KB RP21 "Romance"

[Crackle]

This little radio arrived today, its a Kolster Brandes RP21 "Romance", I thought I would share it with you all.
   

I was very excited when I saw it on Gumtree, and I am pleased to say that my first experience of buying something (at a distance, as opposed to cash on collection) on Gumtree went very well.
It is in excellent condition, only one little issue, one of the brass handle fixing studs has been replaced with a screw. I can easily fix that if I can find a piece of brass to turn on the lathe.
It dates from 1960 and this example is fitted with 6 GEC transistors, these were also alternatively fitted with STC transistors.
   
The back of the case, which hinges backwards when 2 small catches are pushed in, is a lovely soft salmon ping colour.
The dial is very stylish in black and gold.
The power source is 2 x PP7 9 volt batteries.

I am sure the radio would have appealed to the teenage girls of the early 1960's.

Today it is still working, although I have not been able to fully tune it to a station as the tuning dial/cord is stiff and slipping, but I can hear a station in the background when I move the tuning capacitor gently.

This is the only example I have seen of this model of KB since I have been collecting them.
Has anybody else got one or seen the KB Romance before?

There are some more photos here. http://kbmuseum.org.uk/kb_images/rp21/rp21.htm
Here is the service information. http://kbmuseum.org.uk/kb_service_manual...P21_kb.pdf


Mike

[Paul_RK]

Hello Mike,

Great find, and I'm fairly sure I've never seen one before. The serial number 06003 has me wondering whether they started at 06001, I don't for a moment think 6003 were made and even 1003 would surprise me: excellent luck that a model which has only turned up once does so in such fine condition.

Paul

[Crackle]

The radio looked so nice on the shelf so it was worth putting right, so off to the shed to look for a suitable piece of brass to make a new pin for the handle fixing. In the end I decided to sacrifice this old control extension which happened to be 1/2 inch diameter.
   
It took a while to dissemble the radio, the manual said unsolder the speaker and aerial wires, remove the 3 screws and pull the chassis down. Two screws were easy to find but the 3rd eluded me for quite some time.

Here is the original pin.
   
Here is the new pin on the left and the original pin cleaned up prior to polishing and spraying with lacquer which I will now do tomorrow.  The thread on the new pin is much bigger than the original one because 4mm was the smallest decent die I had, but that is not important as it is hidden in the case.
   


Whilst the radio chassis was out I had a look at why the tuning was so stiff. I oiled the cap bearings and waxed the cord where it went over the simple peg guides.
   
The concentric slow motion drive was still slipping in its bearing though. I fixed it by relieving some of the tension on the cord. On this radio the cord only operates the tuning pointer as the slow motion drive is part of the tuning capacitor spindle.
Now tuning adjustment is now nice and smooth.
   

I am getting quite fond of working with the lathe, brass is a lovely material to work with, the little lathe copes with it much better than steel.

Mike

[Nowhere-Man]

These sixties radios are captivating. I will give you a tip that worked for me: Try advertising "old radios wanted" in your local area. I had farmers and all sorts call me. I winded up with Roberts Ramblers and transistor sets that hadn't run in years. The greatest find was a seeminly rare early sixties Philips car radio. Also a very plain but genuine sixties Transwave.

[Crackle]

The new stud for the handle fixing is finished. It is much better than it was when the radio arrived. I would say it is looking completely original now. The electronics are staying original as well, as it all seems to be working. Just gave it a very slight tweak to the aerial trimmer, at the hf end of MW.
   
Here is the "fix" to repair the handle that someone else did.
   
The radio picks up a hell of a lot of interference, it buzzes constantly, almost as loud as the stations. It may be the power supply I am using, it is the only one with a centre tap so I can give the radio +9v 0v -9v.

Job done.

Mike

p.s.
Just tried it on 2 PP9s using patch leads to connect them up and there is less interference.

[Mike Watterson]

Maybe you have an evil LED or CFL PSU or Electronic Ballast.

Very "modern" case design for the period compared to Ever Ready, GEC, Decca.

[Nowhere-Man]

Does it have an RF earth lead? Given I'm on a steel boat I made a simple RF ground using telephone wire. This I wrapped around a spilke and drove into the earth. I then fed into my window and connected to the receiver. Some of my transistor sets like the Transwave have an earth lead. It won't cure the swamping but does really improve reception.

[Crackle]

I think it is those damn computers, everywhere I go I seem to near a computer that is flooding out RF noise.
It does not have an earth connection NWM, it is just a small 60's portable.
I am not really worried about it, I dont have batteries for it, I just sit, look at and admire the radio. 
Mike

[Terry]

Mike, Maplin do a 6 x AA battery holder which is considerably smaller than a PP9 so might fit in place of a PP7. It is 58x44x28mm

However, I've failed to find anyone selling PP7/PP9 size press stud connectors these days - though I must admit I haven't looked that hard ...