Radio & TV books Volume No's confusion

[vidjoman]

I have seen many posts where there seems to be confusion over the Volume Numbers of this series of books.
I have both series and can enlighten those who may be confused.

The first series is labeled Vol 1 - 5 and by Malloy/Poole. These cover older sets up 1954. You need the complete set as Vol 1 covers Radio makers from A to L. Vol 2 is Radio M to V. Vol 3 is TV A to L. Vol 4 is TV M to Z. Vol 5 is Radio & TV mixed for 1953/54 models. I guess it was published 1954/55 as it includes up to 54 models. It appears to have only been sold as a set.
Vol 1 also includes a section on theory and servicing and is useful to the beginner.

Series 2 is by J. P. Hawker and numbered Vol 1 to 6. These are yearly coverage, Vol 1 covers 1956/57 models and so on to Vol 6 which is 1961/62 models. I bought this Series as a set, at a 'special price' but I think they were available as single issues and possibly dated by the year.
As far as I know they were then published as yearly 1962/63 models etc.

If quoting from one of the Volume Numbers it is essential to say which - Malloy or Hawker to avoid any confusion.

[Station X]

Thread reopened at member's request.

[Electronpusher0]

I asked for this thread to be reopened because I know of least one other set of numbered volumes, by JP Hawker I have No 1 and 2.
In appearance they are identical to series 2 identified above but Vol 1 is pre '55 and Vol 2 is 55/56 as opposed to 57/58 in series 2 above.
When I requested the thread be re-opened, Graham, the moderator, pointed me to this thread:

https://vintage-radio.net/forum/showthread.php?t=19275

This identifies even more "volume" sets, I don't know how I missed that thread.

Various members have suggested making a spreadsheet to colate all the information. Has anyone ever actually done so?

Peter

[Alistair D]

This thread gives a lot of information and a link to a spreadsheet. https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/....php?p=1134461

Al

[G6ONEDave]

I have 13 various volumes of these earlier books. Then they start as labelled year sequence from 1957/58 upto 1986/87, after that Yaxley print took over and the new size was A4 containing A3 or thereabouts fold out sheets. As far as I know I have everything upto 1995/96. The later books in 3 series now covered video, tv and satellite. I do have all the various contents listed in a spreadsheet but the spreadsheet also includes all my service manuals etc. This is how I can come up with which book something is in and also what page number, when I respond to some of the threads on this forum.
Dave

[ajgriff]

As this is a sticky thread it's worth pulling together the relevant information spread across the forum regarding the R&TVS volumes published between 1952 and 1987.

Most of the confusion is caused by the variety of volume sets published in the early years up until about 1962. The first key to understanding the models covered by the various volumes and year books is Wainwright's index. A PDF copy of this publication is attached. For completeness the 1986/7 supplement is also attached.

The third PDF shows a table describing some of the early books and volume sets. This was published a few years ago and was based on the recollections of one of the first editors of the series. PLEASE NOTE that this is actually an incomplete account and should be viewed as a guide only.

The second key to understanding the series and ensuring that a particular collection of books covers all models from a particular period is described in this post:

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...1&postcount=17

This may all look a bit complicated at first glance but it really is quite straightforward.

Alan

[Top Cap]

This is a link to my own Index, no info on the other odd series from the 1950's.
But is complete for the recognised volumes.
http://www.g4cnh.com/public/Complete...cing_Books.pdf

[ajgriff]

Originally Posted by Top Cap

This is a link to my own Index, no info on the other odd series from the 1950's.

The thing is that there were more than half a dozen 'odd' volume sets ie, sets which don't correspond directly to Wainwright's index. The difficulty is that as time went on early models were progressively dropped from publication. For example the 1959 seven volume set has only two volumes covering pre-1953 models. However, the remaining five volumes of the set correspond directly to the year books from 1953-4 on. The upshot is that full model coverage can only be guaranteed if one has access to the two early sets used by Wainwright plus the succeeding year books in whatever form regardless of what is printed on the spine of a particular book. Hope this and the three Rules add some clarity.

Alan

[dave walsh]

I think that the actions of Vidjoman and now Electron Pusher vindicate the feelings that many of us had earlier that the Service Book publications were a bit of a nightmare. On the other hand it's nobody's fault. We can't really put ourselves fully in the commercial world that others inhabited back then when really, being able to repair things made information a strong source of income.

It's just like now, except even what you had for breakfast has a value-not the porridge itself but the very knowledge that you like it! I must admit that I have spent a lot of time with these radio volumes trying to work out the sequence and giving myself a serious headache. I think Chas Miller was the first major clarifier with his article in The Radiophile Magazine , after years of confusion but publishing is a moving target as others suggest. The impressive thing is that if you have the time to just look at even one volume, the attention to detail is so impressive. It won't get in the British Museum though

Dave

[ajgriff]

Originally Posted by dave walsh

I think Chas Miller was the first major clarifier with his article in The Radiophile Magazine ....

Dave

Yes, I believe that's the original source of the chart (albeit incomplete) in the third PDF of post #6. I haven't checked recently but I think back copies of The Radiophile can still be purchased.

Newnes' R&TVS publishing history needs to be viewed in the context of booming radio & television sales in the 1950s/60s and the consequent rising demand for repair services. For someone entering the repair trade in the late fifties the R&TVS books were an attractive proposition financially and coverage wise when compared with trader sheets or manufacturers' manuals. However, from Newnes' point of view the books were relatively expensive to produce in terms of both expertise and the level of detail required in their compilation. The abridged volume sets were a way of offering new entrants to the repair market economically attractive access to data without the need to provide information about obsolete receivers, often produced in small numbers, dating back to the forties and early fifties.

Alan

[ajgriff]

Following on from the previous post I've just been searching through some old forum threads and it would seem that the original Radiophile article was published in Issue 22 and reprinted in Issue 70 of the magazine. For some reason the chart already referenced accompanied the original article but was not reproduced with the reprint. Apparently Pat Hawker (early editor) was the principle source when the article was written and it is believed that there were a total of 14 volume sets published by Newnes before the imprint was sold in about 1965. Unfortunately neither of these two Issues are included in Radiophile's currently available back catalogue.

I did come across all of this information when researching the subject a few years back but have had to refresh my memory!

Alan