At last! A KB “Toaster” radio.
 

Picked up one of these minor classics at the Shepton Mallet Giant flea market today. There were about a dozen or so radios dotted about, a few record players and even an original Sony Walkman still in its box.
Anyway, I must have been a good boy lately as SWMBO gave her consent and the £18. It appears tone in good condition for its age, with a good tuning scale, no cracks in the case, and all knobs and valves present. The screws securing the case to the chassis are missing , but look like 2BA so I’m bound to have some suitable ones in my “ magic tin”.
I gather there are a few different valve lineups for this set. Mine has a 6X5 rectifier and 6BW6 o/p valve.
Haven’t had a chance to roll up my sleeves and get stuck in yet, so stay tuned!

Re: At last! A KB “Toaster” radio.
 

** Actually (now I have my glasses on and have taken a better look) the missing screws look like 4 BA. I’ll probably use them to mount some rubber/ plastic feet which will provide some clearance under the set for the mains lead and also aid cooling.

Re: At last! A KB “Toaster” radio.
 

Bargain ! I have stopped buying well nearly ;D Mick.

Re: At last! A KB “Toaster” radio.
 

Yours is an earlier one with a frame aerial. Don't be surprised finding differences between your set and the circuit! It might be as well for you to get as many versions as possible, Trader, manfacturer, ERT etc.

I have a later version with ferrite rod, same valve line-up. I've been after the FM version for ages.

Re: At last! A KB “Toaster” radio.
 

The feet on the FB10 are grommets pushed over the spigots on the black plastic base.

Watch out for poor valve pin contacts on the B7G bases giving a variety of problems. New socket forks may be required, easily fitted individually.

Leon.

Re: At last! A KB “Toaster” radio.
 

Congratulation, they lovely looking sets. I had a cream and a pale blue one at one time..

Re: At last! A KB “Toaster” radio.
 

Thanks chaps. I have heard they made these up with whatever was available following WW2, so presumably had to “ tweak” the circuit to suit whatever components they had.
Yes Leon, the inevitable shrivelled remains of grommets long expired still haunt the plastic spigots on the base. I think I have some suitable replacements somewhere in yet another “magic tin”. I’m sure I saw them the other day…….now where were they…………..

Re: At last! A KB “Toaster” radio.
 

The speaker grille cloth was originally bright green to match the dial, I restored mine with some old green ink.

Re: At last! A KB “Toaster” radio.
 

It's a long time ago now, but I'm just about sure that I soaked this one off, washed it and glued it back the other way round - the previously exposed side was straw-coloured except behind the bars, but this side hadn't faded.

Paul

Re: At last! A KB “Toaster” radio.
 

My grandparents had one of these. I used to listen to The Goon Show on it.

Unable to resist the temptation I also bought one. Awaiting more restoration; it is pretty deaf right now.

Craig

Re: At last! A KB “Toaster” radio.
 

Hi see my other threads I am still working on mine I cleaned the valve bases using those little flossing brushes a tip from the guy on YouTube a very good film mine has an EZ80 and a 6BW6 I have bought a second set of the B7G valves so hope to get mine working after about six weeks work on and off. TAB

Re: At last! A KB “Toaster” radio.
 

Same era as the Bush DAC90A, but no random bits and bobs in those! OTOH the Bush was priced at £12 as opposed to £11...

Re: At last! A KB “Toaster” radio.
 

Hi Nick. £8 17s 1d( I wonder what the penny was for!) according to the Trader sheet.

Interesting comment re. EZ80. I wonder if that was “ retro-fitted” by a subsequent repairer? It’s a fair choice of course. I think some were fitted with the 6X4 rectifier( which makes a lot more sense size wize).
I have all valves for this if required.
I want to give the case a clean. These are Urea-Formaldehyde aren’t they? What’s the best way to clean it up?
While I’m at it, and assuming it hasn’t already been done, I’ll scan the dial glass and make it available on the forum.

BTW when my wife saw this set she remarked. “ It looks like a toaster”. She’s right again! 😉

Re: At last! A KB “Toaster” radio.
 

Hi Nick Re my toaster had no work done before me the B9A valve bases were fitted when it was made at the factory its the later one with the ferrite rod aerial. TAB

Re: At last! A KB “Toaster” radio.
 

The B9A rectifier fitted to later FB10 sets was a 6V4/EZ80. No set to my knowledge was ever fitted with a 6X4. The earlier octal rectifier was a 6X5.

The B9A holders fitted to the later sets were specials with a large flange to accommodate the original octal fixing centres on the chassis. These holders don't suffer from "fork fatigue" but all of the 7 pin holders can.

My FB10 was a smoker's special. Autosol chrome polish made a good job of restoring the finish.

Leon.

Re: At last! A KB “Toaster” radio.
 

A good dial glass scan would be much appreciated. Mine is in a rather poor flaky state.

Leon.

Re: At last! A KB “Toaster” radio.
 

http://www.pasttimesradio.co.uk/dial...10%20scale.jpg You might have seen this already but if not... Jerry

Re: At last! A KB “Toaster” radio.
 

Thanks, Jerry.

Re: At last! A KB “Toaster” radio.
 

Ahhh. I was going by the information on the ERT service information. Maybe it’s a typo.

I had another play last night. Quick multimeter checks revealed one pole of the mains switch is open circuit, and the chassis is connected directly to live. No shorts on the HT though, and “ that” capacitor has already been replaced. Smoothing caps are dud, measuring only 6 microfarads. Power( auto)transformer checks out fine, and application of meter leads in diode mode to the o/p transformer primary produces a crackle in the speaker so hopefully the o/p transformer is OK too.
Next step, I’ll pull the rectifier and apply power through the safety lamp & isolating transformer and check some voltages.

Re: At last! A KB “Toaster” radio.
 

Often the mains switch will self-clean when it switches 240V.