Hi guys, I pulled some shelving down in the workshop and discovered that a flat sheet of plywood was actually the front of a 2 knob floor standing upright radio. The piece of wood still has the dial escutcheon screwed to it so I know its a "Vogue". Yes I have googled Vogue and know the Targan/Allens/Nicholsons 5 to 8 valve receivers and have seen photos but this is really different. It feels like a real cut price cheapo no frills economy set.

My memory of this set is taking an axe to it about 50 years ago while I was building the shelves and tossing the chassis and speaker out in the garbage. The usable bit was the front and it fitted the shelf brackets nicely! I think it had a bathtub tuning cap, a 1/2 round dial, bottle valves like 24's/ 47/ 80 and a really heavy speaker with lots of windings.

So I have the front facade only like a cheap western film and naturally would like to remake the whole thing. Does anybody recognise the photo of the escutcheon and front panel and seen anything like it. A photo of a similar set and a circuit would be nice. Otherwise i'll just have to make a chassis from imagination and make an "Autodyne" set up not a TRF with 1930's valves and other stuff. I'll send the pix as soon as.

Any "Vogue" clues?

Cheers, Fred Lever.

This thread may provide some clues.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

My memory of this set is taking an axe to it about 50 years ago while I was building the shelves and tossing the chassis and speaker out in the garbage ... So I have the front facade only like a cheap western film and naturally would like to remake the whole thing.

Why not choose a really difficult restoration instead?

and naturally would like to remake the whole thing

I assume you mean to recreate the cabinet, not the radio as well.

It looks a little like my ancient "Meteor", which also uses the same valves.

Hi Guys thanks for the comments.................
1/ Brad I went through the link and yes one of the posted sets of photos, the two horizontal knob chassis looks like the same sort of vintagel. I vaugely remember the set had the valves and coils down on the left hand side and across the back, then the gang in the middle, then the electros and power tranny on the right.
2/ GTC, difficult would be making it up WITHOUT the front panel and entirely from 70 year old memories!
3/ Robbbert, of course I'm going to make the whole thing, wood from bunnings, nail up cabinet, bend up a chassis, drill the holes, parts from ebay, wind the coils and tranny...whats hard? The only thing I cant do is make the valves, blowing the glass and sucking the air out is a real chore!

I was thinking about the 2 controls and racking the memory the top one was tuning and the bottom one was the volume. There was no power switch, that was a click switch in the 2 core power lead fitted with a round plug that plugged into the double adaptor that you replaced the bulb with in the ceiling light.
Trust me. Worksafe and multiple outlets had not been invented back then. Each room had a just a lamp in the ceiling and only the lounge and sitting room had the three pin outlets. Mounted upside down so if the electric plug pulled halfway out only the unused earth pin pulled out and the iron/jug/sowing machine kept going!

ahhhh the memories.

Thanks again i'll look forward to any other ideas.

Up date on Vogue radio puzzle.

I did not advance any further on the actual maker or seller of my Vogue. It just seems to be a much cheaper set than any shown in the links and leads from the members.

So, I have pushed on a bit and bent up a chassis to take a 1935's set of valves and in a basic Superhet arrangement.
The attached 2 photos give you all an idea of where I am heading showing the front panel fixed to a frame and the first trial fitting of the chassis mainly to locate the control spindles and making sure nothing hits anything and there is plenty of room.

I'll follow up when I hit the next key way point such as assembling the chassis and/or fitting the cabinet out with some clothes.

Cheers Fred Lever.

Vogue was sold by Allans Music, If you searched the archives for their adds you might find it?

It of course could be anybody's chassis, but if there are any clues to where it was built,or where the cabinet came from that may narrow it down.

It is not a Vogue model 4 Deluxe 22 pound ten,as that has four knobs, but there was a 3 Valve at 15 pound 15 and a 4 Valve 19 pound 19 Shillings.

Oliver J Nilsen & Co made a DIY Chassis with over & under controls like that, although I just have a feeling that it might be a Nomis chassis, the whole lot coming out of Adelaide.

Marc

Marcc is correct.

Vogue was the house brand for music house retailers Allans in the east & Nicholsons in the west. It seems almost certain that Vogue radio chassis' & cabinets were made in Melbourne.

Most of the current information for this brand has for some time been coming from the west. At present the Melbourne newspapers from the 1930's with the interesting radio advertisements are not yet on Trove.

The Vogue brand was associated with radio stations 3AW, Melbourne & 6PR, Perth.

Thanks Marcc and Monochrome yes have viewed many sources including those mentioned and seen illustrations of many radio sets. Thanks for all the leads. All of those seen are much more ornate than this simple set.

The "Vogue" dial escutcheon is a brass pressing so that indicates a level of manufacture that could afford a punch and die set. That would not happen with a home made set of low number so "they" intended to make a number if they tooled up that far.

I rather like the OJN low production or even the kit set idea, That would fit in with the stamped escutcheon and a kit set chassis with possibly the builder making his own one off cabinet. So what I am doing may be not far from what the original was! The only difference is my "Kit" is just the front panel and escutcheon and poor me has to do the rest.

How I wish I had kept that set intact!

As a total newby with radio sets I appreciate any guidance. I may have designed space rockets and made nuclear reactors in my life but know ZIP about historic radio but I'm catching up quickly!

I'll keep this thread going with the progress of the build but it will be slow as its jammed in between doing other stuff

Fred.

The "Vogue" dial escutcheon came with a dial assembly manufactured by EFCO. "Vogue" is pressed on to the blank name plate of the escutcheon. Kitset builders using these dial/escutcheon assemblies would often engrave or punch their name on to the blank name plate.

Here is a 1934 advertisement for a range of EFCO dial/escutcheon assemblies. The escutcheon for the Vogue in this thread is the same as the "Lion" depicted on the right hand side of the page.

Vogue radios were sold by Allans/Nicholsons right throughout the 1930's & not all of them were ornate luxury items. They were a generic radio & the earlier Vogues were supposedly made by Targan. Vogue radios were still being sold after Targan had folded. It is likely over the years the Vogue was made by other radio manufacturers as well.

There are several Vogue radios in collections over here in WA.

Here is an advertisement from the West Australian Wireless News, 18-4-1932. My radio is on the right.

Thanks guys.

Monochrome has hit the spot with the dial being a "lion" type.
Now it makes sense. The set is probably post 1935 to 1940 made by ???? either as a cheap small production or a kitset.
In addition the centre round badge thing on my escutcheon is a solder in part and studying the pattern it is of course a Muse being a chick with a Lyre possibly Aiode or Nete being associated with music and Lyres!
I'll guess you could buy the basic dial from EFCO stamp your name at the top and solder in the chick of your choice to the centre. Efco may have had a bunch of stock centres with all sorts of motifs. Now Vogue means "in fashion" so its a big name for a cheap little set and means nothing else as I doubt there was copywrite on that name and anybody could use it.

Garoyoz if Nicholsons stocked this one I bet it was hidden out the back just for the customer who was skint and you could say "well we DO have a cheaper model" and trot out the elcheapo box.

I dont feel so bad making my own chassis and sticking in whatever parts I can scab up to suit as that was probably what the original maker did!
I'll procede with the project and up date the thread where necessary.

Cheers, Fred.

I gotta hand it to you. It looks like your doing an awesome job of it.

Here is a bit of an update on progress on the Vogue reconstruction.

1/ Chassis made and painted.
2/ Cabinet made and staining wood to look old.
I'll email two photos and update again at the next main point with chassis build progress and cabinet complete.
I am also writing the project up as I go along and will have a PDF of the whole thing as an article when finished.
Fred.

Well I got going on this Vogue project with all the rainy days over Xmas and knocked it off without too much trouble. Thanks for the feedback from you guys setting me straight on some details.
I'll send a couple of pictures of the finished set and have detailed the whole process in a PDF written as an article. I'll send the PDF in and i'm sure somebody will tell me (Brad?) what to do with it!
It's good fun reading as half the time I dont know what I am doing but get stuck in anyway and bulldoze it through. I've got lots of text surrounded by lots of pictures as I went step by step and making goof ups and i'm hoping it is interesting!

Cheers.

Restoring a Vogue console radio