Congratulations on a remarkable effort on many levels! Truly a resurrection.

You've made a number of what I would call "heroic" decisions in your choice of period components and managed to get it all up and running.

Your article reads very well and I reckon it would make fine reading in either the HRSA's Radio Waves or Silicon Chip's Vintage Radio section, albeit I guess they may want an edited down version because of space restrictions. On the other hand a two part article might be considered.

The problem you experienced with the switch on the volume control probably explains why many valve radio manufacturers elected to put the on/off switch on the tone pot instead but, of course, you didn't have that option.

Hi GTC thanks for the kind words I never quite know how my articles read as one is too close to them while writing. I have done a lot of manufacturing equipment in the past before I retired and writing handbooks was part of that so marshalling thoughts in a logical way was part of the process. You get peer reviewed real fast when you write a handbook especially when you include all the deliberate mistakes!

I actually spent the whole of last year making up "radio" things just for fun without knowing anything about historical radio I just make things like cars or radios just for fun just for myself.

I did submit an article to SC but the editor replied along the lines that "we all read it but cannot find a category to put that in" so I did not persist. I like editors that say "that's great, can you change that and take out that and put that in and do better photos and its a goer" sort of thing. That's why I write lots of coin articles for Coin and Banknote for instance. Anyway I will tart up a couple of other articles about things I have made. For instance I made a valve only combined TRF AM and superhet FM tuner with an inbuilt CRO tube so you can see the audio waves as well as hear them and you will see some "heroic" decisions made with that one!. Why did I make it? because I had no idea how to do it so I found out how as I went along.
I'll spiff that one up and start another thread.

Oh guys and gals if I make a boo boo or factual mistake in any writings please feel free to jump in and give me a blast and set me straight. I'm old enough now (71) not to burst straight into tears and am still just a kid learning about stuff.

Cheers.

Anyway I will tart up a couple of other articles about things I have made .... and start another thread.

Suggest posting them in the Special Projects section.

if I make a boo boo

The only one I spotted on first read through was mantles instead of mantels.

Thanks GTC special projects it will be and fixed misspell in original.

In a way I can understand SC's point. The vintage radio section concentrates on the restoration of existing sets.

Really this is a reproduction and may indeed be of more interest to HRSA.

Marc

Maybe Just Maybe Fred you could think up some way of making this available in kit form to any of us guys that would like to put one together . I mean you sound like the sort of person that enjoys a challenge . I am sort of only half joking but in reality I have to hold my hat out to you for doing this and I for one would love to see this sort of thing happen.

Tallar Carl,................ I wonder how many people would be interested in making a generic superhet from scratch?
I have certainly produced a prototype here by assembling a range of odd parts and making it work.
I dont see why anybody else could not make the same thing from a bunch of discarded bits from all sources as nothing is really critical in value. So long as the coil set talks to each other all the other bits can be +- 50% and still work.
The circuit arrangement is so basic and each stage is almost a stand alone in function with very few feedback loops to confuse issures. You could make it up stage by stage sort of how I have done and test each stage before proceeding with the rest. Many parts can be bench tested alone before fitting.
After all its only got about 100 parts and checking each bit before use is a lesson in itself and easy to do. There is no processors no PICS, and no programming...what could possibly go wrong?
Such a set can use any types of valves you like from 2.5 volt 2A7/57 and to 6 volt 6 ,7 and 8 pins like 6K7/6A8/6V6 G and GT whatever you have even TV type miniatures or radio valves.

One thing I can easily do following on from this set is to make up a parts list to the circuit. All you would have to do is collect the parts, test them and wire them up the right way and its got to work.
If an old radio is handy with a chassis, coil set, power tranny, and some valves you are nearly there.

I actually did this process with a Philips chassis last year and made a tuner using most of the Philips stuff but modifying the chassis to suit older parts and used wax ducon capacitors and carbon resisitors just for the hell of it.

Getting back to making a generic superhet does anybody want to do that and would a parts list help kick that process off?
I could call it the "Generic Superhet parts list" and PDF it for posting.
I dont want to make kitsets!! I spent most of 1970/80 involved in electronic hobby kit sets and working in manufacturing ,which I thought was just another hobby and they paid me for doing it!

Any thoughts on what people in this hysterical radio thing may like?

In the meantime i'll finish off a couple of articles,1/ the AM/FM/CRO receiver, 2/ the wax paper capacitor Philips remake and 3/ a cute set where I made an "Empire State" style cabinet wrapped around an unknown radio chassis.
FredL,.

On the other hand a two part article might be considered.

A good chance of it, if you can convince the publisher. To be honest I think the current crop of articles are being put in to fill space rather than educate, the latter of which is supposed to be the purpose of a magazine like Silicon Chip.

It's difficult to put a point like this across without sounding overly critical though I seriously doubt that the articles on foreign pocket transistorised radios (like the one in this month's issue) is doing much to attract new people to the hobby.

I can appreciate the effort that is required to produce a quality article. The articles are well written and do contain a lot of information, though as Marc pointed out, it usually focuses on what was done to get the radio going and again, it has more often than not in the past several years been on radios that have little or no historical significance.

The original author of the Vintage Radio column, John Hill, did at times write two-part articles because he went to the effort of describing not only what was done to restore a valve radio but he demonstrated how to do it, so people could learn the required techniques, whether it be rewinding a coil or transformer or re-aligning a receiver after installing new components. This sort of thing is what the SC Vintage Radio column needs to revert to.

Due to SC's recognition in recent years that valve technology is attracting the interest of a greater number of people I think it may be easy to get them to come across to the idea, though yes, I agree again that writing good articles in this manner requires a fair bit of knowledge, commitment and dedication.

Where that falls down with a magazine, is maintaining not only a flow of material but finding the right people to write & edit it.

I and I believe others have been highly critical of one person in particular, as the articles contain several mistakes, which reflect badly & cause many of us to wonder if the person in question, grew up in the valve era & understands them?

That in itself is the tip of the iceberg as similar to the motor industry we are not training people in the old technology, despite there being a lot out there, or how to actually fix things.

Now If its electronic & fails, most of it can't be repaired & we just put all of the energy & material used to make it in the Ewaste bin & use a whole lot more recycling it & replacing it.

Marc

...grew up in the valve era & understands them?

This is the key phrase here. Whoever occupies the role does need broad experience with the theory and practice. I can't offer myself for the task because I don't have the well-rounded experience required. I can fix most problems in a radio but that doesn't cut it for a job like that.

If I was born about 15 years earlier things might be different.