Pye P123BQ Variations - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

60 oldjohn · 19th Nov 2005, 10:42 pm

I have 4 of these sets in various stages of repair all different. There seems to be two types of circuit boards used. Type one is as the Trader sheet shows with two If coil cans together + one seperate. The other one has three coils in a row at the edge of the board. Three of these sets are mw + pre set 1500m the fourth set is mw + Lw this also has a ......car aerial socket on the right hand end, like the one in radio radio presentation photo. One set has 6 oval transistors, second set has oval transistors +OCs output, third set has the oval transistors + the Top hat type in the output, The fourth has OC series throughout. All these sets seem to be very reliable. John C.

Paul Stenning · 20th Nov 2005, 12:38 am

Well I have separate Pye service data manuals for four variants:

P123BQ
P123BQ from serial number 420450 onwards
P123BQ/R
P123BQ/R with tunable long wave

Paul_RK · 20th Nov 2005, 1:42 am

My best guess would be that Pye at the time were using their own transistors (the oval Newmarket ones) when they could produce enough of them to spec., and going shopping whenever they couldn't: when the set was launched UK transistor production was still not long out of the experimental stage. The P123BQ did survive in production, though, for quite a while, hence the variants: I have a copy of Wireless and Electrical Trader somewhere that includes an advertisement for a Pye range including the set and four or five later models. Three 123BQs are here, of which one is the rarer and later version with tunable LW. One of the others, the best preserved of the three, has, to complicate matters further, three Newmarket transistors and three RCA ones: the two I can readily read are type 2N410.

Paul

19th Nov 2005, 10:42 pm	#1
60 oldjohn Dekatron Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: East Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 3,990	Pye P123BQ Variations I have 4 of these sets in various stages of repair all different. There seems to be two types of circuit boards used. Type one is as the Trader sheet shows with two If coil cans together + one seperate. The other one has three coils in a row at the edge of the board. Three of these sets are mw + pre set 1500m the fourth set is mw + Lw this also has a ......car aerial socket on the right hand end, like the one in radio radio presentation photo. One set has 6 oval transistors, second set has oval transistors +OCs output, third set has the oval transistors + the Top hat type in the output, The fourth has OC series throughout. All these sets seem to be very reliable. John C. Last edited by 60 oldjohn; 19th Nov 2005 at 10:46 pm.

20th Nov 2005, 12:38 am	#2
Paul Stenning Administrator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Cardiff Posts: 9,073	Re: Pye P123BQ Variations Well I have separate Pye service data manuals for four variants: P123BQ P123BQ from serial number 420450 onwards P123BQ/R P123BQ/R with tunable long wave __________________ Paul Stenning Forum Admin/Owner and BVWS Webmaster

20th Nov 2005, 1:42 am	#3
Paul_RK Dekatron Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Fakenham, Norfolk, UK. Posts: 4,259	Re: Pye P123BQ Variations My best guess would be that Pye at the time were using their own transistors (the oval Newmarket ones) when they could produce enough of them to spec., and going shopping whenever they couldn't: when the set was launched UK transistor production was still not long out of the experimental stage. The P123BQ did survive in production, though, for quite a while, hence the variants: I have a copy of Wireless and Electrical Trader somewhere that includes an advertisement for a Pye range including the set and four or five later models. Three 123BQs are here, of which one is the rarer and later version with tunable LW. One of the others, the best preserved of the three, has, to complicate matters further, three Newmarket transistors and three RCA ones: the two I can readily read are type 2N410. Paul