Ekco U195 - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

crusher19860138 · 18th Aug 2017, 3:22 pm

I have just restored an Ekco U195 and wonder why Ekco really made these sets as pre-selection instead of the normal tuning arrangement?

I would imagine the blind would benefit from these sets, as well as those with any type of handicap that would make a normally tuned set a challenge to operate?

I personally like them, the rapid station change is very handy!

Boater Sam · 18th Aug 2017, 3:32 pm

It was a fashion of the times, didn't last long as folks wanted to tune in to other stations as well.

paulsherwin · 18th Aug 2017, 3:44 pm

Plenty of people only ever listened to one or two BBC stations, so a preset radio made sense to them. A great aunt of mine only listened to the Light Programme / R2 and was incapable of tuning in a radio herself. She was reasonably competent in other respects, running a large primary school for a decade in the 60s.

crusher19860138 · 18th Aug 2017, 3:56 pm

That would make sense because when this set was made,there really was only 3 BBC stations to choose from, my nan only ever listened to R2.

TonyDuell · 18th Aug 2017, 8:07 pm

There was a clock-radio version of the U195 called the A222. It is the same radio chassis with a Smiths electic clock/switch/alarm buzzer added. It's AC-only due to the clock motor, but the radio is the same AC/DC live chassis unit. Not one of my favourite sets to work on as there's the frame aerial on the inside of the back cover connected to the chassis by 3 fairly short wires which have the annoying habit of coming adrift when you least expect it

There are a couple of feet -- rectangular bakelite things the full depth of the case -- screwed to the bottom. These cover the chassis mounting screws. They can break away from the mountings and get lost at which point the radio still works fine but those exposed chassis screws could be live.

And of course 3 of the 4 valves are B8A types, so remove the spring ring from the holders before you break the locator 'pip' and ruin a valve.

18th Aug 2017, 3:22 pm	#1
crusher19860138 Hexode Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Stourbridge, West Midlands, UK. Posts: 434	Ekco U195 I have just restored an Ekco U195 and wonder why Ekco really made these sets as pre-selection instead of the normal tuning arrangement? I would imagine the blind would benefit from these sets, as well as those with any type of handicap that would make a normally tuned set a challenge to operate? I personally like them, the rapid station change is very handy!

18th Aug 2017, 3:32 pm	#2
Boater Sam Banned Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Middlewich, Cheshire, UK. & Winter in the Philippines. Posts: 3,897	Re: Ekco U195 It was a fashion of the times, didn't last long as folks wanted to tune in to other stations as well.

18th Aug 2017, 3:44 pm	#3
paulsherwin Moderator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 27,943	Re: Ekco U195 Plenty of people only ever listened to one or two BBC stations, so a preset radio made sense to them. A great aunt of mine only listened to the Light Programme / R2 and was incapable of tuning in a radio herself. She was reasonably competent in other respects, running a large primary school for a decade in the 60s.

18th Aug 2017, 3:56 pm	#4
crusher19860138 Hexode Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Stourbridge, West Midlands, UK. Posts: 434	Re: Ekco U195 That would make sense because when this set was made,there really was only 3 BBC stations to choose from, my nan only ever listened to R2.

18th Aug 2017, 8:07 pm	#5
TonyDuell Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Biggin Hill, London, UK. Posts: 5,208	Re: Ekco U195 There was a clock-radio version of the U195 called the A222. It is the same radio chassis with a Smiths electic clock/switch/alarm buzzer added. It's AC-only due to the clock motor, but the radio is the same AC/DC live chassis unit. Not one of my favourite sets to work on as there's the frame aerial on the inside of the back cover connected to the chassis by 3 fairly short wires which have the annoying habit of coming adrift when you least expect it There are a couple of feet -- rectangular bakelite things the full depth of the case -- screwed to the bottom. These cover the chassis mounting screws. They can break away from the mountings and get lost at which point the radio still works fine but those exposed chassis screws could be live. And of course 3 of the 4 valves are B8A types, so remove the spring ring from the holders before you break the locator 'pip' and ruin a valve.