Something different

The recently restored and repaired Bush VHF81 is currently in my kitchen and in regular use, and it sounds really good.

The only problem is that the mahogany veneer doesn't fit in with my modern kitchen decor!

Lurking at the back of my workshop was another VHF81, purchased from a well know auction site for £15 a couple of years ago. The veneer was wrecked, so I had an idea...

Here's the cabinet stripped of the veneer, filled, sanded, and with a couple of coats of undercoat applied. The next task will be a lot of sanding by hand to get it as smooth as possible, ready to take the top coat.

The colour scheme is going to be unique.

Keep listening!

Bush VHF81

It wasn't quite as quick a job as I expected, but as it has turned out it was well worth the effort.

As well as 'that' capacitor I replaced all the waxies and the only Hunts cap I could find, and just to be safe I also replaced the 5uF electrolytic in the FM ratio detector stage. I've found that doing this is much quicker than trying to find  faults later.

I also cleaned the diffuser and touched up a couple of damaged areas on the tuning scale with black paint. The scale lamps are both blown, and firmly stuck into the rubber moulded lamp holders. I had heard that this is often a problem with these sets, but I'll sort it out later.

The knobs spent an hour in a solution of biological washing liquid and hot water, which gets years of muck and dirt out of the grooves easily.

Finally I painstakingly de-soldered the wires to all three electrolytics in the can and applied the reformer to each in turn. None had excessive leakage, so there was no need to change it after all.

It's now sitting on the bench playing BBC Radio 2, and it sounds really nice. The only problem is that the tuning scale is working back to front, but investigation into that also will have to wait for another day.

Another success I think. Thanks again to Brian for donating the set.

Keep listening!

The list is getting longer

The 'to do' list of radios awaiting attention is getting longer, and the associated pile of radios has overflowed the workshop bench and on to the floor. As usually happens in the summer, family and social life tend to take whatever spare time the full time job ( the one that pays the bills) leaves me.

The list included a Bush VHF81, a Wartime Civilian Receiver with interesting WD numbers and of course the lovely Pye MM I mentioned in my last blog post.

I wasn't looking for another project at the moment, but this time a radio found me. Well sort of... I visited a colleague who knows of my interest in vintage radio and he very kindly offered me a Bush VHF 81, which I of course I gratefully accepted.

Released in 1964, the VHF81 was the last valve model that Bush made, at a time when most domestic radio production had already changed to transistors. It was based on an earlier chassis, but built into a wooden case instead of its the plastic case of its predecessor. It's not a particularly good looking set, but I've heard good accounts of both its receiver sensitivity and audio quality on VHF.

I was told that the set was working, so assuming that it would be a quick job, I managed to find a bit of workshop time this weekend. So far I've changed the important grid coupling capacitor (aka 'that capacitor') in the output stage and removed loads of dust from the cabinet.

I was told that the smoothing capacitor might need replacing, so the next job will be to get the capacitor reformer out. If it turns out to be duff I might be able to rob the other set for spares, as the capacitor can is smaller than anything I have in stock.

I'll put some pictures up when I get a chance.

Keep listening!

New Arrivals

With the arrival of cold weather and dark nights my thoughts have turned to getting some radio projects organised for the winter months. Two more sets have now joined the the GEC BC5645 in the 'to do' list.

This Bush VHF81 arrived last week. It dates from the latter half of the 1960s, which makes it one of the last valve sets to be made in Great Britain. As the name suggest, this one includes VHF FM in addition to the usual MW and LW bands.

I haven't got round to taking any photos yet, so this picture is from the listing on the auction site.

Bush VHF81

I hadn't planned to acquire any more radios at the moment, but I couldn't resist going for an Ivory coloured DAC90A that nobody else was bidding on. I've fancied one of these for a while now, but being less common than the brown ones (which aren't rare at all!) they usually fetch a much higher price.

I was delighted to win it for the starting bid of £30, which is less than the profit I made in selling a brown one recently. It's supposed to be working, but will still need the usual electronic restoration and safety modifications.

It hasn't arrived yet, so this picture is also from the listing on the auction site.

DAC90a

Three sets in the workshop should provide enough work to keep my evenings busy for a few weeks.  I just need to buy in some components before starting with the GEC set.

More updates will follow soon so...

Keep listening!