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Post by Philconut on May 8, 2020 17:09:38 GMT 12
have just solved a conundrum that has been hanging around for about 30 years! I was given a radio by a long-time friend as she was clearing out her garage. It wasn't working. I spent some time getting it going and long story short, I could never work out what it was. I'm still not sure that the cabinet & chassis are a pair but the cabinet is very ornate with extensive marquetry and is very attractive. It has 2.5V filament valves with PP 45s in the output driving a 10" speaker. It goes well and we have had it as our radio at the bach in Akaroa for the intervening years. - no FM National radio over here. Well, I've had a bit of time on my hands lately, and spurred on by the on-going restoration of the Ultimate 9L, I launched an investigation into this one as there are many similarities. Like the 9L, the only marking is an 8PL & the serial number stamped into the back of the chassis. Also, the valve sockets are engraved with the valve types and the 80 is mounted on top of the power transformer. Voila. It is indeed an Ultimate and the NZVRS library has provided a circuit. Excellent! That's the preamble over. My question relates to the tuning meter shown on the circuit diagram attached. It measures the plate current for the RF & IF amplifiers. It isn't there & because the radio has been well altered from the original circuit, there is no evidence left. Does anyone know anything about tuning meters that RL used in 1934 and/or the cabinet origin.
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Steve
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Post by Steve on May 10, 2020 13:03:01 GMT 12
Interesting 1938/39ish dial - Courtenay/Columbus-ish in appearance. Has that been done to update the appearance of the set at some point do you think? The cabinet looks almost American in elegance, NZ cabinets often tended to be much more muted in their design - but thats not to say it isn't of Kiwi origin. Perhaps a custom model for someone of means? I have one photo of an Ultimate in a big console cabinet with what I assume is a tuning meter, the photo is blurry and washed out, unfortunately - but this is probably what your meter looked like too? They don't seem to have been a common fitment in RL sets
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Post by Philconut on May 10, 2020 13:58:49 GMT 12
The dial may well have been updated. I have seen a similar dial before but can't place where. It maybe that the dial was updated when the chassis was installed into this cabinet. Another clue is that there is no dial lamp which is very unusual. Yes, I would be confident that the fitting above the dial in your photo is the tuning meter. - a rare beast!
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Steve
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Post by Steve on May 10, 2020 14:23:40 GMT 12
The escutcheon (probably Turnbull and Jones) was used commonly on Courtenay receivers from 1938/39 (so not period correct for that chassis or lineup) and the dial is also of the style found in those sets and Columbus sets of the same era. The dial is also a similar style to the Rolax I just restored, which I also suspect came through T&J
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Post by Philconut on May 10, 2020 15:27:25 GMT 12
It certainly appears as though I have a bitser. I suspect that the original dial was the same semicircular type as in the 9L which is just calibrated 0 to 100, so this one at least gives frequencies which saves having to keep a pad & pencil beside the radio! The audio circuit differs quite a lot from the original to. The 56 is now the phase splitter & the 55 is now a 2B7 detector/audio. I suspect that at some stage the driver transformer went o/c on a winding and making the 56 the phase splitter was easier than winding/sourcing another transformer. Because it is such a mish-mash I will leave it as is. It does go well. The PP 45s with the 10" speaker sound good.
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Steve
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Post by Steve on May 10, 2020 22:27:29 GMT 12
Its certainly a striking radio as it sits. It would be a big ask to try and return it to what you think it might have been
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