Eddystone User Group


Archive for the ‘News’

Article on installing a Product Detector to the S680X

November 19, 2020 By: chris Category: News

Older Eddystones do not have product detectors, so resolving SSB signals can be a bit difficult with just the BFO and adjusting the RF and AF controls. Roy Kavanagh GM4VKI has modified his S680X to incorporate a product detector and has provided a step by step write up on how to do it. You will find his article in the Restorations folder but you can download a copy from here. 

 

 

 

See For Sale section – Rare opportunity to purchase two S696/1 Absorption Meters with history

September 18, 2020 By: chris Category: News

Nigel G6DGR in Sutton Coldfield is helping his father-in-law Ken G3PMW dispose of his radio equipment and has discovered two rather rare Eddystone Absorption Wavemeters S696/1 complete and in wooden carrying cases, coils and calibration charts. The S696/1 was supplied with nine coils and covered the frequency range 200 kc/s to 200 Mc/s. Price in 1954: £13 10s 6d.

Ken was a Marconi TV Transmitter engineer in Chelmsford from 1950 until he retired in 1990. Ken says that these two units were bought by Marconi in 1954. They were bought just as the meters and coil sets and the boxes and aluminium graph plates were made by the company to protect them while in use. When Marconi pensioned them off, he and his pal Roy G3PMX bought one each and when Roy became SK some years ago, his unit was passed to Ken. Both Ken and Roy were members of the Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society for many years.

Go to For Sale section (right) for more details THESE HAVE NOW BEEN SOLD TO ALAN AINSLIE AT THE EDDYSTONE MUSEUM.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New article from Gerry O’Hara on his S820 AM/FM Tuner

August 24, 2020 By: chris Category: News

Gerry O’Hara VE7GUH has taken his S820 AM/FM Tuner out of storage and given it the once over using a new piece of test gear to measure the 10.7MHz filter response. You can find the article in Restorations here

 

 

More QSL cards from Eddystone’s past

July 27, 2020 By: chris Category: News

The post on Arthur Edwards G6XJ and his QSL card resulted in a message from Tony G4UZN who has a fantastic Historic QSL card collection https://qsl-history.webs.com/. (He is the guy who advertises in Radcom for old QSL cards).

Tony found a pre-war G6XJ QSL card dated 1933 which although blank does have an interesting message on the rear about a trip to Denmark on the SS Mongolia in July 1933.

Tony’s collection got me thinking about other hams that were employed by Stratton and Laughton in the early days of the company. The Laughton’s company history “A Century of Achievement” published in 1960, mentions several people of which Tony has been able to find QSL cards.

George Brown G5BJ, who designed the VHF two way transmitting /receiving equipment that was sold to the Metropolitan and other Police Authorities in 1938 in case landline telephone communications was disrupted by enemy bombing. George G5BJ eventually left Stratton and Laughton to join the Birmingham Police to take charge of their radio section. The 1938 QSL card shows a contact with W4TS on 14MHz fone (AM) and the 1946 card shows a contact with VU2WP on 28MHz CW. The police equipment went on to form the basis of the 400 series R/T VHF equipment which was used in the D-day landings.

In 1924 Stratton & Laughton formed a retail organisation under the name Webbs Radio. It had five shops including those in London and Birmingham but in the end only the London store survived. Webbs Radio was under the able management of E.J. Pickard G6VA. During the war  E.J.Pickard was brought back to Birmingham and was on fire watch in November 1940 when the Bromsgrove St works was destroyed by enemy bombing. He and Harold Cox (Technical Director) and E.M.Lauze courageously went in and out of the burning building bringing out practically all the valuable radio test equipment. The QSL card shows a 1933 contact with OZ2K on 7MHz CW.

Also part of the Webb’s Radio staff was H.W. Stewart G2CY, H.R.Adams G2NO, and their resident American Buyer in Boston, Ted McElroy W1JYN. Tony G4UZN also had a QSL card from G2CY dated 1933 for QSO with OK2K on 7MHz CW and from G2NO dated 1936 with G2TG on 7MHz together with a Xmas card of the same year. Ted W1JYN was apparently the world champion high speed telegraphist. I think there must have been a parting of the ways in 1937 as I have seen a Short Wave Magazine ad for Eves Radio Limited in Wolverhampton with G2NO and W1JYN offering American Radio equipment and parts.

Again let me thank Tony G4UZN for his help and interest in Eddystone alumni QSL cards. Visit his site it is fascinating.  Chris G0EYO

 

 

 

 

 

Eddystone 940 and 840A Receivers available, Free of Charge

July 16, 2020 By: chris Category: For Sale, News

Robert in mid Wales has two receivers he wishes to go to a good home free of charge due to age and health issues. The 940 was purchased off EBay in 2019 and is in nice condition and has the speaker mounted in the cabinet. It had been restored by the previous owner. The 840A is a bit scruffy and has had some work done on it including a new set of valves. The sets appear to work but Robert has not been able to fully check them out. You would have to collect these from Robert’s home in Llanbrynmair, Powys (SY19).

If  you wish to take up this generous offer of Robert’s then please contact him via e mail  at robert.reay@btinternet.com 

 

 

 

 

Arthur Edwards G6XJ QSL card found

July 14, 2020 By: chris Category: News

Arthur Edwards G6XJ joined Stratton & Laughton’s Radio Section in its very early days. Arthur was a radio amateur and eventually became Commercial Director and General Manager. During his war service he served in the Fleet Air Arm. We published a post in January 2016 of a picture of Arthur in his radio shack in 1929 (from Short Wave Magazine,  January 1949- see below). Arthur left the company when it was purchased by Marconi in the 1960’s.

Last week on E Bay I noticed a QSL card from G6XJ for sale which I purchased for the princely sum of £2.50. The card is for a QSO in November 1950 with G3DOE (Thanet Radio Society) on 80m band. The radio company had the call sign G6SL from the early 20’s and I took over the registration of this call for Eddystone Radio when Managing Director in the 80’s and still have it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 01, 2020 By: chris Category: News

Andrew Van Tilburg in Melbourne Australia has created dial artwork for the Eddystone 730/4. There are two files:

  1. A Visio file which will need to be unzipped. Download and
  2. A pdf file for those who don’t have Visio. Download 

To view the Visio files you will need the later version of Microsoft Office Visio

 

 

Beware of being scammed when selling or buying Eddystone sets and parts

May 31, 2020 By: chris Category: News

In our For Sale and Wanted section we warn users to be aware of the danger of being scammed when buying or selling Eddystone equipment. It has been many years since we heard of anyone being scammed but it looks as if someone has recently suffered such an event. A genuine user requested, through the Wanted section, for Eddystone 750 parts and was offered a complete 750 for US$150 from the USA. The payment included shipping to Australia and payment was made via Paypal to someone of a different name to the seller (warning bells?). The seller sent a copy of the waybill which the purchaser now believes to be a fake. The seller is not answering e mails and the purchaser is trying to reclaim a refund from Paypal.  These are semi-sophisticated scams and given that any sale or purchase is done on trust they are easy to fall prey to. When purchasing from unknown or non-verifiable parties (callsigns are verifiable) always ask to see proof of the existence of the materials (lots of photos so not just “library” shots). Ask questions which only an owner is likely to know and of course deal through someone like Paypal where you can register a complaint, (not Western Union) and only to the account of the seller. If you have doubts ask on the Groups.io forum if anyone has dealt with that seller/purchaser before. As the innocent party says  “Caveat Emptor”.

 

 

Eddystone 830/4 re – re – re visited by Gerry O’Hara VE7GUH

May 29, 2020 By: chris Category: News

Gerry has been back to his store of Eddystones and has brought out his S830/4 receiver which had already been the subject of several restorations. Here he brings it back up to specification with a thorough check-over and change of some components. You can read about it here Download 

 

Eddystone 680/2 Revisited by Gerry O’Hara VE7GUH

May 21, 2020 By: chris Category: News

Gerry O’Hara VE7GUH has been back to his store to bring his 680/2 back out for a Restoration ” MOT ” in this new article download article