UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Powered By Google Custom Search Vintage Radio and TV Service Data

Go Back   UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum > General Vintage Technology > General Vintage Technology Discussions

Notices

General Vintage Technology Discussions For general discussions about vintage radio and other vintage electronics etc.

Closed Thread
 
Thread Tools
Old 11th Dec 2018, 8:34 pm   #1
PaulR
Dekatron
 
PaulR's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Southport Lancashire, UK.
Posts: 3,221
Default What vintage equipment did you actually use today?

I wonder how much of our vintage sets actually gets used. I use my Philips Music Maid as an alarm timer as one of the valve sockets is very unreliable. It switched on a Marconi 557 as the actual alarm.

I later listened to the Today Programme on my lovely Murphy A46 (the only set SWMBO allows into the living room). I played some children's 78s (Teddy Bears' Picnic etc) to my 1 year old granddaughter on my C&S GP7 record player followed by a cd using the microphone input of the same player. My granddaughter is so used to the 78s that she points to them and starts to "dance" before I have even got one out of its sleeve!

Does anyone else use their vintage sets on a daily basis?
__________________
Paul
PaulR is offline  
Old 11th Dec 2018, 8:52 pm   #2
Nickthedentist
Dekatron
 
Nickthedentist's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Oxford, UK.
Posts: 17,820
Default Re: What vintage equipment did you actually use today?

Yes!

Breakfast with the Hacker VHF Herald and "Today" on Radio 4.

Nothing at work, but I rang my wife at lunchtime, who answered on the 1956 GPO 300-series phone in the sitting room.

Home from work then I put away the laundry to the end of "PM" on R4 through my Bush VHF64.

I've just fired-up my Cossor Melody Master to listen to a Haydn(?) string quartet on R3 while I try to do some paperwork, to the light of my 1940s Anglepoise.

And the house is full of vintage clocks, both electric and spring-powered, both silent and chiming/striking, all running (until SWMBO complains).

P.S. My children (2, 6, and 7) love dancing to a pile of 10" 78s or 7" singles on the Hacker Serenade when we have 5 minutes to kill before leaving for school or whatever, and they're too lively to sit still and do something quiet. They can work the autochanger, but the records end up covered with greasy fingerprints, jam and so on, so it tends to be Daddy's job.
Nickthedentist is offline  
Old 11th Dec 2018, 8:58 pm   #3
PaulR
Dekatron
 
PaulR's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Southport Lancashire, UK.
Posts: 3,221
Default Re: What vintage equipment did you actually use today?

Oh yes, I forgot the Cossor in the kitchen used to listen to PM whilst making tea. It is actually a hybrid of a Music Master and a 524 as both got damaged in the post so I made one good one out of the usable bits. It is the only 524 with a magic eye in existence I expect
__________________
Paul
PaulR is offline  
Old 11th Dec 2018, 9:20 pm   #4
kalee20
Dekatron
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Lynton, N. Devon, UK.
Posts: 7,060
Default Re: What vintage equipment did you actually use today?

Vidor CN420a portable was being used last night - as was Bush DAC90a.

Weekend - Cossor 500. And Ever Ready Model K portable.

This evening, it'll probably be Ferguson 208u. It all depends which room I'm in.
kalee20 is online now  
Old 11th Dec 2018, 9:30 pm   #5
Kentode
Octode
 
Kentode's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Yorkshire, England.
Posts: 1,294
Default Re: What vintage equipment did you actually use today?

Oh yes! Breakfast was prepared to the sound of Radio Two on a Bush 103, and consumed in the company of a Westminster.

Christmas present wrapping was accompanied by a Leak Troughline ll (plus Sherry and a mince pie).

A little light fettling of a Bush SRP51 to the sound of an Eveready model C.

Does my '86 Linn Sondek playing Bing's White Christmas count?

__________________
Regards, Ken.

BVWS member
Kentode is offline  
Old 11th Dec 2018, 9:31 pm   #6
russell_w_b
Dekatron
 
russell_w_b's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Penrith, Cumbria, UK.
Posts: 3,684
Default Re: What vintage equipment did you actually use today?

Not actually 'today' as in 11 December 2018 but I used my 1949 GEC 4940 until very recently, when acquisition of my mother's piano forced a compromise / rethink in the living room. Our regular landline telephones in daily use are a 1961 Plessey 706, a 1975 red 746 converted for wall use in the kitchen (actually used this day), a 1955 Ericsson N1071 and a 1985 8782R DTMF instrument.


And, if I'm allowed to mention it, my regular 'with-me' camera is a 1954 Balda Mess-Baldix 6x6 folder. I took a couple of shots with it two days ago and I take it everywhere.
__________________
Regds,

Russell W. B.
G4YLI.
russell_w_b is offline  
Old 11th Dec 2018, 9:33 pm   #7
Nickthedentist
Dekatron
 
Nickthedentist's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Oxford, UK.
Posts: 17,820
Default Re: What vintage equipment did you actually use today?

Quote:
Originally Posted by russell_w_b View Post
I used my 1949 GEC 4940 until recently, when acquisition of my mother's piano forced a compromise / rethink in the living room.
I've managed to fit a Hacker Mayflower and a prewar Smiths clock on our Bluthner upright
Nickthedentist is offline  
Old 11th Dec 2018, 9:43 pm   #8
music-centre
Heptode
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Brentwood, Essex, UK.
Posts: 687
Default Re: What vintage equipment did you actually use today?

Not sure if its vintage enough, but I have been listening to the Philips early 1970s music centre that I have at work as back ground music in the stores/despatch area where I work.
music-centre is offline  
Old 11th Dec 2018, 9:46 pm   #9
G6Tanuki
Dekatron
 
G6Tanuki's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 13,953
Default Re: What vintage equipment did you actually use today?

I wake up to my Roberts R606 on a timeswitch, tuned to "Heart FM", then when I get up I head to the kitchen, turn on my WWII Pye PCR and listen to something like Voice of America on shortwave while the first coffee of the day brews.

By 07:00 I'm off walking the dog for a couple of hours, so no radio.

When I get home I fire up either my Racal RA217/MA323 or the Yaesu FT897D and have a tune around for 30 minutes or so (aided by another coffee brew) to see what's going on on the HF bands. Then breakfast!

If HF is good, I'll maybe work a few stations on 7 or 14MHz; if not I tune the Roberts R707 to Classic-FM for some background daytime musical pabulum.

Later, again I'll check HF. Right now I'm listening to a net on 5MHz but the participants and content's not really something I want to engage in. If it had been, I'd activate my Clansman PRC320 for a chat.

Bedtime - the R707 is again Classic-FM on the timeswitch set to turn off about 00:30 by which time I _might_ be asleep.

At weekends, the morning listening is around 6.2-6.4MHz because that's when the interesting shortwave free-radio stations come on. I've got a dedicated Eddystone 840A and quarter-wave wire antenna as a bedside radio specially for them.
G6Tanuki is online now  
Old 11th Dec 2018, 10:12 pm   #10
russell_w_b
Dekatron
 
russell_w_b's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Penrith, Cumbria, UK.
Posts: 3,684
Default Re: What vintage equipment did you actually use today?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nickthedentist View Post
I've managed to fit a Hacker Mayflower and a prewar Smiths clock on our Bluthner upright
I'll slip it back in due course, don't worry...
__________________
Regds,

Russell W. B.
G4YLI.
russell_w_b is offline  
Old 11th Dec 2018, 10:26 pm   #11
PaulR
Dekatron
 
PaulR's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Southport Lancashire, UK.
Posts: 3,221
Default Re: What vintage equipment did you actually use today?

Quote:
Originally Posted by russell_w_b View Post
Our regular landline telephones in daily use are a 1961 Plessey 706, a 1975 red 746 converted for wall use in the kitchen (actually used this day), a 1955 Ericsson N1071 and a 1985 8782R DTMF instrument.
Unfortunately I have had to hide all my old phones temporarily as we are having problems with the line and an engineer is calling later in the week. I bet that if he saw a 150, 200 and 300 series phones dotted about he would blame the fault on them!
__________________
Paul
PaulR is offline  
Old 11th Dec 2018, 10:35 pm   #12
Al (astral highway)
Dekatron
 
Al (astral highway)'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: London, UK.
Posts: 3,496
Default Re: What vintage equipment did you actually use today?

Quote:
Originally Posted by G6Tanuki View Post
I wake up to my Roberts R606 on a timeswitch, tuned to "Heart FM", then when I get up I head to the kitchen, turn on my WWII Pye PCR and listen to something like Voice of America on shortwave while the first coffee of the day brews.
Nice to hear details of a life built around vintage radio spanning so many decades! Love it, thanks for sharing!
__________________
Al
Al (astral highway) is offline  
Old 11th Dec 2018, 10:56 pm   #13
sexton_mallard
Hexode
 
sexton_mallard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ellesmere, Shropshire, UK & Co. Cork, Ireland.
Posts: 499
Default Re: What vintage equipment did you actually use today?

Got home from work tonight and listened to Radio 1 , 2 and Radio Wales on FM via a rather superb Ferranti U1032 that I got from Mikey's Junk swap meet earlier this year.
__________________
Dom

Less snakes...more ladders!

Last edited by sexton_mallard; 11th Dec 2018 at 11:06 pm.
sexton_mallard is online now  
Old 11th Dec 2018, 11:00 pm   #14
Station X
Moderator
 
Station X's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Ipswich, Suffolk, IP4, UK.
Posts: 21,192
Default Re: What vintage equipment did you actually use today?

Does my 1966 Boxford lathe count as vintage equipment? I used it this afternoon.

I have four vintage radios and two CRT TV's in the house and use one or more of them most days.
__________________
Graham. Forum Moderator

Reach for your meter before you reach for your soldering iron.
Station X is online now  
Old 11th Dec 2018, 11:07 pm   #15
Paul_RK
Dekatron
 
Paul_RK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Fakenham, Norfolk, UK.
Posts: 4,246
Default Re: What vintage equipment did you actually use today?

Just the kitchen radio today, a 1965 Telefunken 1691 Gavotte, and the usual few early Belling Champions (No.1, No.2, 79 and 83A).

Paul
Paul_RK is online now  
Old 11th Dec 2018, 11:09 pm   #16
mark2collection
Hexode
 
mark2collection's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Royal Berkshire, UK.
Posts: 470
Default Re: What vintage equipment did you actually use today?

Currently listening to the DAC90a I wrote-up about earlier today.

Wife called me on our black 1960's(?) GPO300. Whilst she was preparing dinner, the set I could hear in the background would have been her bakelite VHF61 in the kitchen (phone in the hall).

My daughter was using her 1960's 1001 Anglepoise lamp to read just before bed, previously drawing for homework with a set of early '70s fairy lights (around the picture in the dining room) as a backdrop, our Victorian mantle clock in the lounge can be heard chiming away downstairs with a wonderfully mellow 'dong' every 30 minutes.

At work, was using a 1960's waveform generator, still in calibration too.

A few similarities with other members it appears

Mark
mark2collection is offline  
Old 11th Dec 2018, 11:10 pm   #17
McMurdo
Dekatron
 
McMurdo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Staffordshire Moorlands, UK.
Posts: 5,263
Default Re: What vintage equipment did you actually use today?

the avo 7 is used daily at work although it's getting a few comments from customers these days if they notice it. Most think it's there for show.
__________________
Kevin
McMurdo is offline  
Old 11th Dec 2018, 11:23 pm   #18
russell_w_b
Dekatron
 
russell_w_b's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Penrith, Cumbria, UK.
Posts: 3,684
Default Re: What vintage equipment did you actually use today?

Quote:
Originally Posted by McMurdo View Post
'the avo 7 is used daily at work...'
Oh, forgot about them! My Avo 9 II is on my 'playroom' bench, to hand for the quick checking of things. We still have a tranche of '8s' at work which are used regularly, but are not kept calibrated. If it was left to the young 'uns whom we employ, they'd be binned.


Once me and my ilk retire, I suspect they'll have a jolly good clean-out of the workshops.
__________________
Regds,

Russell W. B.
G4YLI.
russell_w_b is offline  
Old 11th Dec 2018, 11:40 pm   #19
KeithsTV
Nonode
 
KeithsTV's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: South Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 2,571
Default Re: What vintage equipment did you actually use today?

Weekday mornings we normally listen to Pulse 2 on MW on a Vidor Lady Anne while having breakfast in the conservatory. At the weekends I normally listen to RTE 1 on a KB GR10/1 which belonged to my parents.

And, as I bought it over 25 years ago, I guess the Fluke 79 I used today can be classed as vintage.

Keith
KeithsTV is online now  
Old 11th Dec 2018, 11:51 pm   #20
PaulR
Dekatron
 
PaulR's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Southport Lancashire, UK.
Posts: 3,221
Default Re: What vintage equipment did you actually use today?

Quote:
Originally Posted by sexton_mallard View Post
Got home from work tonight and listened to Radio 1 , 2 and Radio Wales on FM via a rather superb Ferranti U1032 that I got from Mikey's Junk swap meet earlier this year.
They are good sets. I restored one for a friend a couple of years ago and was impressed by the sound quality.
__________________
Paul
PaulR is offline  
Closed Thread

Thread Tools



All times are GMT +1. The time now is 9:19 pm.


All information and advice on this forum is subject to the WARNING AND DISCLAIMER located at https://www.vintage-radio.net/rules.html.
Failure to heed this warning may result in death or serious injury to yourself and/or others.


Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright ©2002 - 2023, Paul Stenning.