Pilot 'Little Maestro'

[Joe]

No, Dennis. The only data available are the two sheet ERT thing of Paul's and the R&TVS version in our Archive.

- Joe

[dennishoy]

Joe, thanks; same with 'Radio & TV Servicing' with just the 2 pages. No problem really as it's easy to find your way around. I like highlighting the components on the chassis underside diagram as I go along, especially when there are a lot of caps. together around the valve bases.

[dennishoy]

Well, many of you will be able to get an overall feeling of how well a previous service on a radio was carried out by a few quick checks. I thought I would spend 15 minutes this evening in order to check the safety aspects of the set starting with the mains plug.
So.... starting at the furthest end of the set......

I removed the top of the mains plug and changed the 13A fuse for a 2A type. The 13A fuse would probably have been OK as only a couple of strands of wire were held under the connector screws and these would have blown before the fuse.

A check with a resistance meter showed that the neutral side of the on/off switch was open circuit so a replacement was fitted. The volume control was wired in reverse. Another check..... live and neutral were found to be reversed and the chassis would have been live if the radio was powered up. I cut off the plug and rewired it.

There was still no continuity through the valve heater chain, so I changed the blown 6.3V, 0.3 dial lamp for the correct 10V, 0.2A type. Now the resistance across the mains plug was around 1400 Ohms when the set was switched on, but waggling the dropper made it go to infinity due to dry joints. All the wiring to the dropper was replaced because somebody had shortened it in the past and it passed under the heat shield as it was now too short to pass over it.

The loose capacitor that I found floating about under the chassis was 0.05uF and since C27 was missing, I replaced it with the correct value.

So, 15 minutes tonight turned into a couple of hours. Before packing it in, I wondered why the UCL82 output valve wasn't seated properly so removed it to find pin 9 bent flat against the bottom of the glass envelope. Careful straightening with pliars seems to have worked without the 'pop' of the glass breaking as the pin comes free. Been there before !!

[Yorkie]

This all too familiar tale is yet another example of utterly incompetent individuals diving into a radio and doing just about everything they can to jigger it up.In this instance, not just in the electrical sense, but the vandalism of the cabinet and dial. It's really quite astonishing that people who lack the most elementary skills and knowledge will rush in like this - another example of Darwin's theory of the non-survival of the stupidest. That said, it's always very satisfying to bring a set back to almost 'factory fresh' condition, and this is an excellent example of what can be achieved in competent hands. There's something very satisfying (to me anyway) in bringing a set back from the brink of being condemned to landfill.

Looking forward to seeing a pic of the finished radio Dennis!