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Old 14th Mar 2019, 11:19 am   #1
Geoff 555
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Default Sky Countess made by?

Hello I have just been asked to have a look at a Sky Countess, could anyone please tell me who made this. I was hoping to look it up on Pauls disc.
Thank you.
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Old 14th Mar 2019, 11:34 am   #2
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Default Re: Sky Countess made by?

Sounds Ever Ready-ish to my mind? Edit- yep, here's what the radio museum has to say/see about it. https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/ever_sky_countess.html

Last edited by AC/HL; 14th Mar 2019 at 11:40 am. Reason: OT aside edited
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Old 14th Mar 2019, 11:40 am   #3
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Default Re: Sky Countess made by?

I think Every Ready too.
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Old 14th Mar 2019, 12:20 pm   #4
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Default Re: Sky Countess made by?

I have one. It's a late battery valve set. Ever Ready, so has a PCB and a ferrite rod rather than a loop, otherwise similar to earlier models.
The paper dielectric caps will all be faulty. The Electrolytic MIGHT be. They dry out and then the set motorboats at higher volume.

You hardly need a schematic. Just replace any 1nF or larger paper dielectric (might be waxed card or Hunts moulded). 1 x Alkaline D cell and 10 x PP3 in replica boxes, with sockets made from cut up coffee tin or similar will power it. Scans widely available to download or PM me with an email.
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Old 14th Mar 2019, 4:41 pm   #5
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Default Re: Sky Countess made by?

Hi all, thank you that is great. I was quite impressed with how it was made when compared with a Roberts 200 from the same chap to be looked at.
I think I will have to look for one to buy for me.
Cheers.
Geoff.
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Old 16th Mar 2019, 11:12 am   #6
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Default Re: Sky Countess made by?

Hi thanks for everything chaps, I have got one on the way, I like to have a sheet for a radio as it goes into a folder with any remarks as regards things found and done.
Cheers.
Geoff.
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Old 16th Mar 2019, 8:11 pm   #7
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Default Re: Sky Countess made by?

Ever Ready seemed to use the name "Sky" something for all their radios.

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Old 16th Mar 2019, 10:19 pm   #8
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Default Re: Sky Countess made by?

Nearly true between 1953 and 1965.
1935 to 1945 was 5nnn series. Most had Lissen equivalents, though usually in a different cabinet.
Most of them after the post WWII Alphabet. 1945 to 1953
A, B, C, B2, D, C/A, C/E, G, H, J, K, N, T, N3
None of these had BEREC equivalents, though there were two versions of J. Later when BEREC was used a brand, the two later versions of J were branded as BEREC, not Ever Ready. It's the Saucepan. The early versions did use an aluminium case made by the London Saucepan Co. The two later BEREC versions used three pieces of steel, a front, a rectangle rolled into a cylinder and a back.

However the serial numbers continued it from 1953
L:Skyscraper, L26 (Inspired by Lissen Skyscraper name? They bought control of Lissen in 1928)
Q: Sky Queen. Basically same chassis as Model K and T. The Last T even have 25mA valves.
P: Sky Prince (it was supposed to replace last Model T same time as Q portable)
M: Sky Monarch AM. There was also the same year, 1955 a Sky Monarch AM/FM
There were two that started space; the Space Ace, a MW + SW model in a Sky Queen Cabinet, possibly the Ever Ready version of the BEREC Pioneer. Also the Spacemaster, a MW/SW model in Monarch style case, identical to the only BEREC with Sky in the name, the Skyscraper Mk. II! Did they mix up the Skyscraper II and Spacemaster in a marketing meeting? BEREC was purely Ever Ready overseas marketing, a carve up agreed with USA Eveready/NCC who used UCAR in overseas. UK Ever Ready briefly rebranded BEREC in UK (the original 1906 company was British Ever Ready Electrical Company, created by the USA Eveready).
They had three different Sky Queens.
The last was the 1965 Sky Baby.
Car Portable was an exception in Sky period.
The Skylark has no space in the name.
Briefly as they rebranded BEREC and just before Hanson bought them and asset stripped, they brought out the Skyleader, Skytime, Skymaster (no space), in 680n series, branded BEREC on rear and Ever Ready on the front.
Later USA Energiser (the rebranded USA Eveready/NCC) bought UK Ever Ready and completed the asset strip. Energiser/Eveready is purely a marketing brand owned by a pet food company.

Last edited by Mike. Watterson; 16th Mar 2019 at 10:24 pm.
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Old 20th Mar 2019, 6:20 am   #9
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Default Re: Sky Countess made by?

My goodness thank you Mike, how jolly interesting. I think much study is going to happen.
Cheers.
Geoff.
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Old 20th Mar 2019, 9:41 am   #10
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Default Re: Sky Countess made by?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike. Watterson View Post
Briefly as they rebranded BEREC and just before Hanson bought them and asset stripped, they brought out the Skyleader, Skytime, Skymaster (no space), in 680n series, branded BEREC on rear and Ever Ready on the front.
Ah, yes: I've a Skyleader somewhere, made in Malaysia, and I think the others were too. The Skytime looked much like other cheap clock radios of the period except in having a liquid crystal display, and was perhaps the only clock radio in anything like that style to be powered by a PP9. The third model, a smaller portable, was named Skyranger rather than Skymaster.

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Old 20th Mar 2019, 2:26 pm   #11
Mike. Watterson
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Default Re: Sky Countess made by?

Thanks Paul. Faulty memory.
Also the 680x models maybe had QA and design issues? Cut tracks and wire link in at least one version and anecdotal reports of high return rate?
I don't have a Skyranger but have 3 x Skytime models. I think people didn't realise the C size clock battery was under the metal plate. The Skyleader works OK, but poor audio compared to well established brands that size & year. Maybe the speakers were too small and cheap.
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Old 21st Mar 2019, 11:11 am   #12
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Default Re: Sky Countess made by?

Don't forget the Sky Baronet, a very well made set built on a PCB but with an excellent slow motion drive. There was the Sky Casket and Sky Prince/ Princess and finally the last ER valve portable, the Sky Captain from 1961.
All of these used the B141 combined HT/LT battery.
The Sky Captain was built to a budget - just a plastic fabric covered wooden baffle board with the PCB attached to the rear. The rest of the case was just a bulbous cream plastic moulding that was attached to the baffle board by two brass screws. Strangely, this set didn't carry a name badge. Mine works very well and is extremely sensitive.
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Old 21st Mar 2019, 12:51 pm   #13
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Default Re: Sky Countess made by?

Surprised no one has remembered the two quite scarce VHF valve portables made by Ever Ready - the Sky Emperor in red and its BEREC equivalent the Commander in brown/tan.

Regards
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Old 21st Mar 2019, 8:57 pm   #14
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Default Re: Sky Countess made by?

I'm sure we did, it just wasn't important.
I have the Sky Emperor here. It's really a rebadge of the BEREC model as it has no LW. SW instead. It's a little odd as the VHF mixer/osc is also the -1 gain amp for the push pull.
VHF valve Portables useful in places like Germany 1953 to 1960 (the approximate period).

The earlier Vidor is also strange, using ALL DF97 for the IF and the AM Mixer, which is also 1st FM IF. The FM Mixer/Osc is AM LO.
Most Dutch / German sets use the DK96 for AM only and DC90 (early) or DF97 for Mixer Osc, though some German sets use the DK96 as a 2nd mixer/Osc on FM to convert 10.7 MHz to 6.5MHz for the IF. Some German models used the DM70 as merely a power indicator & phase inverter for the push pull (Philips Colette, though strangely it has a second DAF96 as tone control amp)

VHF-FM in UK from 1955 to 1970 approx was only simulcast of BBC AM, Home Light & Third (I forget how early R1 was done). The network was designed for roof aerials. The main reason for it was interference free Third Program. Hence the paucity of UK valve VHF portables and rarity of the Vidor & Ever Ready. There was the 1955 Sky Monarch AM/FM (a deluxe table model like the AM only Sky Monarch). It was intended for homes with no mains electricity that wanted "quality Third Program". The UK VHF roll out was incredibly slow and late compared to many continental European countries. Germany particularly had the incentive of extra stations.

Despite VHF-FM on Band I from the late 1930s in the USA, then on Band II 88 to 108MHz from 1945, there was only one valve portable in the USA, a novelty regenerative set. VHF-FM was marketed as Quality, so only more expensive mains sets and radiograms had it in USA.

There was no volume market for VHF portables in the UK till the 1970s and later with the start of Commercial & BBC Regional / Local Radio. Incredibly BBC regional radio ended in 1939 and didn't return till the 1970s.
It seems crazy that Commercial TV was launched in 1955, yet no commercial or regional radio. Original VHF band was only up to 100 or 101 MHz in the UK.
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Old 21st Mar 2019, 9:01 pm   #15
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Default Re: Sky Countess made by?

I've wondered was the Sky Captain partly to use up inventory and sell batteries? Seems a dinosaur compared to earlier Ever Ready transistor sets!
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