|
Vintage Radio (domestic) Domestic vintage radio (wireless) receivers only. |
|
Thread Tools |
16th Jul 2019, 9:58 am | #1 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: St. Frajou, l'Isle en Dodon, Haute Garonne, France.(Previously: Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, UK.)
Posts: 3,183
|
Birthday radio. (Microfunk).
Hi,
For my Birthday I was given this rather nice little French AM radio from 1962. It's branded 'Microfunk' and has six transistors plugged into sockets. It operates on 9 volts via a little four pin plug. Not sure if it was a standard battery, or something peculiar to France or Continental Europe. The set is very well made, and I'll try it out when I get a minute. It's a typically simple circuit and of its time, so simple to fix if it doesn't burst into song! Sorry for the quality of the photos. Blame the iPhone! Cheers, Pete.
__________________
"Hello?, Yes, I'm on the train, I might lose the signal soon as we're just going into a tunn..." |
16th Jul 2019, 10:10 am | #2 |
Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Exeter, Devon and Poole, Dorset UK.
Posts: 6,865
|
Re: Birthday radio.
Hi Pete does it look as if a PP11 will fit in there?
https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/ever_power_pack_pp11.html Quite common on early radios taping the 9 V at 4.5V and returning the speaker via the tap saves you a capacitor Cheers Mike T
__________________
Invisible airwaves crackle with life or at least they used to Mike T BVWS member. www.cossor.co.uk |
16th Jul 2019, 10:28 am | #3 |
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 27,944
|
Re: Birthday radio.
Yes, if that's the explanation then it's easy enough to add the speaker capacitor and run the radio from a PP9 or even a PP3.
|
16th Jul 2019, 11:11 am | #4 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Worksop, Nottinghamshire, UK.
Posts: 5,553
|
Re: Birthday radio.
I have got a French set and it used two 4.5 volt batteries.
Two three cell AA holders and a hmoe made adapter did the job. It has a nice sound with its plywood cabinet. I had to evict a Callins capacitor from the IF amp to get it going. |
16th Jul 2019, 4:40 pm | #5 |
Heptode
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Limerick, Ireland.
Posts: 901
|
Re: Birthday radio. (Microfunk).
You can still buy at least two brands of the 4.5V packs in UK/Ireland. Though more common in Europe. Panasonic & someone else. The originals used Zinc Carbon "B" cells and actually any brand of Alkaline AA is a similar capacity, except the Duracell special cheap value version, which is less.
Most of continental Europe used an adaptor and 2 x 4.5V packs rather than the PP9. |
16th Jul 2019, 9:47 pm | #6 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: St. Frajou, l'Isle en Dodon, Haute Garonne, France.(Previously: Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, UK.)
Posts: 3,183
|
Re: Birthday radio. (Microfunk).
Hi,
Thanks for your replies. The connector only has two wires, so must be for a single 9 volt battery rather than two 4.5 volt units. I powered it up from a small PSU, and it pulled in one station very weakly on G.O. (long wave), so it's very deaf. Cheers, Pete.
__________________
"Hello?, Yes, I'm on the train, I might lose the signal soon as we're just going into a tunn..." |
16th Jul 2019, 9:53 pm | #7 |
Heptode
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Limerick, Ireland.
Posts: 901
|
Re: Birthday radio. (Microfunk).
It may be for a missing 2 x 4.5V battery holder.
One part takes the two sets of tongues and then the wired part does about a 1/2 or 1/4 turn to "lock" the battery tabs in. So it's two separate parts. It's not a complete holder, it just goes on top of the two packs with the tabs tucked in and then your part with the two connections and wires latches in. Otherwise the ONLY battery is the PP11. There would then be a wire link on the plug as the PP11 is two separate halves of a PP9 in a box. Last edited by Mike. Watterson; 16th Jul 2019 at 9:58 pm. |
16th Jul 2019, 10:27 pm | #8 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Leominster, Herefordshire, UK.
Posts: 16,535
|
Re: Birthday radio. (Microfunk).
Is there room there for a PP11 or even two MN1203 or 1289 type 4.5V batteries?
__________________
....__________ ....|____||__|__\_____ .=.| _---\__|__|_---_|. .........O..Chris....O |
16th Jul 2019, 10:38 pm | #9 | |
Heptode
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Limerick, Ireland.
Posts: 901
|
Re: Birthday radio. (Microfunk).
Quote:
http://www.blaukatz.com/tables/other-batteries/ http://www.blaukatz.com/tables/layer-batteries/ Also some batteries on Radio Museum & Wikipedia. |
|
16th Jul 2019, 10:45 pm | #10 |
Heptode
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Limerick, Ireland.
Posts: 901
|
Re: Birthday radio. (Microfunk).
Also https://www.smallbattery.company.org..._catalogue.htm
and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine-volt_battery So either a PP11, or a holder that took 2 x 3R12 or 6 x AA. I don't think ANY transistor set took individual "B" cells (the R12) or "A" cells. |
17th Jul 2019, 8:19 am | #11 |
Banned
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Cornwall, UK.
Posts: 849
|
Re: Birthday radio. (Microfunk).
My French sets all have/had an adaptor that enables a pair of LR12 to be used, the 4 pin connector plugs in to the top of the adaptor. I can post a pic tonight.
Regards Poppydog |
19th Jul 2019, 6:41 pm | #12 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Haarlem, Netherlands
Posts: 4,199
|
Re: Birthday radio. (Microfunk).
Is it French made, or made for sale in France?
|
19th Jul 2019, 8:59 pm | #13 |
Banned
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Cornwall, UK.
Posts: 849
|
Re: Birthday radio. (Microfunk).
Here are the pics of the connectors as promised, they are both French made but are both unusable really as there are bits broken off of them so the radios have been converted to run on either 6AAs or PP9.
I also have a Pygmy (of Paris ) Lystron that still uses a similar connector. Regards Poppydog |
19th Jul 2019, 10:36 pm | #14 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Worksop, Nottinghamshire, UK.
Posts: 5,553
|
Re: Birthday radio. (Microfunk).
My Pigmy set has a hard wired 2X 1289 battery connector.
The adapter only needed tree tabs as the center one is common. It works fine with 6X AA cells. |
20th Jul 2019, 9:20 am | #15 |
Heptode
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Limerick, Ireland.
Posts: 901
|
Re: Birthday radio. (Microfunk).
My Pygmy may use 67 or 90V. I must "restore" it. Dx96 series and loads of SW in a plastic case.
Those are the sort of 3R12 (1289) adaptors I've seen in Switzerland and online. |
20th Jul 2019, 9:30 am | #16 | |
Banned
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Cornwall, UK.
Posts: 849
|
Re: Birthday radio. (Microfunk).
Quote:
Regards poppydog |
|
20th Jul 2019, 9:52 am | #17 |
Heptode
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Limerick, Ireland.
Posts: 901
|
Re: Birthday radio. (Microfunk).
No idea where or when I saw them. Maybe some model on the Radiomuseum?
It wasn't someone selling them. |