20-04-2015, 07:30 PM
It's normal for me, so you're among friends in the neck of the woods!
I'm not very focussed and am easily distracted, so instead of single-mindedly seeing one thing through from start to finish, some other project that takes my fancy pops up and I'm off on a frolic, so as a consequence, it often takes an age to bring things to fruition. The main thing I need to be getting on with is the restoration of a 1935 Ekco AC77 which I totally stripped down well over a year ago. The field coil was open circuit (no surprises there) so I set about building a coil winder, then having successfully re-wound the field coil, I spent a little time writing it up as an article for the BVWS Bulletin. Next aspect of the AC77 was that I had some B5 and B7 valves which needed testing so I needed some valve-base adaptors as my Taylor 45D Valve tester didn't have those bases fitted, so designed and I made four adaptors for B4, B5, B7 and M.O. valves, then I wrote that up for the Bulletin too.
I saw an article on a website for a Sine Wave Generator which I thought would make a nice winter project, so I built that, then I saw a little 'Suggested Circuit' from Radio Constructor magazine from the 1960s for a 'Coil Coverage Test Unit' which captured my imagination - another little 'winter project' and which I've posted details of on the forum, so those projects were yet more self-inflicted diversions from the AC77!
Recently my younger son (not so young - 47) asked if I'd refurbish a Bush AC41 that he had which had stopped working. Found the fault quickly - just a wire-wound resistor that was O/C, but it needed all the waxies changing, and three electrolytics a few resistors - all done now. It's my habit to always make a cradle when restoring radios - just a bracket fashioned from flat steel strip at each corner of the chassis to hold the chassis upside down to work on it safely, but that adds to the restoration time. Having restored the radio, my son asked if I could make up a lead to connect his I-pod to play through the gram socket. I thought 'sure - a simple task' but then as I've alluded to in another thread, it isn't that simple - the signal level from an I-pod isn't sufficient to play through the gram socket, so I ended up making a little pre-amp. That's finished now and will be going to my son's on Friday.
I don't like just 'mending' or 'doing up' radios - to my mind if it's worth taking the back of a set, it's worth restoring it. If it's not worth restoring, I don't take the back off. 'Restoring' - not 'doing up', is my hobby.
I'm off down to the NVCF in early May, with a short detour to collect a little Polish 'Figaro Special'. I know it needs a knob and a back and I'm unlikely to find either, so in anticipation that I may be able to use one knob as a pattern for the missing one, I've bought some moulding alginate to make a knob. Really, that ought to wait till I've finished the AC77, but whether it does, or whether I'm side-tracked depends on how whimsical I'll be when I get the Figaro.
I've always enjoyed 'home-brewing' - especially simple test gear - but I've never had the 'bodegertronics' mind-set ("I'll just sling it together and if it works, I'll tidy it up"). Instead, I've always aimed at neat construction and boxing up - fancy boxes, fancy front panels etc, in the fond - if naïve - belief, that it will work. As a consequence, over the years, I've built many items which look nice on the shelf, but are non-functioning ornaments, largely because my constructional skills exceed my technical skills.
Really, my tagline sums me up!
Probably undiagnosed OCD or some such thing.
I'm not very focussed and am easily distracted, so instead of single-mindedly seeing one thing through from start to finish, some other project that takes my fancy pops up and I'm off on a frolic, so as a consequence, it often takes an age to bring things to fruition. The main thing I need to be getting on with is the restoration of a 1935 Ekco AC77 which I totally stripped down well over a year ago. The field coil was open circuit (no surprises there) so I set about building a coil winder, then having successfully re-wound the field coil, I spent a little time writing it up as an article for the BVWS Bulletin. Next aspect of the AC77 was that I had some B5 and B7 valves which needed testing so I needed some valve-base adaptors as my Taylor 45D Valve tester didn't have those bases fitted, so designed and I made four adaptors for B4, B5, B7 and M.O. valves, then I wrote that up for the Bulletin too.
I saw an article on a website for a Sine Wave Generator which I thought would make a nice winter project, so I built that, then I saw a little 'Suggested Circuit' from Radio Constructor magazine from the 1960s for a 'Coil Coverage Test Unit' which captured my imagination - another little 'winter project' and which I've posted details of on the forum, so those projects were yet more self-inflicted diversions from the AC77!
Recently my younger son (not so young - 47) asked if I'd refurbish a Bush AC41 that he had which had stopped working. Found the fault quickly - just a wire-wound resistor that was O/C, but it needed all the waxies changing, and three electrolytics a few resistors - all done now. It's my habit to always make a cradle when restoring radios - just a bracket fashioned from flat steel strip at each corner of the chassis to hold the chassis upside down to work on it safely, but that adds to the restoration time. Having restored the radio, my son asked if I could make up a lead to connect his I-pod to play through the gram socket. I thought 'sure - a simple task' but then as I've alluded to in another thread, it isn't that simple - the signal level from an I-pod isn't sufficient to play through the gram socket, so I ended up making a little pre-amp. That's finished now and will be going to my son's on Friday.
I don't like just 'mending' or 'doing up' radios - to my mind if it's worth taking the back of a set, it's worth restoring it. If it's not worth restoring, I don't take the back off. 'Restoring' - not 'doing up', is my hobby.
I'm off down to the NVCF in early May, with a short detour to collect a little Polish 'Figaro Special'. I know it needs a knob and a back and I'm unlikely to find either, so in anticipation that I may be able to use one knob as a pattern for the missing one, I've bought some moulding alginate to make a knob. Really, that ought to wait till I've finished the AC77, but whether it does, or whether I'm side-tracked depends on how whimsical I'll be when I get the Figaro.
I've always enjoyed 'home-brewing' - especially simple test gear - but I've never had the 'bodegertronics' mind-set ("I'll just sling it together and if it works, I'll tidy it up"). Instead, I've always aimed at neat construction and boxing up - fancy boxes, fancy front panels etc, in the fond - if naïve - belief, that it will work. As a consequence, over the years, I've built many items which look nice on the shelf, but are non-functioning ornaments, largely because my constructional skills exceed my technical skills.
Really, my tagline sums me up!
Probably undiagnosed OCD or some such thing.
Regards, David.
BVWS Member.
G-QRP Club Member 1339.
'I'm in my own little world, but I'm happy, and they know me here'
BVWS Member.
G-QRP Club Member 1339.
'I'm in my own little world, but I'm happy, and they know me here'
