22-10-2019, 07:03 PM
Idle moment today, sorting out the stack of sets to be sorted or scrapped before I close for winter.
Found a complete Ekco U199A bakelite radio, looks completely untouched since manufacture. Has 3 preset Medium wave and tunable Medium and Long wave, a bit unusual.
Tempted to see if it was good or bad, it got plugged in, on the lamp ballast of course.
No bangs or frights so gave it the beans. Volume control bad but Absolute Radio boomed out, on a preset, must of been tuned to Radio One.
Tried the Long wave, tuned to Radio Four, blast, the tuning cord has just snapped.
Having a few moments to play I whipped the chassis out to restring it, should be an easy job as its not a Philips macramy horror.
How wrong can I be, its part steel wire and part cord on the tuning with another separate steel wire for the drive to the window flags for the presets and wave bands. Never seen this complication on any other Ekco before.
The later drive and the scale backing plate has to come off to get access to the tuning cord, several small pulleys for both drives all partially hidden behind parts of the chassis. Lots of corners to turn.
Pointer has dropped off the rail, one side is connected to the steel wire, with cord on the other side, one spring on the tuning drum, most odd for an Ekco.
With much masking tape to hold the wire drives on the pulleys and the tuning condenser drum I dismantled the scale and wavechange indicator drive, tied a new cord to the ends of the existing cord next to the pointer and set about working out the run of the cord to tuning spindle and drum spring.
As its so fiddly I made sure that I wound the cord the correct way round the spindle, 2 turns, and round the pulleys so that the pointer and drum turned the correct way when the spindle turned.
Got it right first time, got it all working in an hour and reassembled, Self inflicted pat on the back.
The question is, has this Ekco been corrupted by Philips, or is there another Ekco with this arrangement and complication?
Sam.
Found a complete Ekco U199A bakelite radio, looks completely untouched since manufacture. Has 3 preset Medium wave and tunable Medium and Long wave, a bit unusual.
Tempted to see if it was good or bad, it got plugged in, on the lamp ballast of course.
No bangs or frights so gave it the beans. Volume control bad but Absolute Radio boomed out, on a preset, must of been tuned to Radio One.
Tried the Long wave, tuned to Radio Four, blast, the tuning cord has just snapped.
Having a few moments to play I whipped the chassis out to restring it, should be an easy job as its not a Philips macramy horror.
How wrong can I be, its part steel wire and part cord on the tuning with another separate steel wire for the drive to the window flags for the presets and wave bands. Never seen this complication on any other Ekco before.
The later drive and the scale backing plate has to come off to get access to the tuning cord, several small pulleys for both drives all partially hidden behind parts of the chassis. Lots of corners to turn.
Pointer has dropped off the rail, one side is connected to the steel wire, with cord on the other side, one spring on the tuning drum, most odd for an Ekco.
With much masking tape to hold the wire drives on the pulleys and the tuning condenser drum I dismantled the scale and wavechange indicator drive, tied a new cord to the ends of the existing cord next to the pointer and set about working out the run of the cord to tuning spindle and drum spring.
As its so fiddly I made sure that I wound the cord the correct way round the spindle, 2 turns, and round the pulleys so that the pointer and drum turned the correct way when the spindle turned.
Got it right first time, got it all working in an hour and reassembled, Self inflicted pat on the back.
The question is, has this Ekco been corrupted by Philips, or is there another Ekco with this arrangement and complication?
Sam.
Boater Sam.
