Just purchased a Dynatron Elan "project radio" here in the States.

[xrhonda91]

Hello All,

Just purchased a Dynatron Elan transistor portable here in the States. The "checkered flags" & Royal Warrant on top panel caught my eye and pushed me over the edge of temptation... I've refurbished a Roberts Rambler II, Hacker Sovereign III, and a Pye P-123BQ for my small U.K. radio "sub-collection" and am impressed with all three, but wonder if I made a mistake buying this Dynatron? From what I've read (after purchase), most do not work and often have the "tin whiskers" issue with certain of their transistors. Am very curious how well they do perform & sound when in good repair and have been properly serviced?

Thanks much for any input.

John

[paulsherwin]

By the time this radio was made, Dynatron was a Pye/Philips brand, but this is a fine radio if working properly. There are many solutions to the AF11x problems, which are discussed extensively here if you search.

The 2*PP9 battery requirement may be tricky in the US, but it should be easy enough to make up a battery pack using 18650s or even scavenged vape batteries. You may be able to use a pack from an 18V electric screwdriver or drill.

[Boulevardier]

This is a high quality radio - at least as good as the other three you mention. It's well worth restoring. Most of the European radios of this age used the AF11x transistors and will thus suffer from the "whiskers" problem - as Paul says, there are ways to fix this that you'll find on this forum.
Looks like the telescopic aerial has gone AWOL..
Mike

[Paul_RK]

Originally Posted by paulsherwin

By the time this radio was made, Dynatron was a Pye/Philips brand...

Ownership by 1969 was Philips, but for whatever reason "brand engineering" never affected the Dynatron range in those years and there's no close relation, at least nothing I can think of, between any Dynatron model and any from Pye or Philips: the only '60s Dynatron transistor set that comes to mind which did have equivalent models from other brands was the little Dynatron Tourist with close relatives in the Ekco and Ferranti ranges. It's not that Pye and Philips weren't making radios that would have been worthy of the Dynatron name, they produced some excellent portables up to and including the Pye Piccadilly 6000

https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/pye_piccadilly_p6000.html

and its very differently styled Philips counterpart... but those were made in Holland, and by the time of the Elan I don't think Pye/Philips were making many, if any, transistor radios in the UK.

It's quite a while since I heard my Elan - at least I think it's still lurking somewhere - and I don't recall being very favourably impressed by the speaker, at least by comparison with a Sovereign III which sets quite a high standard as portables go: but don't be put off what should be the reasonably straightforward job of getting yours up and running and hearing it for yourself.

Paul

[xrhonda91]

Thanks very much for the encouraging responses! Am now looking forward to the refurb process.

Paul Sherwin---Yes, I have read about "zapping" the tin-whiskers and will keep that in mind. But have also heard that they can eventually return, so will probably try substituting with the new Soviet transistors I have on hand. Did not realize the Pye/Philips connection, so will add that info to radio folder. Initially thought that the two 9V batteries were in parallel like several early U.S. made sets for added current capacity, but after reading your comment, examined schematic and saw that they were definitely in series. I do have two 6-"AA" cell holders which can be used, but that's a lot of batteries, though! Will have to keep eyes open for a junked power-tool with the 18V rechargeable.

Mike---Yes, the whip antenna is long-gone. Didn't notice that until after making payment and almost cancelled order... I have a few that I've salvaged from junked U.S. sets, so should be able to find one which will at least do the job.

Paul_RK---I also read another's not so favorable impression of the speaker at this site, so am curious how it will sound once fully serviced. The Sovereign III is a fantastic radio and don't think I have another portable transistor set in collection that sounds as good.

Will post more once it arrives...

John

[Paul_RK]

Originally Posted by xrhonda91

Did not realize the Pye/Philips connection, so will add that info to radio folder.

It's quite an involved history: brothers R.H. and A.G. Hacker had been making Dynatron radiograms, receivers etc. since the 1920s, as a family-owned business until they sold it to E.K.Cole (Ekco) in 1955. They continued managing Dynatron production for Ekco, using a mixture of modified Ekco chassis and others unique to Dynatron, until 1959 when they left to form Hacker Radio Ltd.: which itself fell out of their hands shortly after your Sovereign III was produced, and Hacker production finally ended just a few years later after further changes of ownership. Meanwhile Ekco (with Dynatron Radio Ltd.) merged with Pye in 1960, and Pye became part of Philips in 1967. Your Elan was the final Dynatron portable radio model, until a range of inexpensive sets was briefly offered circa 1990 by the brand's then owners... Roberts.

[paulsherwin]

As you will read elsewhere on the forum, there's nothing exotic about the AF11x series, and they're usually no trouble to replace without needing other circuit changes. They're just mainstream Ge RF transistors with a fourth screening wire connected to the case (which isn't really needed). If you look carefully at the characteristics, the AF114-AF117 all seem to be the same transistor, marked differently by Philips/Mullard for commercial reasons. (The AF118 is a different transistor.)

[xrhonda91]

Originally Posted by Paul_RK

It's quite an involved history: brothers R.H. and A.G. Hacker had been making Dynatron radiograms, receivers etc. since the 1920s, as a family-owned business until they sold it to E.K.Cole (Ekco) in 1955. They continued managing Dynatron production for Ekco, using a mixture of modified Ekco chassis and others unique to Dynatron, until 1959 when they left to form Hacker Radio Ltd.: which itself fell out of their hands shortly after your Sovereign III was produced, and Hacker production finally ended just a few years later after further changes of ownership. Meanwhile Ekco (with Dynatron Radio Ltd.) merged with Pye in 1960, and Pye became part of Philips in 1967. Your Elan was the final Dynatron portable radio model, until a range of inexpensive sets was briefly offered circa 1990 by the brand's then owners... Roberts.

Thanks, Paul, for this interesting & detailed info---have copied & pasted it into document for Dynatron folder. Guess this is somewhat of a "special" radio then?

John

[xrhonda91]

Originally Posted by paulsherwin

As you will read elsewhere on the forum, there's nothing exotic about the AF11x series, and they're usually no trouble to replace without needing other circuit changes. They're just mainstream Ge RF transistors with a fourth screening wire connected to the case (which isn't really needed). If you look carefully at the characteristics, the AF114-AF117 all seem to be the same transistor, marked differently by Philips/Mullard for commercial reasons. (The AF118 is a different transistor.)

Thanks, Paul, for the additional transistor info. Will find & download the transistor data sheets later for examination if I have any difficulties.

John

[paulsherwin]

Philips/Mullard deliberately quoted different characteristics for each type implying that each was optimised for a particular function, but if you look at the underlying numbers on the full datasheets or one of the transistor reference bibles like Towers, you'll see they're actually identical. It's not clear why this was done, but it may derive from 1950s practices when transistors were individually tested, graded and marked accordingly.

[Paul_RK]

Originally Posted by xrhonda91

Thanks, Paul, for this interesting & detailed info---have copied & pasted it into document for Dynatron folder. Guess this is somewhat of a "special" radio then?

John

Ah sorry, my mistake about it being the last Dynatron model: the Elan's model number is TP38T, a 1968 release, and the sequence went on until the TP43T Elite the following year. I don't think either model has a large following, but they're both well specified portables... yours retailed at £33.0s.4d., with an alternative teak finish version (TP39T) at £36.2s.4d., - by no means cheap radios, at around half the price of a 19" black and white TV.

[xrhonda91]

Thanks Paul & Paul.

Radio arrived fine today and was actually a bit larger than what I expected. Gave it a preliminary cleaning and have chassis pulled and sitting on worktable now ready for "surgery". Looks like the tuner support grommets are completely rotten & loose, so need to find replacements. Need to remove the AM IF module so it can be "opened" for electrolytic cap replacement and initial transistor testing for "tin whiskers". Curious about how well the Lockfit transistors will function in the FM IF circuit.

John

[Aub]

What was the purpose of the button with a car symbol ?

Aub

[Graham G3ZVT]

Originally Posted by Aub

What was the purpose of the button with a car symbol ?

Aub

Switches between internal and external (socket) aerial I should think.

[paulsherwin]

External aerial (antenna) I think, as Graham says.

Lockfits are ordinary silicon planar transistors in a special encapsulation supposedly optimised for mechanical insertion during installation. They may be fine, but the design tends to allow internal contamination which can cause strange faults. There are direct non-Lockfit equivalents, and they're not that critical anyway.

[Aub]

Originally Posted by Graham G3ZVT

Switches between internal and external (socket) aerial I should think.

Thanks. I suspected as much.

Aub

[xrhonda91]

Well, this radio has truly become a challenge (more than expected)...

Have replaced all 12 electrolytic capacitors.

All three of the Mullard AF11x transistors in small AM IF module had severe "tin-whiskers" and were shorted as well as the AF115 mix/osc in VHF module. Fortunately, a radio group friend here in the States is providing me with Russian GT322B transistors to use as replacements. All are within enclosures, so no appearance issues. Had to very carefully "cut out" the VHF AF115 to leave leads intact for attaching replacement as the PCB looks to be very difficult/risky to remove to gain access to solder-side.

All the rubber tuner mount grommets were rotten and the assembly was "flopping around" loose. Thankfully, our local ACE Hardware store had suitable replacements and I saved the specifications to share later.

The tuning was extremely tight, but with dial-string removed, tuner shaft itself thankfully rotated smoothly & easily. Discovered that the small steel pulley posts were dirty and causing the plastic pulleys to bind. Removed the snap-on retainers and carefully cleaned both posts and pulleys. Reinstalled string and it was a bit better, but still not right. Appeared that there was too much tension on string. While trying to adjust, it broke and required replacement. Was a real trick to obtain proper tension and keep it properly wound on tuning shaft pulley. Surprised to see that the cursor support was simply a small piece of wood! After a couple hours of effort, all seemed well...

Noticed that the volume control power switch had no "click" and would not turn on, so carefully removed the switch assembly from rear and found that the tiny internal spring was broken. Opened a junked U.S.-made control and discovered that its spring was not only on opposite side, but was wound the opposite direction! Need to see if I can perhaps make one...

The badly dented aluminum speaker grille would not flatten as the dents had stretched the metal too much.

Was very careful cleaning the dirty "Rexine" covering and was surprised how it retained dirt & moisture. Even being very gentle, notice some of the black dye was rubbing off when drying with soft cotton rag.

Am hoping that the transistors will arrive Monday as expected so that electronics can be completed.

Does anyone here know why the antenna assembly is sometimes missing from these? Saw a couple others on-line during research with same issue.

John

[paulsherwin]

I don't think antenna damage is unusually common with these. If you're experienced with radios of the 60s and 70s, you'll know that telescopic antennas often tend to get snapped off over the years.

[xrhonda91]

Paul, the antenna assembly is completely missing so was wondering if perhaps the mounting nut came loose through use and it pulled out? Believe the other one or two I ran across had same thing---not broken, but entirely gone.

Do you know the name of company which manufactured the volume control/switch assembly? I examined part, but didn't see one. I tried to make an actuator spring today and failed, so if I can find what other common U.K. electronic products used similar controls, maybe I could find someone here in the States that may have one of those in their junk-box and can salvage the tiny needed piece.

Thanks!
John

[xrhonda91]

Hello All,

Just completed this Dynatron Elan and it's a fantastic performer with great sound after repairs and servicing. Thankfully found a salvaged original volume control/switch and whip antenna assembly from an Ebay seller in England. Russian GT322B transistors were an excellent sub for the badly whiskered AF11x devices and appear to work perfectly. The lengthy project report with 45 pictures and a video is posted on ARF for those interested: https://antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=451893