Bush VHF80c completed

Here's the completed VHF80c sitting on soak test in my workshop tonight.

I'm getting to like this little set, and its later cousin the VHF81. They are easy to work on, and with a bit of effort they can be made to look quite smart.  They are also good performers, with nice quality sound and good sensitivity on AM.

The good AM performance is probably due to the unusual circuit design, in which the VHF 1st IF amplifier doubles as an RF amplifier for LW and MW. In most domestic AM superhets the tuned RF is applied directly to the mixer (frequency changer) valve without any amplification, and all the gain is in the IF and audio stages.

Bush VHF80C after restoration

The trickiest part of the restoration was replacing the four rubber anti-vibration mounts between the tuning capacitor and the chassis, basically rubber grommets with a brass bush through the centre. The old rubber had become hard and brittle. Getting them out was much easier than persuading the new grommets to go in, but at least the new ones should last another fifty years before they need replacing again!

Here's the list of materials that were required to do this restoration.

5 x 10nF polyester film capacitors
1 x 2.2nF  polyester film capacitor
1 x 4.7uF electrolytic capacitor
1 x 0.22uF 275V AC X2 rated capacitor
2 x MES lamp holders
2 x 6V 0.1A lamps
4 x rubber grommets (to fit 8mm hole, centre hole 5mm)
Odd bits of silicone sleeve
2 core mains flex
Mains plug with 1A fuse 
Cord for replacing the tuning drive
White enamel spray paint
Masking tape and newspaper
Brasso for cleaning the Bakelite


With one more done...the question is which set to do next.

Keep listening!

A nice little set for my kitchen

I've just realised that I didn't post a finished picture of the Bush VHF81 that I restored back in August last year.

I said the colour scheme would be 'something different'... and here it is.

Bush VHF81 with a one-off cabinet

This lovely little set now lives in my kitchen and is regularly used. It has a very good sound, particularly on VHF. Not bad for a set that's around 50 years old.

Keep listening!

Back in the workshop

It's been a while, but now the long dark January nights are with us again I have found time to sort out some vintage radio projects that have built up during the summer.

I've got a couple under way, but the one I have spent time on this weekend is a Bush VHF80c from the early 60's. I don't know its exact age yet, but this model first went on sale in February 1960.

I restored a couple of VHF81s a few months ago, which have the same chassis as this but in a wooden case. I have taken a liking to these sets which are easy to restore and perform rather well, so when I saw this one in a junk shop during the Christmas holiday I had a little haggle with the seller. She wanted £22 initially, but we agreed on a very reasonable £15.

Electronic restoration was fairly straightforward, with three wax paper and three Hunts capacitors to replace. I always replace these on sight as they are almost always leaky. The other job was to reform the reservoir and smoothing capacitors, three capacitors in all in a single metal can. This is a time consuming task as there are a lot of wires to unsolder.

On firing up the set via a lamp limiter I could hear stations on all three bands, so I carried on with restoration of the chassis, replacing the broken tuning cord and the lamp holders. The latter are made of rubber, which hardens with heat and age and goes out of shape. A couple of cheap modern plastic holders and two 6V 0.1A lamps sorted the problem.

This is is an AC/DC set (no transformer) so the mains neutral wire is connnected to the chassis. For safety during testing I always use an isolating transformer to prevent the possibility of the chassis becoming live.

The cabinet was in good condition (apart from being filthy) although the white paint had rubbed away in places over the years, particularly around the knobs.

After stripping down the cabinet I used a fine abrasive paper to smooth the painted areas, before protecting the unpainted Bakelite areas with newspaper and masking tape. I then spray painted all the white areas with a quick drying enamel.

I applied four light coats of paint, leaving each to dry for around 10 minutes between each coat. I now need to leave it to harden for a couple of days before removing the masking and tidying up any rough edges between painted and unpainted areas.

I'll post more later.

Keep listening!