Hello,
I have an AWA Fisk Radiola “egg crate” valve radio I’m restoring for a relative. The G prefix on the ARTS&P label indicates it was made in 1940 or 1941. It was originally a battery powered model. So it was probably originally a Model 86Z which was made in 1940. This was a 4 valve radio that ran on 2x45V batteries and 1x1.5V battery for the valve heaters. It has since been modified to run on 240V. It now has 5 valves (6V4 6M5 6BD7 6AN7A 6N8). I don't have a circuit diagram, because I don't know what upgrade was done to it. A Google search tells me the five valves in my set were used in the Southern Cross Radio Pty Ltd Model CDR5/2 radio.

https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/southernx_southern_cross_cdr52.html#google_vignette

Perhaps it's based on that design. I don't think it's an AWA design any more.

The case and grille cloth are in excellent condition. But it’s a horrible mess inside. It spent decade in a barn. Rats have chewed some of the wax caps and the chassis is very badly rusted in places. The person who upgraded the set did a very poor soldering job. It was tripping the RCD in the owner's house. I discovered the neutral and earth were swapped in the old bakelite plug. I fitted a new lead and got it to work intermittently on a couple of stations with me as the antenna, but the sound was terrible.

Work done so far:
Replaced the power cord and added a cable gland.
Repaired the speaker cone with PVA and cigarette paper. The cone was floating, being almost completely separated at the rim.
Removed corrosion from chassis with a brush attachment on a Dremel.

My next job is to replace all the electrolytic and paper caps. I have new caps coming from Mouser. When I have done that I’ll start troubleshooting and will no doubt be asking many questions on the forum.

When my pics are added, I would love to know what the component shown in the red box is on one of the pics. I assume it's a cap, but I've spent ages searching the internet looking for a similar cap with no luck. There's quite a few of these components throughout the set. Some across coils, some from coils to the chassis and a larger one across the volume pot.

That tube line up is more 50's and to me is not AWA, its more like a HMV arrangement as 6M5 was not a common AWA output tube.

Get the feeling this may have been substantially got at.

Try Astor BGE

If the set ran on a battery and has been converted to 240V, the circuit could have come from anything or simply made up by the person doing the conversion. As Marc said, the 6M5, (and I am trying to go from memory here and that isn't always a good thing for me to do) was only made by Philips and pretty much only used as an output valve in HMV receivers of the 1950s.

If I obtained a radio like this I must admit that I would not persevere with it in its current form and would most likely, when time permits, reverse engineer it back to its original AWA battery circuit and then make a battery eliminator for it, focusing on adequate filtering and DC smoothing as the filaments in battery valves are very lightweight and will convert any ripple into audible hum quite easily. The AORSM books should have a circuit for this radio, but in my case, this would be a project that would take a few weeks, as I am somewhat time-poor.

I didn't realise that AWA did make the Eggcrate in a battery version, but it is good to know they did. They did make battery versions of many of their models through the 1940s. The Eggcrate was also badged as a Radiolette for a short time though I have not researched as to whether the circuit for that was any different to the Radiola.

Thanks for the replies.

The 6M5 was also used in the Southern Cross Radio Model CDR5/2. I have a schematic for that radio, but mine differs from that circuit in the sections I have been able to trace.

Brad,
If it were my radio I would do as you suggest, but the brief is simply "get it working", so I'm not going to do any more than necessary.

Hi Jack, sounds like an Astor to me.
Can you send some photos via Brad to display on this thread?

Cheers, Fred.

Most of those sets followed a fairly common plot and only the badges varied.

Check out Astor BGE (AORSM's & probably Kevin Chant). 6AN7 is more of a BC band tube.

Fred,
I sent some pictures to Brad this morning. Hopefully they will be up shortly.

Marc,
I’ve had a look at Kevin Chant’s website. There are a LOT of circuit diagrams there. It will take some time to look at each and determine what valves each circuit has. I’m not sure what you mean by 6AN7 being a BC band tube. Google tells me BC is broadcast band, and is the same as AM? I’m clearly missing something.

It now has 5 valves (6V4 6M5 6BD7 6AN7A 6N8).

Here are 22 radios with that valve line-up:

Brand, Year, Model, Type (AC=mains, BC = broadcast band only, DW = dual wave, RG = radiogram, Man=mantel)

BGE 1953 BC1603 AC DW
BGE 1954 BC1612 AC BC Clock Man.
BGE 1954 BC1616 AC BC
BGE 1954 BC1650 AC BC
BGE 1954 BC51 AC DW RG
BGE 1955 BC53 AC BC Man.
BGE 1955 BC54 AC DW RG
BGE 1955 BC55 AC DW RG

Kriesler 1954 11-44A AC DW
Kriesler 1954 11-45A AC DW
Kriesler 1954 11-46A AC DW
Kriesler 1954 11-47 AC DW

Operatic 1955 B61RC AC DW

President-Tasma 1954 1612 AC BC Man. Clock
President-Tasma 1954 M51 AC DW RG
President-Tasma 1955 M53 AC BC RG
President-Tasma 1955 M54 AC DW RG
President-Tasma 1955 M55 AC DW RG

Tasma 1953 M1603 AC DW Man.
Tasma 1954 1616 AC BC Man.
Tasma 1954 1650 AC BC

Windsor 1955 R54 AC DW

Lots of wonderful options. One hopes that they just fitted the chassis to the case. If the speaker transformer is open, it might be a Kriesler. Eight out of every ten of them, tended to have a dead output transformer.

GTC,
Wow, thanks! You've saved me a ton of work.

Marc,
hopefully you're right. If I could just get my pictures uploaded someone might recognise the chassis. Output transformer is OK, because I got audio from the radio when I plugged it in.

I discourage that, as step one: I get to fix several sets where that exuberance has resulted in damage, sometimes catastrophic.

Often these things are abandoned because they broke down, & electrolytic caps lose form (polarity) over time and will often present as a short circuit. There are procedures to do before powering.

Yep, in my ignorance of tubes I powered it up before replacing the caps. The second time I pugged it in I got no sound. Hopefully I haven't fried a tube or the output transformer.

If you power it in exuberance, providing the mains is ok? And I have seen cables that have been powered, & were a series of 3/16" beads. Donated Cables & stuff (to a Men's Shed in "good faith") I tested had better than a ten percent fail rate: Scary.

From experience the most in danger from a "blind" startup are the transformer secondary and the rectifier. If its a bad enough short. This is where a 'Dim bulb" saves a fuse: Perhaps. But from assessment, it should have been obvious, that powering was a No No.

A lot of apparatus had rubber insulated wire & that was in three grades & I am convinced that Astor used the worst. Cloth covered "Push Wire" was ok unless you disturbed it (and they used it to wire houses) I am still of the opinion that Cloth Rubber wire ignited Notre Dame and am yet to be proven wrong.

One just does not change only electrolytic power caps: All electrolytics go and from experience all waxed paper caps, which will be resistors go and there are oil filled types, that are no better.

All a learning curve. Everyone has there own ideas, but only the living are going to give advice.

Yes, I put a new cable on it before powering it up. I've order new caps to replace all the electrolytics and waxed paper caps. I'll check the resistors as I go and replace if necessary.

If its got a paper type plate bypass cap. that needs to be at least a KV, or better, lest it be taken out by an audio transient. 50K, 500K and 100K resistors have an attrition rate.