Long gone 1920s Receiver

['LIVEWIRE?']

Many years ago, when I was about 13, my father brought home one of those early wireless sets, which were constructed on wooden &/or ebonite panels, and in which all the components were connected via screw terminals and lengths of insulated wire carefully bent at right angles wherever a change of direction was required. IIRC It had two single gang variable capacitors (perhaps one should say 'condensers'). Being interested in radio even at that age, but having no means to get it working, nor enough knowledge to know how it worked, I dismantled the radio, saving all the parts. Unfortunately all this was left behind in a house move almost 52 years ago, along with a 1940s or 50s 'woody' which had belonged to a late uncle. This couldn't be used in the old house, which had no mains electricity supply, but could have been used in the flat to where we moved, and where I still live now. Both these items, especially the 1920s TRF fall into the category of 'I wish I'd kept that!' No doubt other forum members have similar stories to tell. Before anyone asks, I have no photos of the vintage radio, and have no idea what make it was, either.

[Herald1360]

Insulated wire? The classic way to wire them was in 1/16" square section bare tinned copper unless relative movement was required.

['LIVEWIRE?']

My memory might be playing tricks after more than 50 years, Chris, but I can picture (for some reason), blue wires (tinned Copper covered with insulating sleeving). Maybe I'm mixing up two different things.

[Ed_Dinning]

Hi, I've seen insulated wire used in sets of that period; round solid core wire with a wrapped cotton(?) insulation that was impregnated with some sort of coloured plastic compound.
Square wire can be approximated with 16SWG TC wire squashed in a vise to the required shape.
If you fancy a re-construction/ replica, I may have some of the parts.

Ed

[vinrads]

I remember as a young lad my farther telling me about his farther making wireless sets for friends and anyone who wanted one , he recalls having to strip old house wire, then pulling it round this knob on the fire fender to straighten it .
Maybe that's where I get my passion for all things electrical.

['LIVEWIRE?']

Too many things to do just now, Ed, but the idea of a replica sounds good. I have no idea what the circuit was, what valves it used, or how it was powered, but probably a one or two valve T.R.F. with headphone o/p, although I can picture an audio transformer in a gold colored metal case, probably an inter-stage one. Oddly enough in 1967 I built what, in a sense, would have been a later version of this type of radio - The PW 'Denette, which, as some members may know, is/was also a two-valve T.R.F., admittedly with o/p to a speaker. What has triggered my memory of the 1920s radio is partly age/nostalgia, and partly because I'm part way through repairing a Philips Superinductance 274A. These must have been the pinnacle of T.R.F. Design .

[Sideband]

I did something similar around 50 years ago which I now bitterly regret. It was a Mullard Master 3 complete with construction details and a couple of late 1920's 'Broadcast Receiving Licences' pinned inside the lid. PM1HF, PM1LF and PM2. I did manage to get the first two stages working but eventually took the set apart. It would have been quite valuable now.....

[Herald1360]

Originally Posted by vinrads

......... he recalls having to strip old house wire, then pulling it round this knob on the fire fender to straighten it .

On a more modern note- stretching 24SWG BTC wire using two pairs of pliers makes for nice neat Veroboard links.

[Aerodyne]

Systoflex - braided cotton impregnated with shellac - was the usual insulation for wiring on the breadboard style receivers of the late twenties and was used by the home constructors for some years. It has a tendency to degrade into a sticky mess, as most of us have experienced, probably made worse by indifferent storage conditions over many years.
As for straightening wire, I clamp one end of a length in a small bench vice, grip the other end with pliers and give it a really good sharp tug. Works a treat whether the wire is insulated or bare.

Tony

[D.Finney]

Systoflex sleeving was still available in the 1970's, I recall buying some then, don't know if it's still available.

[Cobaltblue]

It's possible it was a 1927 Cossor Melody Maker the coil if home wound could have been almost any colour and previous wound I have seen them in many colours including red and green http://cossor.co.uk/the-early-kit-sets cheers Mike T

[Graham G3ZVT]

I was about six when my father introduced me to radio when he gave me the crystal set he had made as a boy.
The tuner (I would later learn it was a variometer) was this one:
https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/hilco_variometer.html
The diode looked like this
http://www.wylie.org.uk/technology/s...eKaDe/G561.png
and was clearly wired across what was once a crystal and cat's whisker.
I think the baseboard was slate, the wiring was underneath in thick cotton-covered wire.

A little later on I was given a carbon microphone, the sort with a hoop and spring suspension. I dismantled that and discovered that the core of the induction coil in the base was comprised of hundreds of separate iron wires.

[AC/HL]

I remember finding something similar to an Empire Melody Maker, complete with a big Bakelite speaker put out for the bin men, on my way home from school. Mum wouldn't let me get it though. Must be 60 years ago, but I can still see it even though the houses are long gone.

[Mr Moose]

Hello,
From the mid 1920s till well into the 1930s the most commonly specified wire for wiring homebuilt radios was an insulated wire called "Glazite".

To quote from a 1926 catalogue:-

"Glazite" Connecting wire
Supplied in four colours: Red, Blue, Yellow and Black.
Dispenses with insulating sleeving and gives perfect insulation with minimum of trouble. "Glazite" is flameproof and damp-proof. It consists of tinned copper wire, first covered with cotton, and then with a special glazed covering which has exceptional insulating qualities.

Yours, Richard