Hacker Super Sovereign RP75 MB Serial 07695.Help Needed!

[lawrence]

Hi All.
Just purchased this RP75 MB.Its covered in grime & missing a few parts.

1.Treble Knob
2.Plastic surround on mains socket.
3.Battery cradle
4.Plastic cover on T312(did they all have one)
5.Back grill has slight crack(but sits flat)

My questions are
How does one use/check

1. SW aerial knob?
2.Band width knob?
3.I.S.M knob?
4.Lastly should the aerial have a knuckle joint?It seems original.Could it be stuck in the chassis with the grime?

Lawrence

[Nuvistor]

Send me pm with your email and I can send you a pdf of the user manual which answers your first 3 questions, I think it is band spread not bandwidth though.
Frank

[mhennessy]

The MB has both bandspread and aerial tuning.

Once you've found the required station, use the aerial tuning to peak for maximum signal. The bandspread knob is a fine-tuning control.

ISM (inter-station muting) works on FM only. When pressed, it should mute between stations. There is an internal adjustment to set the sensitivity if required.

Yes, the aerial should tilt. There is a Maplin aerial that fits these, but doesn't tilt - perhaps you have one of those?

Later FM tuners - the ones that go up to 104MHz - have a different cover that only covers part of it. It's copper-coloured.

[lawrence]

I will upload some pics soon.It only arrived today and I had to go out. Thanks Lawrence

Is there any way to edit my posts on here?

[julie_m]

Only for a limited time, if the post has not been replied to. This is to preserve the integrity of a conversation, while allowing for correction of "submitted too soon" errors.

['LIVEWIRE?']

I'm in the process of repairing an Sovereign III (RP75MB). This has MW, LW, & FM bands, but no sign of SW or Bandspread tuning. There is a built-in Mains PSU in a small metal box, which outputs 13.8v, plus an internal battery supply using 8 x 'D' cells (or U2 as they were known). I haven't noted the serial no, but were there two different models of RP75MB?

[Paul_RK]

Your Sovereign III's model number will be RP72MB, rather than RP75MB which is a Super Sovereign, a larger radio with the additional bands and aerial tuning control.

Paul

[mhennessy]

You're working on the "regular" Sovereign III, not the Super Sovereign. The model number should be RP72MB.

And yes, there were variations for both models. It's not as complex as it was for the Hunter, but variations existed. Broadly, the earliest models didn't have the built in main PSU, but that was subsequently added with the "MB" designation. The later ones had FM tuning that extended to 104MHz instead of 101MHz.

In addition, the non-MB versions of the RP75 Super Sovereign didn't have the aerial tuning.

Compared to the standard Sovereign III, the Super Sovereign adds two SW bands (with bandspread), an ISM switch for the FM band, and a battery meter. Oh, and separate tuning mechanisms for AM and FM.

There were a range of "special" Sovereign III sets, including one finished in green fabric and a Golden Sovereign.



EDIT: Post crossed with Paul's.

[AC/HL]

Originally Posted by lawrence

Is there any way to edit my posts on here?

Report the post using the red triangle icon at the bottom left. As long as it doesn't invalidate any subsequent post one of the Mod team will be able to make any changes you need.

[lawrence]

Heres the pics.Still not sure about the aerial.Going to WD it and see if the knuckle is stuck in bottom section.
Anyone know the actual height/amount of sections for this aerial. lawrence

[Half a Mullard]

Hi Lawrence

I've checked my Super Sovereign - the aerial is 8 sections and measures approx 0.85m fully extended.

[60 oldjohn]

Hi Lawrence, The extended length of aerial on my set is 85cm (33.5") measured from TOP of set with 8 sections above + one inside case. Dia of aerial is 11mm. Somewhat shorter than some of my other sets.

I have a Treble knob in stock to fit 6mm shaft, the other knob was to fit a 4mm shaft but I have seen your pictures, looks like 6mm with flat. I will send PM.


John,

Crossed with Howard, at least we are singing from the same sheet.

[lawrence]

Heres another pic.
I am checking this radio out now.Fantastic when it works!However when on LW I am picking up Radio 5 and some other local stations.But no Radio 4 on LW.Any ideas?

[lawrence]

It seems the push down butttons are sticking and need a clean.Hence not changing to LW from MW.

[lawrence]

Aerial is deffo not original although I think the section inside the unit&its Hacker from another set.What a pain..I know these are hard to source.Thanks to everyone for their swift response.
If theres any Hacker experts out there that don't mind me PM them re other queries let me know. lawrence

[lawrence]

Thanks again for all the efforts here.
Which Hackers share the same aerial as the RP75MB? lawrence

[mhennessy]

They largely standardised on that aerial, so there are many options. The obvious ones would be any from the Sovereign III "family", so the RP72 Sovereign, RP74 Black knight and RP76MB Silver knight. From memory, the Sovereign IV and RPC1 use the same one. I think the RP71 Harrier also does. I'm less sure about the RP78 Aviemore and RP79 Consort because my examples have been in storage for a few years now, but something tells me that the Aviemore aerial was smaller in diameter?

The problem is that all these sets are "valuable" in their own right*, so you need to be extremely lucky to find a set that is beyond redemption yet somehow still has a perfect aerial - that doesn't happen very often IME.

*OK, the later ones come from the era when Hacker was having to cost-cut so the absolute quality wasn't as good as earlier models, but as they are less plentiful today, they have a certain rarity-value

There is that non-tilting aerial from Maplin, but that gets you no further forward.

Although, the more I look at your pictures, I can't help thinking that it looks pretty original, and it's possible that you haven't tugged it hard enough to get the tilting base to emerge. It's just a feeling - probably wrong - but given that the fixed outer section is definitely original and untouched, I can't see how someone would have swapped over the inner parts. You need to remove the brass base (the bit the solder tag attaches to) from the outer section to slide the inner section of the aerial down and out.

I have swapped the inner parts of aerials before at the knuckle joint - that can work well. In this example, the aerial from a Fidelity RAD15 was fitted to a Hunter: https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...ad.php?t=55113

[lawrence]

Up date on the aerial is 8 sections outside chassis,1 section "inside" chassis section,1 chassis section 11mm diameter.I pulled out the stuck section.No knuckle and it was glued in at the top(now loose),Prob. a broken knuckle joint on this section?
I understand the difficulty in finding a new one.Just need to know the options.So many thanks to Mark and others.
An ebay seller stocks a Roberts R606MB Specs.Unextended 136mm(needs to be 150mm I think),Extended 785mm Diameter 11mm 9 Section.,knuckle joint £14.95(anyone ever used one in a RP75MB?)
Not sure whether I should start new threads dealing with this radios other issues or stick to this thread.Plz advise. lawrence

[60 oldjohn]

I had a set possibly a RP75MB where 8 sections lifted out of the set with no sight of a knuckle I took a chance and put a small amount of Areldite glue on the end of aerial and pushed it back into the set firmly and left it overnight and luckily it worked. It was glued enough to pull the knuckle out of set and get some oil on it.

John.

[mhennessy]

That was lucky, John!

An alternative would be to remove the screw in the end, and push it out with a rod that fits through the hole. Perhaps easier said than done