Steve
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Post by Steve on Dec 31, 2020 13:27:34 GMT 12
So I have a book, written by Leighton Lord, long-time head of Philips NZ... which is interesting, in particular this little snippet
He suggests that the first model of Philips NZ was produced in their new factory, opened on the 23rd of March 1936 - the model 636P.
The chassis (and schematic) is clearly Radio Corp - so does he mean they assembled the radio here? How much assembly? Just putting the bits in the cabinet or were they assembling from Radio Corp parts almost like kitsets? I suspect the former over the later. The reverse-tapered Philips logo knobs used by Philips NZ at that time were (I understand but would be happy to be corrected) made in Australia - the ones on the above set are both period and Radio Corp correct - but I believe they could possibly be wrong for the radio - should they (?) be the reverse-tapered Philips knobs with the logo on them as was fitted to other sets of that era (with Radio Corp chassis') as seen here on a 516P of the same year: 
So, what was the story here? One of chassis construction at Radio Corp followed by assembly / testing at Philips? Does that mean the earlier models, like the model 666a, were made soley by Radio Corp? One of the tombstone cabinet designs of the 666A seen in advertising looks like an Australian Philips design with its horizontal dark stripes... were they importing cabinets or just getting them made here to look like Australian ones? So many questions.... always so many questions...
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Post by Richard on Jan 1, 2021 9:29:57 GMT 12
According to John Stokes book, "The Golden Age of Radio"(page 56) the 516P was made in NZ by RCNZ. Phillips started manufacturing in NZ in 1936.
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Steve
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Post by Steve on Jan 1, 2021 23:57:37 GMT 12
Hi Richard, the 516 and 636 have similar chassis designs and p-base side-contact valve lineups. While the 636 schematic shows 4V (gold series) valves and the 516 shows 6V (red series) - some early 516 models did actually use the 4V gold valves as well. It could be the difference of a couple of months in the drawing dates was the difference between the 4V variants being replaced as the 6V ones became available enough for production use. Interestingly (and not in keeping with their standard practice), the 516 schematic lists the designer as SJ Rubenstein. Rubenstein was in charge of the lab at Radio Corp until 1937 when he moved to Australia. He also designed the test gear used in Radio Centres (sig gens, multimeters etc). As a side-note, this was around the time Kem Collett arrived at Radio Corp - Kem was the one responsible for the initial design and prototype that led to the development of the model 75. The 636 design, drawn 2 months later, is just attributed to the Lab, which was how most Radio Corp schematics of that era are worded. Most schematics of this time were drawn by FWP(?) - who I have not yet managed to track down.   So yes, the 636 was a Radio Corp design and almost certainly made in the Courtenay Place factory around the same time as the 516 - but to what extent was Philips involved in the manufacturing process - thats the thing I would love to know. The wording of the book sounds like they manufactured it in the Philips factory, but I find this unlikely. Cheers, Steve |
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Post by Richard on Jan 2, 2021 7:29:03 GMT 12
Interesting, you should write a book about RCNZ  . The designer of the RCNZ model 75 and 90 should be commended, they were great designs, that would have been up there with the best from around the world at that time in my opinion. |
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Steve
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Post by Steve on Jan 2, 2021 13:27:20 GMT 12
A book, you say... well... who knows
The 75 was principally developed by 4 men at Radio Corp, after William Marks' wife asked him to make her a radio to tune in more easily to the Russian news services back home. Kem Collett was approached by Marks with the task and proved the concept of a domestic bandspread receiver by modifying on of their existing models - but he was then swept up in WWII and was shipped off overseas leaving it in the hands of others in the lab.
Slightly off-topic but interesting nonetheless
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