Homer, if he had started with a different attitude it might have been helpful
Yes, often old Radio`s and Amps have paper capacitors in them that dry out with time, change value, go bad, leak and/or explode.
The first thing to do with old equipment (...should I say Vintage equipment? ) is to pull the bottom and covers off and eyeball everything, look for Caps that are bulging, leaking, have fuzzy looking stuff around the end, they need to be replaced before you even think about plunging the cord in the wall.
Next, look at the condition of the wiring, is it dry looking and cracked?
Is the insulation falling off of it leaving bare wire showing?
That needs to be fixed.
Then, do you see the evidence of Smoke?
Smokey looking marks on the underside of the case, wires that look burnt? you should use your nose, do you smell something like socks that have been sitting on the stove drying and you forgot them? or burnt plastic.....yep need to fix that too.
Very carefully pull the tubes, do they rattle? did the glass come out, but the base stayed in the socket?
Are there strange pieces loose inside them?
Do they have flaky looking white stuff inside of the glass? Do the pins look shiny and clean? do they fit nice and firm in the sockets, or are the loose and sloppy?
A good tube will often have a shiny mirror like coating on the inside of the tube, this is the "getter" material when the tube heats up, this adsorbs and gas remaining in the tube after it is vacuumed out when it was made, or any gas that has made its way into the tube after sitting for years ( or decades)
that leads to another thing.
Old Radio equipment should be brought online slowly, the best way is to bring it up on a Variable Transformer, called a Variac.....this plugs into the wall, the radio or whatever plugs into it, and you can slowly bring the voltage up from 0 to full 110 volts to avoid damage and high inrush current.
Then, the tube`s, if it a Amp or a Transmitter should be allowed to sit with Just the Heater switch on, or in "stand by" mode.
This allows the tubes to heat up, the Getters do what they are supposed to do and get rid of any gas that might be in the tube before you hit them with high voltage.
And the Last thing my friend.
If something blows the fuse......do your very best to try to find out WHY it blew. The fuse is your friend, it is a cheap thing that is easily replaced before more expensive or non obtainable things burn up, like transformers and such.
The Last resort( and I do mean last) is what you already did.....the smoke test, that is where you have exhausted all ideas and test`s to figure out what is wrong.....so you shove a big fuse in it.. (Or the one pictured below)...something goes Poof, and then you get to replace what burned up INSIDE the radio, AFTER you figure out WHY it went POOF.
Now, if you have already spent 6 weeks doing all of the above and your 10 dollar swap meet/yard sale radio will still not work, grab the emergency Kit, pull out your Dehydrated Gun, add water, wait five minutes, And use it to blow holes in the thing before dropping it in the Trash can.
Have a great day!
73
Jeff