Hi Guys,

I am intrigued if any members built up this model Little General 1956 Version......I built this in up from Radio and Hobbies in 1956 as a teenager and still have intact today.

It didn't start my career in Radio and Television as I had a few Regenerative Receivers earlier, but it was one project I was real happy with the outcome.

I remember my father making the cabinet with the rounded corners which unfortunately got lost in time

I did modify the 6BV7 and replaced it with a 6GW8 in the 70's......

thanks Guys, Rob

Looks like a cool circuit. I found it on the radio museum website. most of the valves are uncommon to me however.
I've never seen a detector and A/O in one stage before. I suppose cutting out a pre-amp audio stage cut things down a bit.
I suppose It could've been built with a 6BD7 and 6AQ5 for a bit more audio gain, but then it would be a five valve set.
With your conversion did you install a germanium diode?

https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/radiohob_little_general_1956.html

Thankyou,
Yes,
I used a external diode for the detector, the 6BV7 didn’t have quite enough oomph for my liking, and later in life I had plenteous of the 6GW8.

Q+ made the IF’s, osc. and aerial coils that I built it around, it was the first big project I got involved with as a young teenager.

We had an aluminium fabricator in the city that would bend the chassis’s up…….. Great Days of Discovery for a Young Fellow

I have the original magazine article if anyone wants it....

That a generous offer Ian for potential constructors .

Its an great little set to build with the aid of the step by step instructions supplied in Radio and Hobbies,
and the layout is straight forward , with mine an added pre-amp stage and the 6GW8 it’s quite powerful into the Rola 5” Speaker.

Regards Rob

Hullo Brins, on the Little General theme you will find in the Special Projects forum on this site two examples of the set I have made.
I made "1946" and "1976" models both scratch built and using whatever scrap bits were laying around the workshop.
Go to the special projects forum and just scroll down looking for "little general".
Have a read and a laugh as I blundered along making the sets!
Cheers, Fred.

Thanks Fred,

Ive found those, I’ll save those for the weekend reading. Well done!

The mid fifty’s years construction was a bit rough in spots, good tools were not readily available, but

We made do, my Father filed out the valve socket holes and help cut out the 5” speaker recess,

Actually as a carpenter I think he got as much fun as I did doing the component work and of course he supplied the capital.

It is highly desirable if you are going to make a super heterodyne radio from salvage, to get the coil set (Osc coil; Ant coil and Gang). These are a matched set and will give reliable "tracking".

It does not pay to get too greedy and careless with lead dress in the area of the 2nd detector, as that area with modern components and sloppy layout is highly susceptible to instability from radiation and induction and I am constantly sorting it.

Valves like 6AV6 & 6U7 are horrors for catalysing instability. Things to remember when building.

Marc

Talking about matched coils, (actually its a pity In can’t show photos here)

With a build during the 70’s I used … 6GW8 x 2 ,6N8 x2, 6AE8 x 1

The components were taken from from a Philips 148 wreck, I used the IF transformers, RF and Osc Coils and the 3 Gang Tuning Cap with which I managed to include the original Philips rubber mounting buffers on the tuning cap mounting.
On the aerial side I used a ferrite rod.

The result was a great long ranger like the Philips 148

E-mail any photos you'd like included to me and I will upload them. You can click on my username for my e-mail address.

Thankyou

I'd definitely undertake making one of these radio's, I would just need to track down the I.F. transformers and osc coil & tuning gang.
However, I've got the valves and access to bending up a chassis when school comes back for me tomorrow.

Hi Burnout, I'll post a picture or two, I used and dismantled a $45 Philips 148 in later years.

With the push / pull build I used the ; osc ,IF's ,RF coil's (they were the Large Can Philips IF's) and the 3 Gang Gang Cap,

so it was what I had at hand or could buy cheap, and all this ran quite successfully.

Photos and document uploaded to Post 13.

The Wireless Weekly published two Little Jim's in 1938.

Battery Version;

https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/wirelesswe_little_jim_battery.html

AC Version;

https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/radiohob_little_jim.html

List of interesting radios from the Wireless Weekly on the Radio Museum. Still work in progress.

https://www.radiomuseum.org/m/wirelesswe_aus_en_1.html