HMV 1124 - Has Been Tested And........

[Terry]

Mike.
I'm getting confused. 
NM needs mentoring, he has some ideas that are plainly incorrect, the books won't help but possibly one to one help may.

That makes three of us, at least, Trevor.

Despite receiving sound advice in reply to his requests for help, he completely ignored it and goes on off on his own sequence of unrelated experiments - which he doesn't even seem to understand.

I'm not even sure he has any intention of getting this set going. As for needing a personal mentor, that could be a problem as saints are very thin on the ground these days ...

[AlanBeckett]

That makes three of us, at least, Trevor.

Make that 4

Alan

[Joe]

Five.

[radioman]

+1 = 6

[Nowhere-Man]

Terry wrote this I think further back:

"Having no idea of the age of the set, the connection between the smoothing and the reservoir sections of the smoothing can may be either a resistor or a choke, and I would guess that this is where the problem lies."

You were on the right track over the high voltage but it wasn't the resistor. What actually happened over the weekend was there were issues I had regarding the circuit from the first reservoir capacitor and also vintage electrolytic cans in general. So, I put everything on freeze and spent late Saturday night seeking information specifically on these old cans. I found quite a few American radio-builders automatically are inclined to snip out the leads of the original cans and replace with modern film capacitors. There is a conviction that the old cans aren't to be trusted and can cause hum or eventually put the tubes at risk. I wasn't really sure whether to simply put a new film cap in circuit and take the easy way. However, at this point I was intrigued and fascinated by these original cans.

I spent a great deal of time also comparing the smoothing circuits of both the HMV and the GEC because there were differences in design that had me very curious.

I now have all of these original problems cleared up and, after a few wiring changes, I have the correct output D.C. voltage I need for the output tube anode. The only thing I haven't done yet is the second big test (after I change a couple of resistors). I'm very optimistic at this point and have a good feeling.

So, having clarified that point, now for the less palatable bit:

I do not personally engage in the use of emotive or patronising language directed at other members on websites. I also dislike the current trend where people who are connected to engineering seem to be exhibiting excessive and pointless ego which I noticed on another website not too long ago. Here, in fact, are two quotes by Einstein I keep in mind:

(1)"No one does anything right in life till they realize they are making a mistake." (Einstein actually failed his basic electrical engineering exams to enter technical university)

(2)"Ego =1/Knowledge.."More the knowledge, lesser the ego, lesser the knowledge, more the ego...."

I also don't worry over going in different directions to accepted norms on the basis of earning a degree of status:

"The person who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The person who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no-one has ever seen before.." (also Einstein).

I also respect Mark Hennessy and his efforts to create a friendly and tolerant website with hopefully a bit of sense of humour so won't get drawn into any flame wars here. Also, there are quite a few members here who have years of experience and expertise whose advice has been welcome.

And at that point I will end this thread and leave well alone.

[Mark Hennessy]

Hello everyone,

This is a bit of a tricky one. I have been watching carefully, and was really hoping that I wouldn't need to chime in, but after a couple of PMs and lot of reflection, I think I'll just say a couple of things:

Honestly, I can see why some of you might be confused or frustrated. A few weeks back, I was in exactly the same position. But I decided to stop expressing my frustration in public, and instead, I had a conversation with NM via PM. As a result, I can better understand where he is coming from. Remember: we are all different, and we all took different paths to get to where we find ourselves on this forum.

I don't wish to speak for NM, but here's one "logistical" thing I learnt which helped me: he accesses the internet via his local library, so only gets a limited time slot each day. As a result, I suspect that this might affect the way he interacts with us - he catches up with the previous 24 hours-worth of messages, and quickly says all the things he's been saving up all day, and then his "slot" runs out... So might that explain why it appears that he doesn't acknowledge our responses appropriately? Or perhaps why some posts aren't as clear as they could be? That's the conclusion I came to, at least.

Either way, I'm satisfied that he isn't deliberately setting out to offend. So, in the spirit of friendship, let's lower the temperature, and try to get to know each other better

Thank you,

Mark


PS: For the sake of balance, in the same way that I've made an appeal here, I've also made suggestions to NM during our PM conversation.

[Murphyv310]

Thanks Mark.
Often it's best to understand the full situation. Now I understand the lack of photos etc.
One thing though that slightly upsets me is that I doubt any of us is on an ego trip!

[Nowhere-Man]

Thanks Mark.
Often it's best to understand the full situation. Now I understand the lack of photos etc.
One thing though that slightly upsets me is that I doubt any of us is on an ego trip!

Yes, it's correct I access internet from the local library and my time will be up at exactly 17.45 p.m. I do have internet at home on my mobile phone but this can't be used to post on any website so I have to wait till the next day to do that. I've been meaning to get a laptop but never quite got round to it.

I guess I might as well share today's result given  it's been discussed here for a few weeks and leaving the ending in limbo might be akin to not telling anyone who shot J.R. Ewing.

So, nothing spectacular really. I had done a bit of last minute soldering and didn't intend to plug in till the following day. Then I thought, what the hell, might as well just quickly get the speaker out of the kitchen cupboard, connect it up to the radio and get the lamp limiter. There isn't a great deal of space on my boat so I have to make do. I likewise got my multi-meter ready and gradually plugged everything in, except the main power supply switch.

Such scenarios are always nail-biting material and I even get a bit of a rush out of it. I normally stand out of the way and watch the lamp limiter and keep my eyes out for anything that could be amiss.

I flicked the switch with the lamp limiter in circuit. Silence. I have the red test probe on the first H.T. can and the other hooked to chassis so I can watch the volts rise as it did this time. Then gradually noise coming from the speaker which sounded as if the radio was trying to do something. I powered off and moved the flywheel that operates the Variable tuning condenser because there is no chord drive as of yet. Powered on again and more noise but no station yet heard. I was curious to test voltage on the can now the whole set was under load and to retest on powering off. There is also another can on which the terminals are at the base and not on the top.

And for today I just left it at that. I didn't want to push the circuit too much too soon but mainly to see if I could get some audio response and some load on the tubes. I didn't try the waveband switches or fiddle too much with the tuner. So, it's a small step forwards with lots more to do yet.

I've really no idea how long this radio has been in a state of disrepair. I did ask the farmer but he'd no idea and just said it had been a family radio in the past. I basically collected it from the Moorlands on farm together with a lovely Roberts Rambler and a Bush tranny that both worked. I then took it by bus a fair distance home and stored it in one of my old boats for a few months.

[Nowhere-Man]

I did a bit of soldering today and vamped up the H.T. smoothing circuit. I was suspicious of the first electrolytic HT can from the outset so it is now replaced and the capacity at 16 mF (microfarads).

I must admit I had a very hard time getting up the motivation to do this work. I don't have any heating on my boat by day so tend to work in the cold. I save the firewood for the night. Of course, it was the usual routine of plugging in the soldering iron and planning my wiring and then double checking all was as it should be. Then I have the job of laying out a big board and placing the radio chassis on it so it's safe. Also, finding a way to prop up the frayed aerial wire so it's out of the window. 

Safety lamp was then prepared. Switched the set on - the second test so far. I was pleased to see the lamp limiter wasn't really glowing at all. A station comes in - Cricket again! Put full voltage on. All was basically safe. No smells of burning or signs of any real crisis. Tried this time to get more wavebands going. I used the blade of screwdriver to move the shaft around but was careful to only touch the plastic handle while doing this. It seems the other wavebands don't perform very well. I got the odd station but nothing to rave about. The cricket was about the best output I was going to get today. Glad to say, though, that the tone is working. Quite clever for the time as well! Turn the knob and the tone changes appreciably.

So, there you have it: Still lots and lots to do. I'll start soon testing anodes and circuit for voltage and compare the schematic. I'll check resistors and bias. Maybe clean up the waveband switch a bit more and replace any substandard wires (the aerial wire is knackered and lost insulation so was a short hazard awaiting).

The good news is it works although pretty poorly on the other bands. I may top up the volume pot to the full 500 K as I only had 475.

Always seem to have to force myself to do this work when the weather is bad. I'm O.K. once I get started.

[Terry]

I'm rather puzzled by the recent post from NM which starts:

Terry wrote this I think further back:

"Having no idea of the age of the set, the connection between the smoothing and the reservoir sections of the smoothing can may be either a resistor or a choke, and I would guess that this is where the problem lies."

You were on the right track over the high voltage but it wasn't the resistor ...

After detailing his progress after this he continues:

... now for the less palatable bit:

I do not personally engage in the use of emotive or patronising language directed at other members on websites. I also dislike the current trend where people who are connected to engineering seem to be exhibiting excessive and pointless ego ...

which seems to imply that my advice is the target of this unwarranted attack.

Mark, in his reply to this says that "I'm satisfied that he isn't deliberately setting out to offend "  but that doesn't seem to be the case from where I'm standing ...