Wartime Civilian Receiver - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

tedzed1 · 10th Sep 2011, 4:58 pm

Hello, not done a lot lately, so decided to sort the WCR out, once and for all.

purchased this about 2-3 months ago, a bit tatty, and the only noise it made was a 50 Htz mains hum,

so all stripped down, and all waxies changed, run up through my lamp limiter again, still humming, but would now just about receive a couple of stations, when a long piece of wire was inserted into the second (sensitive) aerial socket,
At least the Westector was OK,

So next Job was to replace the three mains smoothing elecrolytics, rated 8uf, they were replaced with three 10uf of suitable rating.

Powered up again, and the lamp limiter went quite bright, on rechecking my work, I had replaced on of the electolytics the wrong way round, this was quickly remedied, and the radio sprang into life. only needing a slight adjustment to the aerial coils to peak to maximum reception.

So onto the cabinet.

The cabinet and dial was showing it's age, so decided on a complete strip-down to the bare cabinet, this was then stripped of all old varnish, the sanded down, with progressively finer grade sandpaper, the final sand being fine grade wire wool and white spirit, the two horizontal pieces on each side of the front were then masked off, and sprayed, I know this is not original, but i fancied brightening it up a bit, ( I can here the purists shrieking in horror) and it seems to work quite well, the same treatment was also given to the wooden feet blocks, the case was then all reassembled, and treated to a few coats of brushed marine varnish, as it matched the original finish better than spraying it with lacquer I felt. the speaker cloth was scavenged from an alba 461 I had stored in the loft, it is of similar period.

So now for the dial.

Had a long hard think about various options on this, from a copy on photo paper or waterslide transfer, but decided to try a different approach.
So ordered a set of transfers from Letraset, and while I was waiting for them to arrive, set about sanding and spraying the dial.
three days later, the transfers arrived, so set to on applying them.
This was not as easy as I thought it would be, as if not careful, other transfers would apply themselves to the dial if I leaned on another part of the sheet that was in contact with the dial, and would need careful removal by scraping gently with a fingernail, It took me about two hours to do all the transfers, and I was glad to finish.

So all assembled it is now ready for some serious use. It maker as stamped on the chassis is U6, so I believe it is a G.E.C.

Thanks for looking

tedzed1 · 10th Sep 2011, 5:00 pm

The rest of the pictures

Al (astral highway) · 10th Sep 2011, 6:53 pm

Tidy job, especially your work on the cabinet. What stations can you pull in now?

M0TGX Terry · 10th Sep 2011, 6:53 pm

That looks like a first class job, Paul. Don't worry about what the "purists" might say - it's your radio, so do it however you like!
I've been looking for one of these sets for some time, without success (we had one at home when I was (much) younger. Might post a wanted ad.
Well done
terry

Boom · 10th Sep 2011, 7:15 pm

That dial looks very good. Nice one

tedzed1 · 10th Sep 2011, 10:16 pm

Thanks for all the comments everyone,

hello Astral, it is MW only, and it has two sockets for the aerial, one is sensitive, the other is selective, it pulls in well if not better than some of my other sets when the antenna is plugged to sensitive.

Phil G4SPZ · 11th Sep 2011, 12:36 am

I also have a GEC-built model. It is one of the most sensitive and nice-sounding sets in my collection. You have done a very nice restoration job on yours, well done!

ms660 · 11th Sep 2011, 5:33 pm

A real good job with the dial (and the rest)

Lawrence.

HamishBoxer · 11th Sep 2011, 8:34 pm

Superb!

David

Hybrid tellies · 12th Sep 2011, 7:38 pm

Really nice job, I bet it sounds good.

Tim · 15th Sep 2011, 11:14 pm

Nice job.

SeanStevens · 16th Sep 2011, 8:45 am

That looks really nice - certainly brigher.

It looks like ALBA only had one kind of speaker material! Mine has the exact same pattern.

SEAN

10th Sep 2011, 4:58 pm	#1
tedzed1 Hexode Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Tamworth, Staffordshire, UK. Posts: 320	Wartime Civilian Receiver Hello, not done a lot lately, so decided to sort the WCR out, once and for all. purchased this about 2-3 months ago, a bit tatty, and the only noise it made was a 50 Htz mains hum, so all stripped down, and all waxies changed, run up through my lamp limiter again, still humming, but would now just about receive a couple of stations, when a long piece of wire was inserted into the second (sensitive) aerial socket, At least the Westector was OK, So next Job was to replace the three mains smoothing elecrolytics, rated 8uf, they were replaced with three 10uf of suitable rating. Powered up again, and the lamp limiter went quite bright, on rechecking my work, I had replaced on of the electolytics the wrong way round, this was quickly remedied, and the radio sprang into life. only needing a slight adjustment to the aerial coils to peak to maximum reception. So onto the cabinet. The cabinet and dial was showing it's age, so decided on a complete strip-down to the bare cabinet, this was then stripped of all old varnish, the sanded down, with progressively finer grade sandpaper, the final sand being fine grade wire wool and white spirit, the two horizontal pieces on each side of the front were then masked off, and sprayed, I know this is not original, but i fancied brightening it up a bit, ( I can here the purists shrieking in horror) and it seems to work quite well, the same treatment was also given to the wooden feet blocks, the case was then all reassembled, and treated to a few coats of brushed marine varnish, as it matched the original finish better than spraying it with lacquer I felt. the speaker cloth was scavenged from an alba 461 I had stored in the loft, it is of similar period. So now for the dial. Had a long hard think about various options on this, from a copy on photo paper or waterslide transfer, but decided to try a different approach. So ordered a set of transfers from Letraset, and while I was waiting for them to arrive, set about sanding and spraying the dial. three days later, the transfers arrived, so set to on applying them. This was not as easy as I thought it would be, as if not careful, other transfers would apply themselves to the dial if I leaned on another part of the sheet that was in contact with the dial, and would need careful removal by scraping gently with a fingernail, It took me about two hours to do all the transfers, and I was glad to finish. So all assembled it is now ready for some serious use. It maker as stamped on the chassis is U6, so I believe it is a G.E.C. Thanks for looking Attached Thumbnails __________________ Cheers Paul.

10th Sep 2011, 5:00 pm	#2
tedzed1 Hexode Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Tamworth, Staffordshire, UK. Posts: 320	Re: Wartime Civilian Receiver The rest of the pictures Attached Thumbnails __________________ Cheers Paul.

10th Sep 2011, 6:53 pm	#3
Al (astral highway) Dekatron Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: London, UK. Posts: 3,496	Re: Wartime Civilian Receiver Tidy job, especially your work on the cabinet. What stations can you pull in now? __________________ Al

10th Sep 2011, 6:53 pm	#4
M0TGX Terry Hexode Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Grantham, Lincolnshire, UK. Posts: 262	Re: Wartime Civilian Receiver That looks like a first class job, Paul. Don't worry about what the "purists" might say - it's your radio, so do it however you like! I've been looking for one of these sets for some time, without success (we had one at home when I was (much) younger. Might post a wanted ad. Well done terry __________________ Terry the Morganist

10th Sep 2011, 7:15 pm	#5
Boom Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Westbury, Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 2,451	Re: Wartime Civilian Receiver That dial looks very good. Nice one

10th Sep 2011, 10:16 pm	#6
tedzed1 Hexode Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Tamworth, Staffordshire, UK. Posts: 320	Re: Wartime Civilian Receiver Thanks for all the comments everyone, hello Astral, it is MW only, and it has two sockets for the aerial, one is sensitive, the other is selective, it pulls in well if not better than some of my other sets when the antenna is plugged to sensitive. __________________ Cheers Paul.

11th Sep 2011, 12:36 am	#7
Phil G4SPZ Dekatron Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Bewdley, Worcestershire, UK. Posts: 4,748	Re: Wartime Civilian Receiver I also have a GEC-built model. It is one of the most sensitive and nice-sounding sets in my collection. You have done a very nice restoration job on yours, well done! __________________ Phil Optimist [n]: One who is not in possession of the full facts

11th Sep 2011, 5:33 pm	#8
ms660 Dekatron Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Cornwall, UK. Posts: 13,454	Re: Wartime Civilian Receiver A real good job with the dial (and the rest) Lawrence.

11th Sep 2011, 8:34 pm	#9
HamishBoxer Dekatron Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: W.Butterwick, near Doncaster UK. Posts: 8,935	Re: Wartime Civilian Receiver Superb! David

12th Sep 2011, 7:38 pm	#10
Hybrid tellies Nonode Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: 1966-1976 Coverack in Cornwall and Helston Cornwall. 1976-present Bristol/Bath area. Posts: 2,967	Re: Wartime Civilian Receiver Really nice job, I bet it sounds good. __________________ Simon BVWS member

15th Sep 2011, 11:14 pm	#11
Tim Dekatron Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 3,310	Re: Wartime Civilian Receiver Nice job. __________________ "Nothing is as dangerous as being too modern;one is apt to grow old fashioned quite suddenly."

16th Sep 2011, 8:45 am	#12
SeanStevens Octode Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bath, Somerset, UK. Posts: 1,033	Re: Wartime Civilian Receiver That looks really nice - certainly brigher. It looks like ALBA only had one kind of speaker material! Mine has the exact same pattern. SEAN __________________ There are only 10 types of people, those who understand the binary system, and those who don't.