Defiant SH8 602 (Co-op) Radio.

[Shaman]

Here is a blast from the past, its a Defiant SAB 602 Co-Op make with Defiant label on it, very little info on circuit etc, i think a rather pleasing looking set three wavebands LW MW SW, battery operated set, i would think late 30,s very very early 40,s, the image below is borrowed, but its identical to my radio...regards Alan.

[Skywave]

I like that - it looks so quirky - especially the tuning knob & dial.

Al.

[pwdrive]

Hello Alan, I don't normally do domestic radios but I have a soft spot for any with the Deco look, very nice.

Lawrence

[Shaman]

Hi Al and Lawrence, bit of Art Deco, perhaps i also have this look in a pilot radio that is undergoing serious open chassis repair, also the cabinet is much neglected, so needs a refurb, i have just took all the brass edgings off the knob/tuning scale holes, allthough perhaps not quite so Art Deco...see what it looks like when its finished....kind regards.....Alan.

[Yorkie]

A very nice looking set Al. As to the circuit, Defiant service info is very thin on the ground, which is rather a shame.

Defiant sets were made for the Co-Op by Plessey, who made sets for several firms but in the late 1920s lost their work with Marconiphone. Shortly afterwards, the Radio Manufacturer's Association refused to sell radios to the Co-Operative Wholsale Society because the RMA operated as a price-fixing cartel, outlawing discounting. Such monopolistic business practice would be unlawaful today . The Co-Op didn't discount radios or anything else but they did pay customers a 'dividend' (remember the Co-op 'divvie''?), which the RMA saw as a form of discounting.

The Co-Op invited Plessey to build sets for them, and in the depressed 1930s Plessey were glad to have the work. The RMA shot themselves in the foot somewhat, because they lost the opportunity for their members' sets to be displayed and sold in Co-Op stores throughout the land, and lost sales to 'Defiant' - a new competitor. (Many Defiant sets had cabinets made by the Co-Op's furniture division).

It was quite a bold move for Plessey to agree to produce the sets as much of its business was based of supplying RMA setmakers with components, and had the RMA decided to source them elsewhere, would have dealt quite a blow to Plessey. Ediswan also supplied Mazda valves for Co-Op radios against the policy of the British Radio Valve Association (BVA), itself a monpolistic protectionist outfit. For example, no-one who handled BVA valves were allowed to handle other manufactuerer's valves.

So the Co-Op's choice of 'Defiant' as the brand name for its radios was very apt.

The very first set I restored back in my teens in the late 1950s is a Defiant MSH248 - a little 'woodie' about 12" long and 7" high given to me by a neighbour who was going to chuck it out as it had gone faulty. I still have it, and think it's quite a nice little set, with Long Medium and Short waves, and a nice 'airplane' dial, which is good quality paint on metal and as good as the day it was new. (As with Al's set - no circuit available).

As a footnote to contrast the position today on price fixing as compared to yesteryear, attempts by manufacturers or suppliers to enforce a minimum price at which goods can be sold by dealers or retailers restrict competition and keep prices higher than they would otherwise be, is illegal under the Resale Prices Act unless the goods are granted an exemption. (Only books and certain pharmaceuticals are currently exempted).

The Act also makes it unlawful to stop supplies or offer less favourable terms to dealers whom the supplier believes to be price cutting. A supplier is, however, entitled to withhold goods from a dealer who is pricing them as 'loss leaders' (goods sold at a loss in order to attract customers towards profitable items).

The Director General has the power to seek a court injunction to force the parties involved to scrap a retail price agreement.

Good luck with the set Al!

[Skywave]

Hello Alan, I don't normally do domestic radios but I have a soft spot for any with the Deco look, very nice.
Lawrence

Ditto. I'm heavily drawn to anything Art Deco: radios, clocks, furniture, architecture . . .

Al.

[Shaman]

Hello guys, a nice write up David, and all spot on, the name Defiant was in Defiance, i guess at other manufacturers at the time, these sets for some reason do not have enough service info on them as David says its thin on the ground at the best. I have looked in my service books some go back to the 40,s but to no avail, still keep looking you never know. The Co-op made or had things made for them tv sets, bikes, etc etc. Hi Al glad you like it its unusual to say the least.....thanks everyone ...and kind regards....Alan.

[Joe]

I suspect that the Co-Op were taking an "If you can't beat them, join them" attitude to protectionism and making sure that only they could do repairs by keeping hold of the data.

Both sets so far featured in this thread are darned nice-looking.

- Joe

[Shaman]

Cheers Joe, its unusual to say the least, its a good job i have a 1930,s eliminator still working, to power the battery sets in my collection...kind regards Alan.

[Yorkie]

The makers and the RMA had the servicing stiched up as well as the sales side, and many, perhaps most, would only supply technical info to authorised appointed dealers.

The makers may have argued - perhaps with some justification - that they didn't want their sets being repaired by potential bodgers who might risk the set breaking down through poor diagnosis and repair, thus harming the reputation of the set and the brand. More likely that their primary reason was to protect the dealers from unwelcome competition and ensure that they got the servicing work as well as the sales. But in fairness, I think most of us would be more inclined to seek repairs and servicing from appointed dealers for such things as cars or household appliances. More likely that they'd have access to spares, training and technical backup from the makers.

Given that the 20s and 30s was an era of home-brew and kit radios, no doubt there were many tinkerers with delusions of adequacy who fancied themselves as expert radio technicians, just as today, there are lots of one-man-band outfits who hold themselves out to be 'computer engineers', some of whom may be very competent, but others, just muddling through. So maybe the radio makers did have some genuine cause for concern.