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Other Vintage Household Electrical or Electromechanical Items For discussions about other vintage (over 25 years old) electrical and electromechanical household items. See the sticky thread for details.

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Old 23rd Nov 2019, 2:55 am   #1
Jolly 7
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Default Electroniques battery charger kit ?

While casually browsing on the internet, I recently came across these pictures of Electroniques kit manuals. Last year I had picked up a rusty and broken battery charger without a manufacturer's label from a car boot sale. Finding the battery charger picture helped me identify it as a Knight kit one. The battery charger was restored and converted to a bench PSU !
I wonder if anyone else on the forum has one of these chargers or even the kit radio as seen in the picture ? The charger has a 0-5 A ammeter on it. What sort of battery would it have been designed for ?
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Old 23rd Nov 2019, 3:14 am   #2
Graham G3ZVT
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Default Re: Electroniques battery charger kit ?

I imagine it's a transformer, metal rectifier, moving-iron meter in a steel case of the type often used to trickle-charge a car battery.

My memory of Electroniques was not altogether positive. As a child I had built something or other, it might have been a "Q Multiplier" with their colourful range of coils, I think they had a lock-nut at the top .

As I didn't have the correct plastic hex trimming tool, inevitably I cracked the cores. I wrote to STC who had acquired the company asking for some replacements, and was quoted a price that exceeded the coils themselves. My dad wrote and asked them how they could justify it, I think they said it was a mistake and quoted a more reasonable price.
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Old 23rd Nov 2019, 4:22 am   #3
usradcoll1
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Default Re: Electroniques battery charger kit ?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jolly 7 View Post
While casually browsing on the internet, I recently came across these pictures of Electroniques kit manuals. Last year I had picked up a rusty and broken battery charger without a manufacturer's label from a car boot sale. Finding the battery charger picture helped me identify it as a Knight kit one. The battery charger was restored and converted to a bench PSU !
I wonder if anyone else on the forum has one of these chargers or even the kit radio as seen in the picture ? The charger has a 0-5 A ammeter on it. What sort of battery would it have been designed for ?
The Knight-kit line was originally a product of the Allied Radio Corp of Chicago, Illinois USA.
It's possible that the Electroniques firm bought the name and the parts inventory.
I have a couple of the SWL receivers shown in the illustration. It was known as the "Star-Roamer". Not great, a regular four valve plus metal rectifier superhet design.
AFAIK They never offered a battery charger of that type in the US.
Dave, USradcoll1.
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Old 23rd Nov 2019, 12:18 pm   #4
Herald1360
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Default Re: Electroniques battery charger kit ?

That charger bears more than a passing resemblance to my ITT one, bought in the staff shop at the ITT-KB factory in St Leonards, Hastings in 1971. The outer case is moulded plastic (polypropylene?) and the works apart from the meter are mounted on a pressed steel chassis that forms the back and bottom of the case.


It's seen a fair bit of (ab)use over the last 50 odd years including several replacement rectifiers! I'm not sure the meter's original, either.

Not quite Trigger's Broom, but getting there
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Old 23rd Nov 2019, 2:23 pm   #5
Jolly 7
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Default Re: Electroniques battery charger kit ?

Here is my unit with its selenium rectifier, transformer and ammeter removed. The plastic/polypropylene case is not of the greatest quality and it is prone to cracking under a moderate amount of stress. I patched up the hole where the ammeter used to be with pieces of plastic cut out off a washing liquid tablet. I like the solid steel base though, but it was very difficult to drill through it when mounting a new transformer. My new PSU is virtually RF noise-free and goes from 1.2 to 24V continuous. I still need to add a voltage indicator dial to it...and maybe a replica Electroniques label ☺
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Old 23rd Nov 2019, 5:50 pm   #6
usradcoll1
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Default Re: Electroniques battery charger kit ?

Quote:
Originally Posted by usradcoll1 View Post
The Knight-kit line was originally a product of the Allied Radio Corp of Chicago, Illinois USA.
It's possible that the Electroniques firm bought the name and the parts inventory.
I have a couple of the SWL receivers shown in the illustration. It was known as the "Star-Roamer". Not great, a regular four valve plus metal rectifier superhet design.
AFAIK They never offered a battery charger of that type in the US.
I failed to mention that the receiver does use a proper mains transformer instead of a live chassis, plus all 6 volt valve heaters. The IF valve is a special one, not normally seen in most sets. They sold for $30usd back then.
I never bought one new, but from swap meets. I'm trying to remember if it has a BFO circuit. It probably does.
Dave, USradcoll1. I seldom seen a radio I didn't like.
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