I used to worry

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
Ah yes. I remember boosting tubes and attempting to revive them with
highly lethal looking gadgets. I remember Ion traps.

Transformers that boost the LT by 25% or 50%.

But you could have b/w tubes re-gunned and they redid the fluorescent
coating at the same time. I suppose the main cost must have been the
envelope.

However some things never change. Plugs and sockets for headphones still
go grotty, and controls still go noisy, assuming there actually is still a
knob to turn at all.

I also remember the really annoying whistle coming from the innards of 405
line tvs.

That used to interfere with LW radio as well. I stuck a capacitor across the
HT secondary but it shorted and blew the transformer. Fortunately I had a
spare.

That was a rather superior Mullard radio with a tuned RF stage before the
frequency changer. The IF amp was converted into an audio preamp when you
switched it onto 'Gram'. My dad bought it for 12 gns just after WW2 broke
out.

--
Max Demian

In article ,
Brian Gaff wrote:
Actually I had an Armstrong fm am tuner until quite recently but it died
due to the death of the transistors it used, made by Philips.
Well Mullard but the same difference. sadly thes were made in the UK!
It appears that the material used in the package eventually undergoes a
change which makes it conductive.

That's interesting. Got some red (and white) spots which still work.
Bought in the '50s.
There are bound to be modern replacements?

--
*For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In message , Max Demian
writes



Eventually I got a stainless steel exhaust - except that the brackets were
mild steel and rusted away so I had to tie it up with string.

After just over a year, I had to replace my 1978 Chevette exhaust - so I
fitted a stainless steel one. That was much better. It lasted just over
two years.
--
Ian

Bill Wright wrote:

I expect that factory wasn't unionised. It was the unions that
wrecked British manufacturing.

True, but it oversimplifies, I think. The motorcycle manufacturing
industry wasn't brought to its knees by unionisation, it was due to
profoundly, grotesquely inept management at all levels.

Regardless of the unionisation of the British car industry, surely you
remember the **** they used to turn out right through the 60s and the
70s. It was shameful, as anyone who bought it will recognise. That
was due to bad management, lack of investment (which itself is bad
management, of course), and crap marketing (ditto).

The British car industry, and the British motorcycle industry, both
deserved to fail.

And now look how successful our industry can be with good management
(Nissan, Toyota, Honda).

--
SteveT

Ian Jackson wrote:

After just over a year, I had to replace my 1978 Chevette exhaust -
so I fitted a stainless steel one. That was much better. It lasted
just over two years.

To be fair, remember that there was loads more sulphur in fuel back
then (and thus sulphuric acid in the exhaust).

--
SteveT

On 27/02/2013 16:42, Bill Wright wrote:
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Martin wrote:
Have you worked out what all these things had in common?
Valves

Country of manufacture.

I have some Quad 'Hi-Fi' stuff made in the UK round about '70, which has
never had a repair and is in use near every day.

I expect that factory wasn't unionised. It was the unions that wrecked
British manufacturing.

Bill
They did have a lot of help from blinkered management though...

--
David Kennedy

http://www.anindianinexile.com

On Wed, 27 Feb 2013 16:42:43 +0000, Bill Wright
wrote:


I expect that factory wasn't unionised. It was the unions that wrecked
British manufacturing.

They came out the war thinking the world owed them a living and they
were entitled to jobs for life.

And the OP forgot to mention batteries that leaked within weeks of
purchase.

On Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:12:45 -0000, "Brian Gaff"
wrote:

Actually I had an Armstrong fm am tuner until quite recently but it died due
to the death of the transistors it used, made by Philips.
Well Mullard but the same difference. sadly thes were made in the UK!
It appears that the material used in the package eventually undergoes a
change which makes it conductive.
Brian

Mullard should have stuck to their original idea of using a glass
envelope with their transistors.

It's not every day that the UK Vintage Radio Forum gets an issue
investigated and documented by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre

http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/anecdot...ransistors.pdf

--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%

In article , Dave Plowman (News)
scribeth thus
In article ,
Martin wrote:
Have you worked out what all these things had in common?
Valves

Country of manufacture.

I have some Quad 'Hi-Fi' stuff made in the UK round about '70, which has
never had a repair and is in use near every day.


SWMBO here has a Quad 33/303 in her study built in 1969 and re-furbed
with new electrolytics etc .. and its just fine.

In fact it's a couple of years older than what she is;!...
--
Tony Sayer

In article , Bill Wright
scribeth thus
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Martin wrote:
Have you worked out what all these things had in common?
Valves

Country of manufacture.

I have some Quad 'Hi-Fi' stuff made in the UK round about '70, which has
never had a repair and is in use near every day.

I expect that factory wasn't unionised. It was the unions that wrecked
British manufacturing.

Bill

No it wasn't. It was however very well run and a very pleasant place to
work in so said a few people I know who once worked there.


As was Audiolab also in the same St Ives area ...
--
Tony Sayer