|
|
Post by Kempy on Jul 31, 2018 21:01:58 GMT 12
I thought I'd start the intro's and hopefully gets the ball rolling..
I have what's been described as a "Diverse" collection of hobbies, on the automotive side I have car, motorbike and caravan projects/restorations, I also play around with a couple of small jet engines which is a bit of fun which I'm sure the neighbours love, and seemingly continual renovations on the house. Coffee has been one of my passions having roasted and completed ground-up restorations on some classic Espresso machines like the famous E61 Legend Faema etc..
The one interest that's been present all my life is electronics, pulling everything apart including Dad's electric fence unit apart at age 6 to see how it worked (Boy did I get a belt for that, and not from the fence unit).
Things really took off when I got a Soldering Iron for my 9th birthday and shortly after discovering this fascinating little device called an LM3909N which became a flashing LED project, this lead to many days pouting over David Reid and Dick Smith catalogues and the eternal wait for mail orders to be delivered.
My beginnings with vintage radio began a couple of decades ago now when I decided to dig out a couple of old Leak point 1 amplifiers that I had bought as a teenager from a technician at a radio and TV store that I worked at after school and on Saturday mornings Some of the valves had smashed due to poor handling over the years and I decided that I wanted to get them going again, I think I might have placed a wanted on the now defunct website "Audioenz" and Owen Young got in touch, he had a couple of ST shaped 5U4's that I needed, shortly after I trotted over to Owens and collected the tubes and shared our common interests and if memory serves Owen suggested to contact my now very good friend Gerry Billman for advice on fixing the amplifiers.
I remember well meeting Gerry for the first time and was completely astounded at what I believe is the museum standard collection he has, and to top it off seeing his collection of valves in nearly every type and shape possible!
I obviously caught the valve bug seeing Gerry's valves as I have an ever growing collection of valves for my many amplifier projects, fixing the odd radio, helping out others and my small but growing Display tube collection. When it comes to radios, I have a preference for Bell Colt's which I have collected White, Maroon, Green, Blue, Grey, Oak, a painted fire engine red one and a badly faded Red one, I also collect and other small coloured radios, and of course a very nice Zenith Shutter Dial. Now days I tend to gravitate to 50's and 60's valve amplifiers and HIFI gear as projects, I enjoy the collecting and fixing part mainly, collecting spare parts like transformers (Beacon is a favourite), older philips resistors etc.. to try and keep repairs looking mostly authentic when I can, as when they are fixed I tend to lose interest unless they are particularly special or have a certain je nais se pas So there it is, a small and abbreviated intro.
Certainly looking forward to reading others when the replies come up.
Cheers. Kempy
|
|
paulb
Society Members
Posts: 9
|
Post by paulb on Aug 5, 2018 19:13:05 GMT 12
As Kempy has set such a good example I'll follow up with a short introduction.
I'm one of the newer members of NZVRS and unlike most of you I don't have a background in the Radio or Electronics Industries. My interests are mainly confined to the late mono and early stereo periods of the 1950s and 60s and I still have surprisingly strong memories of being in friends old cars, driving around at night and listening to their valve car radios playing whatever music was popular at the time.
Later in life I found that same music never sounded as satisfying when played on modern stereo equipment and one day I saw a Trade Me ad for an old valve Grundig radio chassis with FM. The seller turned out to be Wayne Griffen and after we'd talked for a while he suggested I go along with him to an Auckland NZVRS meeting. Despite feeling technically incompetent compared to the other members I'm still going and always learning new things as I talk to other members.
I'm mainly interested in researching about Goodmans and Philips speakers in New Zealand, NZ radio and hifi manufacturing generally, messing with idler drive turntables and collecting late mono and early stereo tone arms and phono cartridges. I'd like to be able to restore my own valve amplifiers but that might be a skill that's never acquired.
|
|
|
|
Post by elorens on Aug 29, 2018 21:44:37 GMT 12
Still trying to get to grips with this rather complex forum structure. I just had a question about the cabinet finish of New Zealand-made radios. Were the early wooden cabinets french polished, and if so, when did this practice stop? Is there any consensus on the use of a modern varnish where for example the cabinet needs sanding back? Thanks!
Lawrence
|
|
|
|
Post by Richard on Oct 11, 2018 14:16:59 GMT 12
Hi, Richard here, im a financial member of the NZVRS, I joined a while ago ,though shift work doesnt enable me to get along to the meetings that often. I am mainly interested in 1930's art deco Radio's, so my interest is more in the cabinet design than the electronics of the chassis. I was lucky enough, years and years ago to be trained by the NZPO in Vacuum tube theory, but never really needed to put into practice until i started restoring valve equipment. Its been a great learning curve.
|
|
|
|
Post by Bob Kean on Oct 26, 2018 12:42:44 GMT 12
Hi I'm new to this forum , but been a financial member of NZVRS at least from about 1996?? this site still has me as a "guest" & "pending" I have given it a few days , to settle down... but will keep on waiting..
I have been around NZ in a motorhome for years so have been coming in from Paeroa, culverden and a lot of points inbetween so have met many Radio buffs from Auckland to Invercargill.  I am presently in Rotorua.. Am looking for a circuit diagrams for a Cromwell 726.. (same cabinet as the Gulbranson DW756) on "More Golden Age of Radio" pages 102-103.. and Ultimate RCPplastic radio..Wondered if anyone can help. thanks Bob
|
|
|
|
Post by keanbob on Oct 29, 2018 12:02:55 GMT 12
Hi I'm new to this forum , but been a financial member of NZVRS at least from about 1996?? this site still has me as a "guest" & "pending" I have given it a few days , to settle down... but will keep on waiting..
I have been around NZ in a motorhome for years so have been coming in from Paeroa, culverden and a lot of points inbetween so have met many Radio buffs from Auckland to Invercargill. I am presently in Rotorua.. Am looking for a circuit diagrams for a Cromwell 726.. (same cabinet as the Gulbranson DW756) on "More Golden Age of Radio" pages 102-103.. and Ultimate RCPplastic radio..Wondered if anyone can help. thanks Bob EDITED
Have just been verified all good re my above post..So this post is pretty much answered. In I am "keanbob" Looking forwward to communicating on this site it looks good so far.. Regards Bob
|
|
|
|
Post by ashtray on Jul 16, 2019 10:28:54 GMT 12
Hi all, my name is Geoff and after phoning the President of the NZVRS yesterday and outlining a request for information, he suggested I join up with the forum and post my query here.
I am in the process of writing a book about the enamel ashtrays that NEECO produced in the hundreds back in the 1940's - 50's. They were the discs of metal that had been punch out of the top plate of the electric ranges where the heating elements were to be installed. NEECO made these discs into ashtrays and put all manner of advertising on them and they were 'given away'. They advertised their own products and as they produced a range of radios in the early 40's, it is assumed there might be an ashtray with a radio on it, but I have yet to see one. I am hoping that one (or 2) might exist in someone's radio collection as a 'go with' and I would love to know of its existence and possibly get an image of it. Thanks.
|
|
peter
Tinkerer
Retired, collector of vintage radios and test equipment for restoration and repair.
Posts: 97
|
Post by peter on Oct 10, 2019 23:54:47 GMT 12
Hi all. My name is actually Peter as per the username and I've just joined this forum and NZVRS. I am retired and started collecting valve radios off and on from the 70's - however after going to an auction in the early 90's I limited my collection to one or two from each decade as that auction was of a huge collection that was in very poor condition since the owner had far to much to look after or even store in dry, vermin proof conditions. I swore I would not do the same. About mid 80's another direction took over and since then I've mostly collected old test gear for repair. Again I've limited it to mostly Avometer and Heathkit brands but have a fair smattering of other old stuff. I have been into electronics since about 1966, mostly self taught via mags like Practical Electronics and Practical Wireless but my wife is a University trained Electrical Engineer so I can get help when needed. Have several other hobbies as well (woodwork, metalwork, music, microscopy, cooking) but do like to get out to my shed and start testing and repairing radio things at least once a day. Cheers
|
|
|
|
Post by garryb on Apr 16, 2020 21:19:58 GMT 12
Hi there. My name is Garry. I have been a member of the NZVRS for about 3 years or so but have only just joined the forum. I was always interested in valve radios and small transistor radios as a kid. I bought my first Phillips mantle radio when I was 12, from a local 2nd hand shop which I still have today. I was then given the chassis and speakers from an Ultimate stereo by a neighbour which I made a cabinet for at the age of 14. From my sleepout in Timaru I used to listen in to stations from all over the country and shortwave stations from further afield regularly. One of my favourites was 1ZM in Auckland which I could get at night, and listen to the ZM All-nighter with Barry Jenkin. The music he played influenced my music taste for ever more. Anyway, that was 40 years ago. My interest in valve radios was re-kindled around 5 years ago when I was given a 1936 Philco Model 620E that was destined for the landfill. After doing some research on line and watching a few You Tube clips, I sucessfully re-capped and replaced a couple of resistors and got it running. We now listen to it daily beaming RNZ National in loud and clear in my dining room. That was it, I was hooked. I have since collected around 20 more mainly NZ made radios from the 30s and 40s. Several are original with original caps and all. Some I have successfully re-capped and a couple unsuccessfully. I tend to collect the tombstone style cabinets, but I have a couple of tall floor models and a few bookshelf types as well. My current project is a Golden Knight Model BWR with the gold painted chassis, which I have just finished re-capping. It has a beautiful tone and is really clear sounding. However, I am going to have to find a new power transformer for it because the original gets really hot after about 20 minutes running and has that burning tar smell. I dissconnected it and it still heated up, so I suspect a short within the windings. It runs an 80 rectifier so the transformer needs to be around 300 0 300 with 6.3 and 5v outputs. Cheers to Admin for allowing me to join in here. I look forward to picking a few of the brains in the near future.
Cheers, Garry
|
|
|
|
Post by Richard on Apr 18, 2020 8:49:33 GMT 12
Occasionly you can find power transformers on trademe.
|
|
Ben
New Member
Posts: 2
|
Post by Ben on Oct 25, 2020 8:36:13 GMT 12
Hello there; my name is Ben. I recently joined NZVRS and am going to my first meeting next month in Christchurch. I have been interested in electronics since a young age; I experimented with crystal sets, spark gap transmitters, and became fascinated with valves and vintage electronics. After learning the basics from my Grandfather, who was an electrical technician on a ship in WWII, I have mostly been self taught.
I have gotten back into radios after purchasing a 1930s unmarked set, and parts to an RCS Aus model; I have been learning about the receiver technology from that era. While I have mostly focused on cleaning and fixing the few sets I’ve worked on, I am interested in learning more about the restoration side of things.
Recently I have been interested in learning more about wax paper condensers and creating replicas but with modern capacitors inside. (I think it’s a shame to ruin the look of vintage circuits by installing modern looking components.)
I'm looking forward to my first meeting and learning from everyone.
|
|
|
|
Post by Philconut on Nov 27, 2020 13:52:07 GMT 12
John here. My interest in radio was sparked by my grandmother who gave me a 1930s Golden Knight console radio for my 13th birthday. I spent hours listening to the 80 metre ham band and, with some help from the wonderful team at Tricity House, built and installed a BFO on an outrigger chassis so that I could decipher the SSB signals. I had to borrow a soldering iron so for my 14th birthday I was given a 65 watt Solon soldering iron. I was hooked! A family friend helped me build a 3 valve audio amplifier & I joined the school radio club. In my 5th form year I studied for and passed my grade 2 ham license. At that stage, we had seven licensed hams in the club. - a number never to be equaled.
I built an AM transmitter with a 6L6G final and used the Golden Knight as my receiver.
My first repair was to a wee Philips 540 radio belonging to our neighbour. It turned out that the aerial coli had gone open circuit. In those days Inductance Specialists made a large range of coils and an new aerial coil did the trick.- today I would have dived into the original one in an attempt to repair it!
I spent several years on the 80 metre band learning much from the vast well of knowledge of the many like-minded people. My interest flagged around the time that the Yaesu equipment came on the market and into quite wide use. I found that the chat became much less radio oriented. As well, I got married and so passed 30 years without much in the radio line. As well, an all-consuming interest in the pipe organ filled my spare time completely.
A job change in 1999 saw me become design engineer for Transformer Winding Services Ltd (TWS)here in Christchurch. My first "re-entry" project was a valve stereo amplifier with push-pull 2A3s, which has been a complete success. I joined the ChCh Vintage Radio group as a result of David Chapple coming in to TWS to discuss the rewinding of a power transformer from a Columbus model 12. Now retired, I have time for my organ and vintage radio interests. I have a small collection of radios, all restored. Nothing organized at all, just some that have taken my fancy, maybe with an emphasis on the Philco cathedral types.
|
|
Jon
New Member
Posts: 37 
|
Post by Jon on Feb 1, 2021 17:24:03 GMT 12
Hi, my name is Jon and I have been a member of the NZVRS for a year now, so I figured it was about time I introduced myself.
My interest in radios started oddly enough from Trademe! I happened to come across an Avo 7 for sale which I brought. This took me back to my apprenticeship years and as I continued to look through Trademe, I came across some very nice old valve radios. I also found the NZ Vintage radio project web site which highlighted to me how appealing these old radios can be.
I have always had an interest in electronics from childhood, my first lesson in electricity was getting a bloody good belt from an old valve record player I had! I now make a living fixing electric forklifts having spent most of my life as an auto electrician.
I had absolutely no knowledge about valve technology therefore, vintage radios seem very interesting to me and I thought that I would try and have a go at fixing an old radio or two! (I like a challenge!)
The first Radio I purchased was a bell colt and then a few other small bakelite radios, then came along a Columbus 65 (a proper old radio) which needed a lot of work, this had me hooked. In a space of a year I have a collection of 50ish Radios and some vintage test gear too, having sold my car to create more space in the garage for my ever-expanding collection.
My fiancée didn’t appear to share this interest and certainly wasn’t impressed with garage space diminishing rapidly! (hence the car sale), being taken over with various piles of old junk. However, she has become quite keen on the idea and has since purchased a vintage valve radio herself.
|
|
Steve
Society Members
vintageradio.co.nz
Posts: 755
|
Post by Steve on Feb 6, 2021 9:56:43 GMT 12
That made me laugh... I'm sure many here can relate  Welcome aboard! Steve |
|
Mark
New Member
Posts: 13
|
Post by Mark on Apr 22, 2021 21:14:20 GMT 12
Hi All, I am a new convert to the world of vintage radio and an enjoying the forum and the NZVRS website as a means to slowly build up my familiarity with the topics. I discovered a Cromwell 722 in a local op shop (pictured) and, with a very basic understanding of electrical theory found myself well out of my depth but with an ongoing desire to get this thing working and restored to its former beauty. With this sitting open on the bench and in a short period, have accumulated another 5 beauties! (radios) - I'm now trying to apply some moderation so really want to restore purchase #1 before getting to far along into hoarder territory :-). I have cleaned and dismantled, replaced a couple of capacitors (large green ones) but am hitting a wall, I guess ideally I would locate a circuit diagram (haven't yet) and work through, replace the components where possible and check the expected voltage at various points - any suggestions for an approach to isolate specific areas of obvious fault or "must do" replacements as a starting point would be very useful. Otherwise, glad to be a part of the group, Ill keep reading and look forward to learning more and contributing where possible. Mark (sqwareeyes)  |
|
