Confronted with a faulty vintage radio, the first thing many restorers look for is a faulty valve. Perhaps it’s because they look more fragile than other components or perhaps it’s because they’re easier to replace than a "wired-in" component like a paper capacitor.

Often however, the problem lies elsewhere and paper capacitors are notorious for causing problems in vintage radios. As a result, many vintage radio enthusiasts spend a great deal of time checking and replacing capacitors when restoring a set.

In fact, some take a blanket approach and replace most, if not all, capacitors in a set. However, that’s not always the best approach – some will almost certainly need replacement but generally not all.