Battery set valve lineup? - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

dotsndashes · 1st Apr 2013, 8:44 pm

Good evening all.

Came across an old Eveready? Sky/Golden Casket' battery radio. Couple of valves missing, DAF series? Would appreciate the valve line-up please and where available.

Many thanks.

HamishBoxer · 1st Apr 2013, 9:32 pm

There is I believe a circuit from Paul available top right corner @ £1.99

HamishBoxer · 1st Apr 2013, 9:35 pm

Yes its the 96 series DK,DL,DAF etc

Chindit · 2nd Apr 2013, 10:46 am

A nice little set and very unusual in having the speaker in the lifting lid portion of the cabinet. The valves are DK96, DF96, DAF96 and DL96, the HT consumption should be around 10mA and the LT should be 125mA. I have owned and restored a few of these now and have found the same problems with them all. The valve holders are of poor quality and often the metal fingers that make contact with the valve pins loose their springiness or break off all together. The solution is to try to carefully bend them back closer together using a needle (they may break at this point!) or acquire a new holder and transplant new fingers across to the old holder as required. At the same time, clean up the valve pins to remove oxidation - I scrape them with a craft knife blade. Be careful when insering the valves as it is possible to get valve pins on the wrong side of the contact fingers. This distorts or breaks the fingers and bends the valve pins - you will know if this has happened as the valve wont full insert in its socket.
I have generally found these steps essential in order to get the 1.5 volt LT to flow properly and the valves to take their rated filament current.
I have also found the wavechange/ on, off switches to be pretty dire - but a bit of switch cleaner will usually get them working after a fashion. Apart from that, check the output transformer primary for continuity and then go through checking the little brown hunts capacitors for leakage starting with the audio coupling capacitor and then checking those that are strung between HT and chassis. If you apply the 90 volts HT with the valves removed and a meter in the HT+ feed, any leakage will show up as there should be hardly any current flow. If you do have leakage a volmeter placed across the associated resistor should reveal which cap is at fault. Good luck!

dotsndashes · 2nd Apr 2013, 10:46 am

Good morning GM8JET, thanks for your helpful reply. Would just like to see if this little RX will 'fire up' ?? hi again, Many thanks , and 73's

dotsndashes · 2nd Apr 2013, 10:59 am

Hi Chindit, and your reply much appreciated. As mentioned to GM8JET Hamish Boxer, Would just like to get this little thing 'fired up'. All your relevant remarks duly noted , and at the moment, it seems to be in relatively 'good nick' for it's age ! Seems you have found out the hard way re , poor quality valve- holders etc etc. But of course can't do much (apart from visual inspection) until I get the valves. !Perhaps I'll need the 'good luck', but then, " nothing ventured; nothing gained" Many thanks , best wishes

Chindit · 4th Apr 2013, 11:25 am

You are more than welcome; battery sets are my thing and I have learned many of their strange idiosyncrasies. I'm a bit clueless with mains stuff!
Sorry if I appeared to be preaching to the converted - you are obviously already an experienced radio mechanic! Shouldn't have much trouble finding the valves and good luck with it when you do!
Best wishes, Colin.

1st Apr 2013, 8:44 pm	#1
dotsndashes Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, UK. Posts: 11	Battery set valve lineup? Good evening all. Came across an old Eveready? Sky/Golden Casket' battery radio. Couple of valves missing, DAF series? Would appreciate the valve line-up please and where available. Many thanks.

1st Apr 2013, 9:32 pm	#2
HamishBoxer Dekatron Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: W.Butterwick, near Doncaster UK. Posts: 8,935	Re: Battery set valve lineup? There is I believe a circuit from Paul available top right corner @ £1.99 __________________ G8JET BVWS Archivist and Member V.M.A.R.S

1st Apr 2013, 9:35 pm	#3
HamishBoxer Dekatron Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: W.Butterwick, near Doncaster UK. Posts: 8,935	Re: Battery set valve lineup? Yes its the 96 series DK,DL,DAF etc __________________ G8JET BVWS Archivist and Member V.M.A.R.S

2nd Apr 2013, 10:46 am	#4
Chindit Tetrode Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Bishop Auckland, County Durham, UK. Posts: 97	Re: Battery set valve lineup? A nice little set and very unusual in having the speaker in the lifting lid portion of the cabinet. The valves are DK96, DF96, DAF96 and DL96, the HT consumption should be around 10mA and the LT should be 125mA. I have owned and restored a few of these now and have found the same problems with them all. The valve holders are of poor quality and often the metal fingers that make contact with the valve pins loose their springiness or break off all together. The solution is to try to carefully bend them back closer together using a needle (they may break at this point!) or acquire a new holder and transplant new fingers across to the old holder as required. At the same time, clean up the valve pins to remove oxidation - I scrape them with a craft knife blade. Be careful when insering the valves as it is possible to get valve pins on the wrong side of the contact fingers. This distorts or breaks the fingers and bends the valve pins - you will know if this has happened as the valve wont full insert in its socket. I have generally found these steps essential in order to get the 1.5 volt LT to flow properly and the valves to take their rated filament current. I have also found the wavechange/ on, off switches to be pretty dire - but a bit of switch cleaner will usually get them working after a fashion. Apart from that, check the output transformer primary for continuity and then go through checking the little brown hunts capacitors for leakage starting with the audio coupling capacitor and then checking those that are strung between HT and chassis. If you apply the 90 volts HT with the valves removed and a meter in the HT+ feed, any leakage will show up as there should be hardly any current flow. If you do have leakage a volmeter placed across the associated resistor should reveal which cap is at fault. Good luck!

2nd Apr 2013, 10:46 am	#5
dotsndashes Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, UK. Posts: 11	Re: Battery set valve lineup? Good morning GM8JET, thanks for your helpful reply. Would just like to see if this little RX will 'fire up' ?? hi again, Many thanks , and 73's

2nd Apr 2013, 10:59 am	#6
dotsndashes Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, UK. Posts: 11	Re: Battery set valve lineup? Hi Chindit, and your reply much appreciated. As mentioned to GM8JET Hamish Boxer, Would just like to get this little thing 'fired up'. All your relevant remarks duly noted , and at the moment, it seems to be in relatively 'good nick' for it's age ! Seems you have found out the hard way re , poor quality valve- holders etc etc. But of course can't do much (apart from visual inspection) until I get the valves. !Perhaps I'll need the 'good luck', but then, " nothing ventured; nothing gained" Many thanks , best wishes

4th Apr 2013, 11:25 am	#7
Chindit Tetrode Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Bishop Auckland, County Durham, UK. Posts: 97	Re: Battery set valve lineup? You are more than welcome; battery sets are my thing and I have learned many of their strange idiosyncrasies. I'm a bit clueless with mains stuff! Sorry if I appeared to be preaching to the converted - you are obviously already an experienced radio mechanic! Shouldn't have much trouble finding the valves and good luck with it when you do! Best wishes, Colin.