I just spent 2 weeks in Queensland, and while there I took the chance to visit antique stores and grab a few radios. I would have posted about this while I was there but error 500 was a very common problem.

Anyway, I got a plastic Pacemaker battery radio, a mouse-eaten Kriesler 11-7, a battery Astor, a wooden STC and a plastic STC HMV.

Once I get them to the workshop I'll attempt repairs and maybe there will be photos.

Sounds like some good stuff!
That 500 error is not restricted to QLD , I'm at Dee Why and its getting so bad that most times I try I cant reach the site ,the past 2 weeks have been very bad ,The worse part was when I did get through to the site and while writing posts it would just freeze the page and then I have to start again, but then I try to reload the page I would get the 500 error so I would wait a few hours and then try again
I know its been on going for a while and Brad must be fed up with up.

I am fed up with it. It's not a geographic problem. The server is simply too old now and I do have a new one half finished. I've just got home from work and need to be back there at 05:00 for a 14 hour stint, so there goes another weekend without an opportunity to finish things off. To preserve my sanity, Sunday will be spent outdoors, weather permitting.

I while back I purchased the SSL certificates for the new server though I am yet to install them and complete the setting up of the web server software, which comes packaged with Windows 2008. Along with the new server will come a revamped VR site. I am going to take a few things off the front page which are overloading the database. One is the list in the sidebar titled "Recent Forum Activity". I know some members do use this but it has pretty much dogged the site since it was introduced. I am also going to retire the front page forum and place site maintenance notices in General Discussion.

The front page will not change so much in layout, as I don't want people having to ask where things are. But it'll receive a bit of a fresh look, more of a spruce up than an overhaul. With that, the site should load a fair bit quicker. I won't be finishing off any new features until this work gets done because there's a lot that needs tidying up after 13 or 14 years of bolting lots of things on to what started as a very basic website.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

Rome wasn't built in a Day Brad.
In the mean time none of us are going anywhere .
All the best pete

need to be back there at 05:00 for a 14 hour stint

I remember similar weekends and I don't miss them for a minute. As a boss of mine used to say: "The cemetery is full of indispensable people".

Another thing I did was to listen to various stations in the car and find out how far they could be heard.

95.3 smooth-FM Sydney could be heard well out north-west of the Hunter Valley, although strangely WS-FM could not.

On the way back, 693 4KQ Brisbane could be heard until about 30km north of Stanthorpe. I didn't know it, but the Stanthorpe/Applethorpe area is a bit of a black hole for reception. I found this out because I also lost reception of 1242 4AK Toowoomba around there. However I tried again later, and 4AK could be heard again. In fact this station gets out remarkably well, and incredibly, can be heard as far south as Moonbi Hill, which is not that far north of Tamworth - and in the middle of the day. There's a bunch of dead areas in between though.

WS-FM and smoothFM were clearly heard in the Upper Hunter on the way back.

I took the Putty Road instead of the M1, and it is a dead area for almost all stations. I left the radio on 98.1, and at first I could hear PowerFM (Muswellbrook), then eventually started getting interference from i98 (Wollongong). By then, of course, all the Sydney and Wollongong stations were audible.

Started work on the radios. Firstly the wooden STC. Valve lineup: 6BE6, 6BA6, 6AT6, 6X4, 6CH6. Someone had already replaced most of the old parts, leaving just 2 wax caps in. On applying power, the HT was only 102 volts, the 6CH6 bias was 1.2 volts (instead of 4.5) and the 6X4 upper plate was faintly glowing red.

After replacing the wax caps, and replacing a 470K resistor that measured 670K, all the voltages fell into place and the radio worked. The tone control was noisy and responded to spray. While cleaning out the dust I noticed the 2nd IF was screwed all the way in so I adjusted it back to where it should be. There's no trimmers to adjust but it was working well so I put it back into its box.

Next radio which I stated as a plastic STC was actually a HMV Townsman which although it looks like a valve radio is actually transistors, so for me it was a waste of money. Turned it on, sound came out but not very loud. Opened it up, someone has replaced the battery holder with a black plugpack and provided a power cord. I suppose that's one way to solve the battery problem! A hand adjustment of the aerial trimmer brought up the volume to the expected level. The only problem is that tuning above 2SM firstly causes the local oscillator to drop out, then a bit further it comes back with a loud squealing noise, then at the top of the band it works again. I know nothing about repairing transistor radios so I guess it will stay that way.

3rd radio was the Pacemaker which has a popout dial on a hinge. Once I got it open I could see it is actually a Tecnico TO.8 model, with the usual battery valves. Opening its metal coffin revealed a whole bunch of wax caps, which I'll work on next week. Valve lineup is 1R5, 1T4, 1S5, 3V4.

Next thrilling installment... The Pacemaker was checked over and the dust cleaned away. The 2.2k filter resistor and the AC/DC switch were both open circuit. Spray fixed the switch, and the resistor replaced. Replaced the wax capacitors, switched on, and we have a working radio. The battery circuit has a 6-pin plug, but I don't think batteries were ever used. No user adjustments in this radio, and the IF and other cores were all sealed with wax.

Note the "battery" is in fact just a cardboard box that looks like a battery.

Next radio is the Astor. It has 5 battery valves (same as the Pacemaker plus an extra 1T4). Almost all the wiring is rubber. Fortunately most is in good condition except around the power supply. Those wires will need replacing. There's a number of wax capacitors which will be replaced next week. There's a crack in the case near the handle. The power cord is missing. It's possible a kettle cord might fit. The batteries required are a 45 volt (3-pin) and a 9 volt (2 pin). Like the Pacemaker, it appears batteries were never used.

"Kettle Cord":Why?

Kettle cords are 10A there is no way that it needs a cable like that. Apart from using a Gland as a clamp in many cases, IEC computer cables get chucked out by the score. They fit a Gland well, after you chop off the IEC plug & convert it to a suicide cable.

Prefabricated cloth covered & plastic ones are also available. With cloth, I often put a bit if shrink tube on them into & where they exit the gland. Be very careful if you apply heat.

A bit of Loctite 401 on the seal on the cable stops it slipping: But do not get the positioning wrong that's a pass, or a major fail situation.

Marc

I don't think any of that applies here. The chassis has 2 pins sticking out the back, where a power cord would plug into. I think the spacing might allow a kettle socket to fit (haven't checked yet). It isn't going to fit once the plastic back is put on, so it's only while I'm working on it.

Once it's finished, it will be unusable until the right plug or cord is found. There's nowhere to put a gland.

Ahh! Now that's the old electric Jug / Steam Iron one Pre IEC.... Yes! There is a safer more practical alternative perhaps and I have done it to a couple of things to get rid of cables. I have a 70mm / 35mm slide projector that has a small European version of that early type plug & socket.

My Digitech CRO & the Fluke Counter have an IEC socket.

Those can be bought even with fuses & line filters. May not be original here, but effective & in theme: Yes.

A figure 8 fitted some of those smaller sockets, but you may have to change it all to "clover leaf" if you need an earth (space being the issue).

Rob am enjoying your adventures wrangling dud sets back to life.
What is interesting to me is the range of things that need fixing due to ageing or materials.
Agree with you about transistor radios that's another whole unknown subject for me to investigate.
Guess i'll have to build a couple to understand how they work in a full way.
So much to learn- so little time!
Fred.

So much to learn- so little time!

I agree. I am almost at a point where I've lost the concept of time. I've worked 130 hours in the last fortnight and have been slowly vacating a storage lockup at the same time and we've had a property inspection this week to and had to prepare for that too.

I don't remember the last time I restored a radio either. I'm half way through a 1949 Airzone Cub but it's all in a box awaiting completion. All I can do is hope to complete it before the ink fades on the notes I've made of progress.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

Thanks for uploading the photos.

That Pacemaker is a good looking set. I have never seen one in the flesh.