1955 Ekco U245 AC/DC MW/LW 5 valve (trans)portable radio. - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

howard · 18th Oct 2008, 6:18 pm

Hello again,

I won this pretty little Ekco U245 set for just £4 at Cowbit. Its case was in excellent condition with just one small scratch on the side, but its handle trims had been repainted with a brush and both its long bakelite feet were damaged. I put a plug on it after changing the audio coupling capacitor and the capacitor across the mains and it worked ! It had already has a new off/on/volume pot and mains lead fitted but later I noticed that the waveband lever had been repaired, not badly, but it didn't look quite right.

So I changed all the remaining wax capacitors and then checked the valves and they were all fine. I took the handle off and resprayed the handle trims with Plasticote brass paint. These were originally cheap German made brass/nickel plated steel but there was no way of recovering the original brass plated finish which had long gone. The case I cleaned with upholstery cleaner and then polished it with brasso and Liberon beeswax and turpentine polish. The loudspeaker baffle material was filthy and crooked so off came the baffle, and the nylon material fell off. I cleaned that with upholstery cleaner and stuck it back on with Evostik timebond. It has shrunk out of shape a bit but I just about managed to get it back on straight.

I put an ad on the forum for two spare feet and the waveband lever and miraculously Paul Sherwin had one spare foot and Barrie had another spare foot and the lever and they very kindly sent them to me and they were fitted. The set was reassembled and then I took it over to Ron Bryan to realign MW as it wasn't quite picking up County Sound on 192 metres (in fact this set's high frequency MW limit is 192 metres). That simply entailed a tiny adjustment to the trimmer under tuning capacitor and then an adjustment to the aerial trimmer next to it and away she went.

This is a pretty little set, it picks up everything on MW and LW and sounds good too and another excellent inexpensive set acquired at the Cowbit auction. Many thanks to Paul, Barrie and Ron for parts and help.

Howard

JoshWard · 18th Oct 2008, 6:47 pm

Beautiful little set. I have one of these and it's one of my favourite non McMichael sets. Sounds lovely as well! Mine is slightly modified with some holes drilled underneath and I also have fitted a heat deflector as these sets run rather hot!

mickjjo · 18th Oct 2008, 7:48 pm

Nice job Howard

, I have one of those too, good performers.

Regards, Mick.

paulsherwin · 18th Oct 2008, 7:50 pm

I like these sets too. They must have sold in large numbers as there are still lots of them around today, though they don't seem very sought after. They were obviously built to a price, but they perform well for a 1950s 'second set'.

Howard, these were launched in 1955, but they stayed in production for a few years and I think yours is a bit later. The early models don't have a handle (I have one with and one without). The handle trims do deteriorate and I have never seen one of these with the original trims in good condition.

By the way, to give credit where it's due, I think the foot came with a bundle of scrap bits from Paul Stenning who helped me out when I was restoring a U245 a few years ago. It may possibly have come from a U195, which uses the same arrangement. It's good to see it being used rather than languishing in a junk box.

Nice job as always.

Paul

mickjjo · 18th Oct 2008, 8:15 pm

The U245 also came in a cream painted finish, Yes I have one of those too, Strange that they never fitted any dial lights, maybe it was sold cheaper than the ever popular DAC90A....

Regards, Mick.

paulsherwin · 18th Oct 2008, 8:44 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by mickjjo

The U245 also came in a cream painted finish

I think there was a red painted one as well, though they seem to be thin on the ground. Brits liked their radios brown in the mid 50s

Paul

Steve_P · 18th Oct 2008, 10:59 pm

They did come in Red. As did the export version, which I have. MW/SW set, ECKO U243.

They were in production for a while, and they did well. Very nice sets, incuding that one, Howard.

Cheers,

Steve P.

JoshWard · 19th Oct 2008, 10:41 am

I must admit I would like to get a red one and a white one as well as I really like these sets!

18th Oct 2008, 6:18 pm	#1
howard Nonode Join Date: May 2005 Location: Godalming, Surrey, UK. Posts: 2,593	1955 Ekco U245 AC/DC MW/LW 5 valve (trans)portable radio. Hello again, I won this pretty little Ekco U245 set for just £4 at Cowbit. Its case was in excellent condition with just one small scratch on the side, but its handle trims had been repainted with a brush and both its long bakelite feet were damaged. I put a plug on it after changing the audio coupling capacitor and the capacitor across the mains and it worked ! It had already has a new off/on/volume pot and mains lead fitted but later I noticed that the waveband lever had been repaired, not badly, but it didn't look quite right. So I changed all the remaining wax capacitors and then checked the valves and they were all fine. I took the handle off and resprayed the handle trims with Plasticote brass paint. These were originally cheap German made brass/nickel plated steel but there was no way of recovering the original brass plated finish which had long gone. The case I cleaned with upholstery cleaner and then polished it with brasso and Liberon beeswax and turpentine polish. The loudspeaker baffle material was filthy and crooked so off came the baffle, and the nylon material fell off. I cleaned that with upholstery cleaner and stuck it back on with Evostik timebond. It has shrunk out of shape a bit but I just about managed to get it back on straight. I put an ad on the forum for two spare feet and the waveband lever and miraculously Paul Sherwin had one spare foot and Barrie had another spare foot and the lever and they very kindly sent them to me and they were fitted. The set was reassembled and then I took it over to Ron Bryan to realign MW as it wasn't quite picking up County Sound on 192 metres (in fact this set's high frequency MW limit is 192 metres). That simply entailed a tiny adjustment to the trimmer under tuning capacitor and then an adjustment to the aerial trimmer next to it and away she went. This is a pretty little set, it picks up everything on MW and LW and sounds good too and another excellent inexpensive set acquired at the Cowbit auction. Many thanks to Paul, Barrie and Ron for parts and help. Howard Attached Thumbnails

18th Oct 2008, 6:47 pm	#2
JoshWard Octode Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Near Stowmarket, Suffolk, UK. Posts: 1,962	Re: 1955 Ekco U245 AC/DC MW/LW 5 valve (trans)portable radio. Beautiful little set. I have one of these and it's one of my favourite non McMichael sets. Sounds lovely as well! Mine is slightly modified with some holes drilled underneath and I also have fitted a heat deflector as these sets run rather hot!

18th Oct 2008, 7:48 pm	#3
mickjjo Rest in Peace Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Dartford, Kent, UK. Posts: 1,661	Re: 1955 Ekco U245 AC/DC MW/LW 5 valve (trans)portable radio. Nice job Howard , I have one of those too, good performers. Regards, Mick.

18th Oct 2008, 7:50 pm	#4
paulsherwin Moderator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 27,958	Re: 1955 Ekco U245 AC/DC MW/LW 5 valve (trans)portable radio. I like these sets too. They must have sold in large numbers as there are still lots of them around today, though they don't seem very sought after. They were obviously built to a price, but they perform well for a 1950s 'second set'. Howard, these were launched in 1955, but they stayed in production for a few years and I think yours is a bit later. The early models don't have a handle (I have one with and one without). The handle trims do deteriorate and I have never seen one of these with the original trims in good condition. By the way, to give credit where it's due, I think the foot came with a bundle of scrap bits from Paul Stenning who helped me out when I was restoring a U245 a few years ago. It may possibly have come from a U195, which uses the same arrangement. It's good to see it being used rather than languishing in a junk box. Nice job as always. Paul

18th Oct 2008, 8:15 pm	#5
mickjjo Rest in Peace Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Dartford, Kent, UK. Posts: 1,661	Re: 1955 Ekco U245 AC/DC MW/LW 5 valve (trans)portable radio. The U245 also came in a cream painted finish, Yes I have one of those too, Strange that they never fitted any dial lights, maybe it was sold cheaper than the ever popular DAC90A.... Regards, Mick.

18th Oct 2008, 10:59 pm	#7
Steve_P Dekatron Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Bolton, Greater Manchester, UK. Posts: 6,644	Re: 1955 Ekco U245 AC/DC MW/LW 5 valve (trans)portable radio. They did come in Red. As did the export version, which I have. MW/SW set, ECKO U243. They were in production for a while, and they did well. Very nice sets, incuding that one, Howard. Cheers, Steve P. __________________ If we've always had it, why is the Car Boot open? You're not sneaking another Old TV in are you...?

19th Oct 2008, 10:41 am	#8
JoshWard Octode Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Near Stowmarket, Suffolk, UK. Posts: 1,962	Re: 1955 Ekco U245 AC/DC MW/LW 5 valve (trans)portable radio. I must admit I would like to get a red one and a white one as well as I really like these sets!