1966 Bush TR130 in black - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

howard · 12th Jan 2006, 12:26 am

Hello again

I restored a couple of TR130s last year, both tan, and both came up near mint. Ive been looking out for more of these but in black, red and green. I managed to acquire a non working black one for £12, and a red one again for £12 which was working but arrived damaged cos it was fitted into a soft box sideways - I did get all my money back

I tried to get the black one working but failed miserably so I acquired a scruffy tan one for £6 which was working fine, made in the same year 1966 ie: with Third/Light/Home and of course Caroline on the tuning scale as a donor for the black one

Its fairly simple to take these radios apart. The bottom comes off first, then the back - the two lugs which hold the two halves of the case together are disengaged by pushing the rear inwards and the front outwards on both sides - and then inside, two nuts above the lower brass loudspeaker spacers and the two screws in the side of the chrome top moulding are removed and the entire chassis then lifts out. The loudspeaker then comes out after removal of the two top nuts and the lower threaded brass spacer and their locknuts.

I dismantled both radios. The duff chassis went back into the scruffy tan case and put back into the pile for spares. I then cleaned the black case.
The chrome top moulding was grubby especially around the push buttons so I took that off - there are four screws holding it in place, one either side and two along the back. One can take the perspex window out of the top chrome moulding by removing the handle pin nuts but this one was clean so I left it and the handle in place. I also took off the tuning scale complete with the three push buttons by removing its four screws and unclipping the tuning cord from the underside of the pointer. I then gently cleaned off all the internal dust with a paint brush (quite a lot inside, especially around the push buttons and wheels) and gently cleaned all the wheels and the tuning scale, polished the chrome moulding with chrome polish, cleaned the outer case and handle with upholstery cleaner. The tone pot and the wavechange switch were a bit noisy so I cleaned them with a little switch cleaner and then reassembled the radio with the working chassis. Its so good this radio that it needed no polish on the vinyl cover, just a wipe with a chamois leather cloth.

So here's my black 1966 Bush TR130, apparently the best selling radio of the latter part of the 1960s, and rightly so cos theyre very nicely built and designed radios with decent sound quality. This one sounds very good, it has a lively warm sound quality and the tuner is very sensitive. Condition wise, this old Bush is genuinely mint, no vinyl peeling, no pitted chrome, nothing broken or missing and it doesnt have a single mark on it anywhere - it even has its original polythene battery bag !

Howard

A Black Bush VTR330 next

Darren-UK · 12th Jan 2006, 1:10 am

That looks a grand little radio gleaming away there Howard

Yes they do sound good, not least because of their rather beefy output department.

One small point which is not intended to be viewed as a criticism, but am I correct in believing it was only the tan TR130s which had 'Caroline' on the tuning scale ? I recall having read that somewhere once.

My own criticism of the TR130 is that I've always felt its cabinet should have been given the sturdier build-quality of the equivalent Murphy version; thus eliminating those weak connecting lugs for the two cabinet halves.

GJR 11L · 12th Jan 2006, 11:37 am

Hey Howard,

I'm fond of these too, my best one is the earliest of all, the one with a plain black and white dial, a 208 button instead of bandspread and a floor of the same colour as the body. Good luck with the search for a green one, I've been looking for one of those too, more chance of fertilizing the roses with rocking horse droppings than finding one!

Here a pic of my early example alongside its later (R1, 2, 3 etc. on the dial) stablemate. Yes, that's a red strap on the post '67 version. Well it was available...

Nice looking set there by the way, tell me, did you remove the wheel from the volume control or clean it in the chassis? They are a

to get out of there!

howard · 12th Jan 2006, 2:34 pm

Thanks Darren, Phil,

I'll pop one of the later type dials into this black TR130 this evening to keep it as original as possible .... never mind, still I could to put that Caroline dial into one of my tan TR130s instead

I cleaned the volume control gears in situ, picking out the grot in the gear teeth with a screwdriver blade. Being lightly greased they do tend to attract a lot of dust. I know just how difficult those gears are to get out cos I removed one from a scrap TR130 for someone here a few months back.

Howard

JoshWard · 12th Jan 2006, 7:29 pm

At current I have not got a TR130. I have however got a Murphy B818 (from Past Times Radio) and will e getting a TR230 in black soon!

howard · 12th Jan 2006, 10:54 pm

Hello again,

I have put a later tuning scale into my black TR130 (front left) so its now as it should be

Here are some others from my collection of TR130s and lookalikes, a black VTR330 (front right) yet to be cleaned up but it works very well, two tan TR130s both near mint/mint and working perfectly, an unused mint black TR168 (a cheap lightweight model made at the same time as the TR230s) and my new fluffy pink repro at the back. The TR130s work particularly well on MW and the VTR330 and repro on VHF, and all can play remarkably loud without distortion.

They're lovely radios

Howard

Hybrid tellies · 13th Jan 2006, 1:10 am

Hi Howard
Totally agree with what you have said about the TR130, I'me a big fan as I can prove with this link
http://www.vintage-radio.com/recent-...ush-tr130.html
I,ve got two VTR330's both pretty rough but I hope to make one good one out of two. Neither of them working but as you said their good on VHF it might give me more incentive to start this long overdue project.

howard · 13th Jan 2006, 8:29 pm

Hello Simon,

My VTR330 is a super radio, the sound quality on VHF is better than the AM only TR130 and its just as pretty, so I do hope I have inspired you to rebuild one yourself ... the VTR330s seem to be quite rare, Ive never seen one on eBay whereas at the moment there are 5 good tan TR130s on eBay ....

Howard

Hybrid tellies · 14th Jan 2006, 1:52 am

Cheers Howard
consider me inspired. It will probably be my next but one project, which in reality means anytime in the next 2-3 years.

Andrew c · 14th Jan 2006, 6:07 am

Hello Howard Very nicely done. I know we always mention the sound quality on these but lets face it they do sound great. I have a TR130 and B818 and I think they are brilliant little radios and well worth restoring.

Andy

12th Jan 2006, 12:26 am	#1
howard Nonode Join Date: May 2005 Location: Godalming, Surrey, UK. Posts: 2,593	1966 Bush TR130 in black Hello again I restored a couple of TR130s last year, both tan, and both came up near mint. Ive been looking out for more of these but in black, red and green. I managed to acquire a non working black one for £12, and a red one again for £12 which was working but arrived damaged cos it was fitted into a soft box sideways - I did get all my money back I tried to get the black one working but failed miserably so I acquired a scruffy tan one for £6 which was working fine, made in the same year 1966 ie: with Third/Light/Home and of course Caroline on the tuning scale as a donor for the black one Its fairly simple to take these radios apart. The bottom comes off first, then the back - the two lugs which hold the two halves of the case together are disengaged by pushing the rear inwards and the front outwards on both sides - and then inside, two nuts above the lower brass loudspeaker spacers and the two screws in the side of the chrome top moulding are removed and the entire chassis then lifts out. The loudspeaker then comes out after removal of the two top nuts and the lower threaded brass spacer and their locknuts. I dismantled both radios. The duff chassis went back into the scruffy tan case and put back into the pile for spares. I then cleaned the black case. The chrome top moulding was grubby especially around the push buttons so I took that off - there are four screws holding it in place, one either side and two along the back. One can take the perspex window out of the top chrome moulding by removing the handle pin nuts but this one was clean so I left it and the handle in place. I also took off the tuning scale complete with the three push buttons by removing its four screws and unclipping the tuning cord from the underside of the pointer. I then gently cleaned off all the internal dust with a paint brush (quite a lot inside, especially around the push buttons and wheels) and gently cleaned all the wheels and the tuning scale, polished the chrome moulding with chrome polish, cleaned the outer case and handle with upholstery cleaner. The tone pot and the wavechange switch were a bit noisy so I cleaned them with a little switch cleaner and then reassembled the radio with the working chassis. Its so good this radio that it needed no polish on the vinyl cover, just a wipe with a chamois leather cloth. So here's my black 1966 Bush TR130, apparently the best selling radio of the latter part of the 1960s, and rightly so cos theyre very nicely built and designed radios with decent sound quality. This one sounds very good, it has a lively warm sound quality and the tuner is very sensitive. Condition wise, this old Bush is genuinely mint, no vinyl peeling, no pitted chrome, nothing broken or missing and it doesnt have a single mark on it anywhere - it even has its original polythene battery bag ! Howard A Black Bush VTR330 next Attached Thumbnails Last edited by howard; 12th Jan 2006 at 12:42 am.

12th Jan 2006, 1:10 am	#2
Darren-UK Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Blackpool, Lancashire, UK. Posts: 4,061	Re: 1966 Bush TR130 in black That looks a grand little radio gleaming away there Howard Yes they do sound good, not least because of their rather beefy output department. One small point which is not intended to be viewed as a criticism, but am I correct in believing it was only the tan TR130s which had 'Caroline' on the tuning scale ? I recall having read that somewhere once. My own criticism of the TR130 is that I've always felt its cabinet should have been given the sturdier build-quality of the equivalent Murphy version; thus eliminating those weak connecting lugs for the two cabinet halves.

12th Jan 2006, 11:37 am	#3
GJR 11L Heptode Join Date: May 2004 Location: Ellington, Northumberland, UK. Posts: 815	Re: 1966 Bush TR130 in black Hey Howard, I'm fond of these too, my best one is the earliest of all, the one with a plain black and white dial, a 208 button instead of bandspread and a floor of the same colour as the body. Good luck with the search for a green one, I've been looking for one of those too, more chance of fertilizing the roses with rocking horse droppings than finding one! Here a pic of my early example alongside its later (R1, 2, 3 etc. on the dial) stablemate. Yes, that's a red strap on the post '67 version. Well it was available... Nice looking set there by the way, tell me, did you remove the wheel from the volume control or clean it in the chassis? They are a to get out of there! Attached Thumbnails __________________ John.

12th Jan 2006, 2:34 pm	#4
howard Nonode Join Date: May 2005 Location: Godalming, Surrey, UK. Posts: 2,593	Re: 1966 Bush TR130 in black Thanks Darren, Phil, I'll pop one of the later type dials into this black TR130 this evening to keep it as original as possible .... never mind, still I could to put that Caroline dial into one of my tan TR130s instead I cleaned the volume control gears in situ, picking out the grot in the gear teeth with a screwdriver blade. Being lightly greased they do tend to attract a lot of dust. I know just how difficult those gears are to get out cos I removed one from a scrap TR130 for someone here a few months back. Howard

12th Jan 2006, 7:29 pm	#5
JoshWard Octode Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Near Stowmarket, Suffolk, UK. Posts: 1,962	Re: 1966 Bush TR130 in black At current I have not got a TR130. I have however got a Murphy B818 (from Past Times Radio) and will e getting a TR230 in black soon!

12th Jan 2006, 10:54 pm	#6
howard Nonode Join Date: May 2005 Location: Godalming, Surrey, UK. Posts: 2,593	Re: 1966 Bush TR130 in black Hello again, I have put a later tuning scale into my black TR130 (front left) so its now as it should be Here are some others from my collection of TR130s and lookalikes, a black VTR330 (front right) yet to be cleaned up but it works very well, two tan TR130s both near mint/mint and working perfectly, an unused mint black TR168 (a cheap lightweight model made at the same time as the TR230s) and my new fluffy pink repro at the back. The TR130s work particularly well on MW and the VTR330 and repro on VHF, and all can play remarkably loud without distortion. They're lovely radios Howard Attached Thumbnails Last edited by howard; 12th Jan 2006 at 11:16 pm.

13th Jan 2006, 1:10 am	#7
Hybrid tellies Nonode Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: 1966-1976 Coverack in Cornwall and Helston Cornwall. 1976-present Bristol/Bath area. Posts: 2,965	Re: 1966 Bush TR130 in black Hi Howard Totally agree with what you have said about the TR130, I'me a big fan as I can prove with this link http://www.vintage-radio.com/recent-...ush-tr130.html I,ve got two VTR330's both pretty rough but I hope to make one good one out of two. Neither of them working but as you said their good on VHF it might give me more incentive to start this long overdue project. __________________ Simon BVWS member

13th Jan 2006, 8:29 pm	#8
howard Nonode Join Date: May 2005 Location: Godalming, Surrey, UK. Posts: 2,593	Re: 1966 Bush TR130 in black Hello Simon, My VTR330 is a super radio, the sound quality on VHF is better than the AM only TR130 and its just as pretty, so I do hope I have inspired you to rebuild one yourself ... the VTR330s seem to be quite rare, Ive never seen one on eBay whereas at the moment there are 5 good tan TR130s on eBay .... Howard

14th Jan 2006, 1:52 am	#9
Hybrid tellies Nonode Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: 1966-1976 Coverack in Cornwall and Helston Cornwall. 1976-present Bristol/Bath area. Posts: 2,965	Re: 1966 Bush TR130 in black Cheers Howard consider me inspired. It will probably be my next but one project, which in reality means anytime in the next 2-3 years. __________________ Simon BVWS member

14th Jan 2006, 6:07 am	#10
Andrew c Tetrode Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Stockport, Cheshire, UK. Posts: 72	Re: 1966 Bush TR130 in black Hello Howard Very nicely done. I know we always mention the sound quality on these but lets face it they do sound great. I have a TR130 and B818 and I think they are brilliant little radios and well worth restoring. Andy