Museums

[stevehertz]

We went back to the Black Country Museum today. There's always something new to see and the aforementioned 40s, 50s, and 60s street is now open including Stantons TV, Radio & records shop. Also, when you visit you get a pass for a whole year, so it was free entry this time.

Prior to today's visit, I got in touch with the Black Country Museum's Radio restoration expert Phil, AKA our own PhilG4SPZ. Phil was working on a Ferranti chassis in the workshop at the back of Griptons, and we spent a while chatting about the museum, sets etc etc. He's doing a great job there. Photos below.

Oh, and there's a Marsh & Baxters in the '60s' street and their huge pork pies are to die for. Not to mention the fish and chip shop.

[pmmunro]

The Solon soldering iron is a nice period touch.

PMM

[HamishBoxer]

Still got at least 2 Solons, 25W and 15W.

[Phil G4SPZ]

It was a great pleasure to welcome you and your wife to the Museum, Steve. I hope you enjoyed the rest of your day and that your homeward journey was less fraught than your drive this morning!

Thank you also for the excellent photos and for the compliments. Yes, Peter, I was using my personal 25 watt Henley Solon which is very effective on vintage wiring. Unfortunately some slightly out-of-period items were visible, particularly the Taylor 40kOPV multimeter that lives in my toolbox. I normally use the Museum’s Avo Model 7, but it does take up a lot of room on the bench.

Maintaining a truly accurate 1939 period appearance is quite tricky. Whilst we were engaged solely in restoring pre-war radios it wasn’t too difficult, but as the workshop is the only reasonably-equipped workshop space available to us, we have of necessity had to use it for the restoration of mid- to late-1950s radios and TVs intended for the newly-opened Stanton’s, set in 1959. So I find myself having to explain away the presence of TV sets and VHF radios that would have still been two decades away in 1939!

As I said, it was good to see Steve today, and I would of course welcome visits from other Forum members. I’m there most Tuesdays, so feel free to drop me a PM if you’re thinking of visiting.

[Peter.N.]

I was selling new radios in the '50's but most of the sets we had in for repair were pre war, most of them were fairly easy to work on except the Philips with the Bowden cables.

We charged accumulators too.

Peter

[stevehertz]

Phil tells me that the photos above are to be used in Black Country Museum publicity material. You saw them here first.

[Trevor]

Purchased my first Solon some 63 years ago. A great tool.

[Peter.N.]

I think mine might have been even longer ago than that, I was at school at the time, I'm 84 now. By the time I started work we had those 'Primax' instant heat guns with a 'universal' plug with spring loaded pins to fit any of the plethora of different sockets we had then.


Peter

[Paul Stenning]

Please don't drift onto soldering irons, they are off-topic for this thread.

[Peter.N.]

Sorry