The Co-oprative Society wanted to sell radio sets they could discount. This would obviously give them a great advantage over the competition but, due to retail price control, they were unable to. The answer was to manufacture their own sets. Or, find someone to make their own brand for them. They called their brand, Defiant… for obvious reasons.

RADIO SPECIFICATIONS

Circa early 30s
Covers the Long and Medium Wave Bands
This is a TRF radio

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With materials in short supply during world war two, and money limited, a large number of people couldn’t afford to buy a radio to keep up with the latest news. So, the government came up with a plan. The idea was to get several radio manufacturers to produce a radio of a standard design. This initial design was undertaken by Dr G D Reynolds of Murphy Radio Ltd. The result was the Wartime Civilian or Utility Receiver which was an affordable and effective radio.

Long wave broadcasts were suspended during the war so the set only covered medium wave. Apparently, the cabinets were made from orange box wood to keep the cost down to a minimum. But, although these radios were basic and built to a price, they weren’t unattractive and they worked well.

Whether this is true or not, I don’t know… Radios packed in boxes marked ‘Civilian Utility Radio’ were regularly stolen from railway station platforms before they were loaded onto trains. To put a stop to the thieving, the radios were eventually sent out in unmarked boxes.

RADIO SPECIFICATIONS

Manufactured from 1944
Medium Wave only
Retail price in £12 3s 4d
AC Supply

The service manual for this radio is available in the Members’ Area here.

VINTAGE RADIO INFORMATION SITE.

I DO NOT REPAIR RADIOS.

This is a genuine antique wireless, but it can also be used as an every day radio. It has a neon indicator for tuning into stations, which must have been unique in 1934. The sound quality is excellent and the radio looks beautiful – a real piece of furniture.

RADIO SPECIFICATIONS
Manufactured from 1934
Covers the Long and Medium Wave Bands
AC Supply

The service manual for this radio is available in the Members’ Area here.

This floor standing console radio was manufactured by RAP of London in 1946. It’s an up-market model with three short wave bands and an RF amplifier stage. It’s also a lovely looking piece of furniture. There’s an IF bandwidth switch, wide or narrow, which is as useful feature. An unusual feature of this radio is that one of the short wave bands is centered on 41.5 Mc/s – this is the old BBC VHF television sound channel. The dial is marked – Tele Sound. There’s something else which is extremely unusual… There’s a glass window at the back of the radio which is for viewing the glowing valves and the chromium-plated chassis. The RAP 846 is quite unique.

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This must have been one of the first radios to use a printed circuit board rather than a hard-wired chassis and Pye have proudly stated – Printed Circuit – on the dial. With an EL84 output valve, the sound quality is good. It covers long and medium wave but it also has four short wave bands.

RADIO SPECIFICATIONS
Manufactured from 1958
Long Medium and 4 Short Wave Bands
Valves – ECH81 EF89 EBC81
EL84 EZ80 EM81
AC Supply

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This is a basic four valve superhet radio but, with an eight-inch speaker in the large cabinet, it sounds wonderful. The mains transformer is massive and more than capable of supplying the current needed. One thing that is interesting is the EBL31 audio output valve which also contains a double diode for detection and AGC. Quite an ingenious idea, I reckon.

RADIO SPECIFICATIONS
Manufactured from 1947
Long Medium and Short Wave
Valves – ECH35 EF39 EBL31 AZ31
AC Supply
The service manual for this radio is available in the Members’ Area here.

VINTAGE RADIO INFORMATION SITE.

I DO NOT REPAIR RADIOS.

This is a lovely looking radio covering long, medium and short wave. Manufactured from 1952, this model has a beautiful wood cabinet and an unusual speaker grille. It’s certainly a collector’s piece.

The service manual for this radio is available in the Members’ Area here.

VINTAGE RADIO INFORMATION SITE.

I DO NOT REPAIR RADIOS.

This Little Maestro radio has a mains transformer which supplies 6.3 Volts for the valve heaters, but the HT is taken directly from the mains. Hence, this radio has a live chassis. This is a lovely little radio and, even with a five inch speaker, the sound quality is perfectly acceptable. A nice addition to any collection.

Sorry, due to lack of spares, this is a model I no longer repair.

RADIO SPECIFICATIONS
Manufactured from 1949
Long and Medium Wave
Valves – 6K8GT – 6K7GT
6Q7GT – 6V6GT – 6X5GT
AC Supply

The service manual for this radio is available in the Members’ Area here.

VINTAGE RADIO INFORMATION SITE.

I DO NOT REPAIR RADIOS.

Manufactured by Murphy, this lovely piece of furniture covers long, medium and VHF-FM. With a huge loudspeaker mounted behind a large baffle board, this floor-standing console radio not only looks good but sounds great. The cabinet is completely original with only a few marks reflecting its age. The Murphy A272,  real radio.

RADIO SPECIFICATIONS

Manufactured from 1957
Long, Medium and VHF-FM
Valves – ECC85 – 6C9 – 6F18
EABC80 – 6P1 – UU9
AC Supply

VINTAGE RADIO INFORMATION SITE.

I DO NOT REPAIR RADIOS.