Pye PCR2

[pwdrive]

Hi Joe, I could be wrong but on the drawing I would expect to see the Det/1st AF (EBC33) next to the AF output valve and the RF amp (EF39) on the aerial side of the Mixer/Osc ?

Lawrence.

[Joe]

Hopefully this may clear things up:-

   

- Joe

[Joe]

Problem solved - I've sold it.

Thanks everyone but I was just way out of my depth and even if I had got it going properly would never have used it.

- Joe

[Skywave]

Exactly, Lawrence - which is what my earlier thread detailed.

Joe: that valve you've shown isn't an EBC33: it looks very much like a 6K8G. The EBC33 looks like an EF39, complete with metallising screening. Incidentally, if any of those EF39 valves have lost their outer metallic coating, they will give trouble. That outer coating is joined to pin 1: use an Ohmmeter to check for continuity, even if all the metallising is intact. Any deficiencies in that metallising screening will certainly produce an unstable amplifier if it is in an I.F. or R.F. amp. stage: and in the PCR there are three such stages.

Al.

[pwdrive]

Hi Joe, sometimes receivers aren't as scarey as they might at first seem, it's a matter of one step at a time, once that routine has been established a couple of times then your home, you say you have just sold it so no problem. The "?" valve in your last pic should have been an EF39 or it's equivilent I think.

Lawrence.

[Joe]

Time for a bit of explanation.

I haven't done any practical radio work for a few months. I haven't lost interest as such, just the desire to actually do it.

I saw this set cheap on e-Bay and thought it would be something a bit different and trying to do it as a Restoration rather than a Repair may re-ignite the spark.

It didn't. I've derived no enjoyment from it and it seemed more like doing a job of work than a hobby.

I couldn't raise any enthusiasm as no matter how well it had turned out it would still have been an AM-only radio so of little use and would have just been a bit more clutter.

I've no regrets though as, as nobody else bid on it, it could well have ended up getting dumped and at least it is now going to a good home. I haven't made a profit on it but it hasn't cost me anything either.

As Al has said, you need to know the theory and I don't. I'm OK on bog-standard post-War five valvers with a Trader sheet but the data for this only darkened the darkness, maybe it was drafted in such a way as to confuse the Germans.

If anybody sees me heading for the BVWS table at Golborne shoot me!

- Joe

[pwdrive]

Hi Joe, I am sure everyone understands so no worries, as to the theory well it depends on what knowledge we need to take on such jobs, in general the bar is set quite low theory wise, if as you say post war 5 valvers is no problem then a basic comms set or any other set that has limited info available should not be an insurmountable job providing any spares etc can be got. The receiver in question, the PCR2 is basically the same as a post war woody but with an RF Amp stage.
Although we all sort of vaguely know each other by way of the forum it is sometimes difficult to ascertain what's going on at the other end, you mentioned the theory, well as said the basic theory is quite staight forward.
At the end of the day it's what the person wants to learn in relation to how comfortable they feel about it.
Are you familiar with the basic blocks of valve radios ie: what bit does what and why and what to expect from each section? I know when I first started I didn't have a bloody clue at all, some might say I still don't. Never be afraid to ask.

Lawrence.

[Skywave]

. . it would still have been an AM-only radio so of little use and would have just been a bit more clutter.

O.K., so do I understand that you are only interested in sets that have A.M. and F.M. ? (Adding a B.F.O. to a radio such as a PCR is a trivial affair. In actual point of fact, an 'addition' as such can easily be averted by the simple mod. of making the last I.F. stage regenerative)

As Al has said, you need to know the theory and I don't. I'm OK on bog-standard post-War five valvers with a Trader sheet . . .

For that set, the level and amount of theory that is needed is the same as any Post-WW2 5-valver. Despite its appearance, that, in effect, is what the PCR really amounts to.
As for collecting data, etc., I well recall, in the days of my enthusiastic youth, when faced with a radio such as a '5-valver', of sitting down with pen and paper and deducing and drawing the entire circuit diagram. Yes, a lot of work and a lot of time, but you then get to develop a real feel for how such items are designed, assembled and how they work. A copy of the book 'Radio Valve Data' (Illiffe; later Butterworth, A.M. Ball) was an essential aid to that work.

Al.

[Skywave]

I know when I first started I didn't have a bloody clue at all, (what bit does what and why and what to expect from each section). Some might say I still don't. Never be afraid to ask.
Lawrence.

Having read your development work on your synchronous detector receiver project, you could never be accused of that penultimate statement, Lawrence!

Yes, when I started I was a total ignoramus too. But by dismantling sets, (usually donated by neighbours or picked up from the local rubbish-dump), reading as many books on theory as I could get from the local library, and generally 'prodding around', and getting some working, I learnt the basics. But those were the days when radios were made of 'lumps' you could see without a magnifying glass! With something like a modern Icom all-band, all-singing, computer-controlled Amateur Band transceiver, full of tiny bits and all thrown together, I'd be completely lost!

Al.

[Skywave]

The "?" valve in your last pic should have been an EF39 or it's equivalent I think.
Lawrence.

No, it's not an EF39: no screening and the anode is the wrong shape. Might be a 6K8G though. It has always puzzled me how a 6K8G did not have metallising, considering its role as a frequency-changer. And I have seen them fitted into sets without an external metal screening can, too. Once upon a time, I did substitute one for an ECH 35 in a Philips set when I was a young 'un and learning by experiment. Boy, did that oscillate!

Al.