitors are too important to just chance to a kit or to someone else. Their is nothing I hate more than having to do a job twice or having to send a radio or other toy back to a shop because parts or labor did not make it past the warranty period. On top of that I did not want any 6.3V, 10V or 16V caps in the radio if I could help it. By looking at each cap and in some tight spaces measuring the available space I knew exactly what I could get to fit.

CB radio's are usually so crude and so large you could fit caps the size of egg's on the board and still kick the lid closed! LOL I do not mean that in a bad way either just mean they are more tolerant space wise. That said the older radio's tend to have a lot more caps in them than modern designs especially when talking about leaded electrolytic.
Not a lick of truth in that ramble.
 
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klondike Mike's kits are legit.

they include ALL the electrolytics you need for your radio.
he upgrades a few values for you, and only the ones that are used purely for filtering DC from the power supply.

he has done his research and has gotten the advice from the best out there on what to put in his kits.

he uses only quality name brand caps. always.

people need to remember that the SAMS parts lists for radios are not the end all be all of what is inside your radio.

plenty of times the SAMS has a part listed as an electrolytic and the manufacturer decides to use a tantalum instead, or vice versa.

SAMS also has typos just like any other technical publication.

i have zero business interest in talking up Mike's kits, but i have been involved in helping him develop them along with others.

he doesn't sell a cap kit that he hasn't personally used to re-cap a radio.

that joker from Canada uses the cheapest chinese junk he can find and i would never recommend buying from him.
LC
 
FWIW, for those about to give your 858 chassis radios a new start, I have dug up some xlnt sources:

http://unit399.wixsite.com/858ssb
Site contains a wealth of tips and mods from unit_399, a forum member here - along with a MOSFET final mod from ExitThirteen - also a forum member.

I used the 138XLR schematic to straighten out the final/driver in this TRC-458; then I installed a IRF-520 MOSFET final and a 2SC2166 driver. Also did the two mods to the mic audio circuit. Replacement of the mic jack to the standard 4-pin Cobra wiring is next, as replacement of the meter lights with LEDS too.

Two slightly different schematics that will help sort out this radio. The first is for the Cobra 138XLR, which has slight differences from the Navaho/858 chassis. The second is the Realistic TRC-449:

http://www.cbtricks.com/radios/cobra/138xlr/graphics/cobra138xlr_sch.pdf

http://www.cbtricks.com/radios/realistic/trc_449/graphics/realistic_trc_449_sm_sch.pdf

It's winter (especially where he's at), so he may have gone into hibernation by now. ;)
I'm thinking about buying a kit for my old 139XLR base. I just love that rig, and plan on hanging onto it. Seems like Klondike Mike pops in here fairly often, so hopefully you'll hear from him soon. You might try his YouTube site, too? Seems like a really good guy, and I sure enjoy his videos.

73,
Brett
 
Got your order Robb, thanks. It will be shipped out tomorrow. All caps are from tier 1 manufacturers and all are over the 25v rating.
Xlnt.

I got this radio as a parts radio. The PLL was blown, due to someone doing the channel mod and screwing it up. Luckily, the same guy who gave me this radio had another chassis for me to work with and scavenge parts from. Picked the best xtals from between the two radios, and got all of the oscillators firing on all cylinders. Freq alignment is very good now. Traded radio work to get this radio in the first place to make it a pet project for this forum.
Thanks, Richard!

Going to paint the case cover with satin black, after I remove the old paint with paint remover. The cover looks pretty bad ATM.

I'll post some finished radio pictures next week when I get it all done for those who are interested.
 
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