Pye D16T restoration - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

brianc · 5th Jul 2005, 9:31 pm

Hi all
About 20 years ago I bought a Pye D16T at auction (£8!) and have at last started working on it. Happily, all the wound components seem to be OK and I have had Testcard C up on it - albeit a bit rough, mainly due to line pulling!
It is a real pig to work on. The electronics are on two chassis interconnected by 2 fly leads with octal plugs and I have had to make an extension lead in order to tip the display chassis over to access the components & wiring but it was well worth it.
One problem with the set is that during the its life, the Line Hold slider-type pot had obviously gone down and needed replacing. This control is part of a block of four mounted behind a bakelite door underneath the screen. The service engineer, presumably to save the customer money, very cleverly fitted a rotary pre-set pot (the then common type fitted with 2 6BA screws) by removing the slider and drilling a hole in the centre of the slot left by the slider - great when the TV was towards the end of its working life but not very good for a vintage example. I know its a long shot, but does anyone have a spare control block? The four slider controls are labelled: "Contrast", "Focus", "Frame Hold" and "Line Hold". I believe the same block was also used in the table version of the set.
As a signal source, I made a modulator to David Looser’s excellent design and used the testcard generator produced by Richard Russell and I must say, I am very pleased with both.
After changing all the paper caps, including the decouplers in the RF section, I followed the Alignment instructions from the Pye manual to the letter and was amazed to see the 3 meg bars very clearly with oodles of gain and no sign of instability.
A few more hours work and I should have a decent vintage TV at last!

Heatercathodeshort · 6th Jul 2005, 10:16 am

Nice to know you have a D16T Brian. They date from 1946 and one of my examples was sold in May of that year. I have two of these in my collection and are first class receivers. The picture is very bright and of very high contrast. The Mullard MW22-7 crt [or MW22-14C] was built to a very high standard and pumped HOT to produce a high degree of vacuum, hence the good picture after 60 years. TAKE GREAT CARE WITH THIS MODEL. You may already be aware but the EHT for this model is derived from the mains direct and produces a lethal punch. The HVR2 top cap sticks out above the power chassis and can easily come into contact with your arms when wrestling with the chassis. The EHT transformer is a first class product and I have never known one to be faulty. All the wax capacitors will have to be replaced to ensure reliable operation but the results are well worth the effort. The sliders are a problem and I feel that even if you came across some spares, they would be dodgy after all those years. The Radiospares presets with the two screws were the only available alternatives and many D16T's were modified in this way. If you need any advice, please get in touch. I have the original instruction book and guarantee cards so if you would like copies please get in touch. JOHN.

5th Jul 2005, 9:31 pm	#1
brianc Rest in Peace Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Burghfield, Reading, Berkshire, UK, Posts: 1,055	Pye D16T restoration Hi all About 20 years ago I bought a Pye D16T at auction (£8!) and have at last started working on it. Happily, all the wound components seem to be OK and I have had Testcard C up on it - albeit a bit rough, mainly due to line pulling! It is a real pig to work on. The electronics are on two chassis interconnected by 2 fly leads with octal plugs and I have had to make an extension lead in order to tip the display chassis over to access the components & wiring but it was well worth it. One problem with the set is that during the its life, the Line Hold slider-type pot had obviously gone down and needed replacing. This control is part of a block of four mounted behind a bakelite door underneath the screen. The service engineer, presumably to save the customer money, very cleverly fitted a rotary pre-set pot (the then common type fitted with 2 6BA screws) by removing the slider and drilling a hole in the centre of the slot left by the slider - great when the TV was towards the end of its working life but not very good for a vintage example. I know its a long shot, but does anyone have a spare control block? The four slider controls are labelled: "Contrast", "Focus", "Frame Hold" and "Line Hold". I believe the same block was also used in the table version of the set. As a signal source, I made a modulator to David Looser’s excellent design and used the testcard generator produced by Richard Russell and I must say, I am very pleased with both. After changing all the paper caps, including the decouplers in the RF section, I followed the Alignment instructions from the Pye manual to the letter and was amazed to see the 3 meg bars very clearly with oodles of gain and no sign of instability. A few more hours work and I should have a decent vintage TV at last!

6th Jul 2005, 10:16 am	#2
Heatercathodeshort Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Warnham, West Sussex. 10 miles south of DORKING. Posts: 9,147	Re: Pye D16T restoration Nice to know you have a D16T Brian. They date from 1946 and one of my examples was sold in May of that year. I have two of these in my collection and are first class receivers. The picture is very bright and of very high contrast. The Mullard MW22-7 crt [or MW22-14C] was built to a very high standard and pumped HOT to produce a high degree of vacuum, hence the good picture after 60 years. TAKE GREAT CARE WITH THIS MODEL. You may already be aware but the EHT for this model is derived from the mains direct and produces a lethal punch. The HVR2 top cap sticks out above the power chassis and can easily come into contact with your arms when wrestling with the chassis. The EHT transformer is a first class product and I have never known one to be faulty. All the wax capacitors will have to be replaced to ensure reliable operation but the results are well worth the effort. The sliders are a problem and I feel that even if you came across some spares, they would be dodgy after all those years. The Radiospares presets with the two screws were the only available alternatives and many D16T's were modified in this way. If you need any advice, please get in touch. I have the original instruction book and guarantee cards so if you would like copies please get in touch. JOHN. Attached Thumbnails