She's Alive!

[CDB]

Was the Tucker a "positive ground" vehicle? The gentleman working on my Tucker radio needs to know if it was positive ground? Please advise. Charles

[plancor 792]

Yes, the Tucker was positive ground. However I have seen some that were changed to negative ground.
Richard

[CDB]

Earlier this year I purchased a Tucker Radio that was never installed in a car. Today my electronics man called me with the radio playing in the background after 62 years of silence. However I do not have the two cables to control the radio from the head. If anyone has these cables for sale please advise! Charles

[Tucker Fan 48]

Hey Charles,

Congrats on getting it going. Send me a PM with your contact info on it (e-mail, phone,
bank account number...ok just kidding about the last one). If you are not in a huge hurry
I may be able to hook you up with some cables. I'm not sure what my schedule will be like
for the next few weeks and I'll have to do some looking.

[plancor 792]

Tucker, positive or negative ground? This question was answered by Plancor 792 who told you it was positive ground. 2 days later your electronics man told you he had it playing. Any thanks for the one who told you it was positive ground? Shoot no.

[CDB]

I do deeply appreciate all the advise given on this site and all the expertise represented herein. I do give and offer thanks for same. This is why I am a Tucker Club member. I have no intention of slighting anyone in this wonderful club. I probably will never own a Tucker, but I do own a Tucker radio, and I will exhibit it proudly in our local museum and play same. In so doing I will honor the car and the members of this club and hopefully teach younger generations to do the same. Charles

[Tucker Fan 48]

Tucker, positive or negative ground? This question was answered by Plancor 792 who told you it was positive ground. 2 days later your electronics man told you he had it playing. Any thanks for the one who told you it was positive ground? Shoot no. Things like this are reasons why I hesitate to dig into my information to give replies. I have addressed this issue in the past. This of course is not the first time things like this have happened. Now if I can just dig out those two cables you need I will sell them to you for $10,000.00 each plus shipping and handling of course. .

Richard

Richard,

It sounds like we need to give you a big Tucker hug !!!! I know everyone here appreciates all the information
that you share. Without you and a few of your good Tucker friends there would be no TACA. I'm very proud to be
a member and enjoy all the little tidbits I learn about the cars and the owners. If someday I have just a fraction
of your knowledge about these wonderful cars I'll be happy to pass it along to younger generations so that they
can appreciate the car like we do.

The car and the club are really worth nothing if we don't share our knowledge. In a few years it would just be
known as some weird car with an extra headlight. Also it would become much easier for people to pass off fake
cars as real because no one will be able to prove where all the parts went. No one has touched more cars than
you have and no one ever will. There is no substitute for that kind of knowledge. Your knowledge is so valuable
that I do hope you'll continue to share it with us younger old guys that really do love the car.

Hopefully someday I'll get to meet you, sit down, and pick your brain. In the meantime Thank You !

[589]

A quick way to tell how a vehicle is grounded is to check the polarity of the ignition coil, whatever polarity the post is which goes to the points is the same as the charging system's ground. But that assumes: the coil is either original or had been replaced and properly reinstalled. And you know what they say about assuming.

Hopefully the radio repairman changed out all the capacitors and replaced the original wax ones with modern equivalents...same thing goes for the vibrator, there's a solid state replacement for this which gives a far more reliable radio and is quieter as well (something the purists may not appreciate)

[CDB]

My repairman has now returned my Tucker radio to me after final repairs. Special thanks goes to Richard (Plancor 792) and to Tucker Fan 48-without their help this project to restore a Tucker radio would have been impossible. So what final form do you place the radio in that has never been in a Tucker and you want to display it in a portable form? Here is the answer. My repairman made a wooden box placing the speaker and the "guts" of a 6 volt battery charger inside the box. He then mounted the radio proper to it at one end and the Tucker head or controls at the other end. He then mounted an antenna to the box capable of being unscrewed and clamped down to the face of the box when in transport, and he also installed a carrying strap to the side of the box. So now I have the first "portable" Tucker radio (however I still must plug it into the wall). Pictures to follow in the next post. Charles

[CDB]

Here is the portable Tucker Radio.

[CDB]

Here is a fourth and final picture.

[Natalie]

My repairman has now returned my Tucker radio to me after final repairs. Special thanks goes to Richard (Plancor 792) and to Tucker Fan 48-without their help this project to restore a Tucker radio would have been impossible. So what final form do you place the radio in that has never been in a Tucker and you want to display it in a portable form? Here is the answer. My repairman made a wooden box placing the speaker and the "guts" of a 6 volt battery charger inside the box. He then mounted the radio proper to it at one end and the Tucker head or controls at the other end. He then mounted an antenna to the box capable of being unscrewed and clamped down to the face of the box when in transport, and he also installed a carrying strap to the side of the box. So now I have the first "portable" Tucker radio (however I still must plug it into the wall). Pictures to follow in the next post. Charles

Congrats, Charles. Very creative. Two words for you, though: surge protector

Enjoy it!

[cicero]

I wouldn't run it using a battery charger as the power supply. Battery chargers usually have little or no filtering on the output so the DC voltage will have a lot of ripple or will be pulsed DC. Not a good thing for the vibrator or the tubes. Get a proper linear or switching power supply.

[CDB]

Thanks to Natalie and Cicero for your helpful posts. Charles

[TuckerCar]

I think to get the full effect we need a photo of you with it hanging from your shoulder.