Sobell 515P and Ekco U159.

[standunmj]

A guy arrived with two sets at my door, one is a sobell 515P. It was handed in to me in bits, and in sad looking condition. The dial was given as an afterthought.

I'm working in reverse here and have put it all back together lest half of the parts get lost. I also gave the case a good cleaning and metal polish - its come up brilliantly, except for two blemishes on the top which can be filled and disguised.

Backboard is in halves, valves were in a plastic bag along with knobs etc, one is not the correct type as stated in the workshop manual. Also there's a doubt about the rectifier valve as to whether it should be an EZ40 or 80.

Our Joe on the Golborne very kindly sent me the dealers manual for it and also one for the Ekco U159 which I've not examined yet.

Best regards

Maitiu

           

[Joe]

It should be an EZ40, which is an 8-pin thing with a pip in the side. An EZ80 is a 9-pin so you shouldn't be able to fit the wrong one - unless a truly dedicated phantom has been at it.

- Joe

[standunmj]

thanks' muchly' for that joe, ive since managed to stick the back back together with some light wooden laths and apoxie wood glue, seems to be set ok, have since found out this sobell is not a 515p as it says on the backboard, but a 515ag, with a different lineup
ech81, ef41, ebc41, el84, ez40. so the valves in the plastic bag are after all correct, any advice from anyone welcome as im on a learning curve here , and not sure how different the circuits are, there are four knobs on this set and the pic of the 515 sent with the workshop manual only has three,thanks for all the assist so far , best regards maitiu.

[Joe]

It must be a 515P. The 515AG is a radiogram!

- Joe

[Geaney]

Hi Maitiu,
Looks like the 515P came with different valve line ups. I guess like many sets in that era it came down to availability and price. I found this thread useful:

http://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/showt...hp?t=62141

Cheers, John

[standunmj]

thanks for that john, i'm beginning to think that your a bit of a wizard because that set on the uk forum , is the actual set sitting on my bench this minute which was handed in to me last week, i reconised it instantly from the torn backboard and the pieces of brown paper stuck to the side wall inside the cab, thanks v much for the link, i can assure you that i would have been facing a marathon task, with out the underchasis pics of the caps,as the previous chap removed most of them and left everything with out completing the radio, joe sent me the dealers manual but its for a slightly different 515, with only 3 control knobs ,while extremely useful , its bound to have circuit differences , theres also a large cap up on the front end which i suspect has to do with the output t/f like the example on the 3028, but no sign of the wiring or where it should be connected, thanks to all for the assist , all's welcome , regards maitiu.

[Joe]

That Trader Sheet is a bit weird. The photo at the top shows a set with three knobs but the layout diagrams on pages 3 and 4 show four shafts. Most odd.

See if this is any better:-

  RTS_Sobell_515.pdf (Size: 1.37 MB / Downloads: 191)

- Joe

[Geaney]

thanks for that john, i'm beginning to think that your a bit of a wizard because that set on the uk forum , is the actual set sitting on my bench this minute which was handed in to me last week,

Hi Maitiu, what a stroke of luck that the thread turns out to be about the same set - no wizardry involved. As I was reading it I got the feeling the guy was a bit gung-ho with no knowledge of the subject whatsoever. He was specifically advised not to remove all the caps but to replace them one or two at a time. I guess he'd already removed them even though he said he hadn't. At least you got some photos that will help. So, now you have a set in the intensive care ward in need of resuscitation

Cheers, John

[Joe]

heres 2 pics of my sobell , still a mystery, as to model no, i dont think the backboard is belonging to it, it states model no 515p,
but that model only has three knobs, wonder would any of our collegues be able to identify it, or the model , sobell were manufactured in slough, and were bought out by ekco and in turn by g.e.c, this set was handed in to me in bits, with all the caps removed , which gives me no map for replacing, theres a radiogram version with a chasis with the same lineup as this set , and 4 knobs , but im not sure, i think the backboard was snitched for another set at some time in the past, because this one is ripped in half , best regards maitiu

       

[Joe]

You're right that the photo at the top of the Trader sheet shows a set with three knobs but lower down the chassis diagrams show four shafts:-

   

It's quite possible that they printed the wrong photo.

- Joe