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| This
set:- Ser No. 45463 Year: Mid-1940 |
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| Restoration
Notes:- Purchased at the Sep 2003 NCVF, this was my first restoration project to be undertaken since the rekindling of my interest in valve radios - after a mere 33 year break! This was a straightforward restoration. There were no missing parts and beneath the surface everything was in sound condition. The HT capacitors had at some stage in the set's life been replaced for a modern 'RS Component' and a new audio O/P transformer was also in evidence. I discovered that one of the RF stage series anode resistors had gone very high in value, and this appeared to be the only fault preventing the set from working. However, as a precaution a number of the decoupling capacitors and other dubious looking resistors were replaced. The tuning drive cord and slow motion mechanism was caked with a mixture of hardened grease and dust, to the point of nearly being seized solid. After a thorough clean-up, smooth action was fully restored. Once working, the set appeared to lack normal sensitivity. This was traced to incorrect IF alignment, with tell-tale evidence of several IF cores having been twiddled with. With the aid of a borrowed Marconi Sig Gen (2024 model), I then followed the Service Trader Sheet re-alignment procedure, undertaking a complete front-to-back RF and IF tune-up. For the final stages of the restoration, I stripped the cabinet back to bare veneer and applied several coats of varnish. This included the painstaking reproduction of a transfer logo using waterslide transfer paper (see details elsewhere on these web-pages). Finally, the brass speaker grill was stripped back to bare metal, polished up and finished with clear enamel. The final finishing touch was to remove the heavily caked-in grime from the grooves of the knobs and to fill the engravings with gold lacquer. The net result is a pleasing piece of furniture (thankfully the wife likes it too!) and a sure conversation piece for visitors. |