Murphy A36 double superhet receiver. - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

FERNSEH · 25th Jun 2015, 6:00 pm

The Murphy A36 arrived today. As you can see it is not in a good state of repair, in fact it's in a terrible state. However, I like challenges like this and as the pictures show I've set about the restoration straight away.
First task is to reassemble the cabinet.

So why go to the trouble of restoring this set? Well it is Murphy's first double superhet radio, maybe not the best one. That has to be the model A52.

DFWB.

Herald1360 · 25th Jun 2015, 6:48 pm

Is it a radio or a kipper?

ajs37 · 25th Jun 2015, 6:59 pm

smoked kipper by the looks of it - good luck!

Radio Wrangler · 25th Jun 2015, 7:29 pm

Gotta hazmat suit?

David

McMurdo · 25th Jun 2015, 7:44 pm

good grief you'd better get your sash cramps out! Can't wait to see it finished so get snapping those pics. The finished article will no doubt be all the more satisfying when they start like this.

dave walsh · 25th Jun 2015, 7:53 pm

Looks daunting to mere mortals but [based on past achievement] if anyone can do it, especially the woodwork, it's in the right place

Dave W

FERNSEH · 25th Jun 2015, 8:16 pm

Good evening Gentlemen,
many thanks for those words of encouragement. It's almost 8:25pm. I'm off to the workshop to do more work on this set.
Some good news, the dial cords are working well so I'm relieved of doing that difficult task.
Kippered? Well there's evidence the set was used in a smoky environment.
Of course in the old days almost everyone smoked.

DFWB.

FERNSEH · 25th Jun 2015, 9:04 pm

Dig this! The dial lamps still light up.

DFWB.

Heatercathodeshort · 25th Jun 2015, 9:15 pm

Mr Fawlty, the dial cord still works and the scale lights up...

Oh! David, I despair at this mess. It looks as if it was pulled off a slag pile after having been dumped there in 1961.

I think you need another break down in sunny Sussex. All those fumes emanating from the sludge works are ruining your constitution. Such a pity for one so clever.

Yes, the Murphy double superhet A30. A very interesting radio but it's features were probably never appreciated by the listening public. They did manufacture some cracking radiograms and not a PX4 in sight.

Good luck with it but could you not have found a better example?

In despair, John.
PS Yes dig a hole and bury it!

ukcol · 26th Jun 2015, 9:47 am

Just to clarify, the set under discussion is an A36 as in the text of the first post and not an A30 as in the thread title.

The A40C, BTW, inherited some of the circuit of the A36 and also some of the chassis mechanical aspects going by the pictures.

FERNSEH · 26th Jun 2015, 9:53 am

Mea culpa. The topic title should be: Murphy A36 double superhet receiver .

DFWB.

FERNSEH · 26th Jun 2015, 12:23 pm

Made some useful progress this morning. The volume control was found to be open circuit so for the time being I've bypassed it. The set operates at max volume. Our old friend the coupling capacitor between the AF amplifier and the grid of the output valve was leaky and has been replaced. Still no results although there is finger test hum present at one of the anode pins of the V914 detector double double.
Moving on to the IF amplifier, it's an easy one, the AC/VP2 valve is not lit up. The heater is not OC, perhaps the valve has gone down to air? The faulty valve is replaced with a Mullard VP4B and voila! Results at last on medium and long waves. Nothing on short waves. No volts present at the hexode anode of the Mazda AC/TH1 SW frequency changer. Voltages are present on the screen grid and anode of the oscillator triode section.
I've leave the set for now and will return to it later.

DFWB.

FERNSEH · 27th Jun 2015, 11:15 pm

Reassembly of the cabinet started this evening. Pictures to follow up soon.

DFWB.

FERNSEH · 29th Jun 2015, 11:41 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by McMurdo

good grief you'd better get your sash cramps out! Can't wait to see it finished so get snapping those pics. The finished article will no doubt be all the more satisfying when they start like this.

And here are those sash cramps in action. The second picture shows the damage to the front left side of the cabinet. That's now sorted.

DFWB.

Heatercathodeshort · 29th Jun 2015, 5:31 pm

It's difficult to work out what is more rotten David, the A36 or that nasty carpet. J.

FERNSEH · 29th Jun 2015, 6:18 pm

Hi John,
You don't like the carpet? I think it makes the austere workshop a bit more homely.
You won't recognise the Murphy when it's finished. One more cabinet part to make. There should be a strip of wood below the control panel.

DFWB.

Radio Wrangler · 29th Jun 2015, 7:23 pm

The danger of posting photos of a wooden cabinet restoration lies in the standard already set by Colin and his Barker 88.

David

FERNSEH · 1st Jul 2015, 12:51 pm

The cabinet has been reassembled, it's very strong now.The left side panel has been re-veneered. The old veneer was used to carry out repairs to other parts of the cabinet.
The radio continues to work on medium and long wavebands but still no results on short waves.

DFWB.

hansomcommon · 1st Jul 2015, 4:25 pm

Unbelievable! Well done.

FERNSEH · 3rd Jul 2015, 4:01 pm

This stage of the cabinet restoration has proven to be a rather difficult task.
The wooden batten which is situated at the front was missing. The batten itself wasn't too difficult to make but those curved corner pieces were a different matter. The originals were a made in the form of complex cuts and grooves, there was no way I could replicate that part. The simplest solution to the problem was to make the rounded corners from two pieces, the pictures show how it was done.
It make you wonder what happened to all the automated machinery which made all these cabinet parts. Also, did Murphy make their own cabinets at WGC or was the work done by outside contracters?

DFWB.

25th Jun 2015, 6:00 pm	#1
FERNSEH Dekatron Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, UK. Posts: 7,444	Murphy A36 double superhet receiver. The Murphy A36 arrived today. As you can see it is not in a good state of repair, in fact it's in a terrible state. However, I like challenges like this and as the pictures show I've set about the restoration straight away. First task is to reassemble the cabinet. So why go to the trouble of restoring this set? Well it is Murphy's first double superhet radio, maybe not the best one. That has to be the model A52. DFWB. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by FERNSEH; 25th Jun 2015 at 6:07 pm.

25th Jun 2015, 6:48 pm	#2
Herald1360 Dekatron Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Leominster, Herefordshire, UK. Posts: 16,536	Re: Murphy A30 double superhet receiver. Is it a radio or a kipper? __________________ ....__________ ....\|____\|\|__\|__\_____ .=.\| _---\__\|__\|_---_\|. .........O..Chris....O

25th Jun 2015, 6:59 pm	#3
ajs37 Heptode Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Bristol, UK. Posts: 900	Re: Murphy A30 double superhet receiver. smoked kipper by the looks of it - good luck!

25th Jun 2015, 7:29 pm	#4
Radio Wrangler Moderator Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Fife, Scotland, UK. Posts: 22,901	Re: Murphy A30 double superhet receiver. Gotta hazmat suit? David __________________ Can't afford the volcanic island yet, but the plans for my monorail and the goons' uniforms are done

25th Jun 2015, 7:44 pm	#5
McMurdo Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Staffordshire Moorlands, UK. Posts: 5,273	Re: Murphy A30 double superhet receiver. good grief you'd better get your sash cramps out! Can't wait to see it finished so get snapping those pics. The finished article will no doubt be all the more satisfying when they start like this. __________________ Kevin

25th Jun 2015, 7:53 pm	#6
dave walsh Dekatron Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Ramsbottom (Nr Bury) Lancs or Bexhill (Nr Hastings) Sussex. Posts: 5,817	Re: Murphy A30 double superhet receiver. Looks daunting to mere mortals but [based on past achievement] if anyone can do it, especially the woodwork, it's in the right place Dave W

25th Jun 2015, 8:16 pm	#7
FERNSEH Dekatron Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, UK. Posts: 7,444	Re: Murphy A30 double superhet receiver. Good evening Gentlemen, many thanks for those words of encouragement. It's almost 8:25pm. I'm off to the workshop to do more work on this set. Some good news, the dial cords are working well so I'm relieved of doing that difficult task. Kippered? Well there's evidence the set was used in a smoky environment. Of course in the old days almost everyone smoked. DFWB.

25th Jun 2015, 9:04 pm	#8
FERNSEH Dekatron Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, UK. Posts: 7,444	Re: Murphy A30 double superhet receiver. Dig this! The dial lamps still light up. DFWB. Attached Thumbnails

25th Jun 2015, 9:15 pm	#9
Heatercathodeshort Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Warnham, West Sussex. 10 miles south of DORKING. Posts: 9,147	Re: Murphy A30 double superhet receiver. Mr Fawlty, the dial cord still works and the scale lights up... Oh! David, I despair at this mess. It looks as if it was pulled off a slag pile after having been dumped there in 1961. I think you need another break down in sunny Sussex. All those fumes emanating from the sludge works are ruining your constitution. Such a pity for one so clever. Yes, the Murphy double superhet A30. A very interesting radio but it's features were probably never appreciated by the listening public. They did manufacture some cracking radiograms and not a PX4 in sight. Good luck with it but could you not have found a better example? In despair, John. PS Yes dig a hole and bury it! Last edited by Heatercathodeshort; 25th Jun 2015 at 9:20 pm.

26th Jun 2015, 9:47 am	#10
ukcol Rest in Peace Join Date: May 2003 Location: Harlaxton, Lincolnshire, UK. Posts: 3,944	Re: Murphy A30 double superhet receiver. Just to clarify, the set under discussion is an A36 as in the text of the first post and not an A30 as in the thread title. The A40C, BTW, inherited some of the circuit of the A36 and also some of the chassis mechanical aspects going by the pictures.

26th Jun 2015, 9:53 am	#11
FERNSEH Dekatron Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, UK. Posts: 7,444	Re: Murphy A30 double superhet receiver. Mea culpa. The topic title should be: Murphy A36 double superhet receiver . DFWB. Last edited by FERNSEH; 26th Jun 2015 at 10:18 am.

26th Jun 2015, 12:23 pm	#12
FERNSEH Dekatron Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, UK. Posts: 7,444	Re: Murphy A30 double superhet receiver. Made some useful progress this morning. The volume control was found to be open circuit so for the time being I've bypassed it. The set operates at max volume. Our old friend the coupling capacitor between the AF amplifier and the grid of the output valve was leaky and has been replaced. Still no results although there is finger test hum present at one of the anode pins of the V914 detector double double. Moving on to the IF amplifier, it's an easy one, the AC/VP2 valve is not lit up. The heater is not OC, perhaps the valve has gone down to air? The faulty valve is replaced with a Mullard VP4B and voila! Results at last on medium and long waves. Nothing on short waves. No volts present at the hexode anode of the Mazda AC/TH1 SW frequency changer. Voltages are present on the screen grid and anode of the oscillator triode section. I've leave the set for now and will return to it later. DFWB. Last edited by FERNSEH; 26th Jun 2015 at 12:28 pm.

27th Jun 2015, 11:15 pm	#13
FERNSEH Dekatron Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, UK. Posts: 7,444	Re: Murphy A36 double superhet receiver. Reassembly of the cabinet started this evening. Pictures to follow up soon. DFWB.

29th Jun 2015, 5:31 pm	#15
Heatercathodeshort Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Warnham, West Sussex. 10 miles south of DORKING. Posts: 9,147	Re: Murphy A36 double superhet receiver. It's difficult to work out what is more rotten David, the A36 or that nasty carpet. J.

29th Jun 2015, 6:18 pm	#16
FERNSEH Dekatron Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, UK. Posts: 7,444	Re: Murphy A36 double superhet receiver. Hi John, You don't like the carpet? I think it makes the austere workshop a bit more homely. You won't recognise the Murphy when it's finished. One more cabinet part to make. There should be a strip of wood below the control panel. DFWB.

29th Jun 2015, 7:23 pm	#17
Radio Wrangler Moderator Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Fife, Scotland, UK. Posts: 22,901	Re: Murphy A36 double superhet receiver. The danger of posting photos of a wooden cabinet restoration lies in the standard already set by Colin and his Barker 88. David __________________ Can't afford the volcanic island yet, but the plans for my monorail and the goons' uniforms are done

1st Jul 2015, 12:51 pm	#18
FERNSEH Dekatron Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, UK. Posts: 7,444	Re: Murphy A36 double superhet receiver. The cabinet has been reassembled, it's very strong now.The left side panel has been re-veneered. The old veneer was used to carry out repairs to other parts of the cabinet. The radio continues to work on medium and long wavebands but still no results on short waves. DFWB. Attached Thumbnails

1st Jul 2015, 4:25 pm	#19
hansomcommon Pentode Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Alton, Hampshire, UK. Posts: 170	Re: Murphy A36 double superhet receiver. Unbelievable! Well done.

3rd Jul 2015, 4:01 pm	#20
FERNSEH Dekatron Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, UK. Posts: 7,444	Re: Murphy A36 double superhet receiver. This stage of the cabinet restoration has proven to be a rather difficult task. The wooden batten which is situated at the front was missing. The batten itself wasn't too difficult to make but those curved corner pieces were a different matter. The originals were a made in the form of complex cuts and grooves, there was no way I could replicate that part. The simplest solution to the problem was to make the rounded corners from two pieces, the pictures show how it was done. It make you wonder what happened to all the automated machinery which made all these cabinet parts. Also, did Murphy make their own cabinets at WGC or was the work done by outside contracters? DFWB. Attached Thumbnails