Hmv 360 TRF(1935) - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

mark pirate · 2nd Nov 2011, 12:47 pm

I purchased this set a few months ago, the guy I got it from had several sets in various states of decay, but this was the only pre-war set and looked to be saveable. I also liked both the size and look of it. I found out while carrying it to the car to be very heavy for its size!

The cabinet was very worn and scratched, the speaker cloth was in tatters, but the dial was in good condition and all the original knobs were intact, as was the back.

On removal of the back, it was covered with dust and looked to be complete, there was two pre-war cardboard Hunts 'service replacement' 8uF capacitors just lying in the bottom of the set. The original caps would have been a pair of large cans mounted on the seperate speaker chassis.

The wiring loom between the two chassis was crumbling, so there was no way I was going to power it up in that state!

I removed both chassis from the cabinet, removed the old loom and valves. Armed with a paintbrush and Hoover, I set about giving it a good clean, both chassis' cleaned up well, with no signs of rust, but the speaker cone had a small rip in it. This was easily fixed with PVA glue. I then set about making a replacement loom and fitted it to the set. I had a good look under the chassis and spotted that four replacement electrolytics dated 1951/2 had been fitted, other than that everything was original.

I cleaned all the valve pins and sockets, refitted the valves and powered it up via my variac, all heaters and dial light came up, but no sound, just a deep hum.

I connected a couple of new 10uF caps in place of the ancient hunts and tried again, this time no hum, but still no audio. On closer inspection of the N41 output valve, it appeared the getter was almost non existent. There was a rainbow effect where it should have been and on giving it a shake, it rattled!

I fitted a good AC2/PEN which bought the set to life, albeit a bit low in volume.

As this is a pre-war set, I always re-stuff all the caps, as six were not original. I was undecided on how to proceed, see this thread: http://vintage-radio.net/forum/showthread.php?t=75664

After re-stuffing the caps, the set was working well, a random check showed the original resistors were still reasonable, so time to start on the cabinet.

I removed the baffle and what remained of the speaker cloth and set about cleaning the cabinet with T-cut, it took a lot of elbow grease, but it returned the original shine. I then went over it with white spirit to clean any residue and gave it a dose of scratch cover, finally a good polish with beeswax.

I had a look through my meagre stocks of speaker cloth and managed to find a fair replacement, this was carefully washed, ironed and glued to the baffle.

The set was then reassembled, and left running while I gave the knobs a polish using T-cut, refitting these and the back completed the job.

This model uses the same 3 valve + rectifier TRF chassis as the rexine covered Marconi 235, the set works well on my longwire aerial, and has good sound quality. I particularly like the dial lamp/pointer display on this set.

Although the top of the cabinet would benefit from refinishing, overall it looks good and displays well, and most of all I enjoyed doing it.

Mark

The before photos.....

mark pirate · 2nd Nov 2011, 12:50 pm

And the after photos.....

ed731pdh · 2nd Nov 2011, 1:40 pm

These sets are a lot of fun to play with, well done.

vinrads · 2nd Nov 2011, 6:24 pm

Very nice, well done in getting the speaker cloth straight. I remember restoring one for a good friend of mine; the original finish on the case as come up a treat and the chassis looks superb.

Mick.

Mark the Mender · 2nd Nov 2011, 6:43 pm

Nice one Mark! A lovely looking set is that.

cheers Mark

tedzed1 · 2nd Nov 2011, 9:47 pm

I like that one, especially the tuning dial,
Well Done.

mark pirate · 4th Nov 2011, 12:05 pm

I really like set's from the thirties, there is a real feel of quality construction, this particular set did not disappoint, EMI really did make solid quality sets.

Quote:

well done in getting the speaker cloth straight

The choice of cloth was limited, but I am pleased with the look of the set now, the original was glued to the cabinet. The replacement was fitted to the speaker baffle, as this was nice and square, it made the job easier to get it straight and taught. I fixed it using contact adhesive.

Quote:

I like that one, especially the tuning dial

The dial is unusual, it does look attractive when lit up. I think is a nice looking set, and is nice and small compared with other sets of this era, I am now on the lookout for its brother, the Marconi 235.

Mark

howard · 4th Nov 2011, 6:55 pm

Well done Mark

And what an attractive design !

Howard

Dave757 · 5th Nov 2011, 12:42 am

Hi all,

Can anyone tell me the model number of the
radiogram version of the Marconi 235?

It was this beast that led me down the slippery
slope to a lifetime's interest in radio when I was
a child in the 1940s.

Kind regards
Dave

Retired · 5th Nov 2011, 10:30 am

Hi,

What a transformation Mark; very well done indeed; it would enhance any collection. The speaker cloth makes a tremendous difference to its appearance and suits it well.

Kind regards, Col.

ed731pdh · 5th Nov 2011, 11:41 am

Has this one got the Droitwich rejector fitted, or is just a plain TRF?

Ronald070 · 8th Nov 2011, 3:30 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave757

Hi all,

Can anyone tell me the model number of the
radiogram version of the Marconi 235?

It was this beast that led me down the slippery
slope to a lifetime's interest in radio when I was
a child in the 1940s.

Kind regards
Dave

Hi there, the radiogram-version is the Marconi 245. Look here for some pictures:

http://www.***********/photos/8205730...7622821362559/

and here for a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-00CCgZQDIw

2nd Nov 2011, 12:47 pm	#1
mark pirate Dekatron Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Worthing, West Sussex, UK Posts: 5,185	Hmv 360 TRF(1935) I purchased this set a few months ago, the guy I got it from had several sets in various states of decay, but this was the only pre-war set and looked to be saveable. I also liked both the size and look of it. I found out while carrying it to the car to be very heavy for its size! The cabinet was very worn and scratched, the speaker cloth was in tatters, but the dial was in good condition and all the original knobs were intact, as was the back. On removal of the back, it was covered with dust and looked to be complete, there was two pre-war cardboard Hunts 'service replacement' 8uF capacitors just lying in the bottom of the set. The original caps would have been a pair of large cans mounted on the seperate speaker chassis. The wiring loom between the two chassis was crumbling, so there was no way I was going to power it up in that state! I removed both chassis from the cabinet, removed the old loom and valves. Armed with a paintbrush and Hoover, I set about giving it a good clean, both chassis' cleaned up well, with no signs of rust, but the speaker cone had a small rip in it. This was easily fixed with PVA glue. I then set about making a replacement loom and fitted it to the set. I had a good look under the chassis and spotted that four replacement electrolytics dated 1951/2 had been fitted, other than that everything was original. I cleaned all the valve pins and sockets, refitted the valves and powered it up via my variac, all heaters and dial light came up, but no sound, just a deep hum. I connected a couple of new 10uF caps in place of the ancient hunts and tried again, this time no hum, but still no audio. On closer inspection of the N41 output valve, it appeared the getter was almost non existent. There was a rainbow effect where it should have been and on giving it a shake, it rattled! I fitted a good AC2/PEN which bought the set to life, albeit a bit low in volume. As this is a pre-war set, I always re-stuff all the caps, as six were not original. I was undecided on how to proceed, see this thread: http://vintage-radio.net/forum/showthread.php?t=75664 After re-stuffing the caps, the set was working well, a random check showed the original resistors were still reasonable, so time to start on the cabinet. I removed the baffle and what remained of the speaker cloth and set about cleaning the cabinet with T-cut, it took a lot of elbow grease, but it returned the original shine. I then went over it with white spirit to clean any residue and gave it a dose of scratch cover, finally a good polish with beeswax. I had a look through my meagre stocks of speaker cloth and managed to find a fair replacement, this was carefully washed, ironed and glued to the baffle. The set was then reassembled, and left running while I gave the knobs a polish using T-cut, refitting these and the back completed the job. This model uses the same 3 valve + rectifier TRF chassis as the rexine covered Marconi 235, the set works well on my longwire aerial, and has good sound quality. I particularly like the dial lamp/pointer display on this set. Although the top of the cabinet would benefit from refinishing, overall it looks good and displays well, and most of all I enjoyed doing it. Mark The before photos..... Attached Thumbnails

2nd Nov 2011, 12:50 pm	#2
mark pirate Dekatron Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Worthing, West Sussex, UK Posts: 5,185	Re: Hmv 360 trf (1935) And the after photos..... Attached Thumbnails

2nd Nov 2011, 1:40 pm	#3
ed731pdh Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Pulborough, West Sussex, UK. Posts: 114	Re: Hmv 360 trf (1935) These sets are a lot of fun to play with, well done.

2nd Nov 2011, 6:24 pm	#4
vinrads Dekatron Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Chesterfield, Derbyshire, UK. Posts: 3,756	Re: Hmv 360 trf (1935) Very nice, well done in getting the speaker cloth straight. I remember restoring one for a good friend of mine; the original finish on the case as come up a treat and the chassis looks superb. Mick.

2nd Nov 2011, 6:43 pm	#5
Mark the Mender Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Warrington, Cheshire, UK. Posts: 421	Re: Hmv 360 trf (1935) Nice one Mark! A lovely looking set is that. cheers Mark

2nd Nov 2011, 9:47 pm	#6
tedzed1 Hexode Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Tamworth, Staffordshire, UK. Posts: 320	Re: Hmv 360 trf (1935) I like that one, especially the tuning dial, Well Done. __________________ Cheers Paul.

4th Nov 2011, 6:55 pm	#8
howard Nonode Join Date: May 2005 Location: Godalming, Surrey, UK. Posts: 2,593	Re: Hmv 360 TRF(1935) Well done Mark And what an attractive design ! Howard

5th Nov 2011, 12:42 am	#9
Dave757 Heptode Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Scratby, Norfolk, UK. Posts: 650	Re: Hmv 360 TRF(1935) Hi all, Can anyone tell me the model number of the radiogram version of the Marconi 235? It was this beast that led me down the slippery slope to a lifetime's interest in radio when I was a child in the 1940s. Kind regards Dave

5th Nov 2011, 10:30 am	#10
Retired Heptode Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Fenay Bridge, Huddersfield. UK. Posts: 673	Re: Hmv 360 TRF(1935) Hi, What a transformation Mark; very well done indeed; it would enhance any collection. The speaker cloth makes a tremendous difference to its appearance and suits it well. Kind regards, Col.

5th Nov 2011, 11:41 am	#11
ed731pdh Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Pulborough, West Sussex, UK. Posts: 114	Re: Hmv 360 TRF(1935) Has this one got the Droitwich rejector fitted, or is just a plain TRF?