Ekco A22 speaker cloth sample wanted...

[Nick]

First post, so be gentle

I'm after a small sample of the eponymous original speaker cloth - damaged is fine, and it'll be returned in the same state! Honest!

The idea is to get some made up by Corrien Maas - I've been speaking to her about having a copy done, and whilst the photos I have a good, she wants an original example to look at (something to do with the warp & weft etc.).

My A22 has some rather awful modern tat masquerading as the real thing on its front - the cost of having the correct(ish) stuff made is not too scary when looked at in the context of an Ekco A22 and would be cheaper if more owners were interested... I like to do things properly...

BTW, is there an "introduction" protocol around here that I should follow?

Many thanks

[Steve_P]

Hi there, Be Gentle... Ha Ha Ha....

The A22 is a valuable radio and it is very much worth replacing the cloth with something more of the period.

Try contacting this guy...

http://www.vintageradioworld.co.uk/grill...amples.htm

Have you done anything else on the set, such as the Electronics, yet.

Cheers,

Steve P.

[Nick]

I have spoken to Sid and he's not got anything that's "right"... he's got stuff "of the period", but not exactly what I'm after.

The A22 I have is black and in virgin condition (mostly) with the exception of the speaker cloth - looks pretty original - David Taylor has had a look at the photos and thinks it's a good 'un. Tiny bit of damage to the Bakelite but otherwise clean.

I don't want to replace the cloth with just something that's right for the period - the A22 cloth was very specific , not to mention rather pretty, and if I can get a decent copy done, I'll go for that - its a handsome bit of kit and deserves it ! The price I've been quoted wouldn't be worth doing on almost any other radio, but for an A22?

No intention of touching the insides yet - not even powered it up - doing my reading ATM - Various copies of The Bulletin, service sheets (Trader, Ekco & ERT etc.) plus anything else I can find.

I have... yes... you've guessed it... a DAC 90A rebuild to do first - that will take a while as its a "ground up" job - not one for the purists. Also a PAM TR27 in the queue (another transformer rewind), a couple of pantry xmtrs and a small Fergusson portable... Oh, and a bunch of stuff for SWMBO.

[Yorkie]

Welcome to the forum Nick!


I'd already put Nick onto Sid Chaplin, but of course all that Sid can supply is something that looks presentable - not original. Nick wants the genuine article, which Corrien Maas (In the Netherlands) will weave, but as Nick says, she needs a sample of the original, however small or tatty, to work from. Given the value of A22s, I'm surprised that she hasn't been asked to make some before. I've attached a pic of mine before restoration, complete with its rotten speaker cloth, which may have been original. The set was covered inside and out with a deep coating of revolting tobacco stains and tar, which I guess partly contributed to rotting the fabric as well as the original owner’s lungs.

The second pic shows the finished set with nearest acceptable cloth that I could find, which I'm happy with. The third pic shows what came out of the A22 during restoration - lots of work involved, but a very easy set to work on and a wonderful design. Best of the round Ekco sets by far in my view. (AC only, superhet, and LM & S bands).

Autumn 2012 BVWS Bulletin includes forum member Robert Darwent's ten-page article on his replica A22 export model. Unless I'm mistaken, it looks like it has the genuine A22 cloth. Robert is the doyen of A22s, so maybe he'll spot Nick's plea and respond? wonder if Robert has an old fragment sufficient for Nicks needs?

Best of luck in your quest Nick!

(Nick is known as 'Nicko' over the wall 'in another place')

[Nick]

Welcome to the forum Nick!

Hello again!

Nice nixie clock you have there in the background - always good to see! Is it your own design? They look like Z566Ms but its difficult to tell from this angle.

I run/own the neonixie-l group on Google Groups - if anyone here wants nixies to play with or as replacements in certain tuners etc., I have literally many many 1000s of almost all types (including CD47/GR114s).

[Yorkie]

Welcome to the forum Nick!

Hello again!

Nice nixie clock you have there in the background - always good to see! Is it your own design? They look like ZM1040s but its difficult to tell from this angle.

I run/own the neonixie-l group on Google Groups - if anyone here wants nixies to play with or as replacements in certain tuners etc., I have literally many many 1000s of almost all types.

Oh dear I should have obliterated the nixie clock from view - it's the Mike Harrison one ('Mike's Electric Stuff') - the one without an isolating transformer! (We exchange e-mails about it back in May 2010, and the wisdom of using a couple of back to back transformers as a safety feature). I made it several years ago. I was given the tubes NIB - they're marked RS Made in the UK' (that's novel!) and their ID is 58633A. (I later got some clear XN3 ones for 50p each).

I'm fascinated by Nixies - back in 1976 I built a 200 MHz digital frequency counter using five of them, details of which are posted on the forum in the 'Homebrew' section.

By the way given that you're new to the forum Nick, don't worry about drifiting off topic - it's a very relaxed and friendly forum - you won't get a moderator swooping down on you from the sky like an avenging angel for posting in the wrong place or getting too chatty

[Joe]

Can't help you with the cloth, Nick, but welcome aboard anyway.

Feel free to start a thread introducing yourself.

I'm a DAC90a fan too but have never dared do a full nuts and bolts job on one.

- Joe

[Nick]

Oh dear I should have obliterated the nixie clock from view - it's the Mike Harrison one ('Mike's Electric Stuff') - the one without an isolating transformer! (We exchange e-mails about it back in May 2010, and the wisdom of using a couple of back to back transformers as a safety feature). I made it several years ago. I was given the tubes NIB - they're marked RS Made in the UK' (that's novel!) and their ID is 58633A. (I later got some clear XN3 ones for 50p each).

I'm fascinated by Nixies - back in 1976 I built a 200 MHz digital frequency counter using five of them, details of which are posted on the forum in the 'Homebrew' section.

Crikey - you're right - just checked - May 2010 we were talking about capacitor reforming and drifted onto nixie clocks. Mike himself admits that the design is lethal and nowadays he'd never publish something like that. He's a professional EE and makes amazing lighting rigs for bit stadia and art installations, e.g. he built this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8066061.stm

FWIW, I've still got boxes of those high voltage, low ESR RIFAs - fantastic for that ultimate PSU !