Shure 708A Crystal Microphone Restoration

 This is a 1940 Shure 708A microphone I picked up in a box of junk probably 20+ years ago. It didn't have a stand, had a bad mic element, and looked pretty bad. These were also often purchased and used as a harp mic, as they were very popular with harmonica players. Around 2014 it was nearly sacrificed and repurposed as a tail light for a bobber motorcycle project....but wasn't. 

I disassembled everything, and glass beaded to parts to remove the old paint. These were available only painted in brown, gray, or black. I refinished this in hammered black enamel. The head was refitted with a NOS crystal element and a new internal pop guard. I found a base and stand from a similarly aged mic, buffed the base, and refinished the wooden stand in gloss black. 

Its back alive and will ultimately be connected to one of my boat anchors. Here's a few pics and a video...

Johnson 250 Restoration

 This is another Johnson Messenger 250 I picked up at a yard sale. It was pretty dirty, and the mic looked like it was headed to the dump. I did a blog on the mic resto, but I'll throw the pics in here, too. 

The radio had a bad power switch, some off-freq crystals, a few hacks to undo, needed caps, and a full alignment. I also added an external speaker jack...these are odd in the way they switched the rx audio, so the ext speaker jack has to float above chassis ground.

In the end, it was another sweet piece of history saved from salvage. Here's a few pics...