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ISSN 084-6209
The Vintage Wireless and Gramophone Club of Western Australia
RADIO-GRAM
September 2013
Issue 123
News from the Vintage Wireless and Gramophone Club, Perth. WA.
This issue comprises the March to August 2013 Meetings!
Reg Gauci explains some finer points of his transistor radio to Tony Smith and David Littlely, at the
May 2013 meeting.
At the July meeting, David Hawkes gave an
interesting and entertaining presentation on
his career in radio.
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A good turnout of members attended the
June 2013 AGM and monster auction.
Peter Byrnes, guest speaker, gave a presentation at the August 2013 meeting, on his work in
the Australian telephone network industry
Radiogram Issue 123 September 2013
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VINTAGE WIRELESS AND GRAMAPHONE
CLUB OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA Inc.
EXECUTIVE 2009-2010
President: Rob Nunn
51 St Helier Drive, Sorrento, WA 6020
Phone: 0418 922 629 (M) ; 08 94486143 (H)
Email : [email protected]
Vice President: Steve Austin
President’s Report
Welcome to Edition No 123 of our
Club magazine, “Radiogram”! This
issue covers the period from March
2013 to August 2013. The magazine
complements our Club Website, managed by Reg Gauci with up to date
information on the Club activities.
Our March meeting was chaired by our Vice-President
Stephen Austin, due to my absence overseas (also April
and May meetings). The Guest Speaker was Don Yates,
who shared his experiences working with Radio 6PM.
Thanks Don for an interesting presentation.
Secretary: Andrew Wakeman
Vince Taylor (Minute Secretary)
Treasurer: Barry Kinsella
If you would like to purchase a copy of the excellent new
book, Encyclopaedia of Western Australian Wirelesses and Gramophones, please see Richard Rennie.
Website: Reg Gauci : http://vwgc.org.au
Email: [email protected]
Committee: Rob Nunn, Barry Kinsella, Andrew
Wakeman, Rodney House, Vince Taylor, Tony
Smith, Steve Austin, Reg Gauci and Len Lewis.
Appointments: Librarian: Len Lewis
On 3 April 2013 a Committee Meeting was held at the
Presidents home to discuss the upcoming program for the
remainder of 2013, and other general Club business.
Thank you to all Committee Members for their contributions to keeping the Club running in a smooth and interesting manner to Members.
Editor: Rob Nunn; Publicity/Website: Reg Gauci
Meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday of each
month (with the exception of December) at 8pm in
the Veteran Car Club rooms at 6 Hickey Street,
Ardross. Visitors are always welcome!
Although the main interests of members are wireless receivers and gramophones (or phonographs)
, many members are also interested in amplifiers,
telephones, musical boxes, tape recorders, television receivers and other associated equipment and
memorabilia.
Radio-Gram is currently published twice per year,
in about February and August.
At our April meeting Secretary Rodney advised that our
Club will once again have a display at the “Have a Go
Day” to be held 13 November 2013. More details later.
The 22 Members and 3 Visitors present at the meeting
enjoyed John Rutlands’ presentation on his work experiences with the AEC Electrical company in Perth.
Reg Gauci gave an interesting talk at our May Meeting on
the development of transistor radios. Thanks Reg!
Our AGM and Auction at the June Meeting were well attended. As usual the Auction proved popular with a great
variety of items up for grabs.
Our Secretary Rodney House retired after 3 years of service to our Club. I would like to express my thanks to
Send articles and advertisements to the editor:
Rodney for doing a great job as Secretary, not just at our
Rob Nunn : 51 St Helier Drive, Sorrento, WA, 6020 monthly and Committee meetings, but also at public
events, enquires from the public and other clubs, and conEmail: [email protected]
tributions to the Clubs program through presentations and
Phone : 94486143 or 0418 922 629
displays of his collections. Thanks Rodney!
Please make sure your ‘copy’ is submitted by the
meeting night prior to the issue month.
Advertisements are placed FREE of charge, but
should be of a non-exploitive nature.
Subscriptions: $25 (payable in June)
(Concession rate: $20)
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The remainder of our Committee was elected unopposed.
Thank you to all Committee Members for your work during
the year and your commitment to our year ahead!
Our Guest Speaker at our July meeting was David
Hawkes, who gave an informative and amusing presentation of his 48 years in radio. David also has DVD’s of his
life in radio broadcasting to interested parties.
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Our August meeting was well-attended with 11 Visitors
turning up. Thanks to those that spread the word on the
subject of the Meeting. An excellent film on the development of telephones in Australia was shown by Tony
Smith followed by a presentation by Peter Burns (exTelstra) of his experiences in the development of the
Australian telephone network. Thanks Peter!
On 17 August 2013 a number of Club Members attended
the private cinema owned by Roy Mudge in Medina. Roy
showed the 1958 Cinemiracle film “Windjammer”, which
was greatly enjoyed by all. Thanks to Roy for the film
experience (and ice-cream!), and to Tony Smith for organising the attendance by our Club.
The Secretary’s Report
Retired Secretary’s Report Sept
2013-09-12
The first half of 2013 saw an interesting programme of activities at
our Club meetings with a good
balance of guest speakers and
members’ presentations – thanks
to John Rutland and Reg Gauci.
The small auctions which have become a regular part of
meetings where we do not have a guest speaker have
contributed in attracting members as well as reducing the
Any Members wishing to purchase gramophone needles large backlog of donated items. This resulted in a much
and electric styluses, please see Steve Austin.
more manageable number of items at the larger June
auction – 48. Even then we had 20 buyers, and collected
The Committee will be meeting on 17 September 2013 to $965 with the Club retaining $243 from donated sales
discuss our upcoming program for 2014 and our Novem- and commission.
ber Social Get Together. Details of the remaining program for 2013 are shown on Page 5.
We have had in excess of 100 items at some auctions in
the past and this creates a huge amount of work for a few
Our bank balance is very sound and we are planning are people. I would hope that the small auctions continue for
great November end of year party, so keep 26 November the foreseeable future.
2013 free! Details of location to be advised.
I would like to thank all members and particularly commitHope to see you at our September meeting. A film from tee members for their support over the period when I was
Tony on Radio Components and a talk from Reg on the
Secretary. I took over the position on the passing of
inventors of the transistor.
Trevor and agreed to do it until the next AGM . I think I
served a little over 3 years. I thank Andrew for stepping in
………...Rob
at the last AGM and wish him well for his time as Secretary.
If you have not yet given something back to our Club I
would urge you to give serious consideration to joining
the committee at the next AGM. Committee membership
is not at all onerous, generally involves only two meetings
per year and the Club would benefit from an injection of
new ideas.
Roy Mudge cinema, Medina
I will continue to be active within the Club with Items of
interest and the occasional presentation and look forward
to doing so from the back of the room rather than the
front.
............Rodney
Andrew will take over this Column in the next issue of
“Radiogram” No 124.
New Secretary,
Andrew Wakeman
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CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS EDITION
Tony Smith
Vince Taylor
Fred Franklin
Richard Rennie
Andy Marsden
James Wemm
Rodney House
EXECUTIVE AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS
President
Rob Nunn
Minutes Secretary
Vince Taylor
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Vice-President
Steve Austin.
Committee
Tony Smith
Secretary
Andrew Wakeman
Webmaster and Committee
Reg Gauci
Treasurer
Barry Kinsella
Committee
Rodney House
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Recent Events
March 26, 2013 : Don Yates gave a talk on his experiences at radio 6PM.
April 23, 2013 : John Rutland presented his experiences in the Perth electrical industry.
May 28, 2013 : Reg Gauci introduced a Transistor
Night. Bring along your novelty, interesting and
unusual radios.
Reg Gauci
June 25, 2013 : AGM and Auction.
July 23, 2013 : David Hawkes presented the story
of his life in radio broadcasting.
David Hawkes
August 27, 2013 : Film by Tony Smith on the history of Australian telephones, followed by a presentation by Tony Byrnes on his work in the telephone industry.
Tony Smith
Coming Events
September 24, 2013 : Film by Tony Smith on Radio
Components, and a talk by Reg Gauci on “Who
really invented the transistor?”
October 22, 2013 : John Laurie will discuss his
experiences with an early Perth manufacturer—
Titan Radios. See page 142 of Richard Rennie’s
book “Encyclopedia of WA Wireless and Gramophones”
November 26, 2013 : Annual Social Evening, starts
at 6.30pm. Details to be advised.
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Tony Smith
Reg Gauci
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STELMA TDA-2 DISTORTION ANALYSER
Fred Franklin
Stelma Inc., in America appears to be a major supplier nised reversing switch enabling the motor to run effiof communications and test equipment during the Viet ciently on ac or dc power.
Nam war era.
These dirty switching connections create a hiss or
This distortion analyser is labelled as 1965 and carries worse in the output signal and is received by the reAmerican military identification. It was set up for 110
cipient of the message. To fix the problem I have a
volts operation, however, I changed the power translittle piece of pumice stone shaped like small stick and
former primary windings to 240 volts when I found that rub it back and forth gently across the commutator
instruction in the manual.
while the motor is running. Great care must be taken
Top view Distortion Analyser
Front view Distortion Analyser
It was built to show the quality of square wave outputs
from various communications equipment. During
Morse code transmissions there is a problem with
"birdies", a chirping noise occurring on the start and
finish of each key stroke due to dirty contacts, contact
bounce etc...
This fault can be filtered out of the analysis so that
only the square wave is analysed. However, they can
be left in as part of the analysis. Another important
fault that is analysed is the hash from the commutator
of tele-printer motors.
as this job puts the technician in danger of electric
shock. With a clean commutator and bedded-in
brushes, the motor runs faster, quieter and without
hash in the signal.
The screen is a three inch diameter cathode ray tube
and is calibrated by a horizontal line on the lower third
of the screen labelled 0-50% distortion. The letter M is
written on the left hand side of the screen at about half
way up. Beneath this is the letter S.
When the machine is turned on and warmed up a
small dot appears on the screen. The dot should
moved to a position next to the M on the screen using
the horizontal and vertical position knobs. A quick flick
of the signal polarity switch causes an oblong to appear, the height of the D & M and the width of the distortion scale momentarily.
Tele-typewriters are powered by a sewing machine
motor connected to the mains. They are a series or
universal motor. As an electrical fitter I am used to
their problems and see sparks coming off the trailing
edge of the brushes and going part way around the
The signal input jack is insulated away from the chascommutator. The commutator is a high speed synchro- sis of the machine and is connected directly to the po6
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Servicing was easy. Remove two screws under the
Some interesting displays recently seen in
cabinet and four on the front and the machine sides
Ireland (Editor) out of the cabinet. On top of the chassis are two well
spaced rows of valves, chassis mounted electrolytic
capacitors and power transformer. The cathode ray
tube fits neatly down the centre. Under the chassis all
the resistors and capacitors are mounted on both
sides of two tag boards. Each part has its part number
neatly written next to it. (R1, R6, C4, etc.).
Calibration is easily achieved without taking the cabinet off the instrument as a row of potentiometers is
installed down the right hand side of the chassis.
These potentiometers are full size but their shafts are
cut off near the mounting boss and have a screw
driver slot in the end of the shaft. These potentiometers can be accessed through a corresponding row of
holes in the cabinet.
The main problem encountered with the analyser is
that most of the valves are obscure military ones with
no civilian equivalent. This could lead to some problems as the machine ages.
The cabinet only needed cleaning and polishing with
automotive cutting cream. Later, when I find a leather
worker, I will have the handle repaired.
......Fred Franklin
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Minutes of Vintage Wireless and Gramophone Collectors Club meeting held at
clubrooms Tuesday March 26th 2013.
clubrooms Tuesday April 23rd 2013.
22 members present. 3 visitors.
22 members present. 1 visitor.
8.01pm. Meeting commenced.
The meeting was opened by vice president Steve Austin.
Apologies were given for Rob Nunn and Len Lewis. A
welcome was extended to our guest speaker Ron Yates.
Secretary’s Report. Incoming correspondence. 1) Letter
from City of Melville to remind us to finalise paperwork
regarding funding they supplied for Richard Rennie’s’ talk
that was given at Karanjini Hall recently. There was no
outgoing correspondence. Thanks were extended to both
Reg Gaucci and Barry Kinsella for their efforts given to the
club display at the Guildford Heritage Festival.
Treasurer’s Report. Tabled as a separate document.
Moved as correct by Richard Rennie, seconded by Tony
Barbartano. Passed unanimously.
General Business.
Steven Austin- 5 Booklets from Christies Auctions have
been donated to the Club library. Also $80 has been raised
recently from the sale of gramophone needles...there is a
need to order more.
Richard Rennie- A box of assorted Bakelite radio knobs
has been donated to the club.
Andrew Wakeman- Has High Frequency receivers and gear
for sale.
Dennis Grimwood- The switch off of analogue TV is nigh.
Norbert Tourney- On setting up set top boxes.
Merv Thompson- It was mentioned that Len Lewis and
Richard were the remaining original founding members of
the club. Merv would like to correct that statement to include himself as a founding member.
Tony Bayliss- A second hand store in Stirling Hwy Nedlands has an unusual gramophone.
Items of Interest.
Steven Austin- The world’s smallest Bakelite radio. This is
a novelty item of clock and music box with the music box
providing the alarm.
Dennis Grimwood- Is looking for info on 6146 valves. He
has a melting problem. Norbert may be able to help.
Merv Thompson- 2 Decca trench portables with reflector
horns. A very beautiful American Columbia 163 portable
with gold plated fittings.
The meeting was opened by vice president Steven Austin.
Apologies were given for President Rob Nunn.
Secretary’s Report.
A letter was sent to Curtin FM Radio stating our support
for the station. There was no outgoing correspondence.
A committee meeting was held on April 3 rd to settle the
programme of guest speakers for the rest of the year.
The Club will once again have a display at the ‘Have a Go
Day’ on wed 13th Nov.
There is a large cathode ray oscilloscope and 2 cathode
tubes for disposal- See Rod House.
5000 Gramophone needles have arrived. Still $6 per 100.
See Steve Austin.
Treasurer’s Report.
The treasurer’s report was tabled as a separate document.
General Business.
Merv Thompson- Wished to thank Rod House for the notification of the sale of radios etc that was on at the Perth
Town Hall. He and Rodney went along but the items on
offer proved to be disappointing.
Richard Rennie- The Heritage Festival event ‘Sounds Like
Heritage’ will be on at Wireless Hill. See Heritage Festival
website for details. There are also more Bakelite radio
knobs available through the club.
Barry Kinsella- $55 membership fee has been paid to Curtin FM to enable the Club to publicise events.
Tony Smith- \The next meeting is a Transistor Radio show
and tell. Unusual and novelty radios are requested for display.
James Wemm- Requested that info be gathered on membership renewal notices for those who wish a hard copy of
the newsletter.
Items of Interest.
Steven Austin- Vintage stereoscopic viewer made by Mr
Wheatstone. Also an S.G. Brown audio aid circa 1920s.
Meeting closed 8.25pm.
A talk was given by John Rutland on his experiences working with AEC electrical company Perth.
Meeting closed 8.28pm. Guest speaker Don Yates reflecting on his experiences working with Radio 6pm...
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clubrooms Tuesday May 28th 2013.
25 members present.
The meeting was opened by Vice President Steven Austin.
Apologies were given for Rob Nunn and Shane Austin.
Incoming correspondence. There was no formal correspondence received. There were 2 email enquiries, the first regarding the restoration of a HMV gramophone and the
other for a gramophone on ebay. Rodney has replied to
both. There was no outgoing correspondence.
Tabled as a separate document. There is approx $10 000 in
the bank. There are no outstanding debits. Moved as correct by Richard Rennie, seconded by Merv Thompson.
Passed unanimously.
General Business.
At the May 2013 meeting, Reg Gauci gave a
presentation on the development of the
transistor radio
Rodney House- Has been contacted by a lady in Madora
Bay who has donated 2 radios to the club. These are an
Astor and a Hotpoint 32v (with power supply) and shall be
put out to tender for members. Rodney also advised that he
will be retiring as club secretary this year and there is a
need for someone to step up to the plate at the AGM.
Reg Gauci- Has seen on Gumtree a mass of old radio test
equipment for sale.
Richard Rennie- There is still an assortment of radio and
radiogram knobs for sale. (proceeds to the club)
Items of Interest
Steve Austin- 3 novelty radios. 1) Toilet Roll radio in a
toilet roll box, 2) Vegemite radio, 3) Google light brick
radio.
Tony Bayliss- 4 valve live chassis radios 1) Philco, 2) Japanese white hard plastic.
Paul Hansen- Tape Deck. TEAC X10 Mk 2 reel to reel.
Tony Bayliss shows some novel radios, including a 4-valve live chassis radio by Philco and a
Japanese white plastic radio.
Reg Gauci- gave a talk on transistor radios and their development.
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Some more novel transistor radios at the May 2013 meeting!
Some of the transistor radios brought in by
Members for the May 2013 meeting.
Committee member, Tony Smith surveys
and discusses some of the transistor radios
at the May 2013 meeting.
Novel transistor radios
brought in by Members at
the May meeting.
Did you know?......
Bell Laboratories demonstrated the first transistor on December 23, 1947. The scientific team at Bell Laboratories
responsible for the solid-state amplifier included William Shockley, Walter Houser Brattain, and John Bardeen. After
obtaining patent protection, the company held a news conference on June 30, 1948, at which a prototype transistor
radio was demonstrated.
There are many claimants to the title of the first company to produce practical transistor radios, often incorrectly attributed to Sony (originally Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation). Texas Instruments had demonstrated
all-transistor AM (amplitude modulation) radios as early as May 25, 1954,[41[5]but their performance was well below
that of equivalent vacuum tube models. A workable all-transistor radio was demonstrated in August 1953 at the Dusseldorf Radio Fair by the German firm Intennetall.E61
It was built with four of Intermetall's hand-made transistors, based upon the 1948 invention of the "Transistron"germanium point-contact transistor by Herbert Matare and Heinrich Welker. However, as with the early Texas Instruments units (and others) only prototypes were ever built; it was never put into commercial production. RCA had
demonstrated a prototype transistor radio as early as 1952 and it is likely that they and the other radio makers were
planning transistor radios of their own, but Texas Instruments and Regency Division of I.D.E.A., were the first to
offer a production model starting in October 1954.F 1 (Wikipedia)
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clubrooms Tuesday June 25th 2013.
25 members present.
The meeting was opened by President Rob Nunn. Welcome
was extended to members and guests. Rob apologised for
his absence from the March, April and May meetings.
AGM – Due to Rodney Houses’ retirement Andrew Wakeman nominated for Secretary. Elected unopposed. In absence of nominations for positions the executive remains as
is; Pres- Rob Nunn, Vice Pres- Steve Austin, Treas- Barry
Kinsella, Web manager/ librarian- Reg Gauci, Minutes secVince Taylor. The committee remains unchanged.
An auction was held after the meeting.
Thanks were given to Vice Pres- Steve Austin, Sec- Rodney
House and Treas- Barry Kinsella. Thanks also to John Rutland, Reg Gauci and Richard Rennie.
The next issue of the club magazine is due in late Julymore stories are needed. Reg is looking more info for the
website which needs to reflect all members. There is a good
list of presenters for the rest of the year.
The agenda tonight will be the regular meeting, AGM, tea
and coffee break and auction. Rodney House retires tonight
after 3 years service as Secretary and we thank him for his
work.
The June meeting featured a large auction, presided over by our Auctioneer Steve Austin (left)
and ably assisted by Richard Rennie (right)
Incoming correspondence. 1) Letter from Peter Byrne confirming his upcoming talk on early telephone. 2) Letter from
John Rutland apologising for his absence from the next few
meetings. There was no outgoing correspondence. Moved
as correct by Steve Austin, seconded by Merv Thompson.
Passed unanimously.
Tabled as a separate document. There is approx $10 000 in
the bank. There are no outstanding debits. Moved as correct
by Rod Edwards, seconded by Richard Rennie. Passed
unanimously.
Some of the large collection of items up for
auction at the June meeting.
General Business.
Rodney House- Has been contacted by the Radio Heritage
Society seeking donations to keep their website up and running. Rodney moved that we send them a donation of $100.
Seconded by Richard Rennie. Passed unanimously.
Tony Smith- There is a donation to the club of a Phillips
radiogram (dark wood, glide-o-matic). There is another
Cinerama film coming to the private cinema in Kwinana.
Will try to organise another club visit.
Items of Interest
Merv Thompson- 1) Bing childs gramophone with accompanying story book and picture disc. 2) 1880-90s Swiss music box with 8 tunes.
William Oxley- 1) STC radio 2) 1938 Howard.
David Fisher- TEAC toolbox radio.
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An oscilloscope for auction at the
June meeting.
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More items up for auction and display at the June 2013 meeting!
Bill Oxwell discusses the beautiful restoration of a valve mantle Airzone radio
and a valve mantle STC radio.
The valve mantle 1936 STC
model 514 radio.
Plenty of spare parts here!
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The valve mantle 1936 Airzone
model 508 radio.
A plastic case valve mantle radio in
good condition.
Valve mantle, wood cabinet PYE radio.
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More items up for auction and display at the June 2013 meeting!
A Roberts (UK) leather case portable
radio needs some TLC.
Westinghouse portable transistor
radio in nice condition.
Lafayette Model HE-30 shortwave receiver,
early-mid 1960’s vintage. Possibly made for
Lafayette by Trio Kenwood.
Symphonic wood-cabinet mantle radio
record player.
Zenith solid-state, shortwave portable radio proved a popular item in the auction.
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David Fisher brought in a novel
TEAC toolbox radio to show in
“Items of Interest”
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Some more items up for auction and display at the June 2013 meeting!
A Kriesler bakelite case valve mantle
radio in good condition.
A Technics Tuner-Graphic EqualiserIntegrated Amplifier modular piece.
Merv also showed a Bing childs gramophone with accompanying story book and
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Up for auction - an Edison Bell Bijou 1926
valve radio with cabinet in museum condition.
Portable Califone 1450K stereo compatible
cartridge record player.
Merv shows his 1880-90,s Swiss
cylinder music box with 8 tunes.
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clubrooms Tuesday July 23rd 2013.
clubrooms Tuesday August 27th 2013.
20 members present, 2 visitors.
18 members present, 11 visitors.
was extended to visitors Lloyd Hatfield and Sid Pateman.
Welcome also to new Secretary Andrew Wakeman. Thanks
were given to Rodney House for his work as Secretary over
the past few years. Reminder was also made to members to
utilise the club library kept in the kitchen. Radiogram Issue
#123 is in preparation so feel free to send items for inclusion to either Rob Nunn or Reg Gauci. A reminder was also
issued to members to bring in interesting telephones next
month to compliment the August topic on Telephones in
Australia.
was extended to visitors Keith Nunn, Jim Gooding, Sid
Pateman, Peter Burns, Dermont Deeg, Ken Smith, John
Bath, Peter Brown, John Pascolich, Ross Herbert and Max
Wishall. Thanks to all members who have bought Telephone equipment along to compliment tonight’s presentation. Radiogram Issue #123 will be available late September, all contributions are welcome. Our program through to
the end of the year is September) Radio Components, October) Titan Radios and November) End of year function.
Incoming Correspondence) There was notification of the
passing of member John Lewis. Outgoing Correspondence)
$100 was paid as a donation to the Radio Heritage Society.
The report was moved as correct by Tony Bayliss and seconded by Reg Gauci. Passed.
Incoming Correspondence) there were some enquiries regarding radio repairs. Anyone wishing to take on such work
please let Andrew Wakeman know. Outgoing Correspondence. A letter of thanks was sent to David Hawkes for his
talk last month. The report was moved as correct by Laurie
Bugeja and seconded by Merv Thompson. Passed.
Approx $300 was raised at last month’s club auction. $341
is owed to the President for printing of the last issue of the
club magazine. The report was moved as correct by Laurie
Bugeja and seconded by Tony Barbatano. Passed.
The report was moved as correct by Steven Austin and seconded by Laurie Bugeja. Passed.
General Business.
Steven Austin- Notification that gramophone needles and
electric styluses are available.
Next month (Sat Aug 17th at 2.30pm) the club will attend
Roy Mudge’s private cinema in Medina to see the 1958
Cinemiracle film ‘Windjammer’. Next meeting the presentation will be a film on the first 100 years of telephone in
Australia followed by a talk by ex Telstra employee Peter
Burns.
Items of Interest
There were no items of interest.
Meeting closed 8.08pm. Guest speaker was David Hawkes
speaking about his 48 years of experience in Australian Radio and Television.
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General Business.
Items of Interest
Vince Taylor- 1927 HMV model 31a. One of the last external horn machines produced by HMV for the export market.
Merv Thompson- A box of 6 assorted music box mechanisms for use in small trinket music boxes.
David Littley- A new website is operating called Flight Radar 24.com that will show 80-90% of all commercial flights
in the world on Google Maps with information etc on the
flight and aircraft.
Meeting closed 8.23pm. Tonight’s presentation was on
telephones in Australia with guest speaker Peter Burns.
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DYI Kit Projects—Ella Amplifier
by Andy Marsden, UK.
tions to and fro with Mr Brian Cherry (diyhifsupply) -voila,
ELLA up and running. Slight hum from the speakers but
nothing major. Sounded pretty damn good, much better
than my original MF Synthesis ss amp. Of course, during
the build I became smitten with the bug. You know the
one, why does the circuit work as it does, what can I do
to improve things, 'TUBE ROLLING', what's
all the fuss about re SETs, etc etc.
As so often happens when the bug strikes, wallet opened
and I purchased an LD+/Mk2 (300B Single Ended Triode
monoblocks) and Basie Preamp. Units worked first time ,
better than the ELLA with such delicacy and accuracy of
sound -Tremendous !
ELLA AMPLIFIER
Circuit : Shunt Regulated Push-Pull (SRPP) configuration using both sections of a 6922 Medium Mu Triode.
This is directly coupled to a Medium Mu 6SN7 Twin Triode, with both sections configured as a relative to the
'long tailed pair' phase splitter.
The output is fed, via coupling capacitors, to a pair of EL34 Pentode Power tubes, operating in 'Fixed Bias' mode
(Class AB). The OPT is connected in 'Ultralinear' mode,
BUT, my main speakers were 88 db, just loud enough but
no more. Eventually blew the 300B driver valve -oops. I
was going to build my own full range speakers incorporating Brian's own driver (Neo-Fone), with higher efficiency, but this would have to wait, as I decided to embark on another leg of the ELLA journey.
By this time, my soldering prowess had improved markedly, and I was somewhat ashamed with the spaghetti
under the original ELLA's hood, certainly in comparison
with the SET gear. I read the various forum notes and
recommendations for possible upgrades, read Morgan
Jones 'Valve Amplifiers' cover to cover several times, and
decided to upgrade the amp.
Ella amplifier module
with a Zobel Network connected across the Speaker output. Negative feedback, from the Speaker terminal to the
input tube, is incorporated. The design is such that EL34's, KT-88's and 6550's can all be used
VALVE DATA : 6SN7, 6922, EL-34, KT-83
I first built the P to P (point to point) stock version back in
December 05 (slightly enhanced with Kiwame resistors
and bronze obbligato capacitors). As I was new to soldering, the first version was a tad messy. The unit didn't
work on switch on, but thanks to numerous communica
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New holes in the chassis pretty much demanded a full
rebuild, and anyway that awful wiring had to go. Take it
all apart, start from scratch (but take time to do it right)
and incorporate Triode/UL mode switching, NFB On/Off,
and perhaps most importantly better components and
wiring looms.
An expensive decision was also warranted. In all texts
that I had read to date, the main problem with valve
amplifiers, in almost all their various incarnations,
(excepting the quirky OTL (output transformerless) designs), was the Output Transformer. Irrespective of circuit
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design, without a top quality OPT, all was seemingly lost
(or sound quality at the very least greatly compromised).
As it happened, Mr Cherry was selling an exotic one, full
of Amorphous material. I had to have the best, so my
wallet opened yet again !!
Other bits and pieces in the New ELLA:
• 3 dp/dt switches, two for Triode/UL switching and the
other for the NFB On/Off
• High Resolution Bias Pots (much better than the stock
ones, could easily set each valve to
within 1mV of each other (as measured across the
10ohm Cathode resistors).
• Teflon valve bases (tightest possible connection for the
valves).
• Silver wire, and silver solder for all signal wires, OFC
copper for all ground connections
and bias power supply.
I kept the Kiwames and Obbligatos as is.
OPT, in UL mode.
Switching from UL to Triode mode on the fly reduced
gain by only a very small amount, indicating that the UL
taps on the Amorphous OPT were set for minimum distortion, rather than maximum power. UL mode was
clearer in the highs, and tighter in the lows when compared with Triode mode.
This indicated a true high end quality to the Amorphous
OPT's. Massive change in sound switching NFB off.
Much more gain, opening up the sound stage
somewhat, but at the expense of tighter bass – bass
seemed to wallow around (could this be due to
a lower damping factor ?).
I like tight bass, so back to Negative feedback.
Hey, and the ELLA was now in SET territory, but with
more power -Yippeeeee...
........Andy Marsden
Editors Note :
Andy is an old friend of mine from my days with Caltex in
Indonesia. He lives in Scotland, near Aberdeen and
works in the oil and gas industry.
He is a very keen hi-fi enthusiast and specialises in valve
amplifier projects. Thanks are due to Andy for allowing
this article to be used from his website, and also photos I
took on a recent visit to his home.
If you want to know more please refer to the following link
to his website www.andovida.com
...Rob Nunn (Editor)
Completed Ella amplifier project
Took three months of steady effort to complete the ELLA
MK2. Worked first time. So to the results....
Kit used to assess the build included Sony sacd/cd
player, coaxial digital out to Musical Fidelity
DACV3, MF 10V3 tube buffer, both with stand alone
power supply,
Rogers LS-7 BBC Monitor Loudspeakers, Tannoy ST-50
Supertweeters, REL Quake Sub-base unit.
Cable -Atlas Compass and Equator interconnects, Mark
Levinson Speaker cable.
Absolute silence from the amp, no hum, nothing, even
with ears up to the loudspeakers, full volume.
Using Valve Art matched KT-88's, and after letting the
amp play for some 50 hours, power was
seemingly less with the Amorphous than with the stock
17
Another project of Andys.
18
Picking Up KDKA in Perth
January 1925.
By Richard Rennie
The radio station KDKA was created by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation in 1920, broadcasting on
wavelength 330 m. In 1925 it was also broadcasting on
shortwave (63 metres). In Australia there was a lot of
interest in trying to pick up KDKA.
On January 29, 1925 the Australian Commissioner (Mr.
J. A. M. Elder) travelled to East Pittsburg to broadcast
from KDKA. His speech consisted chiefly of an exposition of America for the benefit of Australians. It was
hoped that the message would be heard in Australia.
At least half a dozen of the experimenters in Perth were
successful in tuning in KDKA. One such person was Mr.
Ernest Dyball of Glyde Street Cottesloe. Mr. Dyball reported that he had succeeded in picking up the messages
broadcast from the United States.
The set used was a single valve low-loss receiver which
had been constructed by Mr. Dyball during his spare
moments. The set could be tuned from about 30 to 85
metres wavelength, and had proved itself to be highly
satisfactory.
Mr. Dyball stated he believed that a straight-out circuit
set such as he had built gave better results than a superreflex or other circuit, in which complications are likely
to occur. He used an aerial strung from his chimney to a
pole in his back yard.
Mr. Elder had cabled Mr. Bruce, the Prime Minister,
suggesting that his radioed speech be given publicity in
Australia, and asked for information as to whether it was
received.
The text of Mr. Elder's speech began “Australia, Australia, Australia! Do you hear me call you? This is your
Commissioner. In so far as the actual accomplishment of
projecting the human voice so great a distance is concerned, it is a feat of which both countries may be proud,
and opens up the greatest possibilities for the future and
more than anything else, perhaps, will develop friendship between the two countries.
The time is not far distant, in my opinion, when wireless
will be in general use, as is the telephone to-day, and
everyone will ask: ‘I wonder how we managed to exist
before we had international wireless?’”
Radio receiver built by Mr Ernest
Dyball c1925.
SUCCESS SPOILED BY INTERFERENCE
Ether conditions in WA were good for the reception of
the Pittsburg broadcasting station KDKA, but local interference appeared to have spoiled what other wise
might have been an excellent test. With a large number
of enthusiasts searching the ether for this distant station
it was only to be expected that 'howling' (caused by reaction or ‘feedback’) as people tuned in would be prevalent.
Indeed, the radio inspector (Mr. Scott) had broadcast
from 6WF an appeal to enthusiasts to exercise the greatest care in handling reaction sets in order to give genuine
experimenters an undisturbed chance of bringing in
KDKA.
SOME WERE SUCCESSFUL
18
19
Edison’s Phonographs 1884–1901
February 1898: Edison Standard Phonograph introduced (see
below).
By Richard Rennie
December 6, 1877: Edison Tin Foil Phonograph invented and
constructed by John Kruesi.
June 1888: Edison Wax Cylinder Phonograph perfected.
January 1889: Class M (battery) Electric Phonograph introduced as an office machine.
February 1899: Edison Gem Phonograph introduced.
February 1899: Edison Concert Phonograph with its 5 inch
diameter cylinders advertised in America.
May 1901: Edison Triumph Phonograph introduced.
The Triumph was a development of the Spring motor Phonograph.
Phonographs in WA 1884–1900
May 2, 1884: First known demonstrations of a tin foil Phonograph in WA is given in Bunbury by Professor Schwarz. Repeated on May 3.76
July 1889: Class E (mains) Electric Phonographs introduced.
Mid 1895: Edison Spring Motor Phonograph introduced.
April 1896: Edison ‘Clockwork’ Home Phonograph introduced.
December 1896: Edison Home Phonograph Model A introduced (see below). This was a development of the Clockwork
Phonograph.
August 4, 1891: First publicity concerning the imminent visit
to Western Australia by Professor Archibald to demonstrate
the Phonograph.76
August 11, 1891: The first demonstration in WA of the Class
M (battery) Electric Edison Phonograph is given by Professor
Douglas Archibald in the Fremantle Oddfellows’ Hall. 76
September 8, 1891: Last demonstrations of the Edison Phonograph in WA is given by Professor Archibald in York. 93
April 19, 1893: Advertisements in WA for Edison’s Improved
Phonograph, for sale for business or exhibition purposes, by
Holland Bros. Sydney.76
August 25, 1893: Messrs. Bowen, Laurence & Co. demonstrate The Edison Phonograph in their premises in Barrack St.
Perth. Admission one shilling. “The machines were the latest
imported from America.”76
March 14, 1894: An Edison Phonograph with full set of records and all instructions, was advertised for sale. 76
November–December 1894: Repeated For Sale advertisements for Edison’s latest Phonograph with battery and full set
of records.76
March 4, 1895: Advertisement for young lady wanted to attend a Light Refreshment Saloon in the goldfields and to assist working an Edison Phonograph.76
19
20
The Guinness Storehouse
in Dublin, Ireland.
Phonographs in WA 1884–1900
(continued)
April 5, 1895: Young lady of respectable appearance brought
before the court charged with stealing a Phonograph valued at
£150. Warrant issued at Yalgoo goldfields at the insistence of
one Mr. Bowen.93
November 1895 – January 1896: Phonographs were offered
for sale as a “splendid investment for an energetic man”. 76
April 25, 1896: Mrs. Nicholson, who had rooms at the corner
of Howick and Pier Streets, advertised she had one of the largest and most powerful Phonographs ever seen in WA. This
could be heard in comfortable accommodation for a nominal
charge.76
v
March 23, 1897: Mr. Frank St. Hill announced the public
demonstration of Edison’s Phonoscope; a combination of Edison’s Vitascope projector and the loud speaking Concert Phonograph. Some 30 moving pictures with sound were to be
played.76
January 22, 1898: Phonographs were offered for sale, usually
suggesting “a good investment for pushing man”, or “a fortune for a pushing man”. E. Symonds c/o J.H. Osbourne, St.
George’s Tce. Perth.76
November 28, 1898 through to January 1899: Large commercial advertisements for Phonographs were placed in newspapers by E. Symonds c/o J.H. Osbourne.
By Rob Nunn.
In April this year Anne and I visited the Guinness Storehouse in the city of Dublin, Ireland. What has this got to
do with vintage wireless and gramophones? Not a lot
really but they did have a collection of vintage television
sets!
And the 7-storey Storehouse contains more than
just the Guinness story,
dating back to 1759—it
also has very good displays of the history of the
people of Dublin and the
city of Dublin.
Some of the advertising archives in
the Guinness
Storehouse.
Guinness radiotelevision museum.
October 11, 1899: The Fremantle Music Depot in High Street
advertises new and up-to-date models of Gramophones, Graphophones and Phonographs.76
July 17, 1900: C.E. Stevens, New York USA advertises he is
the selling agent for Edison Phonographs, records and blanks,
and other products. This ad is repeated regularly through to
September 1900. 78
August 19, 1900: C. Wearne, electrical engineers of Murray
St. Perth imports an Edison Grand Concert Phonograph, “the
largest one ever brought into Australia”. He also has an Edison Coin-in-the-slot Phonograph.79
……….
Richard Rennie
Enormous vat inside the 7-story building
20
Fancy a drop of Guinness?
21
Some photos from our August meeting on early telephones
Andrew Wakeman shows a beautiful telephone.
Vince demonstrates his 1927 HMV Model
31A horn gramaphone (above and below).
Some of our Members and Visitors present.
Merv Thompson shows a box of
6 music box mechanisms used in
small trinket music boxes.
Remember these ones! - You
are older than you think!
Brass telephone with hangerhook in very nice condition.
21
22
in parallel and fixed the problem of motor boating.
What does one do on a quiet
Sunday arvo in the ‘Man Cave’?
James Wemm VWGC
On a recent rainy Sunday in Perth (a rare event) I was
faced with the dilemma whether to go out or not. I normally like to go out on weekends having worked the
other five days of the week however this particular day
looked uninviting outside so decided to play in the man
cave. I knew I had a few toys that I had either purchased or had been given that were in need of repair or
restoration.
The whistle still had me stumped so resorting to some
theory we learnt eons ago, I was thinking it may have
something to do with a neutralisation problem. Indeed,
there was a 25pf mica cap from the plate to a grid on
the 2nd IF amp. Mica caps never go faulty I reminded
myself however when I removed it the problem seem
to be fixed!!
What’s going on here, is it leaky? Well testing on the
The first item I tackled was a Kreisler Beehive radio that
I purchased on my last visit to Melbourne. The chap at
the antique shop assured me that it actually turned on
and made some noises so I took him for his word having
beat him down from $250 to $150.
So turning it on for the first time on this Sunday arvo
three facts became immediately clear.
1. We had dial lights – mains transformer was probably
okay.
2. There was a hum (eventually) in the loudspeaker –
Loudspeaker at least works
3. And three the audio speaker transformer is probably
okay as well.
This was a good start to my investigation however no
music!
Taking the covers off I was surprised to see that the rectifier valve was missing and had been replaced with
solid state diodes! I could also see that the main electrolytic filter cap wasn’t happy and in fact was very hot
only after being on for a few minutes. (Not surprising
given the solid state rectifier).
Replaced all electros and found an old 6X5 rectifier
valve so proceeded to rip out the diodes. Turned the set
back on and had around 280 volts HT but still no music.
Measured a few voltages and quickly determined we
had some leaky cap problems. Replaced all paper caps
with some Phillips 400v polys that I had in waiting for
just such an occasion.
Kreisler Beehive circa 1947
DMM confirmed that it wasn’t leaky but on measuring
it’s capacitance found it to be about 850pf. Couldn’t
read the writing on the unit so not sure if a wrong one
had been put in or it was actually faulty. Putting a 25pf
mica in and the set now works perfectly.
Only one thing left to do and that was to clean and polish the case and put it back together. (Still have to do a
bit more polishing – the good thing about the Beehive
unit is that all the hoop sections are separate)
Now feeling quite proud of my achievements I thought
this would look good sitting on top of the fridge in the
kitchen. Well that was quickly overturned by the
leader of the opposition so now it resides in a spare
room with the rest of my old wireless collection!
Turned the set on and bingo we did indeed have music
and the set seemed to be quite sensitive which was
quite pleasing. However, when tuning across dial it had
an annoying whistle and also a case of intermittent
‘motor boating’.
At this stage I had to dig out a circuit of the unit in the
old blue books and discovered that the main electro
was supposed to be 12uF and not 8 so stuck another 8
22
23
its mates.
Now what to do next, well I remembered that I had a
small ‘RealTone’ AM/FM pocket transistor of 1970s vintage given to me however I wasn’t sure of its status.
Putting in a 9 volt battery didn’t bring on any music on
either the AM or FM. How do you go from a valve unit
to a small 7 transistor radio in the same day?
The pleasing thing was that the circuit diagram was affixed to the inside of the rear cover. Anyway switching
it on and off gave me the good sound of a click in the
speaker which at least told me that the audio stage was
probably okay.
For those mathematical minded the gain is set by the
following formula:
AV =
(RF/R1) + 1
So with R1 effectively infinite resistance due to the Cap
being open circuit, we have an effective gain of 1
So there you have it—a very satisfying Sunday afternoon spent in the “Man Cave”!
James Wemm—member VWGC
However putting a finger on the volume control didn’t
yield any grid hum (well okay transistor base hum) although it did have some life in the audio when touching
the audio input with the meter probes.
Now this was one of the transformerless Complementary Symmetry output stages so we need to measure
the centre voltage to confirm all is well. It was about 4
volts and given that it had a 9 volt battery it seemed
about right. So the audio stage had to be okay - possibly!!
Switching it to AM I did the old Local Oscillator check
using another radio and that at least confirmed that the
mixer was okay and the LO was indeed working. Quickly
measured the elements of the IF transistors and they
seemed okay.
It was almost time to recite ohms law to it to let it
know who is boss but instead it was time to bring out
the big guns – had to fire up the old BWD 539c CRO to
do some signal tracing.
1970’s RealTone AM/FM
pocket transistor radio
Checked the audio into the volume control from the
detector – nothing!! Signal traced a bit further back on
the other side of an electro feeding the VC and bingo
we had signal. Removed the cap and decided to test it
on the cap check on the DMM – Absolutely no capacitance at all apart from a few nano-Fs.
Replaced and we at least had some output now but the
level was so low and it appeared that I had the same
signal into the audio as there was on the speaker. No
Gain at all! Then I recalled that the gain for these stages
is set by the ratio of two resistors with one going to
ground via a capacitor.
You guessed it the capacitor to ground in the feedback
loop was also open circuit. It turned out it was the same
variety as the other one. Replaced this one and bingo
what a terrific little radio with very good sensitivity on
both AM and FM.
Circuit diagram affixed to inside of cabinet!
Cleaned and polished the case and didn’t bother with
any other location apart from the spare room with all
23
24
would perform.
PYE "CAMBRIDGE"
By Tony Smith
At a recent Club auction there was on
offer a large "table" radio, a Pye Cambridge model. I have always been attracted to bright
dials and large knobs (the same with girls!) and so
with a rush of blood to the head I fell for it.
The set was made in the Republic of Ireland and it
became obvious that at the time of this radio, it was
the start of making jokes about the Irish!
Next was to remove the knobs. They were very
difficult to get off without breaking because of the
rusted retainer springs. This difficulty of removal
was perhaps a blessing in disguise because so many
old radios end up loosing their knobs.
Next was to try and work out the complicated dial
system which had been butchered by someone earlier. Fortunately the large glass dial was absolutely
intact without any damage and thus made the efforts
that were to follow worthwhile.The dial system in-
Rather than write the complicated and the highly technical words "aerial" and "earth" on the appropriate
chassis terminals, the factory decided to put explanatory drawings instead! For the aerial there was a drawing of a wire strung between two posts, and for the
earth there was a drawing of a tap with a wire con-
nected to it.
Maybe this was the
start of the Irish radio
joke.
Question - "How
many Irishmen does
it take to make an aerial?"
Answer - "Three, two
to stretch out the wire
and stand still, one to connect the wire to the radio".
Pye “Cambridge” table
cluded a horizontal
model Circa 1953
pointer that moved up
and down the dial, a system of illuminated sliding apertures to indicate the
selected receiver bands, and a further combination
dial (also illiminated) that indicated the on-off switch
and the tone control settings.
The set was obviously designed to make the most of
short wave with it's large bandspread dial. The tuning
capacitor was constructed with separate sections for
the bandspread, the sections comprising just two
plates meshing to spread out the stations.
Fortunately I was given some information obtained
from the net which detailed how to set these indicators up. The on/off and tone control included a
switched complex feedback system from the speaker
voice coil to the audio input.
The design of the set was obviously to produce
plenty of volume from push-pull output and a 10"
speaker. Unfortunately it looked like the set had been
stored for some time in a damp atmosphere with the
result that the chassis was very badly rusted. The set
had those cursed Mullard type 8 pin miniature valves
with glass locating spigots, fitting into valve sockets
with spring retainers.
The main dial system used conventional dial cord, but
the other two indicators required fine flexible nonstretch wire. One of our Club members suggested
from his experience with some Philips sets that for
these two latter indicators I obtain some fine multistrand fishing trace wire used to secure fishing lures to
fishing lines. This proved to be a piece of advice
gratefully received!
These were all rusted up and so the springs had to be
removed in order not strain the valves upon removal. After cleaning all the valve pins and holders,
checking the heaters indicated that they were all intact. Thus there was a fair chance that each valve
Once out of the cabinet the first noticeable thing was
the condition of the power transformer, which had
virtually all it's pitch filler melted out over the chassis
- presumably by overload. (could the cause be electroltics?)
24
25
Unsure of whether the transformer had survived
meant that the first step was the old trick of putting a
globe in series with the 250 volts, starting with 40
watts and then going up in wattage.
only the rectifier valve installed turning on the set
gave very low HT. Next step was to
disconnected all loads from the rectifier and try
again - full HT. Right - the transformer was OK so
out with the electrolytics! With new ones installed
and now full HT, the rest of the valves were put in.
lights and cleaning and polishing the knobs. The dial
glass required quite a deal of thin felt to protect it
from the cabinet and dial mechanisms. Fortunately
Textile Traders have a large selection of thin felts
and a suitable quality was found.
Having put the set back into the cabinet, replaced the knobs with difficulty and adjusted all
the indicator mechanisms the set was ready to
show off.
What was not noticed when the set was on the
bench, but when re-assembled, was that the set's
volume control would not go down to zero signal. Damn!
Reversing the procedure and getting out the set chassis again - what was the problem?
Keeping a 75 watt globe in series with the mains
input it was time to try again. (it is interesting to
note that in the early stages of checking an old set
it's condition can often be judged by the glow or
otherwise in various wattages of series globes).
Miracle! Even with a 75 watt globe in series the
set came to life. The AM and all the short wave
bands seemed to be OK. Even the tuning indicator (EM41) was working, with the green image
closing on strong short-wave stations. It's a very
long time since I have seen an old set with a
working indicator!
Next a quick check that the IF was aligned. The details specified that the IF was to be set at 470Kcs.
Tweeking up the IF with the signal generator sorted
this out.
Maybe that was all that had to be done!
Next the cabinet. It was in fair condition but because of peeling and cracks in the original wood
coatings it was decided to strip everything off the
cabinet and bring it back to the wood. The Spanish ambassador "Manual Labour" was called in
here! Two coats of satin varnish followed.
Typically this set used a common cathode bias resistor and capacitor for the combination diode detector and audio amplifier. Experience with previous sets that suffered from this minimum volume
problem was the breakdown of the electrolytic audio bypass capacitor on the cathode bias resistor.
What occurs is that the detected audio signal developed by the diode is injected into the audio amplifier circuit via the cathode resistor if there is no
bypass capacitor. This signal is there even if the
volume control is at zero. Lets check this bypass
and see.
Sure enough this indeed was correct. A quick replacement solved the problem - so - back to the reinstallation of the set into the cabinet.
Thankfully that was that. The set is now a good
looker and a real performer. Once again, with 4
new dial lights and repainted white backing, one
can only say that the dial is spectacular at night.
P.S. Don't discount Short Wave in today's radio
world. There is still a wealth of stations on all the
bands. You can even learn to speak Chinese
through regular lessons on China Radio International, or listen to the BBC relayed through transmitters in Beijing.
Not satisfied? Then listen to aircraft directions and
weather from Pearce Aerodrome on Long Wave!
…….Tony Smith
Re-assembling the set into the cabinet included setting up the three dial systems, replacing all the dial
25
26
George Philip Stevens
and the story of the
First Radio Experiments in Western Australia
George Philip Stevens was Born in Somerset, England,
in 1861. He came to WA in 1868 and entered the Post
and Telegraph Department in 1874. He was transferred
to Experance as Officer–in–Charge in 1878, promoted to
Telegraph Station Master at Israelite Bay in 1882, and
then Transferred to Eucla in 1886. He became the Manager and Electrician of the Telegraph Department, Perth
1896
W. J. Hancock suggested that communication between
Rottnest and the mainland could be established using
wireless telegraphy, and he proposed a trial. Mr. Hancock estimated that the necessary apparatus would cost
about £200; much cheaper than a cable.
Mr. Snook, the Superintendent of Telegraphs, then
made enquiries in England about the possibility of obtaining Marconi’s wireless apparatus. He was told that
this was not possible because the “invention had not
been perfected.” Mr. Hancock decided he would try to
build his own wireless apparatus. Forrest then delayed
ordering the cable.
TWO SHIPWRECKS IN 24 HOURS.
On the night of July 11, 1899 the Carlisle Castle was
wrecked on Coventry Reef. The following night the City
of York went aground on a reef near Rottnest.
Within a week of the wrecks, Forrest declared that
unless the wireless experiments were immediately
brought to a successful conclusion, he would order a
cable.
Hancock had made no progress in the last three months
because of damage to the most important component.
Wireless Telegraphy would have been more satisfactory
and cheaper, but Forrest would not wait any longer. He
instructed the Agent General in London to forward two
sets of wireless telegraphy apparatus, if advised by the
Imperial-Postal authorities that it was reliable; or otherwise to forward at once 12 knots of cable suitable for
communication between the mainland and Rottnest.
The cable was ordered
G.P. STEVENS CONTINUED EXPERIMENTS
ROTTNEST ISLAND
Rottnest Island is 16 miles from the coast of Western
Australia. Prior to the 1890s communication with Rottnest was by signals using flags, or by fire, or by the Heliograph which used mirrors to reflect sunlight. The Premier John Forrest could see the need for better communication with Rottnest. But the cost of an undersea
cable for telephone or telegraph was £4000
WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY
By 1897, Marconi had achieved wireless transmissions
of up to three-quarters of a mile. By 1898, he had
achieved distances up to 34 miles. In March 1899, he
achieved transmission across the English Channel and
by April that year could send Morse code messages over
distances up to 80 miles. This distance would easily
cover the distance from the mainland to Rottnest,
W.J. HANCOCK
On January 17, 1899, the Government Electrician, Mr.
26
Stevens, the Electrician of the WA Telegraph Department, continued the wireless telegraphy experiments. By
September 1899 it was reported that he had successfully
transmitted Morse code signals across five rooms in the
basement of the telegraph office, then on the corner of
Barrack Street and St. George’s Terrace. He propose to
make further tests over a larger distance.
On October 11, 1899 Stevens successfully transmitted
Wireless Telegraph messages over three quarters of a
mile. The transmitter was at the Royal Perth Yacht Club.
The receiver was on the launch ‘Cygnet’ on the Swan
River. However, signals could not be picked up at distances greater than three quarters of a mile.
STEVENS’ REPORT TO PARLIAMENT
On October 26, 1899 Stevens submitted a report to both
Houses of Parliament, titled “Wireless Telegraphy Experiments by the Telegraphic Branch of the General Post
Office”.
In his report, Stevens acknowledged that equal or better
results would be obtained by using apparatus supplied
by Marconi's company. He said he would not recom
27
mend attempting long distance experiments before communicating with that company. Stevens believed it
would also be found necessary in the near future to establish a wireless telegraphy station at Rottnest, in addition to the cable service, for the purpose of communicating with passing or approaching ships.
STEVENS’ SUBSEQUENT CAREER
In 1901 Stevens was transferred to the Commonwealth
Service, and later promoted to be Electrical Engineer.
However, in 1905, after an unfavorable report, Mr. Stevens was to be transferred to the position of Comptroller
of Stores. In 1906 he retired after 32 years service. He
later became Secretary of the Civil Service Association
and was Mayor of Claremont 1915–1919.
STEVENS’ REPLY
Stevens was not happy with the “implied reflection on
my own attitude towards the experiments”. He went and
spoke to McCormick, to convince him that forbidding
him to proceed with so worthy an object was over “some
other signature than mine.”
EVIDENCE
As evidence of their success McCormick quoted from an
1899 letter he had sent to the local newspaper describing
their wireless telegraphy experiments. This letter was
published in the Coolgardie Miner on June 20, 1899
(part shown below).
FURTHER WIRELESS DEVELOPMENTS IN WA
In 1905 wireless telegraphy was demonstrated at the
School of Mines Annual Demonstration. In 1906 a
Wireless Station on Rottnest was again proposed.
Around 1905-7 Walter Coxon was building his own receivers and spark transmitter.
Finally in 1912 the Applecross Wireless Station was
opened. This could communicate with Rottnest and with
ships.
BUT
Did someone else in WA send a message by Wireless
Telegraphy BEFORE Mr. Stevens?
On Thursday 24th September 1936, in The West Australian newspaper, an article about early wireless telegraphy experiments in the Eastern States appeared. In particular it talked about Professor Bragg’s experiments in
Adelaide and “the sending of the first wireless messages
in Australia, 35 years ago.”
STEVENS’ RESPONSE
Stevens immediately responded, pointing out that Western Australia was “at least a little ahead of the date
claimed by Professor Bragg”, and that Stevens’ Report
to Parliament about his wireless telegraphy experiments
in Perth was dated October 24, 1899.
McCORMICK’S REJOINDER
On 25th October 1936, in the Sunday Times, Mr. Frank
McCormick wrote a letter indicating that for “some
weekends prior to June 10, 1899 we were experimenting
with wireless in the Coolgardie Post Office.” McCormick’s team had managed to get a wireless telegraphic
message over the length of a room recorded on a Morse
code paper tape.
…………...Richard Rennie
REFERENCES
The West Australian
Sunday Times
The Enquirer and Commercial News
The Coolgardie Miner
Cyclopedia of Western Australia
However, before they could try for a longer distance,
they got a telegram from Perth indicating that their wireless telegraphy activities in the Coolgardie Post Office
had to cease. McCormick claimed that the telegram was
signed “Stevens Perth”.
27
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Example of Contents
Contact Richard Rennie
10 Curtis Place Melville 6156
[email protected]
WANTED
Surplus 78 rpm records of piano playing
(classical, popular, Rachmaninoff, Winefred
Atwell, Joe Fingers Car, etc) for school holiday
porgram.
Only 78s. Any quantity. Must be FREE.
Contact Richard 9330 1636.
[email protected]
STUART BOOTY
Booty made and sold Vitavox gramophones
in Sydney, starting in about 1920. However
in 1911 he was showing movies in Victoria
Park (WA) using a projector of his own construction. In 1920 he built the first x-ray machine in WA.
Information is wanted about Stuart Booty
and his work in WA. Has anyone seen a
Vitavox gramophone? Contact Richard
Rennie
9330 1636 email
[email protected]
Assistance Wanted
Garth Irvin of the Vintage Car Club (Kalgoorlie) need
some assistance with his
HOLDEN AIRCHIEF 8-TRANSISTOR PICNIC CAR
RADIO.
It works but there is a problem with the aerial.
Contact 0418 901 850
Note : Advertisements are placed free-of-charge, but
should be of a non-exploitive nature. (Editor)
28

RADIO-GRAM - Welcome Page

Transcription

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