Dynatron Ether Conqueror valuation
 

Hi, I am a new member that has inherited a beautiful old Dynatron Radiogram. It still has the old two pin plug on it and all of the insides of which I have pictures. It has not been tampered with or used in approx 60 years and I believe it was manufactured in 1948/9. I was wondering if anybody here could give me some idea about it's potential value? It is very large. I have come here as I would love to the follow the story of its potential restoration rather than see it ripped apart by a buyer from the internet.

Re: Dynatron Ether Conqueror valuation
 

I have one of these.

You need to be very careful!

The last person who posted about the Decca version of one of these radiograms back around April time this year, was contacted by "someone" privately who, from what I can gather, said he was a "restorer". I've since seen pictures of what's left of it on the internet - that gram is now DEAD! >:(

I would add that it definitely has been used well within the last 60 years as it has been fitted with a more modern record deck from the 1960s. A very nice radiogram all the same and a sensible modification - it just needs the motor board colouring to match the rest of the cabinet.

Re: Dynatron Ether Conqueror valuation
 

Long story short - as a large radiogram in anything like original condition its value will be what a specialist collector is prepared to pay for it. It might sound 'lovely' but it won't be hi-fi. The deck won't be kind to vinyl records. There is less and less broadcast AM radio to listen to. The value will depend strongly on finding two collectors who want it enough to compete on price. Otherwise you might struggle to get into three figures for it (I'd love to be proved wrong on this though).

However this particular gram contains some very valuable valves. If they are in good condition then two of them are worth perhaps hundreds of pounds each on the open market. If you sell the gram with them in and simply go with the highest bidder there is a very real risk that they will be removed and sold on and the fate of the rest of the gram will then be very uncertain.

EDIT: I've just checked the valve types and my pricing might be a bit of an overestimate. But we could still be talking about hundreds for a good condition pair.

There's no easy way out of this one I'm afraid.

Cheers,

GJ

Re: Dynatron Ether Conqueror valuation
 

Aww, that's such a shame I also inherited a Dynatron Falcon TV of the same age but found someone on another forum who is going to restore it and I can follow its progress.

Hopefully I can find someone else like this who appreciates its beauty. I may even hang on to it, just very interested in what they are worth.

Re: Dynatron Ether Conqueror valuation
 

Thanks for letting me know, was told it hadn't been touched at all.

Re: Dynatron Ether Conqueror valuation
 

Please be VERY careful if you receive ANY PMs (private messages) from ANYONE offering to buy this radiogram from you!

Re: Dynatron Ether Conqueror valuation
 

I will thank you, I am not in tearing hurry to get rid of it but will try to ensure it goes to someone who will look after it.

Re: Dynatron Ether Conqueror valuation
 

The hard truth is that the real value is all in the broken up parts!

Please don't be tempted to go down this path. Remember that because so many of these have been broken up and the electronics sold off with the cabinets being used for firewood, it makes the remaining examples very rare.

Re: Dynatron Ether Conqueror valuation
 

It's a beauty for sure I would love to have one .

Re: Dynatron Ether Conqueror valuation
 

It's a beautiful thing from the golden age of Dynatron, but as GJ says in #3 it's not a very practical object today, and the number of collectors who want one for its own sake will be quite small. The output valves will be worth considerably more than all the rest of the radiogram combined, despite the excellent cosmetic condition.

It is possible to modify these Dynatrons to use different and much less expensive valves, but it's a significant job and would destroy the originality of the piece.

Re: Dynatron Ether Conqueror valuation
 

It's a lovely piece of kit, even with a later "Collaro" record deck fitted. At the time this was made, Dynatron was run by the Hacker brothers and they made high quality kit (for its time).

The original Dynatron company was bought by Ekco (E K Cole Ltd, of Southend on Sea, Essex) in the mid-50s and a few years later, the Hacker brothers went on the establish Hacker Radio Ltd, which you may have heard of (it went out of business in the 1970s). They were best known for their high quality portable transistor radios.

As has already been said, its value depends upon who wants it (and what they intend to do with it), at the time it is offered for sale, and which selling medium is used (e.g. specialist forums like this or an auction website).

It would be a great shame if this was broken up just for the value of the valves.

If you have an interest in keeping it as a working piece of kit, it would need some restoration work carried out in order for it to work correctly, safely and reliably. That in itself would not come cheap. However, you may simply wish to keep it a a lovely looking piece of furniture.

Re: Dynatron Ether Conqueror valuation
 

I am definitely going to hang fire for the "right" person or just keep it for sentiment's sake. Would hate to see it ripped apart.

Re: Dynatron Ether Conqueror valuation
 

If you look at your internal pictures, there should be a slide in cover beneath the record deck - I can see that this cover is missing. As you've inherited this nice radiogram, you may still be able to find this part and possibly the original record deck among its previous owners bits and pieces, perhaps in a shed or a loft. It's not the end of the world if they're lost as the bottom cover can be made and the original record deck would have been for 78s only, so the one that's fitted now is much more usable. As said by GJ above, definitely not HI-FI.

Re: Dynatron Ether Conqueror valuation
 

In case you are interested, here is a brief history of Dynatron trade name:

Dynatron Radio Ltd, Perfecta Works, Ray Lea Road, Maidenhead, Berks (in 1947). Maker of radios and radiograms (also industrial electronics & TV sets). Founded by R H & A G Hacker in 1927 (as H Hacker & Sons, Ray Lea Road, Maidenhead), to manufacture Dynatron radiograms.

In 1953 & 54, at The Firs, Castle Hill, Maidenhead (main offices & showrooms). In 1955, they sold out to E K Cole Ltd (Ekco). In 1957, they were at St Peter’s Road, Furze Platt, Maidenhead.

RH & AG Hacker remained with the company until 1959, when they left to form Hacker Radio Ltd in 1960.

Pye took over E K Cole in 1960 and, in 1966, the Pye High Fidelity Division was also at St Peters Road, Maidenhead. The firm remained in Maidenhead until the 1970’s (under the ownership of Pye and then Philips).

In 1975, Dynatron had a product development team at Hansa Road, Hardwick Industrial Estate, King’s Lynn, Norfolk (Pye TMC / Pye Electro Devices were also on this estate).

Philips sold the brand name to Roberts Radio Ltd in January 1981. Roberts replaced their “Roberts Video” brand with “Dynatron” thereafter. Roberts is now a subsidiary of Glen Dimplex plc.


Hacker Radio Ltd, Norreys Drive, Cox Green, Maidenhead, Berks (in 1961 – this new site was built in 1960). Established by RH & AG Hacker – late of Dynatron Radio Ltd. Maker of radios and HiFi, but also industrial electronics (e.g. for UKAEA – in 1969). Circa 1975, the firm went into liquidation and was bought – the new company was called Hacker Sound Ltd. Not long after, this company was bought by Motoradio Ltd of Blackburn (In Car Entertainment manufacturers). Production was then transferred from Maidenhead to Motoradio’s plant in 83-95 Stanley Road, Bournemouth, a factory unit that was within a housing area. Fire destroyed the factory on the night of Wednesday 20th August 1980 and that brought all Hacker production to a end.

Re: Dynatron Ether Conqueror valuation
 

I agree. Look at it this way, if you get rid of it you won't ever get another in the condition of the one you have, and it's probably what its previous owner would want you to do. However, if you did manage to find a genuine and 'verifiable' collector to sell it to, then this would be worth possible future consideration, but as I said earlier, you will need to be very careful indeed.

Re: Dynatron Ether Conqueror valuation
 

The trouble is that it's the whole amplifier complete with the valves that make the real money with these. Once the amplifier's gone the rest isn't a lot of use due to it also powering the radio tuner. It's true that being AM only makes it not very usable these days. They did make a three station FM tuner for these, where the control came up just below the tuning scale. I had thought of looking for one for mine, but it would involve a bit of cabinet drilling and the control switch and its surround don't look particularly nice against the rest of the panel on this model.

Re: Dynatron Ether Conqueror valuation
 

A clear story and photos there Wendy! Good advice from all concerned. This is an enthusiasts site but very different from other places so you were wise in your selection. It's not unusual for a "buyer" to whip out the valves and dump the rest from what I've read. That's sacrilege here8-o I'm selling some vintage communication equipment at present but to someone who can be relied upon to restore and use it. The Forum "For Sale" section has very limited value for an item like this as-

[a] You have to state the price-difficult for me as it had been stored a long time-same for you perhaps. [The two pin plug may, in fact, have protected it as sometimes people just plug in and set off an unfortunate "cascade" of damage that could easily have been avoided]. These things have to be brought back to life slowly-like humans!

[b] Opportunists trawl sites for this sort of thing so you don't want to attract the "wrong" sort of attention. I asked anyone interested to contact me on a thread like this and found exactly the right person [with principles] who wanted to preserve the equipment and use it.

As Joseph said it's not straight forward but you've made the right instinctive move and can compare the advice given to help you decide how to procede.
I saw one of these at the Battle Auction over a decade or so ago but it was right at the end of the list, I had to leave and didn't know much about the Make-we've all got stories like that:D. It was the half moon radio receiver that really attracted me but I wouldn't have dreamt of stripping it out! The Record Deck is an "in period" replacement [as already said]. Sometimes it's even possible to install what was there originally. You are now in a favourable position to seek advice here if there's anything you're not sure about. Just make sure it's not a one post "new" member like yourself [who's seeking help] as that can be a warning flag but someone established and reliable.

Dave W
Bexhill

Re: Dynatron Ether Conqueror valuation
 

You lucky thing!

Treasure it, and why not get it restored to use for your own pleasure. A stack of old records will provide you with a great deal of pleasure, and you can get gadgets to re-broadcast FM radio on AM bands so that even the radio could be used on a daily basis. Or you could feed in an MP3 player or connect up a tablet so that it can be used to listen to programmes from the iPlayer Radio site or whatever.

The sound will be fantastic (not hifi, not stereo, but very pleasing nonetheless) and you will have a beautiful piece of furniture and a talking point too.

Getting this done professionally won't be cheap, but there are probably skillful and honest people here on this forum who would enjoy the privilege of working on one of these rare and very special beasts without having to find space to accommodate it afterwards. You can advertise for someone here: https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...play.php?f=145

Selling it, as others have said, will no doubt result in a fast buck, but the demise of a rare example of British manufacturing at its very best.

Nick.

Re: Dynatron Ether Conqueror valuation
 

Thanks everyone, you have been very helpful, my son is an electrician and has told me under no circumstances am I to try and plug it in.

I met some lovely ppl on another forum, similar to this and agreed a price for the Dynatron Falcon TV, it is getting is picked up in a couple of weeks and I get to see its restoration :)

Interesting to note the modifications, was told it had never been touched!

Re: Dynatron Ether Conqueror valuation
 

Would love to restore it for my own pleasure, however, a few years ago my lovely husband had a Rock Ola Jukebox imported from California for me so don't think I will get away with another expensive piece of kit just yet!