Terry's Eton E1 Not Aging Well and Showing That I Does Not Deserve Classic Status

 

Terry responds to the question: Is the Eton E1 a classic?

Mine aren't aging well. The once-pleasant rubberized coating turns to grime and the displays generate enough noise to interfere with your AM (LW, MW and SW) listening.

My response to a Yahoo Groups post about an E1 developing a buzz that could even be heard by other radios:

Both of my E1s now do the same thing, with one buzzing more strongly than the other. I noticed it while listening to the radio and trying to rub the sticky grime of the casing. Other radios buzz if they're placed next to the E1.

The buzzing is at least related to the unfortunate choice of display screens. Perhaps its a worsening of the condition which made using a ferrite antenna impossible.

When listening to the radio with the whip extended, I hear the buzzing. If I collapse the whip fully, it decreases. If I put my hand near the display, the buzzing increases. If I lay my hand on the display, it buzzes like mad.

If I switch to the external antenna jack, the buzzing disappears on one radio while greatly decreasing on the other.

I noticed the same behavior whether using batteries or using the AC adapter, though both the adapters added some mains hum as well.

Apparently, some component is failing in both radios and the RF interference generated by the display screen has been greatly increased, far worse in one radio than the other. Perhaps figuring out some additional component shielding inside the radio would be a temporary fix of moderate difficulty, though it doesn't address the actual problem.

Any ideas or can anyone else confirm this on their radio?

Between the nasty grime and the increased display buzzing, the E1s are not aging well. 

 

Comments

[Ed S.]

You're really a good wife, Joan. As much as my wife cares for me, I really doubt she will be looking after my radios after I'm gone!

[Romboid]

Eton E10, same thing. The degeneration was almost sudden in that, only after storing it for couple of years did it turn this way. Incredible fail on Eton's party!

[Sean]

Dear Terry and all else,
After successfully finding a good solution to this issue specifically with the Eton E1 and E1XM, I am now going to put myself on a limb and say that for those not brave enough to tackle the issue on their own E1 radios, I may be able to help them (E1 and E1XM only for now). I have decided to offer this as a service to folks outside my circle of friends now. Because it takes anyplace from 4-5 hours to thoroughly remove the coating from these radios I am looking at charging $100 plus shipping. I know that sounds like a lot for a radio someone already spent a bunch of money on but these are great radios and I have heard from some people that they just find them totally unusable as they continue to get more and more gummy with age. Removing the gummy surface coating is not easy, takes a lot of time and some materials so the cost is actually reasonable for the effort. These radios, when they are not suffering from the dreaded display issues are well worth keeping alive and in play. One issue I wondered about before tackling my first subject radio was, is the lettering on top of or underneath the gummy residue? It's under and pretty well painted on. Still, with some chemicals there is a chance of them rubbing off so if you do this at home, be cautious of the chemicals you use.

If anyone is interested in me doing this for them, you can contact me at McHenryProj@Yahoo.com

Thanks.

[Ian]

I found a real easy fix.
Use borax on a moist rag and it wipes off easy.
Then use a vacuum cleaner to get the borax off the radio.

Cleaned in 5 minutes.

[Angelo]

Instead of trying to remove the coating, what about using contact paper (available in all colors, including matte/flat black, other colors, gloss or flat finishes, patters, camouflage,etc., and just recovering the radios and giving them a new appearance? Not sure if this would impact anything but I tend to think the cabinet can take a layer of contact paper without changing performance???

[Robert]

I've just discovered how to clean the goop off. 70% isopropyl alcohol. Buy a box of disposable 'prep pads' at your local pharmacy (used by diabetics to clean the area where they inject insulin). It WILL take some serious scrubbing, and you'll probably have to over the radio once to get most of the stuff off, and a second time to clean up the underlying plastic of remnants of the goo. But it does work and does not seem to negatively affect the plastic. I would not use the stronger 90% alcohol as I don't know if that would affect the plastic or painted labels.

The prep pads are the best way to go because they aren't sopping wet, and they scrub well. And you will go through a lot of them.

http://www.admewholesale.com/images/webcol-alcohol-prep-pad__09236_std.jpg

[Juha Harju]

98% pure alcohol takes care of it.
Happy rubbing Juha