More early items in the collection

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Simple three valve regeneration radio from Earn Smiths about 1931 to 1933

This little Regeneration set came from the deceased estate of a friends Father and I guess it was also bought by her Grand Father in the late 1920s. The valve line up is 58, 2A5 and 80.
A friend is restoring the cabinet and so one day it should look as good as the day it was made. If anyone out there has a circuit diagram I would appreciate an email. (Oh and yes, I am a bit of an old car nut, see the S Series Valiant in the background)

Day Fan 5

Both audio interstage transformers are open in at least one winding and I am hunting through my junk boxes for suitable replacments. Would anyone have any of the original type ???

The remains of a 1920's Radio I have had since I was about eighteen

Looking in the book Just Astor by Rod Smith I found this radio on pages 17 and 22. It is an Astor Shielded Three of 1928 or 1929. I confimed this from the dimensions mentioned in the advertisment on page 22.
It has a Pep Punch Audio Transformer and another with Viking written on it. It looks as though there are mounting holes for another Pep Punch where this transfomer is but there is an adaptor plate for the Viking transfomer.

Another remains I have had nearly as long

This is a five valve TRF receiver with three tuned stages and two audio. The three plug-in coils are from General Radio Co. and have the following written on them:
Low Loss Coil M.H.22 Turns 59 and 15.
The tuning capacitors are General Radio type 241 of 250 mmF. One of them, is missing its counter balance weight.

Should be easy to trace the circuit and to get this one going again.

Marconi Crystal Receiver from 1915

This is a very interesting Crystal set made by Marconi Company in London in 1915, during the First World War for the Italian Army.
How it came downunder I do not know. I was given it from the estate of a Radio Amateur about thirty years ago.

The knob on the front under the opening lid is the Antenna coupling control and situated in the box each side of this are two square dry cells.

The socket on the left side of the case is for remote headphones so the officers could listen in away from the trenches. If you look closely you will see two spare crystal detectors in holders attached to the inside of the left hand side. The crystal detectors can be biased and the two crystal holders rotate so they can be switched in and out and the bias made positive or negative. The rehostate on the left is the bias control.

Note the on/off switch that is turned off by closing the lid, nothing is new I guess. The object under the two detectors is the tuning capacitor. On the right hand side of the bottom can be seen a key, a buzzer and an RF choke that picks off the RF generated by the spark from the buzzer contacts.
This tiny RF signal is used to tune the detectors. I guess way back in 1915 this was the only way you would know for sure if your radio was receiveing, there would not have been many signals floating through the air and if you were waiting for an important message from HQ, then the receiver must be ready and working. The calibration chart in Italian is still with this amazing device.

I wonder if this is the companion transmitter ?

Spark Gap Transmitter spark coil and key

Recently rummaging in my shed, looking into boxes I have not looked into for many years, and I found these items I guess I have had for at least fourty years.

Baird and Tatlock measuring bridge

This also came out of the same box as the above items, I must have had this for about as long

I am looking for a suitable center-zero galvanometer to put with this instrument.

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Written by and Copyright, Phil. Storr © Last updated 20th March 2011