[MurphyNut]

Just finshed one of my “Harpenden” radios, and what a nice radios it is!
I’ve not done a Marconi before and I was pleased to see how well put-together it was.
After removing the chassis from the case everything looked as it should so I powered it up and it worked very well. I did decide to replace all the wax capacitors anyway as a precaution.
The drive cord had snapped so knowing the length I was able to work out how it was meant to go with a new cord. I lightly oiled all the wheels and got the movement working smoothly.
I must admit I was a little disappointed in the rather small speaker in the set. But despite this it sounds quite good, much better than I expected.
The paper diagram did however look a bit fragile so I did my little trick by mixing up a 50/50 solution of water and PVA glue and carefully painted it onto the diagram. This soaks into the paper and when dry really strengthens it.
I found a replacement for the missing pilot bulb, the tuning scale on this radio does look rather good when switched on. There’s a little bulb holder and reflector that hangs down inside and gives the scale a bright and very pleasing illumination.
The set runs quite warm and I suspect the reason why some of the wiring had to be replaced due to the insulation drying out and falling off the wire.
The speaker cloth was in a very sorry state and well past trying to save so I found a replacement. Though not similar to the original it does I think look “right.” I’ve kept a little bit of the original so in the future I could change it if something closer turns up, you never know!
The poor old cabinet was very dull and lack lustre, I spent a lot of time polishing it up and it’s responded very well.
My wife doesn’t think much of the styling, she said it’s a bit boring, I disagree I think it’s rather neat and pleasing to the eye.