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General Vintage Technology Discussions For general discussions about vintage radio and other vintage electronics etc. |
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25th Jul 2014, 11:17 am | #1 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Haarlem, Netherlands
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FOREIGN marking (again)
Good afternoon,
I remember this being discussed before but I don't seem to find an answer to my specific question. When was the "FOREIGN" marking (indicating imported equipment) obsoleted and replaced by more specific markings? I'm trying to date a (Far Eastern made?) pocket voltmeter which was presented as a 1940's one but I think it dates from much later. |
25th Jul 2014, 11:25 am | #2 |
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
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Re: FOREIGN marking (again)
I think it was used until the UK joined the EEC in 1973. Anything not made in Britain had to be marked 'Foreign' or 'Empire' (mostly Hong Kong products) though specific country of origin marking (e.g. 'Taiwan') could be used instead.
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25th Jul 2014, 11:43 am | #3 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Wiltshire, UK.
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Re: FOREIGN marking (again)
"Foreign" and "Empire made" were still in use until the mid-1970s: thereafter it seemed to switch to actually naming the country-of-origin [sometimes with intriguing mis-spellings, I recall a cycle-lamp that said "Made in Hnog Knog"].
Strange that the use of "Empire" continued for so long, given that it was officially superseded by the title 'Commonwealth' in 1949! At one time there was a formal system known as "Empire preference" which meant lower taxes/tarriffs on things imported from the British Empire. This was one of the reasons Hong Kong was a preferred source of electrical/electronic goods imported to the UK. Last edited by G6Tanuki; 25th Jul 2014 at 11:48 am. |
25th Jul 2014, 3:43 pm | #4 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Haarlem, Netherlands
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Re: FOREIGN marking (again)
I'll go with around 1973 as an upper limit then, which unfortunately doesn't really narrow down the possible year of manufacture so I'll probably leave it at that until further information turns up.
The pocket voltmeter in question can now also be found at http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/unknown...voltmeter.html |
25th Jul 2014, 5:45 pm | #5 |
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Re: FOREIGN marking (again)
It's a 1930s style, but my guess would be that it's from the 50s.
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25th Jul 2014, 6:43 pm | #6 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Haarlem, Netherlands
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Re: FOREIGN marking (again)
Thank you, I though along those lines as well, keeping in mind the style of the lettering and the red and green plastic insulating bushings around the pins. Older models seem to have brown bakelite insulators.
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25th Jul 2014, 9:44 pm | #7 |
Dekatron
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Re: FOREIGN marking (again)
It looks apart from the name very similar to this one.
Last edited by AC/HL; 26th Jul 2014 at 3:32 am. Reason: Image uploaded |
25th Jul 2014, 10:38 pm | #8 |
Dekatron
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Location: Leominster, Herefordshire, UK.
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Re: FOREIGN marking (again)
That suggests it could be a generic meter branded for whichever retailer sold it. Not much help, I suppose.
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26th Jul 2014, 3:08 am | #9 |
Dekatron
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Re: FOREIGN marking (again)
That one seems a bit older (prewar probably) though.
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27th Jul 2014, 12:35 pm | #10 |
Heptode
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Location: Yarm, North Yorkshire, UK.
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Re: FOREIGN marking (again)
On a business visit in 1996 to Xian, in China, I saw several of these still being used in a test department for rough go/no go testing. When I asked how old they were, I was told that they still manufactured them (as retro) at that plant. The company was the Xian Instrument Company.
Colin |
27th Jul 2014, 12:47 pm | #11 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Haarlem, Netherlands
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Re: FOREIGN marking (again)
Wow! I had already looked for those being retromanufactured in Eastern Europe up to 1990 (since they were manufactured first around 1930 I was still looking inside Europe) and didn't find anything similar, but the China link explains a lot.
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