30-06-2014, 04:36 PM
Nice sets, but the top panels are a real pain. Hacker had the same problem with their Sovereign III range - for whatever reason, the silk-screen doesn't stick very well to the anodised aluminium. These Roberts sets were quite a bit later than the affected Hackers, so it makes you wonder why Roberts didn't learn from Hacker's mistake. Perhaps the problem wasn't really apparent at that time.
I've got an R800 with the same problem. My R24 - also in red - is OK. It's a matter of luck with these sets.
I'm always inclined to avoid modifications to these sets, so I would prefer any battery charging arrangement to be external to the radio. As the PP9s are so cheap and long-lived, I've never got around to it, but I vaguely plan to put some cells into a dead battery, along with a charger IC (e.g. Maxim), and a standard 2.5mm DC socket. It should work well. But we get more than a year from our PP9s in our Hacker sets, and ones that get used most heavily are powered from the mains anyway.
Good luck with the restoration. Those side panels will come really nicely with a bit of Danish oil. I usually unhook the grey piping from the sides (no need to remove it completely). The grille is very fragile, but yours looks to be very nice. Just in case you're not aware, foam cleanser can remove the black stripes (which surprised me, as it's normally pretty mild!). Red Rexine can be awkward, depending on what caused the marks, but I reckon it'll clean up nicely.
Pictures when finished, please
Mark
I've got an R800 with the same problem. My R24 - also in red - is OK. It's a matter of luck with these sets.
I'm always inclined to avoid modifications to these sets, so I would prefer any battery charging arrangement to be external to the radio. As the PP9s are so cheap and long-lived, I've never got around to it, but I vaguely plan to put some cells into a dead battery, along with a charger IC (e.g. Maxim), and a standard 2.5mm DC socket. It should work well. But we get more than a year from our PP9s in our Hacker sets, and ones that get used most heavily are powered from the mains anyway.
Good luck with the restoration. Those side panels will come really nicely with a bit of Danish oil. I usually unhook the grey piping from the sides (no need to remove it completely). The grille is very fragile, but yours looks to be very nice. Just in case you're not aware, foam cleanser can remove the black stripes (which surprised me, as it's normally pretty mild!). Red Rexine can be awkward, depending on what caused the marks, but I reckon it'll clean up nicely.
Pictures when finished, please
Mark
