I have been slowly collecting parts to build a WWII "Paraset" or "Paracette". This was a type of radio used by the resistance during the war to communicate back with the allies. So far, I have all the tubes, tube sockets, and a variety of other bits and bobs. Some items I will have to make, such as the case and some items I will have to modify to make them look authentic. For example, the Hammond choke in the center of the box will be given a cosmetic make-over to look like a 1940s choke.
By chance I was able to identify the actual make and model of the first telescope I ever owned. It turns out to be a Tasco 4VTE "Asteroid Telescope". Considered a "junk scope", this one wasn't over powered like later models. The maximum magnification was 50x and the objective was 40mm (1.6-inch) objective, so it was still quite useable. Through this peashooter, I was able to see the moons of Jupiter, Saturn's rings, the Orion Nebula, the Andromeda galaxy and several other objects for the first time. Unfortunately on one cold winter night, the mount broke on me when I over tightened the nut to keep it from moving up and down. The mount actually split in half. Recently, I managed to track down the same scope. Here it is posing with period correct observing items. Some of these I owned back in the day as well. I tested this peashooter out the other day, but it was horrible. I don't know how I ever saw anything in one of these back in the 1970s, but I did. I took it apart and noticed that the inside was not properly coated in flat black. I fixed that, and now I am awaiting a clear night. Video of my Viscount "Solid State Tape Recorder". Not sure the age of this, but I expect it is from the late 1960's. The recording came with the recorder and is likely made in the 1970s. Unfortunately, the record function doesn't work to well. The volume is low. Not sure if the crystal mic is dead, or if it is something else. Will need to do some troubleshooting. Another oddity is that when I use rechargeable batteries, the speed is OK, but if I use alkaline, the speed is too fast. I assume this means that the original recording was done with NiCd batteries. My mother had this identical machine back in the 1970s. I remember trying to record "Baker Street" by Gerry Raftery and "Gemini Dream" by the Moody Blues one time. It quite seriously sucked for that. I finally got an interface working that allows me to hook up my Baudot teletypes to my PC. The interface I am using is John Nagel's ttyloopdriver for which was designed for use with most 60mA current loop, 45 baud teletype. I have a few left over circuit boards available if anyone wants one. Send me an email if you are interested. Note these require mounting some tricky SMCs on them. This video below shows the interface in action with my latest Teletype, the Model 26. The software I am running is BaudotRSS (also from John Nagel) printing out today's news headlines. The interface and software also work on my Model 15 as well. Testing out the John Nagel ttyloopdriver on my Model 15 Teletype. It seems to work well. Finished restoring my Grebe Synchrophase radio from 1926. Here is a video of the radio running using a crappy indoor antenna in my basement. Despite that I was able to pull in WBZ in Boston, which is approximately 700 km away. One thing to note if running this radio from an ARBE-III. The connection diagram in the book is not accurate. It was missing the -4.5V and +90V lines for some reason. The -4.5V C supply is tied to the ground in the radio itself. Note the changes in RED below.
This model requires a 112A output tube, hence the 135 B+ AMP voltage. While I am waiting for stain and clear coat to dry on my Grebe Mu-1 cabinet, I decided to see if I could not make reproduction cards from the obviously water stained originals. I do have some of the Radiola Guy reproductions, but they are not quite the same as these originals. The colour is off and in the case of the card from the inside of the cabinet, the size if totally wrong.
Click here for a PDF of these two cards so you can print them out yourself. My Grebe Mu-1 cabinet after stripping the old finish off. The images don't show the lovely red from the mahogany.
My Grebe Mu-1 (from 1926) is coming together nicely. I had to replace the wooden breadboard as the original was water damaged. There are a few more things I need to do and then I should be ready for some testing.
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AuthorCharles Baetsen holds a Bachelor and a Master's degree in Engineering Physics from McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. Archives
February 2024
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