Emerson small woody.

[Retired]

Hi,

I've not touched a vintage radio for quite a while but after clearing out my radio workshop I retained my restored sets and a couple of small sets needing restoration.

Last Saturday night we suffered half a months rainfall in 8 hours. When I visited Aldi this morning there was a huge lake in the middle of the car park but this didn't stop one guy driving through its centre even though the water was up to the cars axles and he was making one heck of a wave; I'd have been amused had he swamped his electrics and had to climb out.

http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/west-york...in-5377092

Anyway it hasn't finished there because we've suffered further downpours all day forcing me indoors. This morning we visited Boundary Mills in Catcliffe and it remained fine until we arrived back home when down came the rain.

After dinner I thought it time to potter around and blow the weather; I collected a small "woody" from the bedroom and carried it into the workshop. This set is an American Emerson which I bought through eBay a few years ago. The set has got very little identity other than the Edison name. The cabinet has suffered some damage in that a vertical wooden bar is missing from the grille panel. I took a number of digital images.

The mains lead is unsafe and no doubt it will run on 110V which isn't a problem because I can hook it up to the Variac when the time comes. The chassis was totally free in the cabinet so simply slid out with a gentle tug; the plastic dial cover was also free it having come unstuck of it's Sellotape fastening; two valves (tubes) were also loose. A couple of "floating" wires could be seen around the internal aerial. It has no back panel. In general though the set appears complete just requiring a lot of TLC?

As usual I drew a rough sketch of the valve positions and then withdrew each valve in turn to try to identify them but most of the markings had long gone; I noted the few numbers and letters I could read on each valve as any information is better than no information? The only identification I could find which meant little to me was "Emerson G-1679 6VD-82A" Under the cabinet was marked CV295 so nothing really to work with.

Armed with the bits of information and pictures I then settled down on the computer in order to identify this set? At first it was slow going; a number of websites had lots of Emerson pictures but I couldn't spot the one I have. Eventually I ended up on an American forum where a guy was restoring a set similar to mine and I now think my set to be a CR261?

http://www.antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=187335

Now I was getting somewhere and using this number I finally located a free schematic download.

http://www.nostalgiaair.org/Resources/957/M0004957.htm

I'm indebted to both these sites for the information.

I'm unsure at this point whether this will end up as a full restoration because it all depends on my personal black cloud letting me out to play but at least I've done something other than moan.

My restorations usually start like this; ease gently into them then before I know it they take my life over until completed. The wooden grille is made out of two pieces of solid timber these being machine moulded; the side with the missing piece was found mostly to be loose so was pulled free and this in turn was found to be broken in one area so I used woodworking adhesive to secure it which was a very easy repair.

All I've done is pass away a couple of happy hours tinkering around with an old radio this afternoon so thought I'd pass it on. I'll add more as work progresses.

Does anyone have an easy way of making valve numbers more readable; I've not handled the valves much but I just can't make out the numbers even in strong light? I've got a feeling this will be a pretty set once restored.

Kind regards, Col.

                           

[pwdrive]

Nice little set Col, sometimes using an LED torch/light can reveal hard to see valve numbers that have been printed/etched onto the surface of the glass after de dusting and a gentle wipe. Try an LED torch at different angles.

Lawrence.

[Ed_Dinning]

Hi Col, putting the valves in the freezer for a while, then looking carefully at the condensation when removed sometimes helps.
These are normally quite nice little sets and great for use on a windowsill, I would expect there to be some 25*** or 35*** types in there.

Let us know how you get on and welcome back to vintage radio.

Ed

[Retired]

Hi,

Many thanks Lawrence and Ed for your suggestions which I'll try.

Whilst pulling the valves out yesterday I noticed numbers on the valve holders and assumed these to be pin numbers? What a wonderful idea though; these numbers are the valve identification number for each holder; I've just been into the workshop to make a list of the valve numbers then I can easily obtain the pin-outs and voltages by browsing the web. The valves in this chassis are;

12SA7; 35Z5; 12K7; 50L6; 12SQ7.

I would still like to identify the valves though because when I first started restoring vintage valve radios I was caught out a couple of times because valves had been fitted into wrong holders and for a novice this is highly frustrating.

When I had my workshop set up for radio restoration and as I became more proficient the first job I would do with a chassis on the bench would be to test if the chassis was "live" followed by ensuring correct valves or substitutes were in their correct holders and I could also test the valves as at the time I owned an AVO VCM.

I can easily check for heater continuity but even if the chassis remains dead nothing is lost; I'll restore the cabinet first because many avoid restoring woody cabinets like the plague but would enjoy restoring such a chassis? Once I restore a set then it becomes an ornament because I seldom switch them on; the stations they pull in are usually rubbish riddled with adverts so I play my favourite songs downloaded onto cd.

Thanks for the welcome back to vintage radio Ed. I never fully left radio restoration because I've retained not only restored sets and a few sets to restore but I still have a good stock of caps so it won't be a problem to change the caps on this Emerson. I'll keep tinkering around with this set and add updates as I make any progress. Restoring vintage radios will always be a top class hobby but I'm interested in many other things as well; yesterday I was browsing YouTube and watched a few videos showing turning wooden boxes on a lathe which I've always had an interest in but never really spent time doing; it must be over twenty years ago I turned a couple of small wooden boxes but then other jobs always got in the way.

I've still got two woodturning lathes and recently I've converted my Jubilee to 3 phase through a VFD; the Jubilee is fully working but before I use it I want to add remote start/stop and a speed control pot then I can mount the VFD away from any dust. I also started to make a clutch for the Jubilee but then my Clarke lathe died on me; I seldom do a project from start to finish in one go because I end up zig-zag fashion as other more urgent jobs keep popping up. I planned on a full day today working on the Emerson cabinet but a mid morning appointment has already scuppered this.

Kind regards, Col.

[Aerodyne]

Hi Col
Often simply breathing on the valve glass will reveal numbering or lettering. Another method I've used is to use a scanner to scan the valve where I thought lettering might be. I know this sounds mad, but most scanners have some depth of field - focal depth, that is - so it can work, but you need a photo processing programme such as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro or any photo software that allows you to greatly increase contrast as it is by doing so that the numbering becomes visible, even if it starts out more or less invisible to the naked eye.
Nice little set.
Tony

[Refugee]

I have sometimes used a camera with and without the flash. Some cameras even have a setting that does this with a single click. Also I use other light sources including natural out door light and under mains LED lamps.
This can even work on transistors with both metal and plastic packages.

[Yorkie]

Here you go then - an LED torch from Wilko or Poundland:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBE6j_qeNp0

[Aerodyne]

I guess that might go some way to explaining why the scanner can pick up lettering, then - UV light, perhaps? Certainly scanners have a wide spectrum. I don't know how you find these things, David. You must have a talent for nosing out oddball video clips! Perhaps Lawrence has, too, or did you discover this yourself, Lawrence? Either way, a useful tip.
Tony

[Yorkie]

I don't know how you find these things, David. You must have a talent for nosing out oddball video clips! Perhaps Lawrence has, too, or did you discover this yourself, Lawrence? Either way, a useful tip.
Tony

I entered a search string into google 'find numbers on old radio valves with a torch' Tony. Luckily, that link came up at the top of a very long list!

Really, I need to get out more!

I've mentioned before that a good way of checking if a TV remote is working is to point it into the lens of a digital camera and if all is well, it will light up ultra violet in the view-finder screen. The camera can see it - we can't, and neither, incidentally, can birds. That's why you can use UV LEDs to light up a bird-box so that a pinhole camera can show how the nesting birds are progressing. Neat eh, and utterly irrelevant to this threadfind numbers on old radio valves with a torch

[pwdrive]

Yes Tony, I have used an LED torch before to help identify valve numbers, if it's in a receiver then my all else is lost method is to see whats connected to what pin wise and take that in the context of known valves in the set and the valves function.

Lawrence.