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Old 31st Oct 2015, 4:48 pm   #1
John_BS
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Default BBC 1940's equipment: valve-tester etc

I'm currently engaged on a project (together with a colleague) to scan as much of the BBC Technical archive as can be found in private collections etc.

This Technical Instruction was an ebay purchase: I thought it might be of interest as I'd no idea the BBC has designed their own valve tester! I do have a BBC transistor tester, which was proably built around 1960. ( NB I'm posting another scan in the Telephony section.)

John
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Old 31st Oct 2015, 7:30 pm   #2
Leon Crampin
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Default Re: BBC 1940's equipment: valve-tester etc

The valve tester would appear to infringe AVO's patents in its method of measurement. I wonder if the BBC had permission to produce this unit for internal use?

Leon.
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Old 1st Nov 2015, 5:01 pm   #3
pmmunro
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Default Re: BBC 1940's equipment: valve-tester etc

The thought Leon "voices" occurred to me too.

Could this possibly have been commissioned from ACWEECO by the BBC? If it was then I imagine that it would have had to have been later in the Second World War, or after, as ACWEECO had to set up additional production capacity to keep up with the demand for Avometers in the early 1940s.

Later ACWEECO were certainly not averse to making specials for customers and they could have drawn on the design of the two-panel valve tester.

It would be very interesting to be able to examine an actual unit if one still exists anywhere.

PMM.
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Old 1st Nov 2015, 5:18 pm   #4
John_BS
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Default Re: BBC 1940's equipment: valve-tester etc

My Intellectual Property knowledge is a bit rusty, so I had the check: if you make use of a patent for your own in-house activities (non-commercial), you're not deemed to be infringing:

*************
Patents – Defences to Infringement


The main defences

Defences to patent infringement are given under section 60(5) of the Patents Act 1977. This provides a list of situations under which an act that would otherwise be infringement does not actually commit an infringement
  • Private Use – If the infringing act is done in private and for non-commercial purposes there is no infringement.
(snip)



John

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Old 1st Nov 2015, 7:48 pm   #5
Mr Moose
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Default Re: BBC 1940's equipment: valve-tester etc

Hello,
The valve tester looks as if it could be a development of the Air Ministry Valve Tester type 4/A some details of which are given here http://www.richardsradios.co.uk/valvetest.html
Yours, Richard
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Old 2nd Nov 2015, 8:56 am   #6
trh01uk
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Default Re: BBC 1940's equipment: valve-tester etc

Agreed that you can make use of any patent for "internal use". Its when you try to make money out of a patent that you infringe.

I was intrigued by the last reference to an Air Ministry valve tester. That also appears to use the "rectified AC" test method. That might also infringe AVO's patents, but what we don't know is who made this Air Ministry tester (might have been AVO themselves), or another company might have paid for patent licence to AVO.

Richard
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Old 2nd Nov 2015, 11:13 am   #7
GMB
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Default Re: BBC 1940's equipment: valve-tester etc

I was going to comment on its vague similarity to the Air Ministry Type 4.

The AP for that has the name "P.L.M. & Co. Ltd." at the end - not sure what clue that might be, if any.
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