Early 1970's Radar Range

[Totalrod2]

I own an early 1970's Amana Radarange (with the analog dials and all chrome front). It still works great but the window is all clouded and dirty inside. I have a replacement I'd like to use. Here's my problem... I can't remove those "safety" screws they used on the door! And I can't seem to find any tools that will work either. These are not regular "safety screws" but look like something specially designed BY Amana. I plan on replacing them with normal screws if I can just get the old ones out. Does anybody know where I can find the proper tool for removing those screws? Bryan

[JoeSpareBedroom]

What do the "slots" or indents of the screw heads look like?

[hallerb]

use dremel tool to add slots.

please make CERTAIN you know what your doing.

right glass proper sealing so you dont create a hazardous leak.

Even the glass was pecial built as a shield

[Joe]

Those screws are probably Torx safety screws and are available at Ace, Sears (where I got mine), Matco, SnapOn, etc. Incidentally, our house is blessed with one of those Amana microwaves and it has already outlasted numerous fancier ones of friends and neighbors. Good luck on your repair.

Joe

[Totalrod2]

Here's a photo of what the screws look like:

not a "tri-wing". The center part is raised. It seems like the tool would need to be a hollow piece (like a socket) with 3 notches on the sides to grab on to the screws. That's what I need. Bryan

[Charlie Morgan]

Is there a REALLY compelling reason why you want to do this? A microwave oven that old is in dire need of an accurate leakage test even if you DON'T do any work on it. If you replace the glass or do any other work, a leakage test is mandatory for safety. You can buy a new microwave that will run circles around that one for less than $200.

CWM

[spamTHISbrp]

Tri-groove

But, just because you can, doesn't mean you necessarily should.

Dave

[tnom]

It's called a Y-bit driver.

Or a Avdel manual driver.

They can be found here:

[Totalrod2]

Run circles? Most of my appliances are over 40 years old and I'd say they were built to last. A perfect example is that my mother has gone through 3 new microwaves in the last 15 years. Mine (which I pulled from someone's trash in 1993) still cooks a bag of popcorn and anything else I need cooked perfectly fine. And it looks pretty darn cool in my 50's style house. Why spend $200 on a new one that may last

5 years (at best) when this one will probably go for another 40. I don't know who the Jones's are and don't care to either. ;) Bryan

[<aemeijers]

Run circles? Most of my appliances are over 40 years old and I&#39;d say they were built to last. A perfect example is that my mother has gone through 3 new microwaves in the last 15 years. Mine (which I pulled from someone&#39;s trash in 1993) still cooks a bag of popcorn and anything else I need cooked perfectly fine. And it looks pretty darn cool in my 50&#39;s style house. Why spend $200 on a new one that may last

5 years (at best) when this one will probably go for another 40. I don&#39;t know who the Jones&#39;s are and don&#39;t care to either. ;) Bryan Chuckle. I agree. Bought my micro in 1980 or 81, for the then-cheap price of $210 or so for an entry-level model. Current equivalent would be about 40 bucks. Still works fine, no plans to replace. I mechanical controls. Turn one knob, press one button, no need to squint or think. Sure, it probably leaks, but who cares? I don&#39;t stand staring through the glass, and inverse-square law makes the next room pretty safe.

aem sends...

[Bob M.]

because when you sell the house, you can get more for it, that&#39;s why. Ancient appliances, even if they work great, are a negative as far as selling goes. You won&#39;t get the price you could get if they were newer units.

[Totalrod2]

By the way, Dave...Thanks for the link to Lara Tools. It&#39;s 15 minutes from where I live. Talk about a small world! Bryan

[hallerb]

Microwaves are rarely built in so home value isnt a issue....

BUT SAFETY with such a old device is! At least buy a small tester and check the oven perodically.

Better than nding up with cancer from your old microwave!

[Smarty]

I owned not 1 but 2 Amana Radaranges from that era, and exactly as Charlie says.......the newer units are vastly better, much cheaper, and much much safer. The early version of the Amana did not have a rotating "stirrer" antenna and thus the heating was terribly uneven. When the newer model with the stirrer and temperature probe came out later in the 70&#39;s, I bought it, and it wasn&#39;t really that much better.

The advice to totally ditch the Amana is extremely good advice. I second the advice....

Smarty

[HeyBub]

Remember the guy who "discovered" the concept by noticing the candy bar in his pocket melted as he worked on a radar antenna?

He&#39;s still alive.

Microwaves don&#39;t cause cancer or anything else. They do not alter the food into something that may be a carcinogen as other forms of cooking do.

The ONLY hazard that comes from moderate exposure to microwaves is that the microwaves MAY interfere with pacemakers.

In spite of the scare-mongering, microwaves do not cause cancer, whooping-cough, or dyspepsia.

[Totalrod2]

Oh well. I usually don&#39;t replace something unless it&#39;s broken. I can see I&#39;m in the minority around here, so we won&#39;t even discuss the fact that I also listen to Steppenwolf records on my hi-fi. Bryan

[mm]

AIUI, what they do is heat the water inside your eyeball. It doesn&#39;t take muich of that to be too much. I know about the square of the distance law too, and I don&#39;t know how long it takes to hurt oneself.

Now you have heard of two. :-)

This is not to say I would throw away the op&#39;s device. I had a model

2 radar range, and I fixed it twice, once with the diodes were sparking, with some GE silicon sealant, which worked fine. I would still have the thing if the power transformer hadn&#39;t failed and they wanted 400 dollars for a new one. They were willing to sell it at the wholesale price of 280 iirc. STill too much. I wrote them a letter pointing out that they probably had 20 of them around the country and no one but me was ever going to buy one, but even I woudln&#39;t at that price. I told them they should save a couple and sell the rest cheap. I was very polite, and they referred me to a parts center in Pennsylvania, instead of the one in Maryland I had called.

It was like nothing happened. The new place wanted 280 dollars! The same as before.

OTOH, OP, how did you get an identical replacment window? You can&#39;t use regular glass. Although I suppose it could be a window from another model and brand.

I boughtt a small tester at Radio Shack but I&#39;m sure they don&#39;t sell it anymore. But someone else probably does. It had a needle meter, and I could test it by opening the door a little bit and watch the needle move. Then I checked around the door.

Amana was unwilling to send me a wiring diagram, until I begged and siad I had been fixing things for 25 years, which was true, and I knew what I was doing. She made me promise to put the screen around the microwave tub back just the way I found it, and in the repair I mentioned, I did that.

BTW, the cooking chamber is as big as the biggest microwaves, much more than the two I have had since then.

I WONDER IF PERHAPS THE SCREWS TOO ARE OF A DIFFERENT MATERIAL, THAT WON&#39;T SPARK. OR maybe not since they are at the edge of things. If you can get the screwedriver, I would reuse the screws.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Why spend $200 on a new one that may last

5 years (at best) when this one will probably go for another 40. I don&#39;t know who the Jones&#39;s are and don&#39;t care to either. ;) Bryan

Becuse you can buy a new and better model for $70. Really, it will cook more evenly, cook faster and take up less space. But don&#39;t let that cloud your vision if you want to keep the old one.

[Totalrod2]

I guess I&#39;m what you&#39;d call a "junkyard dog". I collect parts I think I&#39;ll need in the future. I had another non-working range from which I removed the knobs, rubber seals, chrome, etc. Here in Middleton MA. we had a town dump until 1997. Since then it&#39;s been a transfer station. But I still go down there and find lots of goodies most people consider junk. e.g. this past Wednesday someone tossed out a working antique GE fan (with the brass blades and cast iron base). You want to talk about appliances that will run forever, that thing has the same motor as my table saw! Not to mention the prices these things fetch on ebay. Bryan

[Larry]

I can&#39;t tell from the picture if the size is the same, but that is the same type of fastener that was used in some mid-70s American vehicle distributors to retain the pickup coil. You might try an auto parts store or a Snap-on dealer.