Hi Folks
I recently acquired a Radiolette R27, with the circular dial and I'm not sure if the dial is original. I seem to recall that this radio had a dial with one layer being the wavelength in metres and another layer behind it with an AWA logo. This logo only became visible when the dial lamp is on.
Mine only has the metres scale, my questions are:
1. are there two versions of this dial possibly used on different versions of the radio
2. if my dial is not the correct one, can anyone point me to a repro dial with the extra layer.
Thanks
Harold

There were a few versions of this set. One, about the same size as the bakelite Empire State models, using a similar chassis and a 100mm speaker; another that was a tad wider, not sure what the extra width was for; and a taller/wider version with a 150mm speaker. As far as I know though, all versions had the two layer dial, where the AWA logo would shine through when the set was turned on. This layer may have been removed from your set due to being burned by the dial lamp - a very common problem with the R27 and R31 Radiolettes, especially when the 6.3 volt lamp would get replaced with a 6.0 volt one.

can anyone point me to a repro dial

Try Michael Ranaan:

raanan (at) optusnet (dot) com (dot) au

Let us know how you go.

The last one I serviced had the dual layer and I have seen a couple with burns.

The principal issue here is the use of the long tubular, very common dial light globe, rather than the (scarce) round one which is shorter and as a result, further from the cellulose.

I have noted some adding a few ohms of series resistance (albiet not original) this will also cool things down.

I did get some (NOS) round ones from the MF dealer as my TED - 20 (6V) uses them in the generator light, I think older bikes used similar with their alternator (Dynamo).

Marc

I did get some (NOS) round ones from the MF dealer

What's the "MF dealer"?

Hey Marc,

Most browsers on the forums are townies so you must keep your language simple


Cheers, Graham...

Yeh!

A lot of them believe that Fruit, Meat, Milk & Veg. etc. actually comes only from a supermarket . Not that people like me actually grow / produce it, for often, hundreds of percent less than what they are paying for it.

MF is Massey Ferguson. Quite of then the townies might actually see one of their Tractors or Mowers cutting grass in city parks.

Radio's are not the only things that use 6V globes many early automotive and other things do as well.

One always explores all avenues for procurement.

A classic example was a city person recently looking everywhere / advertising for a fuel sediment bowl for a Ford car and Vanguard & others also had same one.

So did Ferguson, Ford, & several other makes of vehicle, stationary engines & Tractors. These bowls are available, brand new via the dealerships and there was a distributor two doors from his house.

Marc

^ Unusual for this forum: Ask a simple question, get condescending replies.

Hi GTC
Michael Raanan has just told me he does not have a R27 dial available (yet), and will add it to his "to do" list.
Harold

Others who have not yet cooked a dial, may benefit from the information on why the dial celulose is cooked and some ideas on, preventing , or minimising further damage.

Marc

Hi Gandhn,

Okay, another one you could try is Richard Boyd:

richardboyd (at) iinet (dot) net (dot) au

I know he does dial covers, but not sure about the dials themselves.

"A lot of them believe that Fruit, Meat, Milk & Veg. etc. actually comes only from a supermarket "

Not true, these things also come from restaurants.

Last I heard, only about 4% of Americans are involved with farming. Farms are places where they haven't built housing developments yet. Until then, they grow stuff that gets converted to food by large corporations.
-----

Back to reality: You could use a 12V bulb, it won't glow that brightly, but it's less likely to burn the dial.

Guys,

I'm hoping that the discussion about city v's country is a light-hearted one. If not, please try to give and receive in that light. We can't afford to create division on an issue that has no relevance to vintage radio. Apart from saying this I am not going to get involved unless things get out of hand. Debates on city boys and country boys and who lives in the best state, etc can get heated but I am sure we all have the maturity and wide-enough shoulders to discuss that sort of thing briefly but without superiority complexes developing.

On the subject of dial lamps, we probably need to start thinking about how we will deal with the issue of replacement in the future. Our radios are going to outlast the availability of light globes with MES bases. Given that a 6 volt globe will eventually burn a celluloid dial scale if that has not already happened, should a LED version become available it would mean the right level of brightness without the damaging heat. Soon I may try developing one. I would imagine that a warm white LED with a voltage dropping resistor and a surface-mount full wave rectifier should fit on a PCB small enough to fit into an MES globe base. I might make it my challenge for the weekend.

I have found that many old radios used 600mA globes, whereas have only been able to get 300mA replacements, at least in Oz..

Perhaps the reduction in wattage would solve the dial burn problem on its own.

The lack of knowledge city to country is quite real. Had a teacher that moved from a country state school to a city one, forty or more years ago ......... what a culture shock that was (from his own mouth).

This should be just regarded as observations.

You can also remove a dud bulb & solder in a bulb with flying leads. Had to do that to a Stromberg Carlson to stop the bulb being crushed in the mechanism.

Marc