Freudenstadt 6 3D 3K resistor

Hi, I have Freudenstadt 6 3D 1956 model in which I have replaced all the paper and electrolytic capacitors as outlined in several guides on this site. The radio when finished had very good reception on all bands AM and FM and very good sound quality. The mains transformer ran cool and there was no sign of any hot components. After one week of use the radio went dead, the 3K ohm Anode load resistor for the EF85 (connected to the second IF coil at point a4) had burnt out.
I have replaced the 3K ohm resistor with a new component and tested the radio, the replacement resistor is running very hot and there is only low volume reception on FM. No reception on AM. I have temporarily disconnected the 5000pF silver capacitor incase it had become leaky but this had no effect. Pulling the EF85 out stopes the resistor running hot. I have only been turning the set on for very short times as
the 2Watt resistor on the output transformer is also running hot. I can not see any obvious short circuits. I have a spare EF85 and have tried this but the fault is still there. Any suggestion as to how to find this fault will be very helpful. Andrew

Hi, Markus, thank you for the reply, yes I have replaced the 50+50 and the EZ80 with parts from the German suppler recommended on this site (Volcker). It has just got dark here in the UK so I turned on the radio with the EF85 fitted in its socket in the dark to look for short circuits, sure enough HT (St. Elmos fire) is running all over the base of the EF85! I have a spare ceramic noctal base which I will fit, hopefully this will sort the problem. I think it will also be a good thing to reduce Uk 240V supply to 220V as this may be the cause. I will have to find a way to do this without using wire wound (hot) resistors. I will post again after fitting the new nine pin base. Andrew.

Hi, thank you for the links. I have replaced the valve base for the EF85 as there was arcing (HT discharge) across it, also the 3K ohm anode load resistor and the 5000pF silver capacitor at point a4 on the second If transformer. The radio is now working 100%. I have run it for two hours with so far no problems. I will post again to update in a few days. Andrew.

Hi, the radio is still performing well, in fact the signal strength and audio quality is noticeably improved since I replaced the base for the EF85 with a good quality ceramic noctal (nine pin) base. this is clearly seen by a larger deflection in the "magic eye" tuning indicator. When I first inspected the chassis it was clear that one of the valve bases (EZ80) had been replaced by a previous owner with a ten! pin base and the valve pins bent to suit. Obviously I replaced this with a correct nine pin base, so this radio now has two valve bases replaced. Looking at the removed "paxolin" bases they are made from three laminates, this looks to me to be "asking for trouble". Do any forum member have any information on the reliability of this material as the radio is to be a present for a family member, who lives some distance away, later in the year and if other paxolin component are likely to fail I will replace them before then to maximizes reliability? I have seen some posts that seem to show that the wave-change switches are likely to fail in a similar way (H.T discharge) across the paxolin contact frames (sliders), if this is so what is the best preventative action? Hopefully without a full strip down of the switches. Thank for any information. Andrew.