Here are a couple of early
Car Radios
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Mystery Car Radio
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From the picture evidence
that follows this set was made between 1945 and 1949. |
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Certainly some WW2 surplus
parts have been used... |
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Missing vibrator... did
the failure of this part see the demise of this particular radio? |
Above... a standard commercial
tuning coil.. |
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Typical medium-wave tuning
dial markings used in the USA? |
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Ekco
CR32 Car Radio
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This model, weighing in
at a hefty 13 pounds, was manufactured in 1947 around the same
date as the one shown above, but has an Ekco badge which allowed
me to discover more details. The right hand control selects one
of six preset stations and the left has a wavechange, Long/Medium
plus volume control. The knobs have been replaced. The set was
donated by Fred Hooper. |
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The Scottish Ekco factory has now
long since been demolished but its site is still visible on derelict
land between the M74 and Cambuslang Road in Rutherglen near Glasgow.
The reason the factory was built in Rutherglen in 1940 was that
the main Ekco factory in Southend was thought to be vulnerable
to German bombing. |
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The set was designed around Mullard
"E20s" valves, a type with a metal B8B base using a
6.3 volt heater. The B8B base has a central metal pip that engages
with a strong spring in the valveholder to prevent the valve
falling out if bumped. HT was supplied by a Plessey non-synchronous
12 volt vibrator to the left of the large squarish metal can.
Mounted on the front panel is a small Goodmans loudspeaker. |
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The valve line up is ECH21,
EF22, EF22, EBL21 and what looks like a 6X5 rectifier. This is
awkward to get at but has the label "Brimar BVA" and
"6" with the remainder worn away. I don't have a circuit
diagram for this set so can't say how the designers managed to
wire the valve heaters for 12 volt operation as each type has
a different current rating. |
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Considerable car has been
taken to shield the sets innards from ignition interference.
Above you can see the removeable panel has metal fingers for
earthing the sides and the outer case is internally copper plated
and has copper fingers around the periphery to help with screening. |
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As you can see there's
plenty of scope for refurbishment... |