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khalif - Saturday, February 9, 2013 at 16:23:00
Winner Italian Radio AM FM 6 Valve with an odd valve line-up
ECC85, EF89, ECH81, UABC80, UL41 and UY41.
nobial - Sunday, January 13, 2013 at 12:40:12
Hello,I have a rádio Ekco A173 with the dial broken,it`s possible to send a picture in good conditions of the dial.Best Regards, melo.albino@gmail.pt
admin - Monday, December 3, 2012 at 11:49:10
Racal RA-17L: top of chassis view.

Submitted by Al. / Dec. 03, 2012 //
admin - Monday, December 3, 2012 at 11:47:58
Racal RA-17L: rear view.

Submitted by Al. / Dec 03, 2012 //
admin - Monday, December 3, 2012 at 11:15:36
At a quick glance, could be mistaken for an R.1155 receiver! Is that just coincidence? Lawrence has stated it was made for the M.O.D.

Al. / Skywave / Dec. 3, 2012 //
admin - Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 11:14:39
shown with wrong 15 volt battery should be blr154
admin - Friday, November 23, 2012 at 18:58:25
Sony reel-reel tape recorder, model TC-399.
Photo. #2.

Photo. shows insides once the top black cover has been removed. Most general maintenance work can be done from this level of access.
The hand-written words are mine! I wrote those as an aid to re-assembly and operation when the top cover was removed.

Photo. submitted by Al. / November 24, 2012 //
admin - Friday, November 23, 2012 at 18:44:26
Sony Reel-reel tape recorder, model TC-399.
Vintage: 1978 - 1982.

This is the last R2R recorder manufactured by Sony: it was an export-only model.
A basic reel-reel recorder with contoured F&F heads (three: erase, record, playback), twin VU meters with peak LEDs, mic/line mixing, bias & equilisation settings and a DC playback amplifier. The front panel features a switch for source / tape monitoring. I/O sockets at the rear are Phono and DIN (5-pin).
Tape speeds: 1 7/8, 3 3/4 and 7 1/2 i.p.s.

General comments.
Works well when it is correctly set-up; usual operator maintenance issues apply - as they do to any R2R machine.

Maintenance and repair comments.
Difficult to know where to begin: repair and maintenance is decidedly not for the faint-hearted! This model is getting rather old now (November 2012) and most will now require a full replacement of all the belts and all the rubber pulleys: these parts are available from the usual sources. Whilst this is being done, it is also a good idea to check for any hardened grease: remove it, replace it. To do that work, access is required: it is not necessary to remove the item from its teak-effect case by withdrawing the screws at the back. First, remove the front knobs and the tape heads cover. Now remove all the small screws that secure the black front panel: then lift it off. The interior chassis is now revealed (see next photo.)
The replacement of the belts and pulleys is a difficult and tricky job. For a start, the tape heads sub-deck has to be removed first. This is secured by 4 screws plus the cover / bearing for the capstan (which has to come off) and a few connecting rods. The capstan and its attached flywheel then float free in the chassis: the flywheel spindle has no bottom bearing! - except for a fibre disc, which usually found to be loose (Hint: re-secure with Superglue). Re-fitment of the sub-deck is difficult on account of the need to align many different mechanical bits at the same time. Overall, the mechanical arrangements are very complicated - some would say unnecessarily so, when compared to R2R machines from other manufacturers (e.g. Akai and their famous model 4000 DS).
On the other hand, the workshop manual does go into great detail of the full mechanical and electro-mechanical adjustments and alignment. This full procedure calls for specialist equipment which is unlikely to be available outside of Sony main dealers (who probably wouldn't attempt to repair this item anyway on account of its age and likely repair costs). Nevertheless, the enthusiastic amateur can bring one of these 'back to life' provided that a great deal of time is available for that work - and that requires a great deal of dexterity, patience and perseverance.

All the above was written based on personal experience; other peoples' experiences may differ. If you wish to discuss maintenance issues about this machine, (or any other aspect of it), you are most welcome to do so on the Golborne Vintage Radio main forum: I look forward to meeting you there!

Submitted by Al.; November 24, 2012.
admin - Friday, November 23, 2012 at 17:43:33
LV High-Power Dummy Load: internals.
Please refer to the accompanying photo. for this item.

Each power resistor is 3 Ω, rated at 300-watts when bolted to a substantial heat-sink - which is what has been done here. The heat-sink has a series of slots beneath the resistors' mounting surface. To the right of that heat-sink are two air extractor fans; to the left is the cool air intake. The fans are self-powered from the input voltage.
The amount of resistance that is presented to the incoming voltage (which may be d.c. or a.c.) is determined by the appropriate combinations of the three switches on the front. Inside the lid is a table, listing the switch positions (on or off) to the resultant resistance.

Submitted by Al. / Nov. 23, 2012
admin - Friday, November 23, 2012 at 17:29:55
Home-brew A.F. signal generator, 10 Hz to 1 MHz, 5 switched ranges + V.F.O.
Dates from 1982 (vintage home-brew).

Sine-wave O/P waveform at 1 kHz as displayed on a Tektronix 475 oscilloscope.

{Last photo. in a set of four}