Trying to get my hobby back on track

[Crackle]

There are none in the house SWMBO doesn't like them.

What! that needs to change.

Mike

[Diabolical Artificer]

Very swish Mike. Having worked in the trade it always amazed how many incompetent builders I encountered, now everywhere I go I'm scrutinising brick work etc looking for bad pointing, foundation slip etc.

Andy.

[Nick]

The Wirelesses are in the loft, garage office Flat and Bungalow (the Bungalow being the half an ex army hut in the Garden!).

There are none in the house SWMBO doesn't like them.

I'm lucky in that I stick to small radios, and Bakelite ones at that. SWMBO likes those (phew!).

[Cobaltblue]

Unfortunately it wasn't just incompetence although they had plenty of that it was greed they never intended to complete the job so they never did anything properly just cheap!

I paid for a detailed design including the steel work they totally ignored it put in the cheapest nastiest they could find just before they left the result was the house was starting to move the outer walls were being pushed out. It was the first thing the new builder fixed that alone cost me an additional 28K since all the first floor had to be taken back out to repair the damage and properly fit the new steels which are massive. They pulled the building back in shape and tied the old to the new and were almost identical to those shown on my original detailed design.

The most annoying thing is that the Building control inspector knew the work was substandard but said nothing until the builder was gone.

I took legal advice and the problem is courts won't award against local authorities.

No point taking the builder to court he just disappear into a new company name (which he has done subsequently several times).

I have been rooting around in the Bungalow and found at least 2 of my Chinese valve radios.

These were built during Mao Zedong period although its difficult to tell exactly when since the Country stagnated for decades.

They probably built the same set for 20 years 

If it were from the US (It closely resembles a US built radio in many respects) it would be from the 1940's 

I might have a better idea once I start to work on them I  will be asking help from my good friend Li Gang who I have known since the 1980's and despite our very different background came to Radio and TV at similar ages and in similar ways its bizarre when we talk about it. I can read and write a bit of Chinese but I am out of practice and Technical Chinese is hard even for Chinese people.


I know the tuning gang on at least 2 sets has collapsed I did have a look at working on them 20 years ago when I was in Beijing but I was way too busy as you always are working overseas.

I may ask Li Gang to help source parts but certainly until recently there have been no identifiable collectors of vintage radio and TV in China it was hard work scouring markets to find the one I have.

I will start a thread about them when I get them on the bench.

Cheers

Mike T