Seeing the offer and eventual sale of an Eddystone 1650/6 receiver brought back memories of the original sale and their subsequent disposal by the customer onto the Government surplus market.  The 1650 set was the company’s first microprocessor controlled general coverage communication receiver. Introduced in 1984 and went on to have many variants, all looking the same. It had a sealed membrane front panel and covered 10kHz to 30MHz in 5Hz steps. It also had a 99-channel memory, any number of which were scannable and with any portion of the frequency spectrum sweepable. Tuning was either by keyboard or knob and it had a built-in motor-tuned pre-selector option. It was a double conversion super-het with a first of IF 46.205MHz, and second IF of 1.4MHz. Could operate from AC mains or 24V DC and was remotely controllable Prices c.£3.5k in 1984.

In 1988 to Government asked us to quote for a special version which would be controlled by computer. I personally didn’t see the specification as it was restricted but it clearly did not require a tuning knob or front panel controls. This set was designated the 1650/6. It was to be used for some sort of FSK operation and had two IF centred filters with a special 5kHz product detector. (more…)

Eddystone 960 Transistorised Receiver

The 960 was the first transistorised communications set Eddystone produced and they are quite rare with a production run of only 150. Performance was reputed to be inferior to its valve equivalent, the 940. This example looked in reasonable condition although there was no guarantee of performance. In the end it sold for £333 on E Bay. Obviously much fought after and the price probably reflects its being the first transistorised set. I remember  Bill Cooke, MD and Chief Engineer at Eddystone, telling me that he was tasked with using as much existing stock as possible and I believe the transistors were fitted into “valve-holders”.

Apparently these first transistors such as the OC171, OC45, OC71, OC83 and OA70 were very expensive and god help any engineer who destroyed one during the sets development.

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This is the new format for the EUG website using the ever popular WordPress software. This should make it easier to up date and add news items when required. The original website was written in 2006 using Microsoft FrontPage2000 and when that was no longer supported we went to Microsoft Expression Web as a straight transfer. In recent months the site has begun to show its age, with different browsers displaying different fonts and it need a good update. Although the content remains the same as the old website we have grouped items together and these can be accessed either from the banner titles above or on the left hand side. We have also listed the for sale and wanted items on the right hand side of the page to make it easier for people to see new listings. There are bound to be teething problems with the new site so if you see links which dont work then please let Chris know on g0eyo@blueyonder.co.uk.

This is the official Eddystone User Group Website which is dedicated to the radio products manufactured by Eddystone Radio Limited, (formerly Stratton and Laughton) from the early days of radio in the 1920s until the factories closure in 2002. It contains a wealth of information about the company, its products and their service manuals together with articles and newsletter contributed by others on restoration, repairs, and servicing of Eddystone sets. This information is freely available to download, all we ask is that it is not used for commercial purposes. The left hand side-bar will take you to the more popular pages and the right hand side bar lists radios and parts for sale or wanted by EUGers. The top bar has drop down menus which will direct you to all the information the site contains.  Enjoy.

Graeme Wormald, G3GGL and former administrator and editor of the Eddystone User Group and its newsletter, passed away after a long illness on the 3rd January 2015. He leaves his wife, Eda, and their five children, Jane, Julie, Andrew, Kate and David, G3JQE (his grandfather’s callsign). His funeral service was held on 23rd January at St Anne’s Church and was attended by his family and very many friends and work colleagues and various local civic and political dignitaries reflecting his many years of public service to the town and its societies. More

It is with sorrow that I have to announce the death of one the founding trustees of the Eddystone User Group, James De La Mare who passed away on 3rd May 2014 at the age of 75. James (who was related to the poet Walter De la Mare), had homes in Minchinhampton, Glos and London, was a great collector and hoarder of cars, radio and electrical items. Although not a licensed radio amateur, James was a frequent attendee at radio and motor rallies. He was a former secretary to the Brooklands Society and Families need Fathers and was also involved in his old school Lancing College where he was part of the veterans shooting team events held at Bisley. It was my belief that James probably never had a proper job but was of independent means and used his talents and connections by serving on various committees and organisations. A fascinating character and something of a man of mystery who will be sadly missed by his friends.

Ian Nutt has recently had a small number of meters for the 669 meter unit manufactured and which are available for sale. These are suitable for installation in the alloy casting of the 669, but there will be a need to make up a new paxolin panel to support the resistors,  pot etc as the terminal separation on the new meter is different from the original. However this is not a hard job and any reasonably proficient person should be able to manage it quite easily. Anyone interested in finding out more about these meters should contact Ian on iandcnutt@msn.com.

In 1988, Eddystone Radio were approached by the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) to participate in their 75th Anniversary Celebrations at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. We came up with the idea of showing a couple of sets from each decade from 20s-30s-40s-50s-60s-70s-80s using a six sided display. Each display had pictures and information on sets from that decade and on a table in front of the display we put a couple of sets from that decade. Unfortunately we didn’t get any good pics of the display nor the display that the RSGB put on using exhibits from their Potters Bar museum. We provided a printed list of all the sets displayed at the event including those belonging to the RSGB and from other ham’s collections. This catalogue can be found here

David Dickinson has produced a guide to E bay prices for Eddystone sets between 2009 and 2012 this replaces the one I did some 7 or more years ago. It will be updated once or twice per annum You can find the guide here