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Old 27th Nov 2017, 12:31 am   #16
Synchrodyne
Nonode
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Papamoa Beach, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
Posts: 2,943
Default Re: Introduction PCC189 in Mullard tuners?

Firstly, congratulations, Pieter, on producing a superb and most interesting website!

Secondly, an observation about Mullard TV tuners is that there seems to be very little accessible information about them before the mid-1960s. Did Mullard became more active as a third-party supplier of these units at about that time, perhaps coinciding with the start of the dual-standard era in the UK?

For example, Spreadbury (1), in 1962, provided much information and many illustrations of TV tuners from both the setmakers and third-party suppliers such as AB Metal, Cyldon, Ediswan and Plessey. One Philips printed circuit model was illustrated and described. But there was no mention of Mullard tuners.

Then King (2), in 1964, included a schematic for the Mullard AT6360/02 UHF tuner as a typical example, suggesting that Mullard was more active by then.

One may also find subsequent information about the AT6360 series of UHF tuners and AT7650 series of VHF tuners, the latter using the PC900 triode as RF amplifier.

I imagine that with their AT designations, these were basically Philips designs, perhaps with some adaptations for the UK market, such as non-sequential channel loading in the VHF case.

Mullard magazine articles, items and advertising pertinent to TV tuner valves before say 1964 appear to have been placed from the perspective of Mullard as a valve supplier, not as a TV tuner supplier.

The PCC89 was featured as the initial release in Mullard’s frame-grid series:

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The release of the PC97 was mentioned in a short Wireless World (WW) item, but this valve does not seem to have been heavily advertised by Mullard:

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After the PC97 was available, the PCC189 was advertised:

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In 1963 the PC900 was announced in a feature advertisement. It was billed as the direct successor to PC97, but the fact that it was compared with cascode RF amplifiers suggests that Mullard also viewed it as the successor to the PCC189.

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So, if the apparent “weighting” of the Mullard valve advertising is any guide, one might expect that Mullard would have moved to the PCC89, then to the PCC189, skipping the PC97, for its own VHF tuners, before changing to the PC900.



Cheers,



(1) E.A.W Spreadbury; Television Receiver Servicing; Volume 2 – receiver and Power Supply Circuits; Second Edition; Iliffe, 1962.

(2) Gordon J. King; Dual-Standard and 625-Line Television Receivers; Norman Price, 1964.
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