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VINTAGE RADIO
By RODNEY CHAMPNESS, VK3UG
The HMV C43B console radio
Generally considered a “step-up” from mantel
radios, console receivers enjoyed an extended
period of popularity from the 1930s to the early
1950s. Typical of the era was the HMV C43B
console, a 5-valve receiver with an impressive
cabinet and performance to match.
At the height of its popularity, a console receiver was usually the focus for
household entertainment, just as DVD
players and home-theatre equipment
are today. Their reign ended during the
late 1940s and early 1950s when they
evolved into the popular radiogram
of the era.
To cater for the demand, domestic
receiver manufacturers developed
a range of impressive console radios. Consoles always sounded more
impressive in terms of volume and
audio quality compared to the table
and mantel sets of the era. The reasons
for this weren’t hard to find – they
had adequate baffling for the speakers
mounted in them and speaker sizes
varied from 6-inch to 12-inch types.
By contrast, mantel sets had to make
do with speakers ranging from three
inches to eight inches in size. What’s
more, their baffling was either inadequate or there was no baffling at all.
The HMV C43B
HMV had many fine pieces of furniture produced for them, into which
they fitted quality receivers. The C43B
is a typical example. The “C” in the
model number means it is a 5-valve
dual-wave receiver; the “4” means
it is a horizontal console (whatever
that meant); the “3” means it is an
AC-powered receiver; and the “B” indicates that it is a second issue model
of this type.
Table 1 shows the model number
code used by HMV and will help
readers to identify other HMV models.
The C43B console receiver described here belongs to a fellow vintage
radio club member and is one of Jim’s
more interesting radios. The set itself
is quite attractive and given the right
setting, would look quite impressive
in the lounge room.
As can be seen in the photos, the
dial sits horizontally along the top
front edge of the cabinet (perhaps
that is what is meant by “horizontal”
in the identification table). The dial
doesn’t impress me as much as some
of the early HMV dials but it is still
quite functional, It’s also simpler than
some of the earlier units, so it is less
likely to give trouble with wear over
an extended period.
Information sheet
This rear view shows the C43B receiver chassis mounted in the cabinet. Note
the large metal brackets at either end.
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A sheet of paper glued to an inside
panel of the cabinet details the dial
drive system and indicates the valve
type used at each location. This valve
location guide is handy for ensuring
that the valves are correctly replaced
in their respective sockets after they
have been removed for testing.
It was not an uncommon practice
in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s for
set owners to remove all the valves
when the radio refused to operate or
had some other annoying fault. They
would then take them to their local
radio serviceman and ask him to test
them. The serviceman often did this
on his emission type valve tester as a
free service to the customer.
Any valves that showed “replace”
on the meter were considered faulty
May 2003 75
76 Silicon Chip
www.siliconchip.com.au
Fig.1: the circuit
is conventional
dual-band 5-valve
superhet with the
following valve
line-up: 6J8GA
converter; EBF35
IF amplifier,
detector & AGC
stage; 6U7G
pentode audio
amplifier; 6V6GT
audio output
amplifier; &
5Y3GT rectifier.
It may be a little plain from the front but the cabinet is still
an impressive piece of furniture.
and the set’s owner would usually
buy a new valve in the hope that that
would fix the problem. I wonder how
many valves were replaced just because the tester said “replace”, when
in reality the valves still had quite a
bit of life left in them for the job they
had to do?
On returning home, an owner would
then put the valves back into the set
and turn it on. Often, of course, it
didn’t work and sometimes smoke
even erupted from the set.
Why? Many owners did not understand the significance of valve type
numbers and he (she) may well have
installed a 6V6G in a 5Y3G socket,
or been responsible for some other
equally disastrous substitution. Valves
often survived this rugged treatment
but many didn’t. Hence, you can see
the value of having the type numbers
either on a sheet, as this set does, or
painted onto the chassis alongside
each valve socket.
An episode like this often meant
that the radio had to be taken to the
serviceman to rectify the damage that
had occurred.
In short, it pays to be careful when
replacing valves, to ensure that you
don’t plug the wrong valve into the
wrong socket. If in doubt, ask someone
with more experience.
The tone controls
The tone controls on this set are on
a separate sub-assembly that’s attached
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The large oval-shaped loudspeaker is properly baffled by
the cabinet, which contributes to the audio quality.
to the front panel of the receiver. They
connect to the main chassis via a plug
and socket combination.
The receiver will operate with the
tone controls disconnected, although
it will lack bass performance. That’s
because, with the tone controls disconnected, there’s just a 500pF cou
pling capacitor in the audio chain.
Fig.1 shows the tone control circuit
(VR1, VR2 & C22) and shows how it
is attached to the main circuit.
Removing the chassis
The chassis is easy to remove and
simply involves removing the bolts
that fasten the chassis to the mounting shelf, then removing the knobs
and disconnecting the loudspeaker
and tone controls. The chassis can
then be removed and, thanks to the
large “roll-over” brackets located
at either end, stood on its end for
service.
Circuit details
The circuit is quite conventional
– it has a 6J8GA converter; an EBF35
IF amplifier, detector and AGC stage;
a 6U7G pentode audio amplifier; and
a 6V6GT audio output amplifier. The
power rectifier is the common 5Y3GT.
The set is dual-wave, covering 5401600kHz and 5.9-18.1MHz, and it also
features a pickup input (“PU”) so that
records can be played through the
audio amplifier stage.
The converter stage has AGC voltage
applied to it on both the broadcast and
shortwave bands. On the broadcast
band, the converter is neutralised and
HMV was one of the few manufacturers that took the trouble to do this
(neutralisation results in improved
VALVES
AUDIO HI-FI
AMATEUR RADIO
GUITAR AMPS
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VINTAGE RADIO
We can supply your valve needs,
including high voltage capacitors,
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sockets and valve books.
WE BUY, SELL and TRADE
SSAE DL size for CATALOGUE
ELECTRONIC
VALVE & TUBE
COMPANY
PO Box 487 Drysdale, Vic 3222
76 Bluff Rd., St Leonards, 3223
Tel: (03) 5257 2297; Fax: (03) 5257 1773
Email: evatco<at>pacific.net.au
www.evatco.com.au
May 2003 77
HMV Model Number Code
Param eter
C ode
A
Performance
Type of cabinet
Power supply
Styling
Meaning
4-valve broadcast band receiver
B
5-valve broadcast band receiver
C
5-valve dual-wave receiver
D
5-valve dual-wave non-auto radi ogram
E
5-valve dual-wave auto radi ogram
F
El ectrogram
G
El ectric record pl ayer
H
Spri ng record pl ayer
J
Spri ng acoustic pl ayer
K
FM tuner
L
FM/AM broadcast-band receiver
M
FM/AM dual-wave receiver
N
Extensi on speaker
P
4-valve dual-wave receiver
1
Bakeli te mantel
2
Bakeli te tabl e
3
Wooden tabl e
4
H orizontal console
5
Ver tical consol e
6
Por tabl e
7
Metal case
1
D ry battery
2
DC
3
AC
4
DC/AC
5
6V vi brator
6
12V vibrator
A
Fi rst issue
B
Second issue, etc
H MV audi o equi pment w as gi ven a 4-di gi t model number, w hi ch spec m
i ed the
performance, type of cabi net, pow er suppl y and styl i ng. For exampl e, the H MV
5-val ve po r tab l e w as coded B 61A , the 1948 5-val ve tab l e dual -w ave recei ver
(formerly 888) was a C33A and the 1949 5-valve bakeli te tabl e dual-wave receiver
w a s a C 2 3A .
performance and less radiation of
the oscillator signal from the antenna
system).
On shortwave, padder feedback
capacitor (C6) is used to ensure that
the converter oscillates reliably across
the entire tuning range. An unusual
feature here is the inclusion of a 2kΩ
resistor (R2) in the grid lead circuit of
the local oscillator for the broadcast
band. Obviously, the oscillator was
78 Silicon Chip
quite “lively” on the broadcast band so
this resistor was included to reduce its
activity and prevent spurious harmon
ics from being generated.
The aerial/antenna input circuit is
one that HMV commonly used. Note
that the shortwave primary winding
(L5) is in series with the broadcast
band coil (L1) primary. On the broadcast band, the inductance of L5 is
quite low and it actually acts as a
This label is attached to an inside
panel and shows the dial stringing
arrangement and the valve positions.
small loading coil in series with the
antenna. So, for all practical purposes,
the broadcast coil is not affected by the
shortwave coil.
The broadcast coil primary is tuned
by L1 and C1 so that it resonates at a
frequency just below the broadcast
band. This is done to get the best
performance on the lower frequency
stations. C2 is a “top-coupling” capacitor and its inclusion ensures good
performance at the high-frequency end
of the dial.
On shortwave, L1 acts as a radio
frequency (RF) choke and prevents L5
from operating effectively. However,
while L1 acts as an RF choke, C1 has
very little reactive effect at shortwave
and so the bottom of the shortwave
winding is effectively connected to
earth. This saves the use of a switch
section and is quite effective.
The intermediate frequency (IF) amplifier is quite conventional, operating
on 457.5kHz. As shown, the detector
diode takes its signal from a tap on
the secondary of the second IF transformer. This gives higher selectivity as
opposed to extracting signal from the
top of the winding.
The signal for the AGC diode is
taken from the plate of the IF amplifier
valve, where the signal is stronger but
the selectivity is reduced. This method
helps to smooth the operation of the
AGC system and ensures that it starts
to work before the signal is fully tuned
in, thereby preventing momentary
“blasting” before the AGC becomes
fully operational.
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The AGC is delayed by the bias
supplied through R11 (at the bottom
of Fig.1). Note that about a third of the
AGC voltage is applied via R17 to the
6U7G audio valve! This technique is
rather unusual but was often favoured
by HMV in particular.
By doing this, the peak audio
volume will remain almost constant
for quite wide variations in signal
strength. This usually obviates the
need to alter the volume control setting
when tuning from a strong to a weak
station and vice-versa. Howev
er, it
does increase the noise between stations in some circumstances.
Photo Gallery: 1940 Tasma
Model 710 5-Valve Radio
Audio amplifier
The audio amplifier is a conventional high-quality, high-gain design
with audio AGC as mentioned. There
is voice coil negative feedback to the
first stage via a tap on the volume
control. The audio quality is quite
good, being noticeably better than the
average mantel receiver.
The power supply has an unusual
feature in that the filter choke has
been placed in the negative lead. The
advantage of this is that the voltage
between the winding and the frame is
quite low. The delay bias for the AGC
system is obtained by a voltage divider
across this choke.
Note that a third of the voltage across
the choke is used for this bias. This
is dropped by another two thirds by
a voltage divider consisting of R11,
R7 and R8.
Most stages employ quite good decoupling, which accounts for the set’s
good stability and performance. However, this receiver, like many others,
has minimal decoupling of the audio
output stage from the IF stage and
audio preamplifier. That said, the set
has sufficient filtering to remove the
IF signal from the audio circuit.
This is necessary to ensure that the
audio stages don’t act as IF amplifiers,
with the possibility of feeding back
into the IF amplifier. Inadequate filtering in this area has led to a number
of receivers being unstable in some
circumstances.
As with most, if not all, HMV receivers of the late 1930s to early 1950s, the
wiring is very neat and the set gives
the impression of being a quality item
(which it is).
Restoration
As with most receivers, there are a
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Manufactured by Thom & Smith Pty Ltd in 1940, this Tasma Model 710
from was a compact 5-valve dual-wave mantel set. It featured an unusual
“rust-stained” white bakelite cabinet and this was manufactured using
a process that ensured no two cabinets were ever like.
Band switching was controlled by a central winged knob, although this
became the tone control on broadcast band only models. The valve
line-up was as follows: 6J8G frequency converter, 6U7G IF amplifier,
6G8G audio amplifier & detector, 6V6G audio output and 5Y3G rectifier.
This particular unit was been fully restored by its owner, Maxwell Johnson, Kingston, Tasmania. (Photo: Ross Johnson).
few key components that should be
replaced almost without question.
These include the AGC bypasses and
audio coupling capacitors (unless you
can test them under real life conditions
with high voltages and when they are
quite warm). Note that a normal multimeter (set to an ohms range) rarely
gives a true picture when it comes to
testing capacitors.
Only a few components needed
replacement in this receiver. In addition, it is also a good idea to check
the shielded wires in sets of this era.
In some sets, the rubber insulation
inside the shield perishes and often
goes “gooey” – sometimes becoming
conductive in the process. When this
happens, it is necessary to replace it
with new shielded cable.
Despite the set’s age, Jim found that
the valves were all in good condition.
What’s more, it required no attention
to the alignment. The cabinet also
required very little attention, having
been well looked after by its previous
owner. This is one set that had been
kept inside, rather than stored in a
damp and dusty shed.
Summary
This set is one of many HMV receivers that look good and perform
well. It’s only real drawback is having
the horizontal dial on the top of the
cabinet, as it’s always possible for
someone to put something on top of
it and cause damage. What’s more, the
operator still has to reach down the
front of the set to tune it, although the
arrangement does make it easy to see
the stations.
That said, if it had been set down
a little from the top and at an angle
(like most of its contemporaries), the
set would have looked better. As it
stands, the set looks a little bland when
viewed from the front.
In spite of this minor criticism, the
HMV C43B is a good performer and
is well worthwhile having in your
SC
collection.
May 2003 79
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