Post by Steve on Oct 10, 2020 11:05:10 GMT 12
So here is an oddity. The model 43 was the high-end spiral dial set from Radio Corp in 1937. Released in at least the main 4 brands they built for: Stella, Pacific, Courtenay and Columbus. They might have made others - CQ and Audiola perhaps? I've never seen them though.
The model 43 had eight all-metal valves plus magic eye. Tuning via a 2-foot long dial, wound into a spiral and with a clever 'tweak' from the band switch the pointer would move slightly onto one of three spiral tracks depending on the band selected.
A complex and clever (too complex and too clever in my humble opinion) piece of engineering from Radio Corp at the time - and unlike some other complex tuning assemblies they used (like that used on the model 88), this one was developed in-house. I have detailed information on the dial assembly on the model 38 page from when I restored my Pacific 38: www.vintageradio.co.nz/model/pacific/38
But here's the even more odd thing: Here is one that just came into my care without the spiral dial, just a plain round dial similar to the other RNZ sets of the time.
I'm trying to work out if its supposed to be a spiral dial set and someone swapped it out because restoring the original dial is a lengthy and complex process, or if Radio Corp made some plain dial variants (more likely I think). I can't find any other 3-band (all-wave) sets with this type of dial, so it seems like it was made for this or the model 38 (6+ valves, AC) or the model 77B (7+ valves, Battery) (the other two spiral dial variants).
I know there were engineering issues getting the spiral dial assembly ready for market on time, and so I wonder if Turnbull & Jones ordered some with normal dials to get them on the shelves for the sales season.
Has anyone else ever seen one of these plain dial model 38 / 43 / 77B sets - and/or does anyone know if there was another all-wave set that this dial could have been from?
Cheers, Steve
The model 43 had eight all-metal valves plus magic eye. Tuning via a 2-foot long dial, wound into a spiral and with a clever 'tweak' from the band switch the pointer would move slightly onto one of three spiral tracks depending on the band selected.
A complex and clever (too complex and too clever in my humble opinion) piece of engineering from Radio Corp at the time - and unlike some other complex tuning assemblies they used (like that used on the model 88), this one was developed in-house. I have detailed information on the dial assembly on the model 38 page from when I restored my Pacific 38: www.vintageradio.co.nz/model/pacific/38
But here's the even more odd thing: Here is one that just came into my care without the spiral dial, just a plain round dial similar to the other RNZ sets of the time.
I'm trying to work out if its supposed to be a spiral dial set and someone swapped it out because restoring the original dial is a lengthy and complex process, or if Radio Corp made some plain dial variants (more likely I think). I can't find any other 3-band (all-wave) sets with this type of dial, so it seems like it was made for this or the model 38 (6+ valves, AC) or the model 77B (7+ valves, Battery) (the other two spiral dial variants).
I know there were engineering issues getting the spiral dial assembly ready for market on time, and so I wonder if Turnbull & Jones ordered some with normal dials to get them on the shelves for the sales season.
Has anyone else ever seen one of these plain dial model 38 / 43 / 77B sets - and/or does anyone know if there was another all-wave set that this dial could have been from?
Cheers, Steve