Ferguson 382U - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

ed731pdh · 5th Oct 2011, 7:53 pm

Well from first apperances it had been got at, but not how you'd expect. At some point in the past somebody had decided to fit on the rear of this set three fuse holders and a bulgin plug. I suspect it may have had a career on a trawler or mobile home. Further investigation found the mod went nowhere so a lot of work by someone for nothing, the chassis was untouched.

Inside, usual clouds of dust and dirt. Removing the tray found what appeared to be a large amount of grease adhered to the inside of the case and glass gauge below the visible area. The grease was in fact human hand grease, congealed and clotted, where somebody had a nasty habit of resting their wrist on the bottom of the glass whilst turning the tuning dial. Fearing a full bio hazard incident, on went the protective gloves and a good scrub with cloths soaked in white spirit removed the kludge. Afterwards I had a good scrub up just to make sure, something to watch out for in future perhaps? Two clips out of four missing from the glass so two were fabricated. The case had at some point intecepted a can of matt jasmine paint and a lot of scrubbing with T Cut brought up a good shine. I find the metallic version does wonders compared to the standard type. One or two dings in the plastic but nothing to worry about considering the age. The fabric was intact but some colour staining along the bottom edge due to dirt creepage from the metal bar. A gentle scrub in the sink restored most of the original colour.

As for the chassis itself, the usual issues with Hunts capacitors giving way where the lead enters the casing, changed them all out. Same with the waxies. Some dust here and there. Being a U model, no transformer, but a smoothing cap to reform which took all of an hour to achieve.

Sound quality for this set is reasonable considering the infancy of FM during this era. The set does better on FM using a balanced aerial as the internal lead is nothing more that a bit of strung wire on the end of a short balun plug. Reception in MW and LW is a lot better, you can tell the set was optimised for these wavelengths.

telstar · 5th Oct 2011, 8:07 pm

Hi. You did a good job on the Ferguson 382U from your report. These Ferguson radios are not the easiest to work on, especially the f.m section - the f.m stations on mine seemed to have drifted off, and is difficult to sort out. The speakers tend to be faulty on these radios as well, I had to replace mine.
Best wishes
Mike

Sideband · 5th Oct 2011, 8:19 pm

I've got the AC only version of this set. Virtually identical circuit appart from the power supply arrangements of course. Quite good performers but not the best on VHF. Like you said it needs a decent aerial to work properly on FM.

Maybe whoever had it before was going to fit some external sockets then discovered the potential 'live chassis' risk on your's and abandoned tha idea.

SB

ed731pdh · 5th Oct 2011, 8:41 pm

I've come across these FM cans before, there are two resistors inside that go high in value and shut down the oscillator stage. A sod to change as well but good reception if done.

Hybrid tellies · 5th Oct 2011, 8:57 pm

Thats a nicy tidy example. I think we should all take heed of your health warning about working on these older sets. As for FM performance I think most radios of this era, that use either an ECC85 or UCC85 in the vhf Front end need a decent signal for them to work properly.

ed731pdh · 5th Oct 2011, 10:22 pm

Did the same FM can on another set a while back. The cord moving the slugs in the can had rotted and snapped, luckily on the outside. The docs stated that you could not replace the cord but had to buy new preset slugs. OK back then but not now. Easy fix, measure the distance between the two slugs and strung new cord to the exact distance. While the can was out found the two ressies had gone into orbit so changed them as well. It's a ball breaking job getting the slugs in the correct position relative to the dial, I used a Yupiteru MVT7100 hand scanner to set it up.

Tim · 6th Oct 2011, 12:06 am

Nice resto on a fifties classic. Ok, not brilliant sets but a nice piece of social history.

I have done one three of these, and in my experience the little brown resistors are not very reliable.
The other "achilles heel" with these is the nylon cog between the wave-change knob and the switch shaft. This goes brittle in time and is prone to breaking.

I think the resistors in the VHF tuning head are 680K from memory.

telstar · 8th Oct 2011, 11:48 am

Hi. From looking at the Trader sheet for this set, I see the two 680k resistors, one in the oscillator grid, the other in the grid of the r.f amplifier (UCC85). I will eventually have to open the can up to locate them. I suppose this symptom covers other similar Ferguson radios of that same era, including the 384U (still trying to buy one of these to replace my damaged one)?
Thorn did not make it easy to access the f.m tuner for repairs. I wonder if they (Thorn) did a service exchange system with the repair dealer in those days (i.e the dealer sent the faulty tuner head to Thorn, and in return received a replacement - to cut down on repair time)?
Cheers
Mike

ed731pdh · 9th Oct 2011, 9:54 am

The same can is also used in Bush sets as well, I suspect they are a generic build and sold on to manufacturers. Generally the inside contents of the can are reliable with the exception of the 680k resistors. The hard part is setting up the drive cord to match the dial settings, and I found an accurate FM radio or scanning receiver necessary. The only other failure is rotting of the drive cord.

5th Oct 2011, 7:53 pm	#1
ed731pdh Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Pulborough, West Sussex, UK. Posts: 114	Ferguson 382U Well from first apperances it had been got at, but not how you'd expect. At some point in the past somebody had decided to fit on the rear of this set three fuse holders and a bulgin plug. I suspect it may have had a career on a trawler or mobile home. Further investigation found the mod went nowhere so a lot of work by someone for nothing, the chassis was untouched. Inside, usual clouds of dust and dirt. Removing the tray found what appeared to be a large amount of grease adhered to the inside of the case and glass gauge below the visible area. The grease was in fact human hand grease, congealed and clotted, where somebody had a nasty habit of resting their wrist on the bottom of the glass whilst turning the tuning dial. Fearing a full bio hazard incident, on went the protective gloves and a good scrub with cloths soaked in white spirit removed the kludge. Afterwards I had a good scrub up just to make sure, something to watch out for in future perhaps? Two clips out of four missing from the glass so two were fabricated. The case had at some point intecepted a can of matt jasmine paint and a lot of scrubbing with T Cut brought up a good shine. I find the metallic version does wonders compared to the standard type. One or two dings in the plastic but nothing to worry about considering the age. The fabric was intact but some colour staining along the bottom edge due to dirt creepage from the metal bar. A gentle scrub in the sink restored most of the original colour. As for the chassis itself, the usual issues with Hunts capacitors giving way where the lead enters the casing, changed them all out. Same with the waxies. Some dust here and there. Being a U model, no transformer, but a smoothing cap to reform which took all of an hour to achieve. Sound quality for this set is reasonable considering the infancy of FM during this era. The set does better on FM using a balanced aerial as the internal lead is nothing more that a bit of strung wire on the end of a short balun plug. Reception in MW and LW is a lot better, you can tell the set was optimised for these wavelengths. Attached Thumbnails

5th Oct 2011, 8:07 pm	#2
telstar Octode Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 1,592	Re: Ferguson 382U Hi. You did a good job on the Ferguson 382U from your report. These Ferguson radios are not the easiest to work on, especially the f.m section - the f.m stations on mine seemed to have drifted off, and is difficult to sort out. The speakers tend to be faulty on these radios as well, I had to replace mine. Best wishes Mike

5th Oct 2011, 8:19 pm	#3
Sideband Dekatron Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Croydon, Surrey, UK. Posts: 7,567	Re: Ferguson 382U I've got the AC only version of this set. Virtually identical circuit appart from the power supply arrangements of course. Quite good performers but not the best on VHF. Like you said it needs a decent aerial to work properly on FM. Maybe whoever had it before was going to fit some external sockets then discovered the potential 'live chassis' risk on your's and abandoned tha idea. SB __________________ There are lots of brilliant keyboard players and then there is Rick Wakeman.....

5th Oct 2011, 8:41 pm	#4
ed731pdh Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Pulborough, West Sussex, UK. Posts: 114	Re: Ferguson 382U I've come across these FM cans before, there are two resistors inside that go high in value and shut down the oscillator stage. A sod to change as well but good reception if done.

5th Oct 2011, 8:57 pm	#5
Hybrid tellies Nonode Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: 1966-1976 Coverack in Cornwall and Helston Cornwall. 1976-present Bristol/Bath area. Posts: 2,965	Re: Ferguson 382U Thats a nicy tidy example. I think we should all take heed of your health warning about working on these older sets. As for FM performance I think most radios of this era, that use either an ECC85 or UCC85 in the vhf Front end need a decent signal for them to work properly. __________________ Simon BVWS member

5th Oct 2011, 10:22 pm	#6
ed731pdh Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Pulborough, West Sussex, UK. Posts: 114	Re: Ferguson 382U Did the same FM can on another set a while back. The cord moving the slugs in the can had rotted and snapped, luckily on the outside. The docs stated that you could not replace the cord but had to buy new preset slugs. OK back then but not now. Easy fix, measure the distance between the two slugs and strung new cord to the exact distance. While the can was out found the two ressies had gone into orbit so changed them as well. It's a ball breaking job getting the slugs in the correct position relative to the dial, I used a Yupiteru MVT7100 hand scanner to set it up.

6th Oct 2011, 12:06 am	#7
Tim Dekatron Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 3,310	Re: Ferguson 382U Nice resto on a fifties classic. Ok, not brilliant sets but a nice piece of social history. I have done one three of these, and in my experience the little brown resistors are not very reliable. The other "achilles heel" with these is the nylon cog between the wave-change knob and the switch shaft. This goes brittle in time and is prone to breaking. I think the resistors in the VHF tuning head are 680K from memory. __________________ "Nothing is as dangerous as being too modern;one is apt to grow old fashioned quite suddenly."

8th Oct 2011, 11:48 am	#8
telstar Octode Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 1,592	Re: Ferguson 382U Hi. From looking at the Trader sheet for this set, I see the two 680k resistors, one in the oscillator grid, the other in the grid of the r.f amplifier (UCC85). I will eventually have to open the can up to locate them. I suppose this symptom covers other similar Ferguson radios of that same era, including the 384U (still trying to buy one of these to replace my damaged one)? Thorn did not make it easy to access the f.m tuner for repairs. I wonder if they (Thorn) did a service exchange system with the repair dealer in those days (i.e the dealer sent the faulty tuner head to Thorn, and in return received a replacement - to cut down on repair time)? Cheers Mike

9th Oct 2011, 9:54 am	#9
ed731pdh Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Pulborough, West Sussex, UK. Posts: 114	Re: Ferguson 382U The same can is also used in Bush sets as well, I suspect they are a generic build and sold on to manufacturers. Generally the inside contents of the can are reliable with the exception of the 680k resistors. The hard part is setting up the drive cord to match the dial settings, and I found an accurate FM radio or scanning receiver necessary. The only other failure is rotting of the drive cord.