Trix Ultra Electronics radio/amp. (Ultra RA 108/2)

[Squidsworth]

Hi all,
Just obtained this unusual radio/amp, by Trix sound equipment. Model is RA 108/2. Interestingly this features Ultra Electronics brand on rear plate, rather than Trix. I believe Ultra bought out Trix in 1960 but generally only continued with aircraft equipment.

Can you tell me any info about this contraption? I'm a total novice. It does power on but no sound from internal speaker, but I don't have even an FM aerial to attach.

Thanks, Paul.

[dave walsh]

The photos are good but the info on the rear ID plate can't be read Paul.

Also tell us the details on the horizontal dial [frequency range] and what functions the controls are marked with, if you can't get a sharper focus.

Dave W

[Paul_RK]

Mostly clear enough here on a modest laptop.

ID plate: Type RA 108/2, Volts 200-250, Freq. 40(?)-100, Serial 67272

Frequency range 88-108 Mc/s. Controls Station Tune, Radio Off/Normal/Lock, Mic/Radio/Gram, Volume, Tone/Mains Off. Inputs Mic, Tape Play, Tape Record, Gram.

Is there an internal speaker? I can't seem to spot one.

Paul

[dave walsh]

Well that's ok. I was struggling on my acer
No Model number Paul or Paul RK?
Frequency Range suggests late sixties maybe?

Dave W

[dseymo1]

Looks as though there's a small monitoring speaker atached to the rear panel.
My impression is of a schools / factory receiver.

[Squidsworth]

Hi and thanks for your replies.
I've attached a few more photos that now clearly show dials and details.
The rear speaker is just on the back left, next time I get the back off I'll photo it. But it's just behind the circular grid.
I'm wondering if the wooden cabinet is custom made?
Lots of those glass bulb valve things inside.
The frequency is 40-100.
Any info that may help me understand it appreciated.
Could well be school/factory related as Trix were known for such items.
That are pretty rare things, but this is a bit more unusual than normal as it part Trix/part Ultra Electronics branded. To further confuse matters, ultra sold off the consumer division about a year after obtaining Trix to concentrate on aircraft units. I believe they sold Trix consumer stuff in 1961 to Thorn.
So I'd say this is probably 1960/1 ish.
Can't find anything in particular model though.

[dave walsh]

The only Trix Amp I found seems to be 1948 I remember the trains-fairly rubbish! Info on VHF/FM Broadcasting is surprisingly obscure as well. It seems to conflict with your 1961 date Paul. Frequency finder UK says [under Improving FM] that "Until the early 80's, the FM Band in the UK was 88.1 to 97.6 MHz". [Are we sure your scale isn't to 98?] "To resolve these problems, it was decided to extend the FM band in the UK to 87.6 to 107.9 MHz"-done in stages-starting by 1983"

Dave

[Squidsworth]

Thanks Dave.
Trix was bought by ultra in 1960, so this has to date in that period. From what I can tell, ultra then sold them on to Thorn.

I believe they were of good quality, they were expensive at the time. Trix operated from mid 40s to 1960 before they got bought by ultra.

There is a vintage magazine called the wireless world, Trix used this a lot to advertise and there is a searchable internet archive so I have seen many examples. They didn't do anything cheap from what I can tell, most was portable, school, music hall, tracks etc. Here's a snippet:
"Trix Sound Equipment - Trix Electric Co. Ltd.; 1-5 Maple Place, Tottenham Court Road, London W.I. England (~1949). Manufacturers of Sound Amplification Equipment for every class of Public Address Installation; Amplifiers with Gramophone and Radio Attachments, Microphones, Mixers; Loudspeakers, Cabinet, Flare and Horn types. High Fidelity Record Reproducers. 1960 acquired by Ultra Electronics Ltd"

[thermionic]

What a fabulous find!

Yes, agreed a schools or factory set. A pair of ECL86’s in push pull, but I’m guessing it’s a 70 - 100 volt line output. It must have a low impedance tap to drive the internal speaker, though.


I would be vary careful about powering it up before some basic checks have been carried out though. It would be a shame for defective capacitors to damage the valves or output transformer.......

Is it your intention to restore this to working order?


SimonT

[dave walsh]

Ah the second group of of photos shows that the dial does indeed extend to 108 Megs! My guess had been late sixties but it appears to be younger than that. A bit of a rarity so far-like Trix info perhaps but well worth having

Dave W

[Squidsworth]

Originally Posted by thermionic

I would be vary careful about powering it up before some basic checks have been carried out though. It would be a shame for defective capacitors to damage the valves or output transformer.......

Is it your intention to restore this to working order?

Eeks I did switch it on for a couple of mins. Main power light came on, there was some amber glows from I presume the valves and it certainly seemed to be warming up, but I switched off and removed power at that stage.

I would love to do some tests and get it working but it may well be beyond me, so what happens next I'm not sure. How difficult/expensive is it to be restored? Does restoration help value, I wouldn't want to throw good money after bad so to speak. Is anybody in the Notts area that would like to take a look at it?

Thanks for everyone's replies thus far.

[AC/HL]

Properly restored should increase it's value (it can only be described as untested now, not a good selling point). However, without some knowledge/guidance the opposite could be true. Do you have any electronics experience and would you feel comfortable working on it. You would need at least a test meter of some sort. Beware, high voltages are present. Not insurmountable, but care needed!

[Squidsworth]

It would be nice to know what works and what doesn't, at least I'll then have an idea what I'm up against and what it would take to make it go. The last time I did electronics was about 25 years ago so to say I'm rusty is an under statement. I can locate a test meter though.

[dave walsh]

It depends on your willingness to have a go [as Bill said] Paul. It might even be actually working but the caution is all about making sure that one small weakness [and there are key items to watch] doesn't then end up destroying major expensive parts like transformers, after it's been running for a while. We talk about "that" capacitor , usually linking into the power output stage. A small item but failure can result in a severe overload for the valve and worse. So you did the right thing switching off if inexperienced.

It may not actually be that difficult to check/sort out and there's plenty of advice on hand! One safety device is a simple Lamp Limiter which connects a light bulb to the equipment [look it up]. If there IS a short or other problem the bulb lights up brightly and takes the "hit", rather than the valves or components! Saying that, it is possible to do a number of checks before even applying any power. Some people are more rash and take a "scatter gun" approach but the main ethos here is one thing at a time, in a methodical manner. I see how you arrive at the amp dating and it looked 60/70's to me but that dial does seem much later at 108.

Dave W

PS. With some experience [even 25 years ago] it's all doable I would think.

[TrevorG3VLF]

I am in furrin parts, near the tramway museum in Crich. I could do an assessment if you like. It all depends on what you want, I do not do renovation of the case, my sister does any renovation of oak clocks and tables, will have to try and get her interested in radios.

Get the circuit diagram. I have the diagrams on CD (top right) but my computer is having a poor week.

[Squidsworth]

Cheers for that. I've been to the Crich tram place. When I can find time I might take you up on the offer.
Thanks Dave for the detailed response. I've now started to look in more detail, by taking the back off. I'll post a few pics.
Certain components dated 1964. Got to be round then I would think. Or is some kind of Mish mash! What I didn't expect were German PCB (Gorler GS 406). Maybe some of the names mean something to you? Gorler (Germany) are prominent.

[dave walsh]

Nice build quality in that amp Paul good substantial transformers. I can't take you through the process myself as I'm [literally] "all talk" and little action but you can't really go wrong with the generous expert people here, who will be very interested and are skilled in directly helping new members. This is a good find and so is your attitude and interest. People turn up who might have seen You Tube and want instant answers then disappear. In that sense you are a breath of fresh air but don't let it go to your head [joke]

PS. My mother-in-law comes from Crich. They found her wandering in an Arts Studio-cum- home [in the private part] and asked why? She said "I used to live here". When she gave up Nursing [aged 82] it was celebrated with a ride on a Consultants Harley Davidson. She began work in 1948 so I tell people she probably started the NHS single handed. If you met her you'd see why!

Dave

[ms660]

Tuner head looks like Gorler, IF strip is similar to ones used in some Klein-Hummel tuners.

Lawrence.

[Synchrodyne]

Originally Posted by dave walsh

I see how you arrive at the amp dating and it looked 60/70's to me but that dial does seem much later at 108.

Not necessarily so. Some export-oriented and export market-aware UK equipment makers – which group included Trix – provided “international” FM band coverage (87 or 88 to 108 MHz) on their equipment at an early stage, from 1955 in some cases. The ECL86 output valves suggest that the unit at interest was probably not earlier than about 1961. But Trix also made an early move to transistors for its PA amplifiers, so beyond the 1960s seems less likely.

A quick look through the pages of Wireless World (WW) (at http://www.americanradiohistory.com/) brought up a couple of interesting Trix export contracts of the 1960s. One was a hotel radio/PA system in Trinidad, (WW 1962 March p.116) and the other a PA system for the Parliament building at KL, Malaya (WW 1963 May p.219). Trix was a frequent advertiser in WW through the 1950s and into the early 1960s, less so after that,

Cheers,

[dave walsh]

Thanks Synchrodyne That might very well clarify it.

Dave