HMV radiogram (1931)

[big band heaven]

I brought ths with us from the UK to NZ - more by mistake than design as I had tried to sell it before I left. However I visited a museum nearby to us here in Auckland at the weekend and they have a row of shops which recreate what they would of looked like years ago. One was a record / radio shop and so I am donating this item to them for display. Its not a working model and I'm never going to get around to finishing it off so I thought it was better to go somewhere where it would be appreciated rather than sat in my garage. Here are some photos of it so you can see what it looks like.
Richard.

[Radio Fixer]

It is in very nice condition. As a fan of all things EMI and particularly HMV I'm glad its found a new and lets hope permanent home. Next time I get to Auckland I will look out for that shop.

Have a great time out there Gary

[Jamie-Skinner]

Nice looking set, I'd love to go into radiograms etc but because of there sheer size, weight and how hard they are to sell I haven't bothered

[big band heaven]

I know, they are impossible to sell and heavy and BIG! But I still have a real soft spot for them nevertheless They sound great and even though the pick ups are not kind to 78s I have each of mine wired up to accept a line in, so I can play 78s on my modern deck or I can play CDs - which as I am into vintage radio programmes is great as I can pipe the shows through the old radiogram.

Richard.

[Retired]

Hi,

What an excellent idea Richard and I'm sure it will be well admired. It is such a pity consoles and grams are out of favour in modern homes; I have a number of such sets all kindly given to me or bought for little money.

They are pieces of furniture in their own right and when new would have been the pride of their owner. I bought a compact GEC table top gram at the recent Golborne meeting; it was marked at offers over £1; it is well worth the £5 I paid for it and I'll squeeze it in somewhere.

If a top footballer stated it was cool to own one of these sets then they would suddenly become fashionable once again commanding high prices.

Kind regards, Col.

[Shaman]

Hi Richard, this is a lovely vintage radiogram, nice for everyone to see in a museum, how these items looked....regards....Alan.

[big band heaven]

Thanks for the comments. Yes its a lovely looking machine...but I already have three others so its got to go. My only quandry is - as it is for display purposes only should I remove the valves....which include a PX4 or should I leave them in situ. If I remove them then I feel like I am pilfering from this machine for no good reason and probably consign its fate to never having the opportunity to be fully restored...but on the other hand it may get banged around in transit and they get broken anyway. I really can't decide. Any views on this anyone?

EDIT: Here is the full list of valves in this machine. I have no idea if they are difficult to source (apart from the PX4). They have all been tested and are good: VMS4, MS4, VMS4, MH4, PX4 and U12

I had thought about a compromnise where I glue to the inside of the cabinet a piece of paper stating that it they wish to restore the set then I have the valves for the machine and put my email address on the paper. That way I can make sure the valves are kept safe should they ever be required.

Richard.

[fido]

Yes, I've not done a lot yet on mine but I've restuffed the capacitor block and started to wire it to the set. One part that concerns me is the huge, complicated looking wavechange switch. Will a squirt of Servisol be enough to combat years of potential oxide etc on the switch contacts? I intend to fit a more modern arm to mine but will ensure the old arm can be put back when required.