Repair Right I: Transformer Radios

Repair Right I is an entry level electronics repair course. This course focuses on Transformer Radios.

Minnesota, being a right-to-repair state, enables individuals to take charge of fixing their electronics. The Pavek Museum is delighted to offer "Repair Right," an electronics repair course designed to empower participants. The course is structured in three phases - I, II, and III - aligning with beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels, respectively.

This Repair Right’s focus is on Transformer radios. Participants will have the opportunity to repair their own devices while learning the intricacies of repairing and restoring these historical electronic gems with knowledgeable instructors.

This registration is specifically for Phase I, the entry level course. It consists of two, two-and-half-hour sessions that take place over the course of two consecutive Wednesdays or Saturdays. Each session will begin with a lecture and end with a lab in the Raymer Workshop.

There are two date/time options to choose from:

· April 8 & 15 (Wednesdays): 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

· April 11 & 18 (Saturdays): 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

The lecture portions of Phase I will cover the following topics:

• Basic radio safety

• Skill assessment

• Radio assessment (how to identify easy or difficult items to repair or replace)

• Understanding how a radio works

• Exploring the evolution of radio

• Introduction of basic troubleshooting techniques

In the lab portions of Phase I, students will work on:

• Identifying safety hazards

• Tube testing

• Checking for functionality offline

• Evaluating voltage readings

• Performing dim bulb tests

• Replacing electrolytic capacitors

• Potentially replacing other capacitors

Bringing your own radio to work on is required for this course.

By the end of this course, students will acquire a fundamental understanding of radio components and troubleshooting techniques. They will have hands-on experience in replacing electrolytic capacitors and potentially other capacitors. Additionally, students will gain proficiency in basic troubleshooting methods related to radio repair.

For this course, students are required to have a basic proficiency in soldering, reading a schematic, and identifying components. If these skills are not already possessed, we strongly encourage participants to enroll in a Pavek Museum Crash Course before registering for this specific program.

If you already possess the skills and knowledge required for basic troubleshooting, including the above mentioned skills, we recommend considering registration for Repair Right II or III instead. Repair Right II will delve into more advanced troubleshooting techniques and tackle uncommon repairs. Repair Right III will cover alignment and signal generation, featuring additional instructor-supervised lab time. Registration for Repair Right II will open in April 2026 and registration for Repair Right III will open in June 2026.

When you enroll in one Repair Right course, you will be eligible for a discount for registering for additional Repair Right courses. Pavek Museum members are eligible for additional discounts.