Vesta Vixen

The Vesta Vixen Mk. 8, 2 Band + Bandspread, 8 transistor radio (Empire made 1960) This radio differs from other 'clock dial' radios by the fact a wheel on the top turns the fingers on the dial and it also has a band just for Radio Luxembourg & early pirates. It needed a new loudspeaker, little is known about who made it, but Empire made usually meant it was made in Asia for a UK manufacturer cheaper than at home.

New speaker fitted - glued into place

The repair
It was dead with some cracks and corners chipped. I first photograph the insides and then stripped down the cabinet, removing the ear socket, loudspeaker and car aerial socket. Then the back and front can be examined for damage and cracks  glued if necessary, this prevents move damage as you repair it, remember to take lots of photos. Small cracks and chips I fill with Pebeo studio acrylics modeling paste, this shrinks as it dry's and a few coats may be needed. A chrome dial disk had gone missing, so I fitted a smiley face until a silver disc turns up :-) 

3 tiny screws held chassis in place (always take lots of photos, you may need them)

A power-up is now needed and the battery pack had it's corroded battery's removed and terminals cleaned with a modelers electric drill ,with polish tool attached (wire brush or stone cutter). When power was turned on, zero noise came from the speaker, so first thing I checked was the earphone socket ear piece speaker cut-off switch, these become tarnished over the years. That was OK, so next I checked the on-off switch, that was OK, next the loudspeaker, and that was found to be open circuit. I fitted a modern elliptical type because these a cheaply found on-line. The radio now sprung to life, now needing switch cleaner on the bandswitch to restore reception on all three bands. I was surprised at how sensitive this radio was and I suppose the 8 transistors help with the extra gain.

The eBay sales photo shows strap damage

Leather case repair
The carry case has dried out over the years making the leather brittle, the rear had a hole that I cut square to make it look more tidy and covered with tape. The carry strap had lost any strength and I removed it by cutting out the rivets at each end. A strap may turn up with time. Also inside I covered the rivets with tape to stop them scratching the radio cabinet sides. The company emblem was missing from the speaker grill so I covered the glue marks with a VHS tape label, lol (makes it look tidy again.

Print side showing wire positions & short tuning chord 

The earlier model of this radio was only 6 transistors and it's circuit diagram was inside back the cabinet, but sadly this model only has battery equivalents list label inside the back. The cabinet on my model was a cream colour, but other versions have a part red rear. The telescopic aerial serves no real purpose and the radio doesn't have short wave, perhaps other SW models were made for the Asian areas.

I hop my repair helps anybody thinking of bring another one of these back to life, it's worth the effort as it is a sensible size, good looker and battery's are easy to find ( 4 x 1.5 V)