Anybody know what this receiver is?
 

I've got a receiver that has no identifiable markings and I wonder if
anyone can assist me in learning what it is?

The receiver can be viewed at

http://img.villagephotos.com/imageview.aspx?i=24536290

It is 10-inches wide, 8-inches deep and 8-inches high.

It contains two tubes and I presume it to be a regenerative. The two
tubes are a 6J5 and a 6J7. Since the receiver has such
a cloak of mystery surrounding it, I have no way of knowing if those
were original tubes or substitutions. The 6J5 may
very well have been a substitute for an original 6C5. The 6J7 may have
been a substitute for a 6W7.

At first I believed the receiver to be a derivation of either a
National SW series or possible a homebrew Frank Jones regen. However
the die cut of the cabinet and extrusions are too professional to be a
homebrew nor does the wiring job underneath suggest a factory
made unit.

The two pointer knobs were on the receiver when I bought it although,
to me anyway...they look too modern for the rest of
the vintage of the receiver. Band is selected with a plug in coil. The
coil that was included was homebrewed and without marking.

The style, circuit and tube choice suggests a vintage of very late
1920s or 1930s era.

If any of you have any ideas or guesses I would welcome them. Thanks.

WA9VLK

Anybody know what this receiver is?
 

On Mar 6, 7:04*am, "SX-25" wrote:
* * *I've got a receiver that has no identifiable markings and I wonder if
anyone can assist me in learning what it is?

* * *The receiver can be viewed at

* * *http://img.villagephotos.com/imageview.aspx?i=24536290

* * *It is 10-inches wide, 8-inches deep and 8-inches high.

* * *It contains two tubes and I presume it to be a regenerative. The two
tubes are a 6J5 and a 6J7. Since the receiver has such
* * *a cloak of mystery surrounding it, I have no way of knowing if those
were original tubes or substitutions. The 6J5 may
* * *very well have been a substitute for an original 6C5. The 6J7 may have
been a substitute for a 6W7.

* * *At first I believed the receiver to be a derivation of either a
National SW series or possible a homebrew Frank Jones regen. However
* * *the die cut of the cabinet and extrusions are too professional to be a
homebrew nor does the wiring job underneath suggest a factory
* * * made unit.

* * *The two pointer knobs were on the receiver when I bought it although,
to me anyway...they look too modern for the rest of
* * *the vintage of the receiver. Band is selected with a plug in coil. The
coil that was included was homebrewed and without marking.

* * *The style, circuit and tube choice suggests a vintage of very late
1920s or 1930s era.

* * *If any of you have any ideas or guesses I would welcome them. Thanks.

* * *WA9VLK

Check all the screws and nuts used in the device. If they are all
identical in size, length, thread, and the nuts are all identical,
then chances are it is a commercial unit, but made by a small company.
Varying nuts and screws are sure sign of home brew!

KD7HB

Anybody know what this receiver is?
 

"SX-25" wrote in message
m...
I've got a receiver that has no identifiable markings and I wonder if
anyone can assist me in learning what it is?

The receiver can be viewed at

http://img.villagephotos.com/imageview.aspx?i=24536290

It is 10-inches wide, 8-inches deep and 8-inches high.

It contains two tubes and I presume it to be a regenerative. The two
tubes are a 6J5 and a 6J7. Since the receiver has such
a cloak of mystery surrounding it, I have no way of knowing if those
were original tubes or substitutions. The 6J5 may
very well have been a substitute for an original 6C5. The 6J7 may
have
been a substitute for a 6W7.

At first I believed the receiver to be a derivation of either a
National SW series or possible a homebrew Frank Jones regen. However
the die cut of the cabinet and extrusions are too professional to be
a
homebrew nor does the wiring job underneath suggest a factory
made unit.

The two pointer knobs were on the receiver when I bought it although,
to me anyway...they look too modern for the rest of
the vintage of the receiver. Band is selected with a plug in coil.
The
coil that was included was homebrewed and without marking.

The style, circuit and tube choice suggests a vintage of very late
1920s or 1930s era.

If any of you have any ideas or guesses I would welcome them. Thanks.

WA9VLK


The cabinets were commercially available for many years. I had a brand new
one for many years but couldn't bring myself to cut into the blank front
panel. Now if I could just remember who made it.

Anybody know what this receiver is?
 

On Fri, 06 Mar 2009 09:04:58 -0600, SX-25 wrote:

I've got a receiver that has no identifiable markings and I wonder if
anyone can assist me in learning what it is?

The receiver can be viewed at

http://img.villagephotos.com/imageview.aspx?i=24536290

It is 10-inches wide, 8-inches deep and 8-inches high.

It contains two tubes and I presume it to be a regenerative. The
two
tubes are a 6J5 and a 6J7. Since the receiver has such
a cloak of mystery surrounding it, I have no way of knowing if
those
were original tubes or substitutions. The 6J5 may
very well have been a substitute for an original 6C5. The 6J7 may
have
been a substitute for a 6W7.

At first I believed the receiver to be a derivation of either a
National SW series or possible a homebrew Frank Jones regen. However
the die cut of the cabinet and extrusions are too professional to
be a
homebrew nor does the wiring job underneath suggest a factory
made unit.

The two pointer knobs were on the receiver when I bought it
although,
to me anyway...they look too modern for the rest of
the vintage of the receiver. Band is selected with a plug in coil.
The
coil that was included was homebrewed and without marking.

The style, circuit and tube choice suggests a vintage of very late
1920s or 1930s era.

If any of you have any ideas or guesses I would welcome them.
Thanks.

WA9VLK

No markings, the cabinet's way bigger than the chassis, the chassis
doesn't match up all the way to the hole in the cabinet, the coil's
homebrew.

I'd say it's a reasonably well built home-brewed receiver in a commercial
cabinet. Those particular tubes have been available since the late
'30's, so there's no reason for them not to be original. Who knows about
the chicken-head knobs -- the original owner may have put them on,
someone may have bought it second hand sans knobs or felt that the
original builder's knobs were ugly, etc.

--
http://www.wescottdesign.com

Anybody know what this receiver is?
 

"Tim Wescott" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 06 Mar 2009 09:04:58 -0600, SX-25 wrote:

I've got a receiver that has no identifiable markings and
I wonder if
anyone can assist me in learning what it is?

The receiver can be viewed at


http://img.villagephotos.com/imageview.aspx?i=24536290

It is 10-inches wide, 8-inches deep and 8-inches
high.

It contains two tubes and I presume it to be a
regenerative. The
two
tubes are a 6J5 and a 6J7. Since the receiver has such
a cloak of mystery surrounding it, I have no way of
knowing if
those
were original tubes or substitutions. The 6J5 may
very well have been a substitute for an original
6C5. The 6J7 may
have
been a substitute for a 6W7.

At first I believed the receiver to be a derivation
of either a
National SW series or possible a homebrew Frank Jones
regen. However
the die cut of the cabinet and extrusions are too
professional to
be a
homebrew nor does the wiring job underneath suggest a
factory
made unit.

The two pointer knobs were on the receiver when I
bought it
although,
to me anyway...they look too modern for the rest of
the vintage of the receiver. Band is selected with a
plug in coil.
The
coil that was included was homebrewed and without
marking.

The style, circuit and tube choice suggests a
vintage of very late
1920s or 1930s era.

If any of you have any ideas or guesses I would
welcome them.
Thanks.

WA9VLK

No markings, the cabinet's way bigger than the chassis,
the chassis
doesn't match up all the way to the hole in the cabinet,
the coil's
homebrew.

I'd say it's a reasonably well built home-brewed receiver
in a commercial
cabinet. Those particular tubes have been available since
the late
'30's, so there's no reason for them not to be original.
Who knows about
the chicken-head knobs -- the original owner may have put
them on,
someone may have bought it second hand sans knobs or felt
that the
original builder's knobs were ugly, etc.

--
http://www.wescottdesign.com

The main dial is a standard National Velvet Vernier,
type B, the other knobs are all standard pointer type knobs
of a late version. National built the VV dial from some time
in the mid 1930s until the 1950s. If the octal tube sockets
are original its likely to date from the 1940s or later. I
also vote for a home-brew set, perhaps based on the National
SW-3.


--

--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL

Anybody know what this receiver is?
 

I vote for a homebrew too. A photo of the underchassis would help.

Anybody know what this receiver is?
 

SX-25 wrote:
I've got a receiver that has no identifiable markings and I wonder
if anyone can assist me in learning what it is?

The receiver can be viewed at

http://img.villagephotos.com/imageview.aspx?i=24536290

It is 10-inches wide, 8-inches deep and 8-inches high.

It contains two tubes and I presume it to be a regenerative. The two
tubes are a 6J5 and a 6J7. Since the receiver has such
a cloak of mystery surrounding it, I have no way of knowing if those
were original tubes or substitutions. The 6J5 may
very well have been a substitute for an original 6C5. The 6J7 may
have been a substitute for a 6W7.

At first I believed the receiver to be a derivation of either a
National SW series or possible a homebrew Frank Jones regen. However
the die cut of the cabinet and extrusions are too professional to be
a homebrew nor does the wiring job underneath suggest a factory
made unit.

The two pointer knobs were on the receiver when I bought it
although, to me anyway...they look too modern for the rest of
the vintage of the receiver. Band is selected with a plug in coil.
The coil that was included was homebrewed and without marking.

The style, circuit and tube choice suggests a vintage of very late
1920s or 1930s era.

If any of you have any ideas or guesses I would welcome them. Thanks.

WA9VLK

Looking at the photos, I'll vote for homebrew or, possibly, a rough kit
of parts supplied by a wholesaler of the period. The fact that the rear
of the cabinet reveals a too large opening for the chassis and its
lopsided sort of bodes homebrew, too. Tube vintage is.. what.. octals,
late 30's or 40's? The underside may well be the answer.... Nice find,
though.

de K3HVG

Anybody know what this receiver is?
 

The 9th Edition of Editors and Engineers "Radio" Handbook has what appears
to be the same radio in the section entitled Radio Receiver Construction.
Front panel layout is the same and the tubes specified are the 6J7 and 6C5.
The 6J5 was more commonly available and often substituted for the 6C5.

I expect that the interior layout will be similar to the construction
article. Title to the construction article is "Simple 2-Tube Autodyne"

I have built many such receiver types and they work amazingly well. In
essence, they have a product detector and readily copy ssb. I used such a
home brew receiver during graduate school and regularly worked up and down
the west coast. Mine was built on a plywood chassis and I used aluminum
foil behind the front panel to protect from hand movement.

73, Colin K7FM

Anybody know what this receiver is?
 

On Fri, 06 Mar 2009 19:39:10 -0500, K3HVG wrote:

SX-25 wrote:
I've got a receiver that has no identifiable markings and I wonder
if anyone can assist me in learning what it is?

The receiver can be viewed at

http://img.villagephotos.com/imageview.aspx?i=24536290

It is 10-inches wide, 8-inches deep and 8-inches high.

It contains two tubes and I presume it to be a regenerative. The
two
tubes are a 6J5 and a 6J7. Since the receiver has such
a cloak of mystery surrounding it, I have no way of knowing if
those
were original tubes or substitutions. The 6J5 may
very well have been a substitute for an original 6C5. The 6J7 may
have been a substitute for a 6W7.

At first I believed the receiver to be a derivation of either a
National SW series or possible a homebrew Frank Jones regen. However
the die cut of the cabinet and extrusions are too professional to
be
a homebrew nor does the wiring job underneath suggest a factory
made unit.

The two pointer knobs were on the receiver when I bought it
although, to me anyway...they look too modern for the rest of
the vintage of the receiver. Band is selected with a plug in coil.
The coil that was included was homebrewed and without marking.

The style, circuit and tube choice suggests a vintage of very late
1920s or 1930s era.

If any of you have any ideas or guesses I would welcome them.
Thanks.

WA9VLK

Looking at the photos, I'll vote for homebrew or, possibly, a rough kit
of parts supplied by a wholesaler of the period. The fact that the rear
of the cabinet reveals a too large opening for the chassis and its
lopsided sort of bodes homebrew, too. Tube vintage is.. what.. octals,
late 30's or 40's? The underside may well be the answer.... Nice find,
though.

de K3HVG

Those particular metal-octal tubes came out in '36 or '37 -- I have a
1940 RCA tube manual reprint, which was already touting the virtues of
the internally shielded versions.

That doesn't mean the receiver wasn't _designed_ in the late '30s, and
not _built_ until much later, of course.

I'd love to see a pic of the underside -- a really tidy job won't rule
out a really tidy homebrew, but a really messy job would certainly weigh
heavily against factory-made.

--
http://www.wescottdesign.com

Anybody know what this receiver is?
 

On Fri, 06 Mar 2009 19:39:10 -0500, K3HVG wrote:


Looking at the photos, I'll vote for homebrew or, possibly, a rough kit
of parts supplied by a wholesaler of the period. The fact that the rear
of the cabinet reveals a too large opening for the chassis

The radio does seem to be homebrew but the size of the chassis is
appropriate for the cabinet. The large opening in the rear of the case
is used to access any connections on the back of the chassis. There is
no way for a populated chassis to pass through that opening, The
chassis is mounted to the front panel and then the assembly is secured
to the opening in the front of the case.

and its
lopsided sort of bodes homebrew, too. Tube vintage is.. what.. octals,
late 30's or 40's? The underside may well be the answer.... Nice find,
though.

The 1936 ARRL handbook describes a receiver which uses a pentode as a
regen detector and a triode in the audio stage. Suggested 6.3v tubes
include a 6j7 and a 6c5. As the OP suggested the rx's 6j5 may be a
replacement for a 6c5.

73 de n4jvp

Anybody know what this receiver is?
 

Thanks to all who weighed-in with their ideas.

I too feel that this is a homebrew artifact although I know in the 1930s
there were many kits sold by companies that used
readily available parts such as the National vernier. I am waiting for a
copy of the book suggested by K7FM and will compare the schematic to what I
find underneath this receiver. Frank Jones also had a very similar receiver
in his Radio Handbook which is why I am anxious to compare it to the E&E
Radio Handbook version but there are subtle differences in the Jones
version.

Also, it was not uncommon in those days (up until the 1950s) for a homebrew
project to appear in a magazine and...voila'...it soon appeared as a kit for
sale in Popular Mechanics a year later, which is why I am still scratching
my head a little. In the early 1950s "Radio-TV Experimenter" ran a
construction article for a home "radio broadcaster/phono amplifier." Their
schematic was identical and photo of their prototype was nearly identical to
the Knight Kit "radio broadcaster/amplifier" that I built from a kit in 1963
as a very young kid. Old Allied catalogues show the device appearing a
couple years after the article appeared. (By the way, that humble little
functional toy is still in regular service to this day as I transmit old
time radio shows to antique radios I have throughout the house.)

Who needs HDTV, tetrabytes and Blue ray when you've got an autodyne in the
house?

WA9VLK

Anybody know what this receiver is?
 

On Sun, 8 Mar 2009, SX-25 wrote:



Thanks to all who weighed-in with their ideas.

I too feel that this is a homebrew artifact although I know in the 1930s
there were many kits sold by companies that used
readily available parts such as the National vernier. I am waiting for a copy
of the book suggested by K7FM and will compare the schematic to what I find
underneath this receiver. Frank Jones also had a very similar receiver in his
Radio Handbook which is why I am anxious to compare it to the E&E Radio
Handbook version but there are subtle differences in the Jones version.

The Frank Jones radio handbook and the other radio handbook are the same
thing.

At some point, I'm not sure when or why, he gave up editorship of the
book and it morphed a bit. But even as it published its last few
editions, reference was made to the humble beginnings. The 23rd edition,
from 1987 (which I think was the last), has a foreward by Frank Jones
where he talks about the early days, and then preface by Bill Orr where
he acknowledges Frank Jones early involvement.

Since it's the same book, unless one was printed in a much later edition
than the other, there's no reason to believe it's not the same article.
It's no different from the ARRL Handbook, where things would remain
multiple years, but over a long enough period of time the contents would
be quite different.


Also, it was not uncommon in those days (up until the 1950s) for a homebrew
project to appear in a magazine and...voila'...it soon appeared as a kit for
sale in Popular Mechanics a year later, which is why I am still scratching my
head a little. In the early 1950s "Radio-TV Experimenter" ran a construction
article for a home "radio broadcaster/phono amplifier." Their schematic was
identical and photo of their prototype was nearly identical to the Knight Kit
"radio broadcaster/amplifier" that I built from a kit in 1963 as a very young
kid. Old Allied catalogues show the device appearing a couple years after the
article appeared. (By the way, that humble little functional toy is still in
regular service to this day as I transmit old time radio shows to antique
radios I have throughout the house.)

And it was never uncommon for someone to put together the parts to build
specific construction articles, not so much a kit as an aid to the home
builder. A company would collect the parts, maybe do the metalwork, and
then the builder didn't have to track down the parts. Wayne Green did
this when he was editor of "CQ", and maybe a bit after "73" started,
and even circa 1971 the ARRL Handbook had an ad in the back from B&W
selling kits of parts for specific ARRL projects.

For that matter, then we saw the rise of kit companies that created kits
and then sold articles to the magazines aobut the projects. You could
build them from the details in the article (well, up until the computer
age when the schematics got too big for the magazines and you'd at the
very least have to order a set of plans), or buy the kit. A lot of
companies started in Popular Electronics (and the other hobby electronic
magazines) this way, including what became PAIA and SouthWest Technical
Products. In the ham magazines, Hamtronics did this quite a bit in
the seventies, and the same company under a different name was doing
it in the sixties. VHF Engineering did it too.

Michael VE2BVW

Anybody know what this receiver is?
 

"Michael Black" wrote in message
mple.net...
On Sun, 8 Mar 2009, SX-25 wrote:



Thanks to all who weighed-in with their ideas.

I too feel that this is a homebrew artifact although I know in the 1930s
there were many kits sold by companies that used
readily available parts such as the National vernier. I am waiting for a
copy of the book suggested by K7FM and will compare the schematic to what
I find underneath this receiver. Frank Jones also had a very similar
receiver in his Radio Handbook which is why I am anxious to compare it to
the E&E Radio Handbook version but there are subtle differences in the
Jones version.

The Frank Jones radio handbook and the other radio handbook are the same
thing.

At some point, I'm not sure when or why, he gave up editorship of the
book and it morphed a bit. But even as it published its last few
editions, reference was made to the humble beginnings. The 23rd edition,
from 1987 (which I think was the last), has a foreward by Frank Jones
where he talks about the early days, and then preface by Bill Orr where
he acknowledges Frank Jones early involvement.

Since it's the same book, unless one was printed in a much later edition
than the other, there's no reason to believe it's not the same article.
It's no different from the ARRL Handbook, where things would remain
multiple years, but over a long enough period of time the contents would
be quite different.


Also, it was not uncommon in those days (up until the 1950s) for a
homebrew project to appear in a magazine and...voila'...it soon appeared
as a kit for sale in Popular Mechanics a year later, which is why I am
still scratching my head a little. In the early 1950s "Radio-TV
Experimenter" ran a construction article for a home "radio
broadcaster/phono amplifier." Their schematic was identical and photo of
their prototype was nearly identical to the Knight Kit "radio
broadcaster/amplifier" that I built from a kit in 1963 as a very young
kid. Old Allied catalogues show the device appearing a couple years after
the article appeared. (By the way, that humble little functional toy is
still in regular service to this day as I transmit old time radio shows
to antique radios I have throughout the house.)

And it was never uncommon for someone to put together the parts to build
specific construction articles, not so much a kit as an aid to the home
builder. A company would collect the parts, maybe do the metalwork, and
then the builder didn't have to track down the parts. Wayne Green did
this when he was editor of "CQ", and maybe a bit after "73" started,
and even circa 1971 the ARRL Handbook had an ad in the back from B&W
selling kits of parts for specific ARRL projects.

For that matter, then we saw the rise of kit companies that created kits
and then sold articles to the magazines aobut the projects. You could
build them from the details in the article (well, up until the computer
age when the schematics got too big for the magazines and you'd at the
very least have to order a set of plans), or buy the kit. A lot of
companies started in Popular Electronics (and the other hobby electronic
magazines) this way, including what became PAIA and SouthWest Technical
Products. In the ham magazines, Hamtronics did this quite a bit in
the seventies, and the same company under a different name was doing
it in the sixties. VHF Engineering did it too.

Michael VE2BVW

What happened to Wayne Green? Was he the NSD never say die) bloke? If so,
I'll always remember his detailed serve to a previous teacher who was
negligent as well as incompetent. He named him and the school and added 'So
sue me'!

Wayne Green, still going strong
 

MoiInAust wrote:
What happened to Wayne Green? Was he the NSD never say die) bloke? If so,
I'll always remember his detailed serve to a previous teacher who was
negligent as well as incompetent. He named him and the school and added 'So
sue me'!



Hi,

73 Magazine is gone, but Wayne Green W2NSD is still editorializing:
http://www.waynegreen.com/wayne/news.html

73,
Ed Knobloch

Wayne Green, still going strong
 

"Edward Knobloch" wrote in message
...
MoiInAust wrote:
What happened to Wayne Green? Was he the NSD never say die) bloke? If
so, I'll always remember his detailed serve to a previous teacher who was
negligent as well as incompetent. He named him and the school and added
'So sue me'!



Hi,

73 Magazine is gone, but Wayne Green W2NSD is still editorializing:
http://www.waynegreen.com/wayne/news.html

73,
Ed Knobloch

Crikey! That's Wayne all right! How does he do it? I'll email him but
probably he'll be too busy to answer... Thanks for the heads up

73 indeed

Wayne Green, still going strong
 

"MoiInAust" wrote in :

http://www.waynegreen.com/wayne/news.html

Still sufering from crainial rectosis as well I see ;-)

--
Panzer