Greetings all,
Please excuse my lack of knowledge hoping someone may be able to help me with this. I have my familys Healing Golden Voice Cabinet Radio which id like to restore however there Is a valve/tube missing the numbers on the frame/chassis say 6V6G do I require more specific information than this to try and purchase a replacement???
Kind Regards BuckAu

You can find a 6V6G valve without much difficulty however such old radios usually require other work done to them before they can be considered operationally restored, such as replacing capacitors and attending to any issues with wiring whose insulation is compromised.

In fact, we would not even power up such a radio without first carefully inspecting it for potential problems and addressing them. Powering up a radio that has not been used for some time can lead to the otherwise avoidable destruction of parts that are either hard or impossible to come by.

If you can't find a 6V6G, a 6V6GT is even easier to get, but may not look so pleasing to the eye (if you're the type that loves staring at valves).

GTC is correct though.... do NOT turn it on before it's had a thorough checkout.

Also make sure the power cord is still in good condition.

6V6 is still being made, I probably have some of the old ones. Nine times out of ten the grid resistors on it will be out of spec.and all of the paper & electrolytic caps will also have to go & be replaced.

So in order to even contemplate that you need the circuit & good sharp photo's of the inside of the pan & all it's wondrous bits, before you touch it. So we need to know which model you have.

As with the others, I have been fixing these things for decades and will never power a set, without any form of inspection and I will not power it, unless it has come in with a fault and is still running (albeit badly) and I consider it able to be done safely.

Why it is phrased that way, is that I had a classic, not that long ago, come in running with "hum" & its original rubber figure eight mains cable. I still ponder how the owner did not die unplugging it, or it had not started a fire: The cable insulation was breaking up, as was most of the other rubber wire in it.

That cable was first on the hit list. As the set was a swift & viable repair and I knew exactly what was wrong. It was replaced by a prefabricated earthed cable.

So lets not let exuberance rule the head. Powering it can cause expensive damage & injury to the set & doer. Damage that I often have to fix in the set if its not too badly damaged.

Thank you,
Appreciate the replys and I have no intention of powering it up until all safety precautions are triple checked. The power cord Is more than compromised Its bare copper through the old rubber mostly scary
Just trying to gather parts and advice if it never works so be it.
Kind Regards BuckAu

As Marcc said, it would be useful for us to know which model you have.

If you can't find that on the set itself, let us know the other valves in its line-up.

Its liable to have rubber wiring inside the pan as well. That can be fun replacing, but I, like many have just looked at it & said "got to be done: So do it & move on", and we do.

Methodology is important, there are ways of doing things in a proper systematic order.

The only suggestion I could make in addition to the good advice already given, it helps greatly to take a lot of photos with a digital camera before proceeding with any work.

I photograph each stage of the radio so there is a pictorial record of what was originally there.


Even a mobile phone camera will do the job.

Good luck with your rewiring.

Thank you,
Sincerely for your all of your advice appreciate it just checked the model and the plate says 578E
Kind Regards BuckAu

G'day BuckAu.

It is a model 578E dating from around 1947.
I'll send a PDF of the service details to be uploaded here.

Healing 578E Service Manual
Healing Service Data Manual Volume 2

Nice wooden radio, according to my quick googling, it has 3 shortwave bands and the usual medium wave.

Valves: 6J8G 6U7G 6B6G 6V6G 5Y3G

Thank you all for the help.
Big thank you MonochromeTV for posting that priceless Information.
Kind Regards BuckAu

Interesting to note the change from DC to AC mains in Port Augusta at the time.

Depending on the source of information, Port Augusta's electricity supply until 1947 was 220 or 230 volts DC. The postwar growth in Port Augusta was putting a lot of strain on the Council owned DC supply. Due to the inefficiencies of DC distribution, and particularly during heavy loading, householders in outlying areas were being affected by lack of sufficient voltage.

The Port Augusta Council was responsible for bearing the cost of converting it's supply customers DC powered radio's to AC:

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/74656620

Here is a list of the electricity supply situation throughout Australia in 1938:

Electricity Supply Voltages Throughout Australia In 1938

The Vealls Radio building in that PDF document is still standing, which is good to know.