Pye 808 finished at last. - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

vinrads · 13th Mar 2023, 3:40 pm

The dial was broken when I acquired this radio it needed a full restoration a forum member supplied me with a better dial ie not broken as much and a reaction control ,after replacing most of the usual capacitors and a few resistors the set worked , what to do about the dial ,I was given a companies name that may help me with the dial , I sent off the broken dial they managed to scan it and gave me an estimate of £65 for two not to bad I thought , skip a week an email informed me that due to unforeseen problems it would now cost me £104 inc vat which they didn't mention before , after much deliberation and taking into consideration that a forum member Graham (radiogram ) would buy a dial off me I gave them the go ahead ,I paid the bulk of the cost which was £65 it was either that or the radio was scrap.
I must say I was very pleased with the finished dial when it arrived they had cut the holes ,after I told then not to, but all ok apart from the little boss which holds the tuning indicator disk was a tad to big I overcome this by bushing the boss out with a piece of card and super glued it in place , originally the brass bushes were riveted /crimped to the perspex they had to ground off , same went for the L/S A/E sockets I didn't bother re fitting these I found some rivets that fitted the holes perfectly so they look the part , what a job , I now have the radio running under it's own steam , with a 90 volt pack 10 x pp3's squeezed into a nice plastic case ,and a two volt accumulator which I brought to life and is still going strong .
Was it worth it yes it was , I just need to make a back for it if the chap that I acquired from cannot find it .

Aub · 13th Mar 2023, 5:12 pm

Well done. Looks good.

Aub

Lloyd 1985 · 13th Mar 2023, 5:25 pm

Looks good, the new dial sets it off nicely! I’m sure I have a knob from one of these in the spares box..

Regards
Lloyd

radiograham · 14th Mar 2023, 2:00 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinrads

The dial was broken when I acquired this radio it needed a full restoration a forum member supplied me with a better dial ie not broken as much and a reaction control ,after replacing most of the usual capacitors and a few resistors the set worked , what to do about the dial ,I was given a companies name that may help me with the dial , I sent off the broken dial they managed to scan it and gave me an estimate of £65 for two not to bad I thought , skip a week an email informed me that due to unforeseen problems it would now cost me £104 inc vat which they didn't mention before , after much deliberation and taking into consideration that a forum member Graham (radiogram ) would buy a dial off me I gave them the go ahead ,I paid the bulk of the cost which was £65 it was either that or the radio was scrap.
I must say I was very pleased with the finished dial when it arrived they had cut the holes ,after I told then not to, but all ok apart from the little boss which holds the tuning indicator disk was a tad to big I overcome this by bushing the boss out with a piece of card and super glued it in place , originally the brass bushes were riveted /crimped to the perspex they had to ground off , same went for the L/S A/E sockets I didn't bother re fitting these I found some rivets that fitted the holes perfectly so they look the part , what a job , I now have the radio running under it's own steam , with a 90 volt pack 10 x pp3's squeezed into a nice plastic case ,and a two volt accumulator which I brought to life and is still going strong .
Was it worth it yes it was , I just need to make a back for it if the chap that I acquired from cannot find it .

Looking good,hope mine looks as good.Will need to find the missing bit for the tuning drive,plus could do with the 4 bolts for the front.

vinrads · 14th Mar 2023, 8:34 am

Hi Graham ,I bet they are hiding along with the tuning spindle ,I have noticed no matter how much we try to keep things together parts still get lost, joking aside I think they are two BA similar ones were used for fixing the backs on some Marconi/HMV sets I will have a look to see if I have any at least I have a sample , Mick.

Restoration73 · 15th Mar 2023, 10:21 am

A very good outcome - I assume it's printed on perspex. I would recommend Greygate
Plastic Polish DTD770A to remove any scuff marks that seem to be visible.

vinrads · 15th Mar 2023, 12:39 pm

Good point ,they seem to show up more on the picture than in normal viewing ,having said that the dial has to be handled quite a lot ,during fitting the brass bushes etc ,I will try the polish I think I have some , Mick.

13th Mar 2023, 3:40 pm	#1
vinrads Dekatron Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Chesterfield, Derbyshire, UK. Posts: 3,381	Pye 808 finished at last. The dial was broken when I acquired this radio it needed a full restoration a forum member supplied me with a better dial ie not broken as much and a reaction control ,after replacing most of the usual capacitors and a few resistors the set worked , what to do about the dial ,I was given a companies name that may help me with the dial , I sent off the broken dial they managed to scan it and gave me an estimate of £65 for two not to bad I thought , skip a week an email informed me that due to unforeseen problems it would now cost me £104 inc vat which they didn't mention before , after much deliberation and taking into consideration that a forum member Graham (radiogram ) would buy a dial off me I gave them the go ahead ,I paid the bulk of the cost which was £65 it was either that or the radio was scrap. I must say I was very pleased with the finished dial when it arrived they had cut the holes ,after I told then not to, but all ok apart from the little boss which holds the tuning indicator disk was a tad to big I overcome this by bushing the boss out with a piece of card and super glued it in place , originally the brass bushes were riveted /crimped to the perspex they had to ground off , same went for the L/S A/E sockets I didn't bother re fitting these I found some rivets that fitted the holes perfectly so they look the part , what a job , I now have the radio running under it's own steam , with a 90 volt pack 10 x pp3's squeezed into a nice plastic case ,and a two volt accumulator which I brought to life and is still going strong . Was it worth it yes it was , I just need to make a back for it if the chap that I acquired from cannot find it . Attached Thumbnails Last edited by vinrads; 13th Mar 2023 at 3:48 pm.

13th Mar 2023, 5:12 pm	#2
Aub Octode Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Nuneaton, Warwickshire, UK. Posts: 1,795	Re: Pye 808 finished at last. Well done. Looks good. Aub __________________ Ignorance of The Law is No Excuse - but I didn't know that!

13th Mar 2023, 5:25 pm	#3
Lloyd 1985 Nonode Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Coningsby, Lincolnshire, UK. Posts: 2,645	Re: Pye 808 finished at last. Looks good, the new dial sets it off nicely! I’m sure I have a knob from one of these in the spares box.. Regards Lloyd

14th Mar 2023, 8:34 am	#5
vinrads Dekatron Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Chesterfield, Derbyshire, UK. Posts: 3,381	Re: Pye 808 finished at last. Hi Graham ,I bet they are hiding along with the tuning spindle ,I have noticed no matter how much we try to keep things together parts still get lost, joking aside I think they are two BA similar ones were used for fixing the backs on some Marconi/HMV sets I will have a look to see if I have any at least I have a sample , Mick.

15th Mar 2023, 10:21 am	#6
Restoration73 Nonode Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Surbiton, SW London, UK. Posts: 2,774	Re: Pye 808 finished at last. A very good outcome - I assume it's printed on perspex. I would recommend Greygate Plastic Polish DTD770A to remove any scuff marks that seem to be visible. __________________ Home, home again - I like to be here when I can

15th Mar 2023, 12:39 pm	#7
vinrads Dekatron Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Chesterfield, Derbyshire, UK. Posts: 3,381	Re: Pye 808 finished at last. Good point ,they seem to show up more on the picture than in normal viewing ,having said that the dial has to be handled quite a lot ,during fitting the brass bushes etc ,I will try the polish I think I have some , Mick.