BBC TV: The Repair Shop

[Cobaltblue]

Looks like it suffered the common fate of battery valve sets of fitting a PP9 to try to get it going leaving the valve fills OC.

Nice job on the handle

Cheers

Mike T

[M0FYA Andy]

Within the limitations of what was shown I can't complain, it did look like a restoration rather than a bodge. But somebody buy him an insulation-stripper rather than having to use a pair of side-cutters!

Andy

[HamishBoxer]

I thought it was very good,the cabinet and handle looked great.

Trust the grid coupling cap was changed and I noticed some fresh wiring to valve top caps.

[dave walsh]

I thought the whole program was pretty good although the Dunkirk Ever Ready set wasn't as emotional as the [actual] Transistor Radio episode [1/4/19].
I thought it might be a French radio at first with the non utilitarian covering. Ironic that it was promoted before the War as a "Go Anywhere" portable set. It certainly did that but it was no "picnic"! I hope the owners son has contracted with the excellent Mr Stuckey [how to explain amplification quickly] to have more PP9/90v replica batteries made up. There was no mention of the LT but let's not make it too complicated eh

Re the excellent Grandfather Clock, I'd always thought the Moon faces and dials [above the main clock face] were vaguely Astronomical but didn't realise it was to predict the next fully moon lit night for going out without any street lighting!
Both the ladies with non Radio items were very genuine in their reaction to strong memories of when they were aged 4 and 6 years old.

Dave W

Further to Bill's comment [194*] about Reith deriding early TV [at Ally Pally] I knew the "Fools On The Hill" comment but it's never occurred to me before that Paul Mcartney may well have shortened it to "The Fool On The Hill" for the Magical Mystery Tour in 1967. He was in the right environment to pick that up ie EMI Studios and the Beeb itself!

[Dave Moll]

It was interesting that Ms Fletcher saw the pattern on the radio as being hand-painted. It looked rather like crackle paint to me. Is this something of which knowledge is vanishing? I have to admit, however, that her hand-painted recreation of the handle was a good match for the original finish. And at least there was no mention of transistors on the programme itself.

[The Philpott]

The (easy bit of the) clock face repair made much simpler by the paint being about 25 thou thick. I could have managed that bit..but not the magnificently restored calligraphy.

Ordered by an officer to get a wireless back to blighty- then given it by the officer when they met up again. Strange things happen in wartime!

Dave

[David Simpson]

Well, I reckon the Grandfather Clock stole the show, with the Ever Ready radio a poor third.
A brief glimpse of the chassis underside did show what looked like a black burnt-out component or a big blob of pitch, but no mention of any repairs being done. Another glimpse of a tatty looking Taylor valve tester, but did he use it ? And, I cant believe that all the valves were duff & needed changing. The leather wifie did a great job of cleaning up the tortoise-shell patterned covering & the carrying handle. But then, Mark let her down by putting back on rusty handle clamps, also with rusty bolts. Then, as Dave W says, the poor old mannie only has a one-off 90V made-up battery pack.
So, also taking into account the amount of dripping & drooling, I'd give the program 5 out of 10. Compared to a slightly later program - Wheeler Dealers, also taking into account (the mouth of the south) Mike Brewer, which I'd give 7 out of 10. Mainly because it was about a lovely old Rover P5.
Are there going to be any more radio restorations in the current series ?

Regards, David

[Phil G4SPZ]

I was very interested in the Ever Ready, largely because I bought a similar set off Josh Ward and restored it some years ago. It’s working and can be seen in Gripton’s Radio Store at the Black Country Living Museum. Mine was a lot worse than the set featured on today’s programme though! I did a lot of hand-painting on the cabinet, and the frame aerial and back panel were missing completely.

Anyway, Mark Stuckey was lucky if all he had to do was replace valves - no mention of ‘that’ capacitor - and the only thing he got wrong was the battery. The original was a combined HT+LT battery and the radio had a single 4-pin plug. Mark used standard 1950s-era replica batteries of the types his company sells.

[Dave Moll]

Originally Posted by David Simpson

the poor old mannie only has a one-off 90V made-up battery pack.

Yes, I would have preferred to see replacable PP3s with connectors (or daisy-chained with a connector at each end) - either in a replica battery or simply free-standing - rather than soldered together so that the owner is stuck once the batteries have lost their charge.

[Phil G4SPZ]

One of the other risks of soldering direct to the terminals of PP3 batteries is that the internal connections can become loose and the battery ceases to function. I won’t tell you how I discovered that.

Whilst in some replica battery styles there is just not enough room for push-on connectors, the original battery used in this set was the Ever Ready “All-Dry 3”, which provides plenty of space to house ten PP3s daisy-chained together plus a couple of C or D cells for the LT.

[David Simpson]

Hey - Phil's Ever Ready restoration back in 2014 sets the bar for many of us to aspire to. Pity Mark Stuckey didn't have such aspirations.
Josh Ward - when he started out as a teenage radio collector/restorer a few years back, I was full of admiration for his enthusiasm. Just the young chap we need to encourage other young-uns, as us old-uns get further past 3 score years & ten.

Regards, David

[dave walsh]

I don't know if this is heresy, but I rather thought they might explain that a battery portable set was the "Transistor" of it's time except only available to the "well heeled" [now there's a good shoe metaphor].

It wasn't so different later though really. Albert said in [Episode 1] that he and his wife had to buy their 1961 £2-50p Transistor Radio "between them". It attracted a crowd on the beach! No-one remembers simply how unusual it was to be able to play music in that situation even in 61 but I can certainly recall it! That's why it caught on so much-like portable record players in the home. Later on, it became less of a beach advantage and more of a cacophony [and I speak as a 60's music enthusiast] There were some very funny cartoons about this in the likes of the Radio Constructor Magazine!

I thought they might have mentioned the practice of re-charging Accumulators at the Garage, Bike Shop or from the house lighting circuit via all those adaptors [often the only one] and then fitted a mains HT/Lt unit for continued use. Too ambitious no doubt!!

Dave W

[Phil G4SPZ]

David, many thanks for the compliment! But you also make an important point about the age of people involved in restoration. It is significant that, with very few exceptions, the specialist restorers on the Repair Shop are relatively young people (compared with me, that is) and if the viewing audience gets the idea that restoration is (a) very worthwhile and (b) not just the preserve of old men in sheds, then that will be A Good Thing.

Viewing figures must be okay, because the production company seems to be inviting applications for another series.

[nicam49]

Hi All, Did anyone see a recent episode where a pre-war portable radio got restored? Restorer made up a bank of 10 PP3s and fashioned them into a made-up cardboard replica of an Ever Ready battery with no explanation as to where it came from., but showed him fashioning it out of pre-printed card... anyone any ideas where to source this from? (didn't show a 1.5 volt battery pack either)

[Boater Sam]

Scans of most of the battery packs are available on the net. Some on this forum.
Vrat site has an archive of them too.

[The Philpott]

I'm not convinced soldering onto PP3's is a good idea. I would have thought a small spot weld would involve much less heat and be more dependable.

Dave

[kalee20]

Originally Posted by The Philpott

I'm not convinced soldering onto PP3's is a good idea.

It's not - even making the joint as quick as possible softens the plastic insulator so the eyelet rivets holding the terminals lose their tension, and contact becomes intermittent. Typically, in a bank of 10 PP3's, there will be 3 dodgy contacts to find and make good.

Guess how I know that? Much better to use PP3 battery connectors.

[Mike. Watterson]

Soldering PP3's is madness.

B126 pack
I make two sets of five by clipping them on to each other (some brands are too fat). The PP layer cells don't need to be replaced by Alkaline, because of shape and most are 6 x AAAA cells or similar, the Alkaline packs are not as big an increase in capacity as cylindrical cells.

I use just two pp3 connectors, cut in half. One set to link the two stacks of packs
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The other to link to the 3 pin socket. There is even space for a 20mm fuseholder and a 25mA or 50mA fuse.
I've made the sockets out of cut up coffee tin and marge tub plastic.
See Radiomuseum.
Eventually I'll finish www.blaukatz.com and add all the scans/designs I've made or collected!

Also unlike the cylindrical Carbon Zinc of any kind, the layer cells have a reasonable shelf life and don't leak. The disadvantage of them is higher internal resistance, not a problem for a 10mA HT pack.
I'd only use Alkaline PP3 for smoke alarms, seldom used DVMs etc.

A scan or design is available online for virtually every radio pack ever made.

However for the larger packs such as 1928 to 1950s models I use Alkaline AA cells in 6 way or 10 holders. Very long shelf life, easy to do taps and works out cheaper than PP3s per hour.
Some packs use AAA cells in custom holders.
For LT I use insides of a 996 when I want "authentic" and otherwise Alkaline D cells. A few packs need C cells and a few 7.5V pack are simpler to do with AA cells.

For grid bias I use AA cells or insides of the 1289 packs (Panasonic sells them here, 3R20 or 3R25, I forget).
I've simulated 2V Lead acid with NiMH and diodes, parallel / series in replica pack. DO NOT connect while on charge. That applied to the Lead Acid.
I've replaced the DEAC packs in German/Dutch sets with C size NiMH. They act as LT regulator on mains. Don't leave a D cell in, the D cells were only for extending run time. The NiMH (or original NiCd DEAC) will flatten the D cell and it will leak.

[Paul Stenning]

Did anyone see the phonograph on today’s show? I have no experience of these but there did seem to be quite a lot of flutter when the finished item was played. Is that normal? The refinished horn looked good but is that original or too light?

[The Philpott]

The flutter seemed excessive to me, i assumed something was either bent, catching, or unlubricated. (I have no experience of them either though..)

I was interested in how the horn was made, was it steamed plys placed in a hot mould, with a former pressed in afterwards? I must admit if i saw one with that dark red finish i would assume it was the original finish.

Dave