Post by 6A8G. on Jul 4, 2022 9:51:41 GMT 12
My Neeco.
Bit of a long path to recovery for this radio – I bought it around 2003 I think & promptly replaced all the wax caps. Then something happened & it was banished to the attic along with all my other wooden radios. It wasn’t until earlier this year that I spied it & decided to finish the job properly.
It warmed up, it received stations & it squawked & screeched & was generally unstable.
I remember reading “From the Serviceman who tells” from February 1950 from which I quote: …the metal 6A8 had developed a short to chassis. Not having a replacement on hand I plugged in one of the new X61M converters, checked the operating voltages and re-peaked the IF primary winding to compensate any change in capacitance. The set was really “hotted up”….
In 1924, the National Electric and Engineering Company, or Neeco, took over Dominion Porcelain and Tile Industries Ltd. of Temuka, which was renamed New Zealand Insulators Ltd. (NZI). In the 1930s, factory manager Arthur Roden Toplis expanded NZI’s production into pottery with the creation of the Temuka Pottery.
Temuka Pottery began producing electric jugs that same decade. Although Toplis created some designs himself, he also hired potter Thomas Norman Lovatt on contract to create one design, known as ‘Hot Point.’ It so impressed the company that he was appointed manager in 1941, Toplis having died in 1939. Some designs from the Toplis era stayed in production during Lovatt’s tenure, joined by new designs by Lovatt. Electric jug production continued until the 1950s.
Most of Temuka Pottery’s electric jugs came in a choice of a cream or coloured, often mottled glaze, making this an example of a typical jug. They were also created for a number of different electrical firms, each of which had their own design.
Lovatt retired in 1965 and the following year Neeco was taken over in 1966 by Cable Price Downer Ltd. Both NZI and Temuka Pottery still exist today under different ownership.
Bit of a long path to recovery for this radio – I bought it around 2003 I think & promptly replaced all the wax caps. Then something happened & it was banished to the attic along with all my other wooden radios. It wasn’t until earlier this year that I spied it & decided to finish the job properly.
When I got it onto the bench the converter was missing. There is no documentation for this radio whatsoever. I’m guessed the converter would be a pentagrid – that’s how the socket was wired. The only one I had on hand was a 6A8G so in it went.
There was only a tiny vestige of signal. This was traced to a short in IFT1 which I wrote about in the Components section of these forums. The post is here: nzvrs.freeforums.net/thread/597/ift1
I remember reading “From the Serviceman who tells” from February 1950 from which I quote: …the metal 6A8 had developed a short to chassis. Not having a replacement on hand I plugged in one of the new X61M converters, checked the operating voltages and re-peaked the IF primary winding to compensate any change in capacitance. The set was really “hotted up”….
I had an X61M on hand so in it went. It still squawked but it was a little better.
The rest of the valve line-up was 6U7G, 6Q7-GT, 6V6-GT & 5Y3. There was no provision for shielding on the valve sockets & I didn’t have any goat shields to hand.
So, in went an EF39 for the 6U7G & an EBC33 for the 6Q7-GT. Result? No squeaky, no hummy, it actually sounded like a radio!
The cabinet finish was in poor condition - & someone had previously been a bit over-zealous with the sandpaper. You can see the result on the top left-hand corner. I used Citri-Strip to take everything off & start again. It took three applications followed by two coats of lacquer. It looks a lot better but not the mirror-finish for which I was hoping. However it looks a lot better than it did before & my wife decided it was good (pretty) enough to adorn the kitchen bench.
I tried to find out about my radio & Neeco & came up with this from nzmuseums.co.nz
In 1924, the National Electric and Engineering Company, or Neeco, took over Dominion Porcelain and Tile Industries Ltd. of Temuka, which was renamed New Zealand Insulators Ltd. (NZI). In the 1930s, factory manager Arthur Roden Toplis expanded NZI’s production into pottery with the creation of the Temuka Pottery.
Temuka Pottery began producing electric jugs that same decade. Although Toplis created some designs himself, he also hired potter Thomas Norman Lovatt on contract to create one design, known as ‘Hot Point.’ It so impressed the company that he was appointed manager in 1941, Toplis having died in 1939. Some designs from the Toplis era stayed in production during Lovatt’s tenure, joined by new designs by Lovatt. Electric jug production continued until the 1950s.
Most of Temuka Pottery’s electric jugs came in a choice of a cream or coloured, often mottled glaze, making this an example of a typical jug. They were also created for a number of different electrical firms, each of which had their own design.
Lovatt retired in 1965 and the following year Neeco was taken over in 1966 by Cable Price Downer Ltd. Both NZI and Temuka Pottery still exist today under different ownership.
The ashtray on top of the radio is branded Neeco & is presumably made of the same stuff as that of the insulators which sit atop many NZ power poles.
There’s no reference to radio manufacture but Mr. Dunford suspects it could be a Westco set.
There’s no reference to radio manufacture but Mr. Dunford suspects it could be a Westco set.
