Hi all,

Not sure I am in the right forum so apologies if not I am new to this and even though I am a computer consultant I have always been interested in the old radios. I saw one today and made my first purchase of a HMV and I can only find the model 668 on it. It works perfectly but will need a tiny bit of cabinet restoration. I was wondering if anybody could tell me a little bit about them please, year of manufacture, if I can purchase the HMV stickers and any photos of fully restored ones also please.

Thankyou very much

Kind Regards
Graeme

G'day Graeme and welcome to the group.

Your HMV 668 is a 5 valve dual wave set of 1948 vintage. the valve lineup is; 6J8GA, (converter) EBF35, (If amp) 6U7G, (audio amp) 6V6GT (Power amp) and 5Y3GT, (rectifer).

If you unhide your email address by scrolling up to the top of this page and placing the coursor on the control panel then clicking on it you will be able to make your address visible to group members only, I'll be able to send you a few pages of component values and a schematic of the 668s circuit.

Cheers, Graham...

G'day,

Thankyou very much for the post and the info, I find these things fascinating and it was very helpful.

I would appreciate anything you could send me and I will unhide my email address thanks for the advice.

Speak soon
Cheers

I have unhidden my email address so you should be able to see it.

Cheers

I did get one of this series that I think was 886 table, the number was obscured. I ended up getting the cabinet (Wood) re-done as the finish had crazed.

I got a new HMV transfer, for the case, from a guy that advertises in HRSA magazine.

I did take photos.

Marc

You should replace the wax paper capacitors, if the previous owner has not done so (they get electronically leaky and upset voltage biasing on tubes) and the electrolytic power supply filter caps (old ones can short out, overloading and burning out the power transformer).

Change one cap at a time, the cap value should be around 20% of the old one, and the same or higher voltage rating.

I don't try to remove all of the old cap lead from a terminal (terminals can be fragile) so I clip the old cap lead with wire cutters, and solder the new cap lead along side of it. Keep the same location more or less where the old cap was.

Just to throw a spanner in the works, there is also a
British HMV with the same model number.

http://www.radiomanuals.info/information/0001%20to%20399/s0396.pdf.
http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/marconi_668.html.

Though it is most likely your HMV 668 is the Australian version, British immigrants to this country in the 1950's & 60's sometimes did bring their radios over with them.

Brad thanks for inserting the link to the set we think is an 886. This sticker may be what Graeme is looking for?

I know where it came from.

Marc

They are a transfer like the old car rego labels. Unfortunately I not remember who makes the replicas though. There's two versions of this transfer too as they were also put on the table model gramophones made by HMV. Two factory locations were "Sydney, NSW" and "Hayes, Middlesex". Graeme will want the former for his radio if it was made here.

I looked up 686 on a search and it appears to be a console, though it may share the chassis of the 886 or at least be similar.

Michael Raanan is a source of the HMV sticker decals and I have emailed his address to Gra directly, rather than inviting spammers by listing his email address here.
I'm pretty sure he is the person referred to in earlier posts, as he does advertise in the HRSA magazine.
Regards
Harold