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Old 4th Aug 2021, 12:00 pm   #1
electronicskip
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Default Defiant Radio/TV why so difficult?

I've never had any dealings with Defiant radios/TVs as I've always taken heed of the advice that circuit diagrams/tech information is very difficult to come by in the main.

But.. Why is it so difficult? I realise that Defiant was a CO-OP Brand so was made by other manufacturers but the CO-OP must have had service departments? or not? and if they did ,would they not have been provided with circuit diagrams/workshop manuals etc etc?

As the CO-OP is such a huge overall organisation would a reasonable chunk of tech information have not survived over the years? and did any of our forum members work for the CO-OP as engineers?
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Old 4th Aug 2021, 10:29 pm   #2
Richard_FM
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Default Re: Defiant Radio/TV why so difficult?

From what I've heard the Radio Rentals branded radios are very hard to find service information for.

I did wonder if the paperwork mostly thrown away when RR decided to concentrate on renting TVs & stopped even servicing radios.
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Old 4th Aug 2021, 10:47 pm   #3
Philips210
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Default Re: Defiant Radio/TV why so difficult?

Hi.

The Co-op certainly had their own service departments. Back in the late 1970s, my late father worked at the Camborne store and there was a TV service workshop located upstairs. I think a lot of the Co-op badged sets were mainly made by RBM. Perhaps the Defiant badged sets were for rental only?

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Old 5th Aug 2021, 7:48 am   #4
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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.
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Old 5th Aug 2021, 8:55 am   #5
Restoration73
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Default Re: Defiant Radio/TV why so difficult?

Checking the indexes of Paul's two radio and the tv DVDs list many Defiant models.
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Old 5th Aug 2021, 11:43 am   #6
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Default Re: Defiant Radio/TV why so difficult?

Maybe somewhere in the depths of old co-op basements are long forgotten filing cabinets stuffed with old circuit diagrams.

I know this certainly happened with Rumbelows which had inshop service depts on the premesis.
I worked in two shops where there were basements filled with old workshop manuals from the 50s/60s plus advertising material long abandoned.
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