Noticed on Ebay Vintage Radio today...1934 Racophone console. In fact it's a 1933 model...even more rare. Designd and manufactured by Raymond Cottram Allsop (hence Ra-Co-phone) the then famous engineer who desined the transmitter for the first broadcast station 2SB (later 2BL)...beating all the might of AWA who jointly controlled transmitter patents with Siemens, Marconi, RCA and others. Not only did Alsopp design and build the 500W transmitter around the AWA controlled patents...but did it in 3 weeks! Beating AWA who was furiously trying to get 2FC on air first.

Raymond Alsopp's main achievement was designing and retrofitting silent movie projectors with optical sound modules from around 1927. His system was superior and about 1/2 the cost of the American systems. He installed over 380 systems nationally...many still in use in the early sixties,

Radio was a 'true love' to Raymond...and built a limited quantity of fine expensive sets in the thirties. The peeWee was one exception...no tuning dial or knob markings....must have been a bad day.

Racophone radios are rare piece of Australian history to those who know. By the low bids on Ebay looks like no one does....hope it goes to a good home.

Most of Racophone's stuff was in the area of cinema.

Having fixed one of those radios, that also featured in a popular magazine. My conclusion, and that of others, was that he should have stuck to Audio.

The set was that unstable and poorly designed, if it was gelignite it would explode if you looked at it.. It did not get good press and that was reasonable comment.

On the flip side I know of a cinema that is still using Racophone equipment.

Marc

G'day Marc....I beg to differ here...looks like you might have got a dud with mods over the years. Mine is a 1934 console with an RF stage (6 valve) and neon tuning indicator. Works exceptionally well...had it around i5 years with only minor repairs needed. The IF amplifier is particularly hot and will 'take-off' if the valve shield is not making a perfect earth to the chassis. Never had a radio blow up in my face except once...careless...put an electro in reverse polarity. Silver paper and paste electrolyte hanging off everything including me.

What exactly blew-up in your case?

I would be interested in exactly what you found that was poorly designed....and a copy or recollection of the bad press report...and the year and model so I can correct my Racophone history folder. Your reply would be appreciated

It is interesting to note that Alsopp' peers at the time considered him to be an excellent radio engineer. If anyone's interested I'll explain how he got around AWA's patents using absorbtion modulation without pulling the RF oscillator off frequency as the modulatoin depth increased.

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Nothing actually blew up. The paper caps had failed with the effluxion of time, as they do. There were also Mica caps on the circuit, which were actually paper types in the set.

The set was pretty much origional when I got it and had in no way been modified. This was a Pee Wee and not a console. Most of the components on this set are on a long terminal strip. This I think contributed to the problem (shielding).

The set had RF on the volume control, which is not in any way conducive to stabitity. The general concept of its layout also helped it feed back.

Neither I or another more experienced person, could get it to behave.

It appears in Silion Chip, search back early last year or before (Not sure of year or month).

Marc