View Single Post
Old 5th Aug 2021, 7:48 am   #4
dazzlevision
Dekatron
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Near Swindon, North Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 3,595
Default Re: Defiant Radio/TV why so difficult?

Defiant radios have been sold by the Co-operative Wholesale Society (based in Manchester) since the 1930s. At one time, they made the cabinets in their own cabinet works. The Defiant range and brand was introduced in the 1930s, due to the reluctance of existing radio manufacturers to supply the Co-ops as they gave a discount on sales in the form of the member’s dividend and this undermined resale price maintenance (i.e. fixed selling prices).

For around thirty years, Plessey was the principal supplier to the Co-op of radios and later, TVs, until 1966, when Plessey withdrew from set manufacture (although they continued to make many TV components, such as scan coils and convergence yokes).

After that, the Co-op obtained radios and TVs from Rank Bush Murphy, starting with (IIRC), sets based on the Bush TV135R chassis. I also recall working on a Defiant badged Bush CTV25 (an early dual standard CTV).

Around 1970, I needed a replacement mains dropper for a Defiant 9A45 TV (which used the Plessey "convertible to 405/625 working" chassis) and I obtained one from the Co-op's central spares and service department in Alma Park, Worley Street, Upminster, Essex (Ilford is where the Plessey HQ was, before it was swallowed up by GEC and Siemens).

So, spares for Defiant sets should have been fairly easy to come by, as they were based on Plessey or RBM chassis. Before Standard Telephones and Cables took over the Regentone, RGD and Argosy brands and service back up (circa 1962), their chassis were Plessey based. Post STC takeover these brands used KB chassis (KB was already an STC subsidiary and in turn, STC was the UK subsidiary of the US multinational ITT).

Last edited by dazzlevision; 5th Aug 2021 at 8:07 am. Reason: Added text.
dazzlevision is online now