1956 Westinghouse H742T4 Aqua blue tube Radio
- Thread starter Robb
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Beosystem10
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Nice! 42 is the colour code for aqua though. 
I have a Westinghouse in the same shade but it's the earlier "Refrigerator" set that was made as a giveaway back in the day and given to buyers of the company's fridges.
When you're working on this one it's always as well to replace the dropper lead as the constant heating and cooling cycle makes them very brittle, I'd always do that with any US set by fitting a ceramic dropper in its place, a two birds job as, in the case of sets that are in use here, they need to be converted for 250VDC so I fit a UK-spec one with the appropriate R value. Put such a thing in an external box, especially in a small, acrylic cabinet.
I'm going to have to find one like that 'cos it's rather cool.
I have a Westinghouse in the same shade but it's the earlier "Refrigerator" set that was made as a giveaway back in the day and given to buyers of the company's fridges.When you're working on this one it's always as well to replace the dropper lead as the constant heating and cooling cycle makes them very brittle, I'd always do that with any US set by fitting a ceramic dropper in its place, a two birds job as, in the case of sets that are in use here, they need to be converted for 250VDC so I fit a UK-spec one with the appropriate R value. Put such a thing in an external box, especially in a small, acrylic cabinet.
I'm going to have to find one like that 'cos it's rather cool.
Northerner
Boomus Fidelis
That is seriously gorgeous...love a bit of 50's styling...the angles, the colour...just fab, I would've bought that working or not just to look at it 
Beosystem10
Member (SA)
Wow! Instant sound. Did you warm it up then switch it off and immediately back in for the video, so that it appeared to start instantly? 
At first I thought maybe it would have B7G based valves like those found in Zenith TOs and many British-built battery sets, that would explain how it made sound right from when you first switched it on, but that pair of Pentodes - 12AU6/12AV6 - is usually seen in expensive audiophile kit where they can be found anywhere from mixer to final IF to audio driver and they seem an odd choice. Over engineering at its extreme going on in that small cab! I want one even more now.
At first I thought maybe it would have B7G based valves like those found in Zenith TOs and many British-built battery sets, that would explain how it made sound right from when you first switched it on, but that pair of Pentodes - 12AU6/12AV6 - is usually seen in expensive audiophile kit where they can be found anywhere from mixer to final IF to audio driver and they seem an odd choice. Over engineering at its extreme going on in that small cab! I want one even more now.
Yes, I turned it on to get the proper station lined, then shut it off, then started recording.Beosystem10 said:Wow! Instant sound. Did you warm it up then switch it off and immediately back in for the video, so that it appeared to start instantly?
It is only a 4 tube set, maybe thats why they used good tubes !
Beosystem10
Member (SA)
Effectively it only uses three for all of its radio and audio functions as one (that 35W4) is the rectifier but that's a good thing because a valve in that rôle won't suddenly expire and cause your home to smell like a million stray cats used the floor as a toilet where a selenium rectifier can - and will, usually when people are visiting 
- do that. The pentodes are used efficiently and each is performing the functions of at least two other valves with every junction having a part to play. It looks so sweet and innocent but it's actually a very efficient design that manages with those three remaining valves what some large, European sets use as many as eleven valves to do, in some cases using a sophisticated final audio pentode like an ECL86 to perform a single function, with an additional valve used as audio driver.
Looking at the pinouts of those valves they are indeed only little B7G bases on them, I love how equipment from the American continents uses those in so many ways where here in the UK, they were rarely if ever seen outside of battery portables that ran 1.5V heaters and tended not to last very long as a result of the hard life that battery portables would be subject to.
Yep, that's a little beauty!
- do that. The pentodes are used efficiently and each is performing the functions of at least two other valves with every junction having a part to play. It looks so sweet and innocent but it's actually a very efficient design that manages with those three remaining valves what some large, European sets use as many as eleven valves to do, in some cases using a sophisticated final audio pentode like an ECL86 to perform a single function, with an additional valve used as audio driver.Looking at the pinouts of those valves they are indeed only little B7G bases on them, I love how equipment from the American continents uses those in so many ways where here in the UK, they were rarely if ever seen outside of battery portables that ran 1.5V heaters and tended not to last very long as a result of the hard life that battery portables would be subject to.
Yep, that's a little beauty!
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