1954 Stella ST105U mains AC/DC 5 valve MW/LW transportable radio - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

howard · 14th Mar 2010, 5:08 pm

Hello again,

I spent a week restoring this little radio which was incomplete, not working and rather shabby looking. It was missing its dial cord and pointer and its paint was was covered in scratches, and its rear cover had a small chip in it but the unpainted part of its cabinet was unmarked. It is of course is a Philips clone, with the same chassis as the 1953 131U, and as I needed parts for it I discovered that I had a scrap 151U donor set.

I cleaned all the crud off the chassis with white spirit and cleaned all the valve sockets/pins, volume potentiometer and waveband switch with Servisol 10 and replaced all the black pitch capacitors with new polyesters. The original dropper had lost much of its coating so I replaced it with the one in the 151U. I also pinched the dial bulb, drive cord and pointer from the 151U and fitted those, the latter needed a bit of reshaping to fit the Stella. I fitted a new mains lead, switched on and a few minutes later it came to life once the smoothing capacitor had reformed. It was a bit insensitive so I realigned it, the biggest increase in gain was realised after adjusting its aerial trimmers which are in a little box attached to the aerial. The box was falling apart too, a lump of red paint fell of the top and the side was loose so I stuck it back together and repainted the top. Both HT and LT were fine as were all its valves and it worked really well which inspired to me to do a good job on its cabinet.

I started on the rear cover, scraped off all the paint, filled the little chip with Isopon P38, masked off the area with Tamiya masking tape (which is essential for a nice clean line, ordinary masking tape is hopeless) and airbrushed it with several coats of off-white (porcelain) acrylic paint to match its knobs. As the front was in better condition I cleaned up its surface and airbrushed over the original paint .... big mistake, some of the old paint lifted, so I spent ages stripping and scraping off the new and old paint and then airbrushed it again. The unpainted areas of the bakelite were polished with Brasso and they came up really nice. The knobs were scrubbed and the brass brights polished with Brasso. The dial was wiped clean and polished with Mr Sheen. Finally all the brass screws were polished with Brasso and relacquered.

This is a lovely little radio, IMHO one of the most attractive transportable valve sets that Philips built in the 1950s, and it works surprisingly well with excellent sensitivity and good sound quality too. It was definitely worth a weeks work.

Howard

tedzed1 · 15th Mar 2010, 12:46 am

Hello howard, looks a cracking set, and all in a week.
I like the back cover, makes a nice change from the usual.

Well Done.

Regards Paul

howard · 15th Mar 2010, 10:50 am

Hello Paul,

I'm glad you like it, it is a super little set. It feels more robust than the similar Philips 141U and it's easier to pick up as it has a better designed handle. Its case is built differently to the Philips, it splits into two halves.

These British Philips 'transportable' models are both attractive sets and rather nicer than some of the contemporary continental Philips models.

Howard

14th Mar 2010, 5:08 pm	#1
howard Nonode Join Date: May 2005 Location: Godalming, Surrey, UK. Posts: 2,593	1954 Stella ST105U mains AC/DC 5 valve MW/LW transportable radio Hello again, I spent a week restoring this little radio which was incomplete, not working and rather shabby looking. It was missing its dial cord and pointer and its paint was was covered in scratches, and its rear cover had a small chip in it but the unpainted part of its cabinet was unmarked. It is of course is a Philips clone, with the same chassis as the 1953 131U, and as I needed parts for it I discovered that I had a scrap 151U donor set. I cleaned all the crud off the chassis with white spirit and cleaned all the valve sockets/pins, volume potentiometer and waveband switch with Servisol 10 and replaced all the black pitch capacitors with new polyesters. The original dropper had lost much of its coating so I replaced it with the one in the 151U. I also pinched the dial bulb, drive cord and pointer from the 151U and fitted those, the latter needed a bit of reshaping to fit the Stella. I fitted a new mains lead, switched on and a few minutes later it came to life once the smoothing capacitor had reformed. It was a bit insensitive so I realigned it, the biggest increase in gain was realised after adjusting its aerial trimmers which are in a little box attached to the aerial. The box was falling apart too, a lump of red paint fell of the top and the side was loose so I stuck it back together and repainted the top. Both HT and LT were fine as were all its valves and it worked really well which inspired to me to do a good job on its cabinet. I started on the rear cover, scraped off all the paint, filled the little chip with Isopon P38, masked off the area with Tamiya masking tape (which is essential for a nice clean line, ordinary masking tape is hopeless) and airbrushed it with several coats of off-white (porcelain) acrylic paint to match its knobs. As the front was in better condition I cleaned up its surface and airbrushed over the original paint .... big mistake, some of the old paint lifted, so I spent ages stripping and scraping off the new and old paint and then airbrushed it again. The unpainted areas of the bakelite were polished with Brasso and they came up really nice. The knobs were scrubbed and the brass brights polished with Brasso. The dial was wiped clean and polished with Mr Sheen. Finally all the brass screws were polished with Brasso and relacquered. This is a lovely little radio, IMHO one of the most attractive transportable valve sets that Philips built in the 1950s, and it works surprisingly well with excellent sensitivity and good sound quality too. It was definitely worth a weeks work. Howard Attached Thumbnails

15th Mar 2010, 12:46 am	#2
tedzed1 Hexode Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Tamworth, Staffordshire, UK. Posts: 320	Re: 1954 Stella ST105U mains AC/DC 5 valve MW/LW transportable radio Hello howard, looks a cracking set, and all in a week. I like the back cover, makes a nice change from the usual. Well Done. Regards Paul __________________ Cheers Paul.

15th Mar 2010, 10:50 am	#3
howard Nonode Join Date: May 2005 Location: Godalming, Surrey, UK. Posts: 2,593	Re: 1954 Stella ST105U mains AC/DC 5 valve MW/LW transportable radio Hello Paul, I'm glad you like it, it is a super little set. It feels more robust than the similar Philips 141U and it's easier to pick up as it has a better designed handle. Its case is built differently to the Philips, it splits into two halves. These British Philips 'transportable' models are both attractive sets and rather nicer than some of the contemporary continental Philips models. Howard Attached Thumbnails