February meeting: Sat 2/18/17 11am S&M Electrotech in Blaine
bowtie said
Jan 2, 2017
Our February 2017 has been scheduled!
S&M Electrotech in Blaine will be the host. 11:00am. Their address is 8836 Xylite St NE, Blaine MN 55449. Simple directions mean getting off 35w onto County J, go West. Turn Right at Lorenz Bus which is Xylite St. It's about 1/4-1/2 mile up on the left in a business building. He's about midway down the building.
Who is S&M Electrotech? In a very simplified nutshell, they build/retrofit/restore old car radios, keeping the classic look but with modern internals. They also do speakers, including making their own version of the rectangle 70-72 Chevelle front stereo speakers. This is another one of our local guys who are experts in their field. Their website is www.turnswitch.com if you're curious.
As a added bonus, after visiting S&M, we're going to also mosey over to Specialty Auto Service to tour their shop. They do mechanical restoration/modification of vintage/classic vehicles.
I have been in both shops, and I think you guys will enjoy them.
Sorry to miss this one. Greg did the digital upgrade in my Chevelle, I am also running one of his speakers. I am very pleased, my only regret is I did mine years ago and there has been an upgrade in the conversion since then.
One of my old bosses is the brother to the Gunderson that owns the neighboring resto shop, nice guy.
Larry Lucast said
Jan 3, 2017
Both places are fascinating, and the owners are good people. Specialty does high-end rods.
bowtie said
Feb 10, 2017
Just called and confirmed our meeting a week from tomorrow. Should be a good one!
bowtie said
Feb 19, 2017
We had a great turnout, thank you to everyone who was able to come out!
In brief: Greg from S&M opened up his shop and gave a great presentation on vintage radios, their construction, and what updates are possible. In essence, if your radio is not digitally tuned, he can upgrade it to far superior performance at a pretty fair price. I don't think anyone left without learning at least a few new things.
Here's some pics:
We also went next door and toured Specialty Auto Service. They do a lot of custom performance upgrades--pretty much anything under the body, from the Fox-body mustangs back to the old Coupes and hot rods.
Here's some pics:
Want more details??? You gotta come to the meetings!!!!!
Thanks to Bryan and Chris P for setting up Saturdays meeting and tours. Both companies were great to see and it was gpod to see so many club members as well!
Jon H said
Feb 20, 2017
Thanks for posting the pics for us absentee members!!
SShink said
Feb 22, 2017
I would have enjoyed that. I was an electronics service tech after I got my electronics degree in the early 80's, and used every piece of test equipment on that test bench. That picture brought back memories...
Kind of amazing they can make a business out of it these days, but I'm glad they are able to survive.
Chris S said
Feb 23, 2017
I asked that very question Stan. Right now in the slow season he is behind 3-4 weeks. When it gets "busy" he said they get 8-10 weeks out!
That really surprised me.
BLyke said
Apr 11, 2022
FYI
Sad to learn the owner of the company has died and they are no longer doing radio conversions.
The son and son-in-law are continuing with speaker and turn signal parts of the business.
There is a guy who is also in Blaine that has also been doing the radios for ~20 years and I am having the Pontiac radio modernized
Will let you all know how it goes.
His current backlog is 6-8 weeks, so it should be in for BTT50's
BLyke said
Apr 11, 2022
from the website
***AS OF 12/1/2021 WE DO NOT CONVERT OR REPAIR RADIOS. Due to the death of the owner, Greg Thompson, we are no longer able to provide this service. Website is being left for now to allow access to the information it provides as a resource.
Jon H said
Apr 12, 2022
Sorry to hear of his passing. Greg was a real gentleman. He did a radio conversion for me when I first got my Chevelle and several speaker projects since then. He will be missed in the industry.
Our February 2017 has been scheduled!
S&M Electrotech in Blaine will be the host. 11:00am. Their address is 8836 Xylite St NE, Blaine MN 55449. Simple directions mean getting off 35w onto County J, go West. Turn Right at Lorenz Bus which is Xylite St. It's about 1/4-1/2 mile up on the left in a business building. He's about midway down the building.
Who is S&M Electrotech? In a very simplified nutshell, they build/retrofit/restore old car radios, keeping the classic look but with modern internals. They also do speakers, including making their own version of the rectangle 70-72 Chevelle front stereo speakers. This is another one of our local guys who are experts in their field. Their website is www.turnswitch.com if you're curious.
As a added bonus, after visiting S&M, we're going to also mosey over to Specialty Auto Service to tour their shop. They do mechanical restoration/modification of vintage/classic vehicles.
I have been in both shops, and I think you guys will enjoy them.
One of my old bosses is the brother to the Gunderson that owns the neighboring resto shop, nice guy.
We had a great turnout, thank you to everyone who was able to come out!
In brief: Greg from S&M opened up his shop and gave a great presentation on vintage radios, their construction, and what updates are possible. In essence, if your radio is not digitally tuned, he can upgrade it to far superior performance at a pretty fair price. I don't think anyone left without learning at least a few new things.
Here's some pics:
We also went next door and toured Specialty Auto Service. They do a lot of custom performance upgrades--pretty much anything under the body, from the Fox-body mustangs back to the old Coupes and hot rods.
Here's some pics:
Want more details??? You gotta come to the meetings!!!!!
Thanks to Bryan and Chris P for setting up Saturdays meeting and tours. Both companies were great to see and it was gpod to see so many club members as well!
I would have enjoyed that. I was an electronics service tech after I got my electronics degree in the early 80's, and used every piece of test equipment on that test bench. That picture brought back memories...
Kind of amazing they can make a business out of it these days, but I'm glad they are able to survive.
I asked that very question Stan. Right now in the slow season he is behind 3-4 weeks. When it gets "busy" he said they get 8-10 weeks out!
That really surprised me.
Sad to learn the owner of the company has died and they are no longer doing radio conversions.
The son and son-in-law are continuing with speaker and turn signal parts of the business.
There is a guy who is also in Blaine that has also been doing the radios for ~20 years and I am having the Pontiac radio modernized
Will let you all know how it goes.
His current backlog is 6-8 weeks, so it should be in for BTT50's
***AS OF 12/1/2021 WE DO NOT CONVERT OR REPAIR RADIOS. Due to the death of the owner, Greg Thompson, we are no longer able to provide this service. Website is being left for now to allow access to the information it provides as a resource.