My Replacement Stand Journey for the Grundig G6 Aviator

 

Guest Post by Troy Riedel

I’ve mentioned here in the past that I am an astronomy hobbyist first, and an SWL hobbyist second (call SWL my cloudy nights hobby).

A couple of years ago my Grundig G6 suffered from the troublesome “sticky” body that afflicts all of the Grundig/Eton radios of that era.  I used the recommended cleaning agent as has been posted here (Purple Power) to remove the sticky residue.  It worked great – but I discovered one must be very careful using this cleaner.  Why?  Excess cleaner seeped into the crevices where the radio stand mounts, was not fully removed/dried, and the cleaner “ate” the nubs off that hold the radio stand in place.  The result: a broken radio stand!  Right Photo: you’ll see glue residue smeared on the broken stand – where I tried to make & glue new nubs and failed miserably.

Through my astronomy hobby, I discovered someone (Joel) who 3D prints some astronomical accessories.  After ordering & receiving three quality products, we established a friendly rapport.  I asked him if he knew of anyone who 3D printed and commercially sold radio stands.

He replied “No” – and frankly he wasn’t quite sure what I was referring to – but he essentially conveyed “if you supply me a photo and dimensions, I will gladly print one that you can try”.  Great news!

After supplying him a photo and supplying dimensions, Joel printed off a stand plus a spare and shipped it to me.  Unfortunately, it did not fit … the side nubs were simply too small.

I wrote-off the encounter as having been worth the nominal cost & effort.  But Joel was not ready to write this off!  He asked for more details re: why it didn’t fit (we designed the stand about .25mm too thin – a small tolerance but significant in that the stand simply would not fit – the nubs were too small at the thickness that was printed).  We consulted, both made recommendations, then Joel promptly 3D printed another stand (v.2) and mailed it to me.

The end result: it fits perfectly – works perfectly.  I now have a replacement G6 stand and I feel my little Grundig Aviator Buzz Aldrin Edition (note the astronomy connection) was now, once again, whole!

 

For those who’ve replaced radio stands before, the biggest obstacle is *not* breaking it when you try to insert it into the back of the radio.  A tried and true trick is to freeze the replacement stand, so it contracts very slightly (by the mm), and then insert it into the body of the radio.  The great thing about this stand: it is designed with a cut-out on each side.  This cut-out allows the stand to ever-so-slightly flex (better – and probably more safely – than the freezing trick). This design allowed me to safely and rather effortlessly insert the stand without fear of breaking it.  And the stand’s thickness is quite capable of supporting the weight of the radio (note: the plastic of the 3D printed stand is not quite as hard as the OEM stand but it is still more than capable of supporting the radio’s weight).

I’m sharing this because Joel has added the G6 stand to his little BuckeyeStargazer Web Store , for $10 – what a great deal for us suffering G6 folks with broken stands.

At this time, the Buckeye Stargazer only offers the G6 stand.  But, who knows?  Before I came along, he didn’t offer any stand.  You might be able to cajole Joel into prototyping another stand?  For that – you’d have to contact him directly to see if he were receptive to more experimentation.

So, thanks again to the Buckeye Stargazer!  It’s always nice to tie my two hobbies together: astronomy & shortwave radio.

Spread the radio love

6 thoughts on “My Replacement Stand Journey for the Grundig G6 Aviator

  1. Milan

    Takovéto rádio bych hodil do popelnice a koupil SANGEAN ATS 909 X. Jakékoli ?išt?ní agresivním prost?edkem se negativn? projeví i na vnit?ní elektronice radiop?ijíma?e. Minimáln? oxida?ním procesem… 73M.

    Reply
  2. Paul Evans

    No 3D printer? Sprung metal bracket like that used on all amateur radio transceivers would work. Thick copper wire and some precision bending in a vice (or vice grips) would work too. Just recently had to do that for a house problem.

    Reply
    1. Troy Riedel Post author

      I tried to Super Glue replacement wire “nubs” to the plastic OEM stand (I ran of piece of wire along the entire top of the plastic stand) … but that didn’t work for me. But fabricating the entire stand as a metal bracket – sure, sounds like that indeed would work.

      Reply
        1. Troy Riedel Post author

          Yes – in fact I have two stands (mine are from “Source One” – they might even be from the same manufacturer as the Universal Radio stands).

          But my G6 just felt “incomplete” without a stand … I could not be happier with it for only $10 shipped.

          Reply

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