Regentone A155 Radio

[Sparky67]

Hi all,

My son found this Regentone receiver in his loft the other day and is considering keeping, and using it. I have offered to check it over for him but it is a little outside my usual comfort zone! Can anyone suggest what the common faults are on this type of set please?

Many thanks.

Martin

[paulsherwin]

It's a pretty standard late 50s AM/FM woodie. Most of the manufacturers brought out similar sets with the introduction of FM in 1955. There will be the usual caps to change, and the switch contacts will need a good clean. You will also need to work out why it went out of use in the first place. It shouldn't be too difficult a job.

The VHF coverage will only go to 100MHz, so you should check with your son that this is acceptable before putting lots of effort in.

[Sparky67]

Thanks Paul. I guess there wasn't much wideband FM to listen to above 100MHz in those days! Yes, I did wonder why it was hidden away in his loft in the first place.

I found the 'Replacement of capacitors' sticky after the original post had closed. There is some excellent information and advice in there which I will have a closer look through when the set has arrived, and will have a look around for a circuit diagram.

Cheers,

Martin

[Cobaltblue]

It's possibly a model A156

Regentone produced some well made sets pretty much to the end (takeover by KB)

If it's an A156 it should sound decent (EL84 output) and as its an AC only set pretty easy to work on.

Cheers

Mike T

[music-centre]

There was also the A155, if so, I can confirm they are a good sounding set with a large speaker, I used one as a kitchen radio for years.
Steve.

https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/regentone_a155a_15.html

[paulsherwin]

Originally Posted by Sparky67

Thanks Paul. I guess there wasn't much wideband FM to listen to above 100MHz in those days!

The FM band only went to 100MHz in Europe until the early 70s. The US model of 'city stations' was never adopted, and each country had 3 or 4 networks broadcasting regional or national programming. In the UK, the police only vacated the FM band around 101MHz in 1985.

You can usually tweak these 50s sets to tune up to about 103MHz if that helps.

[Cobaltblue]

I have just noticed that the A156 doesn't have a magic eye and the OP's set does so I think it likely that Steve is correct and it's the A155.

Cheers

Mike T

[60 oldjohn]

Originally Posted by Sparky67

I will have a closer look through when the set has arrived, and will have a look around for a circuit diagram.

When you're sure of the model number, the circuit should be available top right of this page £1.99.

John.

[Sparky67]

Thanks for the identification gents. I will have a good look over it when it arrives and, presuming there is something viable left inside the box, download the data sheet and order a batch of caps.

I was very involved with the AM schemes above 100MHz in the 1970s, and used the radio system which transmitted spot on 100MHz. That was followed by the project to vacate Band II. But I didn't get involved with domestic AM or FM radio from either end. It's been a long time since a valve radio was on my bench, so this will be a fun project and a bit of a new learning curve.

Thanks again.

Martin

[M0TGX Terry]

Externally at least, this Regentone set looks identical to my RGD A112 (picture attached). Mine has the magic eye. Were the two companies connected?
I shall watch this thread with interest as I haven't yet started on my RGD. When I start mine I'll be looking for a push button for MW and will post a request in the 'wanted' column.

[Edward Huggins]

Yes they were connected. These Plessey made mid-late 1950s sets were produced under 3 brands - Regentone, RGD and Argosy. There were only cosmetic differences.

[Dave Moll]

Looking at the appropriate Trader sheet for the A155, I would concur that this is what it appears to be, and its chassis was also used in radiograms ARG79 and ARG89, as well is in combination radio/television model 173.

The valve lineup of the A155 is V1: ECC85, V2: ECH81, V3: EF85, V4: EABC80, V5: EL84, V6: EZ80, tuning indicator: EM80.

And yes, Terry, Regentone either merged with or became RGD (I can't remember which), so maybe they recycled this design as the A112. I don't have an appropriate Trader sheet for that, so I can't confirm.

[M0TGX Terry]

Thanks for the replies. I suppose I'll have to drag the RGD to the head of the queue for attention now.

[emeritus]

That looks just like the radio part of my late father's radiogram, currently in store at the back of the shed. Magic eye, and the seperate tuning dials for AM and FM meant you could switch between a station on FM and another on AM without having to retune. A "round tuit" item at present": what is probably dried up grease means that turning the knobs does not move either pointer. Still plays records, so the electronics are essentially OK.

One of the old hands at Plessey had been involved in the design of this series of radios. He had no documentation for our model, but did give me the service manual for the similar version for the US market: Long wave replaced by a second SW band, and a more powerful audio amp with a push-pull output. From memory, the US version covered the full current FM band.

[jjl]

I had a RGD version of this radio when I was young - my Dad gave it to me when I was 10 in 1974 and I think that his parents may have bought it for his 15th birthday in 1955.
The model I had was almost the same as the RGD futher up in this thread except that it had brass coloured brights in the centre of the control knobs and I seem to recall that the L.W. and M.W. legends were green rather than orange.
I remember seeing at least one vacant hole in the chassis to allow for a push-pull output version.

John

[regentone001]

the basic chassis was used in a lot of different versions right up to 1958/9, There were single end and push pull output versions (some with bass and treble controls using an ECC83 as phase splitter and tone compensation amplifier) and the last was the NINE-3 stereo chassis,(using twin EL84 outputs) which on the price ticket I have was claimed to be the first fully stereophonic radiogram. The check ticket on mine is dated 18th Nov 1958 and was priced at 89 GNS(approx £2,285.68) at todays prices
Steve

[Sparky67]

Well, the radio arrived last week but, due to my son's occupation, was left in quarantine in the porch for a few days. It is now in the house and this evening I took the opportunity to remove the rear cover to see what physical condition the chassis was in. It appears complete topside, although one side of the FM aerial was found disconnected...

Next step is to clean it out, replace the coupling and decoupling caps. Caps are on order. Then find my variac and attempt to reform the smoothing caps. And then have a look at a few voltages. I must admit I'm really looking forward to hearing it working.

Would it be OK to attach mains earth to the chassis?

Martin

[Dave Moll]

As the Regentone A155 has an isolating mains transformer, I would have thought it would be fine to earth the chassis.

[cathoderay57]

Worth doing a con check on the mains transformer HT windings and the AF output transformer primary. If either has failed, suitable replacements could be found, but potentially costly. Also the ECC85 will typically be low emission resulting in no/poor signal on VHF, but you might be lucky if the set hasn't had too hard a life. Cheers, Jerry

[Sparky67]

Thanks for the comments. Spent the evening yesterday cleaning it up and physically identifying the components to change first. Both transformers have continuity, so hopefully they have survived. Also took a lot of photos, including the dial pointer cord runs.

I noticed the speaker grill is tarnished over the opening but came up quite bright where it is over the wood. Is there a recommended way to improve its appearance?

My son asked if I could fit a Bluetooth facility to it this morning . Sacrilege of course, but shoud be possible via an attenuator on the 'gram input without affecting its originality. I am now going to ask him to erect a 30' wooden pole at the bottom of his garden...

All the best,

Martin
G4NCE