I've got a receiver that has no identifiable markings and I wonder if
anyone can assist me in learning what it is?

The receiver can be viewed at

http://img.villagephotos.com/imageview.aspx?i=24536290

It is 10-inches wide, 8-inches deep and 8-inches high.

It contains two tubes and I presume it to be a regenerative. The two
tubes are a 6J5 and a 6J7. Since the receiver has such
a cloak of mystery surrounding it, I have no way of knowing if those
were original tubes or substitutions. The 6J5 may
very well have been a substitute for an original 6C5. The 6J7 may have
been a substitute for a 6W7.

At first I believed the receiver to be a derivation of either a
National SW series or possible a homebrew Frank Jones regen. However
the die cut of the cabinet and extrusions are too professional to be a
homebrew nor does the wiring job underneath suggest a factory
made unit.

The two pointer knobs were on the receiver when I bought it although,
to me anyway...they look too modern for the rest of
the vintage of the receiver. Band is selected with a plug in coil. The
coil that was included was homebrewed and without marking.

The style, circuit and tube choice suggests a vintage of very late
1920s or 1930s era.

If any of you have any ideas or guesses I would welcome them. Thanks.

WA9VLK

On Mar 6, 7:04*am, "SX-25" wrote:
* * *I've got a receiver that has no identifiable markings and I wonder if
anyone can assist me in learning what it is?

* * *The receiver can be viewed at

* * *http://img.villagephotos.com/imageview.aspx?i=24536290

* * *It is 10-inches wide, 8-inches deep and 8-inches high.

* * *It contains two tubes and I presume it to be a regenerative. The two
tubes are a 6J5 and a 6J7. Since the receiver has such
* * *a cloak of mystery surrounding it, I have no way of knowing if those
were original tubes or substitutions. The 6J5 may
* * *very well have been a substitute for an original 6C5. The 6J7 may have
been a substitute for a 6W7.

* * *At first I believed the receiver to be a derivation of either a
National SW series or possible a homebrew Frank Jones regen. However
* * *the die cut of the cabinet and extrusions are too professional to be a
homebrew nor does the wiring job underneath suggest a factory
* * * made unit.

* * *The two pointer knobs were on the receiver when I bought it although,
to me anyway...they look too modern for the rest of
* * *the vintage of the receiver. Band is selected with a plug in coil. The
coil that was included was homebrewed and without marking.

* * *The style, circuit and tube choice suggests a vintage of very late
1920s or 1930s era.

* * *If any of you have any ideas or guesses I would welcome them. Thanks.

* * *WA9VLK

Check all the screws and nuts used in the device. If they are all
identical in size, length, thread, and the nuts are all identical,
then chances are it is a commercial unit, but made by a small company.
Varying nuts and screws are sure sign of home brew!

KD7HB

"SX-25" wrote in message
m...
I've got a receiver that has no identifiable markings and I wonder if
anyone can assist me in learning what it is?

The receiver can be viewed at

http://img.villagephotos.com/imageview.aspx?i=24536290

It is 10-inches wide, 8-inches deep and 8-inches high.

It contains two tubes and I presume it to be a regenerative. The two
tubes are a 6J5 and a 6J7. Since the receiver has such
a cloak of mystery surrounding it, I have no way of knowing if those
were original tubes or substitutions. The 6J5 may
very well have been a substitute for an original 6C5. The 6J7 may
have
been a substitute for a 6W7.

At first I believed the receiver to be a derivation of either a
National SW series or possible a homebrew Frank Jones regen. However
the die cut of the cabinet and extrusions are too professional to be
a
homebrew nor does the wiring job underneath suggest a factory
made unit.

The two pointer knobs were on the receiver when I bought it although,
to me anyway...they look too modern for the rest of
the vintage of the receiver. Band is selected with a plug in coil.
The
coil that was included was homebrewed and without marking.

The style, circuit and tube choice suggests a vintage of very late
1920s or 1930s era.

If any of you have any ideas or guesses I would welcome them. Thanks.

WA9VLK


The cabinets were commercially available for many years. I had a brand new
one for many years but couldn't bring myself to cut into the blank front
panel. Now if I could just remember who made it.

On Fri, 06 Mar 2009 09:04:58 -0600, SX-25 wrote:

I've got a receiver that has no identifiable markings and I wonder if
anyone can assist me in learning what it is?

The receiver can be viewed at

http://img.villagephotos.com/imageview.aspx?i=24536290

It is 10-inches wide, 8-inches deep and 8-inches high.

It contains two tubes and I presume it to be a regenerative. The
two
tubes are a 6J5 and a 6J7. Since the receiver has such
a cloak of mystery surrounding it, I have no way of knowing if
those
were original tubes or substitutions. The 6J5 may
very well have been a substitute for an original 6C5. The 6J7 may
have
been a substitute for a 6W7.

At first I believed the receiver to be a derivation of either a
National SW series or possible a homebrew Frank Jones regen. However
the die cut of the cabinet and extrusions are too professional to
be a
homebrew nor does the wiring job underneath suggest a factory
made unit.

The two pointer knobs were on the receiver when I bought it
although,
to me anyway...they look too modern for the rest of
the vintage of the receiver. Band is selected with a plug in coil.
The
coil that was included was homebrewed and without marking.

The style, circuit and tube choice suggests a vintage of very late
1920s or 1930s era.

If any of you have any ideas or guesses I would welcome them.
Thanks.

WA9VLK

No markings, the cabinet's way bigger than the chassis, the chassis
doesn't match up all the way to the hole in the cabinet, the coil's
homebrew.

I'd say it's a reasonably well built home-brewed receiver in a commercial
cabinet. Those particular tubes have been available since the late
'30's, so there's no reason for them not to be original. Who knows about
the chicken-head knobs -- the original owner may have put them on,
someone may have bought it second hand sans knobs or felt that the
original builder's knobs were ugly, etc.

--
http://www.wescottdesign.com

"Tim Wescott" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 06 Mar 2009 09:04:58 -0600, SX-25 wrote:

I've got a receiver that has no identifiable markings and
I wonder if
anyone can assist me in learning what it is?

The receiver can be viewed at


http://img.villagephotos.com/imageview.aspx?i=24536290

It is 10-inches wide, 8-inches deep and 8-inches
high.

It contains two tubes and I presume it to be a
regenerative. The
two
tubes are a 6J5 and a 6J7. Since the receiver has such
a cloak of mystery surrounding it, I have no way of
knowing if
those
were original tubes or substitutions. The 6J5 may
very well have been a substitute for an original
6C5. The 6J7 may
have
been a substitute for a 6W7.

At first I believed the receiver to be a derivation
of either a
National SW series or possible a homebrew Frank Jones
regen. However
the die cut of the cabinet and extrusions are too
professional to
be a
homebrew nor does the wiring job underneath suggest a
factory
made unit.

The two pointer knobs were on the receiver when I
bought it
although,
to me anyway...they look too modern for the rest of
the vintage of the receiver. Band is selected with a
plug in coil.
The
coil that was included was homebrewed and without
marking.

The style, circuit and tube choice suggests a
vintage of very late
1920s or 1930s era.

If any of you have any ideas or guesses I would
welcome them.
Thanks.

WA9VLK

No markings, the cabinet's way bigger than the chassis,
the chassis
doesn't match up all the way to the hole in the cabinet,
the coil's
homebrew.

I'd say it's a reasonably well built home-brewed receiver
in a commercial
cabinet. Those particular tubes have been available since
the late
'30's, so there's no reason for them not to be original.
Who knows about
the chicken-head knobs -- the original owner may have put
them on,
someone may have bought it second hand sans knobs or felt
that the
original builder's knobs were ugly, etc.

--
http://www.wescottdesign.com

The main dial is a standard National Velvet Vernier,
type B, the other knobs are all standard pointer type knobs
of a late version. National built the VV dial from some time
in the mid 1930s until the 1950s. If the octal tube sockets
are original its likely to date from the 1940s or later. I
also vote for a home-brew set, perhaps based on the National
SW-3.


--

--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL

I vote for a homebrew too. A photo of the underchassis would help.

SX-25 wrote:
I've got a receiver that has no identifiable markings and I wonder
if anyone can assist me in learning what it is?

The receiver can be viewed at

http://img.villagephotos.com/imageview.aspx?i=24536290

It is 10-inches wide, 8-inches deep and 8-inches high.

It contains two tubes and I presume it to be a regenerative. The two
tubes are a 6J5 and a 6J7. Since the receiver has such
a cloak of mystery surrounding it, I have no way of knowing if those
were original tubes or substitutions. The 6J5 may
very well have been a substitute for an original 6C5. The 6J7 may
have been a substitute for a 6W7.

At first I believed the receiver to be a derivation of either a
National SW series or possible a homebrew Frank Jones regen. However
the die cut of the cabinet and extrusions are too professional to be
a homebrew nor does the wiring job underneath suggest a factory
made unit.

The two pointer knobs were on the receiver when I bought it
although, to me anyway...they look too modern for the rest of
the vintage of the receiver. Band is selected with a plug in coil.
The coil that was included was homebrewed and without marking.

The style, circuit and tube choice suggests a vintage of very late
1920s or 1930s era.

If any of you have any ideas or guesses I would welcome them. Thanks.

WA9VLK

Looking at the photos, I'll vote for homebrew or, possibly, a rough kit
of parts supplied by a wholesaler of the period. The fact that the rear
of the cabinet reveals a too large opening for the chassis and its
lopsided sort of bodes homebrew, too. Tube vintage is.. what.. octals,
late 30's or 40's? The underside may well be the answer.... Nice find,
though.

de K3HVG

The 9th Edition of Editors and Engineers "Radio" Handbook has what appears
to be the same radio in the section entitled Radio Receiver Construction.
Front panel layout is the same and the tubes specified are the 6J7 and 6C5.
The 6J5 was more commonly available and often substituted for the 6C5.

I expect that the interior layout will be similar to the construction
article. Title to the construction article is "Simple 2-Tube Autodyne"

I have built many such receiver types and they work amazingly well. In
essence, they have a product detector and readily copy ssb. I used such a
home brew receiver during graduate school and regularly worked up and down
the west coast. Mine was built on a plywood chassis and I used aluminum
foil behind the front panel to protect from hand movement.

73, Colin K7FM

On Fri, 06 Mar 2009 19:39:10 -0500, K3HVG wrote:

SX-25 wrote:
I've got a receiver that has no identifiable markings and I wonder
if anyone can assist me in learning what it is?

The receiver can be viewed at

http://img.villagephotos.com/imageview.aspx?i=24536290

It is 10-inches wide, 8-inches deep and 8-inches high.

It contains two tubes and I presume it to be a regenerative. The
two
tubes are a 6J5 and a 6J7. Since the receiver has such
a cloak of mystery surrounding it, I have no way of knowing if
those
were original tubes or substitutions. The 6J5 may
very well have been a substitute for an original 6C5. The 6J7 may
have been a substitute for a 6W7.

At first I believed the receiver to be a derivation of either a
National SW series or possible a homebrew Frank Jones regen. However
the die cut of the cabinet and extrusions are too professional to
be
a homebrew nor does the wiring job underneath suggest a factory
made unit.

The two pointer knobs were on the receiver when I bought it
although, to me anyway...they look too modern for the rest of
the vintage of the receiver. Band is selected with a plug in coil.
The coil that was included was homebrewed and without marking.

The style, circuit and tube choice suggests a vintage of very late
1920s or 1930s era.

If any of you have any ideas or guesses I would welcome them.
Thanks.

WA9VLK

Looking at the photos, I'll vote for homebrew or, possibly, a rough kit
of parts supplied by a wholesaler of the period. The fact that the rear
of the cabinet reveals a too large opening for the chassis and its
lopsided sort of bodes homebrew, too. Tube vintage is.. what.. octals,
late 30's or 40's? The underside may well be the answer.... Nice find,
though.

de K3HVG

Those particular metal-octal tubes came out in '36 or '37 -- I have a
1940 RCA tube manual reprint, which was already touting the virtues of
the internally shielded versions.

That doesn't mean the receiver wasn't _designed_ in the late '30s, and
not _built_ until much later, of course.

I'd love to see a pic of the underside -- a really tidy job won't rule
out a really tidy homebrew, but a really messy job would certainly weigh
heavily against factory-made.

--
http://www.wescottdesign.com

On Fri, 06 Mar 2009 19:39:10 -0500, K3HVG wrote:


Looking at the photos, I'll vote for homebrew or, possibly, a rough kit
of parts supplied by a wholesaler of the period. The fact that the rear
of the cabinet reveals a too large opening for the chassis

The radio does seem to be homebrew but the size of the chassis is
appropriate for the cabinet. The large opening in the rear of the case
is used to access any connections on the back of the chassis. There is
no way for a populated chassis to pass through that opening, The
chassis is mounted to the front panel and then the assembly is secured
to the opening in the front of the case.

and its
lopsided sort of bodes homebrew, too. Tube vintage is.. what.. octals,
late 30's or 40's? The underside may well be the answer.... Nice find,
though.

The 1936 ARRL handbook describes a receiver which uses a pentode as a
regen detector and a triode in the audio stage. Suggested 6.3v tubes
include a 6j7 and a 6c5. As the OP suggested the rx's 6j5 may be a
replacement for a 6c5.

73 de n4jvp