A little Dansette. - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

Andrew2 · 24th Oct 2015, 5:27 pm

I came across this Dansette Medway AM/FM radio in a bric-a-brac shop in town the other day. It was filthy, coated in nicotine and grime, but I could see that underneath it all it was in pretty sound condition - no chips or cracks and all knobs etc present. It dates from the mid/late 60's, I think.

Construction is solid and sturdy, with almost everything secured with nuts, bolts and hex stand-offs. To my surprise, none of the pillar bushes were crumbling and the two transparent plastic knobs showed no sign of the dreaded crumbling.

After easing out the large, rectangular PCB, I dismantled the cabinet into its various parts, only struggling to release the two horrible spring clips that were holding the front metal escutcheon in place. They are the type that are simply forced down over a protruding peg, and they grip like Billy-O. Is there a tool for getting these darned things off? Anyhow, once I'd given everything a good scrub in warm soapy water (an old toothbrush helped shift the muck from the speaker grill), it looked amazingly nice for what it is.

A quick re-alignment of MW and the IF stages (it had had the attention of the Phantom Twizzer by the look of it) produced fairly decent performance on MW. FM does not work and it's staying that way, as the FM front end is lurking beneath the tuning drum. I can detect no sign of local osc activity from the FM department, so I'll leave it to itself.

Another one for the shelf!

Herald1360 · 24th Oct 2015, 10:18 pm

Interesting looking beast. Looks like it could have shared its case with a portable cassette recorder.

Stuart R · 24th Oct 2015, 10:27 pm

I'm sure I've just seen a very similar set on Channel 4 this evening.

"It was alright in the 80s" has been showing clips of the 'Protect & Survive' films.

SR

It's about to appear on Ch 4+1, so will check!

jonnybear · 26th Oct 2015, 9:28 am

I find the easiest way to get those clips off is to carefully bend one of the lugs with a tiny screwdriver, this allows them to slide off posts easily, the lug can be bent back into shape with pointed nose pliers for reassembly.
John

Andrew2 · 26th Oct 2015, 10:45 am

Thanks John - that's exactly the way I did it! There must be an 'official' way of tackling these things, or are they meant to be one-off, permanent fasteners?

camtechman · 28th Oct 2015, 1:00 pm

F.Y.I.

A few years later the same style radio appeared on the market but with MW & LW bands and was made in Hong Kong.

It was named:"Internet Mark-Ten"

Andrew2 · 28th Oct 2015, 6:03 pm

Well blow me down - and what a choice of name!

Wellington · 31st Oct 2015, 6:01 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew2

…struggling to release the two horrible spring clips that were holding the front metal escutcheon in place. They are the type that are simply forced down over a protruding peg, and they grip like Billy-O. Is there a tool for getting these darned things off?

sexton_mallard had a question about these clips, recently. And neon indicator proposed a tool in this thread, back in 2011.

Good work on the Dansette, btw!

24th Oct 2015, 5:27 pm	#1
Andrew2 Nonode Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Dukinfield, Cheshire, UK. Posts: 2,038	A little Dansette. I came across this Dansette Medway AM/FM radio in a bric-a-brac shop in town the other day. It was filthy, coated in nicotine and grime, but I could see that underneath it all it was in pretty sound condition - no chips or cracks and all knobs etc present. It dates from the mid/late 60's, I think. Construction is solid and sturdy, with almost everything secured with nuts, bolts and hex stand-offs. To my surprise, none of the pillar bushes were crumbling and the two transparent plastic knobs showed no sign of the dreaded crumbling. After easing out the large, rectangular PCB, I dismantled the cabinet into its various parts, only struggling to release the two horrible spring clips that were holding the front metal escutcheon in place. They are the type that are simply forced down over a protruding peg, and they grip like Billy-O. Is there a tool for getting these darned things off? Anyhow, once I'd given everything a good scrub in warm soapy water (an old toothbrush helped shift the muck from the speaker grill), it looked amazingly nice for what it is. A quick re-alignment of MW and the IF stages (it had had the attention of the Phantom Twizzer by the look of it) produced fairly decent performance on MW. FM does not work and it's staying that way, as the FM front end is lurking beneath the tuning drum. I can detect no sign of local osc activity from the FM department, so I'll leave it to itself. Another one for the shelf! Attached Thumbnails __________________ Andy G1HBE.

24th Oct 2015, 10:18 pm	#2
Herald1360 Dekatron Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Leominster, Herefordshire, UK. Posts: 16,536	Re: A little Dansette. Interesting looking beast. Looks like it could have shared its case with a portable cassette recorder. __________________ ....__________ ....\|____\|\|__\|__\_____ .=.\| _---\__\|__\|_---_\|. .........O..Chris....O

24th Oct 2015, 10:27 pm	#3
Stuart R Heptode Join Date: May 2011 Location: Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire, UK. Posts: 693	Re: A little Dansette. I'm sure I've just seen a very similar set on Channel 4 this evening. "It was alright in the 80s" has been showing clips of the 'Protect & Survive' films. SR It's about to appear on Ch 4+1, so will check! Last edited by Stuart R; 24th Oct 2015 at 10:31 pm. Reason: Spelling & repeat alert.

26th Oct 2015, 9:28 am	#4
jonnybear Octode Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Cullompton, Devon, UK. Posts: 1,435	Re: A little Dansette. I find the easiest way to get those clips off is to carefully bend one of the lugs with a tiny screwdriver, this allows them to slide off posts easily, the lug can be bent back into shape with pointed nose pliers for reassembly. John

26th Oct 2015, 10:45 am	#5
Andrew2 Nonode Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Dukinfield, Cheshire, UK. Posts: 2,038	Re: A little Dansette. Thanks John - that's exactly the way I did it! There must be an 'official' way of tackling these things, or are they meant to be one-off, permanent fasteners? __________________ Andy G1HBE. Last edited by Andrew2; 26th Oct 2015 at 10:46 am. Reason: fat fingers

28th Oct 2015, 1:00 pm	#6
camtechman Nonode Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Milton Keynes, Bucks. UK. Posts: 2,552	Re: A little Dansette. F.Y.I. A few years later the same style radio appeared on the market but with MW & LW bands and was made in Hong Kong. It was named:"Internet Mark-Ten" Attached Thumbnails __________________ When I die, please don't let my Wife sell my collection for the amount I told her I paid for it!

28th Oct 2015, 6:03 pm	#7
Andrew2 Nonode Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Dukinfield, Cheshire, UK. Posts: 2,038	Re: A little Dansette. Well blow me down - and what a choice of name! __________________ Andy G1HBE.