Cambridge England PYE Radiogram, Model G66 - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

Paulopaul · 25th Feb 2021, 2:41 pm

Hello all
I’m a new member and as well as a couple of other Pye stereograms I have recently got hold of the above, it was not working when I acquired it but with the aid of a soldering iron on dry joints , contact cleaner and lubrication , plus a new tone arm harness I have got it working. I have also fully restored the interior and exterior ( there was over 50 years worth of nicotine staining )
I managed to download the service manual but I have a couple of questions as I haven’t worked on valve equipment before.

1 - at the rear is the speaker outputs and aerial outputs , but also an earth ? What is this earth used for ?

2 - I got the tuner working and lubricated the gang , now I have full travel across the wavelengths but fine tuning isn’t brilliant on FM - I think this has more to do with my reception than the radio , how do I make a decent aerial for it ?

Thanks in advance and if anyone has any other tips it would be much appreciated

Radio Tech · 25th Feb 2021, 3:19 pm

I think for the MW LW you will need a good 50 Ft of wire strung up outside supported by insulators at each end, as for the FM you need a good dipole outside with 75 Ohm coax into the set, you might find a station or two on fm as fm isn't as lively as it used to be.

Provided though you haven't twiddled the cores of the IF's and put it out of alignment you should get enough stations on MW, I assume you have a suitable sig gen and some basic test gear.

Ken

Mr 1936 · 25th Feb 2021, 4:43 pm

Hi

"fm isn't as lively as it used to be" A bit surprised by this comment. There are plenty of FM stations here in Hampshire, both national and local.

On the other hand AM is pretty poor these days, fewer stations and more localised interference.

Edward Huggins · 25th Feb 2021, 5:09 pm

You should be getting excellent reception where you live from the inbuilt FM and AM aerials in your G66. Do not worry about connecting to earth, although in theory this optimises AM reception. I suspect the Tuner section is not as effective as it should be. On FM the ECC85 valve is a usual suspect. Try a simple FM "T" Dipole aerial (costs £2-00) on FM first and see if it improves. If not, you will need to take voltage measurement from the tuner section. I assume all is working well on the AF section from records.

25th Feb 2021, 2:41 pm	#1
Paulopaul Diode Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 1	Cambridge England PYE Radiogram, Model G66 Hello all I’m a new member and as well as a couple of other Pye stereograms I have recently got hold of the above, it was not working when I acquired it but with the aid of a soldering iron on dry joints , contact cleaner and lubrication , plus a new tone arm harness I have got it working. I have also fully restored the interior and exterior ( there was over 50 years worth of nicotine staining ) I managed to download the service manual but I have a couple of questions as I haven’t worked on valve equipment before. 1 - at the rear is the speaker outputs and aerial outputs , but also an earth ? What is this earth used for ? 2 - I got the tuner working and lubricated the gang , now I have full travel across the wavelengths but fine tuning isn’t brilliant on FM - I think this has more to do with my reception than the radio , how do I make a decent aerial for it ? Thanks in advance and if anyone has any other tips it would be much appreciated

25th Feb 2021, 3:19 pm	#2
Radio Tech Nonode Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Bocking, near Braintree, Essex, UK. Posts: 2,071	Re: Cambridge England PYE Radiogram, Model G66 I think for the MW LW you will need a good 50 Ft of wire strung up outside supported by insulators at each end, as for the FM you need a good dipole outside with 75 Ohm coax into the set, you might find a station or two on fm as fm isn't as lively as it used to be. Provided though you haven't twiddled the cores of the IF's and put it out of alignment you should get enough stations on MW, I assume you have a suitable sig gen and some basic test gear. Ken

25th Feb 2021, 4:43 pm	#3
Mr 1936 Heptode Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Romsey, Hampshire, UK. Posts: 521	Re: Cambridge England PYE Radiogram, Model G66 Hi "fm isn't as lively as it used to be" A bit surprised by this comment. There are plenty of FM stations here in Hampshire, both national and local. On the other hand AM is pretty poor these days, fewer stations and more localised interference.

25th Feb 2021, 5:09 pm	#4
Edward Huggins Dekatron Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Southwold, Suffolk, UK. Posts: 8,327	Re: Cambridge England PYE Radiogram, Model G66 You should be getting excellent reception where you live from the inbuilt FM and AM aerials in your G66. Do not worry about connecting to earth, although in theory this optimises AM reception. I suspect the Tuner section is not as effective as it should be. On FM the ECC85 valve is a usual suspect. Try a simple FM "T" Dipole aerial (costs £2-00) on FM first and see if it improves. If not, you will need to take voltage measurement from the tuner section. I assume all is working well on the AF section from records. __________________ Edward.