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Things Now Gone


ukelele lady

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Talking of the one inch needles for the 78 records there is a place where you can still buy all

these old things for old record players, I've got the address somewhere because I once bought some

needles which I might still have got.

I've plenty of 78s in the loft which have been passed down the family, brass band marches, George

Formby, Donald Pearse and some I've never heard of.

And then there's all those 45s I bought in the sixties.

I think the place you are talking about is on London Road.

They sell the needles and the gramophones, - including 1920's one with wind up clockwork motors and large mechanical amplification horns.

No electricity needed.

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So another item for my suggestions of "things now gone is, -

Electronic devices that used thermionic radio valves.

Valves are the "in" thing for Hi-fi Dave. Have a look at the goodies on this website

Fatman

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Valves are the "in" thing for Hi-fi Dave. Have a look at the goodies on this website

Fatman

Yes, but can you still get a Mullard ECH81 triode-heptode hetrodyne frequency changer valve with a B9A base to fit my old short wave communications reciever?

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Valves are the "in" thing for Hi-fi Dave. Have a look at the goodies on this website

Fatman

I did a lot of experimenting with valve "Hi-Fi" some years ago. That valves produce a different sound is beyond doubt I think.

Valves are basically high impedance devices which need a transformer to match the valve output impedance to the low 4 to 8 ohms impedance of modern loudspeakers. These transformers require very careful design and expensive silicon steel cores to keep distortion to acceptable limits.

Valve output stages for "Hi-Fi" are almost always operated in "push-pull" mode which is the equivalent of two tug-of-war teams with the speaker connected to the middle of the rope. This is not very power efficient as the valves operate in class A mode i.e. with no signal each valve is turned half way on and with a signal one valve current increases towards maximum per half cycle and the other decreases towards zero.

For a given power output the valves have to dissipate rather more than twice the amount. Also output valves require substantial heater power continuously.

Transistor output stages tend to run in class B or AB and each transistor is only turned on as required except for a small quiescent current to reduce crossover distortion.

Class A valve amplifiers produce mainly even harmonic distortion which is quite pleasing to the human ear and is supposed to give "warmth" to the sound.

Class B transistor amplifiers tend to produce odd harmonics which the human ear finds strident.

There is no reason why transistors cannot be operated in class A apart from the very large amounts of heat produced which doesn't fit well with modern miniature designs.

HD

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Yes, but can you still get a Mullard ECH81 triode-heptode hetrodyne frequency changer valve with a B9A base to fit my old short wave communications reciever?

Yep! ebay lol

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Yes, but can you still get a Mullard ECH81 triode-heptode hetrodyne frequency changer valve with a B9A base to fit my old short wave communications reciever?

Yes you can brand new from ussr-tubes.com for about $1.50

The Russians still use valves in their military equipment and they seem to have plenty left. Valves are practically immune to nuclear EMP and can withstand high voltage internal flashover with impunity.

HD

P.S. The ECH83 which was a selected ECH81 for 13.8 volt H.T. car radios will work just as well.

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Yep! ebay lol

You have got to be careful buying stuff on eBay

That ECH81 is described as "In original box" but its condition is described as "used" <_<

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Yes you can brand new from ussr-tubes.com for about $1.50

The Russians still use valves in their military equipment and they seem to have plenty left. Valves are practically immune to nuclear EMP and can withstand high voltage internal flashover with impunity.

HD

P.S. The ECH83 which was a selected ECH81 for 13.8 volt H.T. car radios will work just as well.

Given that a cathode ray tube (CRT) is a very specialised type of valve you don't see many of those these days either.

Especially in 17" or 19" black and white display types.

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I think the place you are talking about is on London Road.

They sell the needles and the gramophones, - including 1920's one with wind up clockwork motors and large mechanical amplification horns.

No electricity needed.

No , I believe it's in Huddersfield, they have quite a long price list of all their goods.

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No , I believe it's in Huddersfield, they have quite a long price list of all their goods.

I'm sure there was a place on London Road.

Could have saved you a trip to Huddersfield. ;-)

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Given that a cathode ray tube (CRT) is a very specialised type of valve you don't see many of those these days either.

Especially in 17" or 19" black and white display types.

During the 1960's there was a extensive trade in "reconditioned" black & white television tubes. There were little outfits all over the place producing "re-gunned" tubes and sometimes replacing the phosphor coating in the front of the tube.

The failure mechanism with CRT's was a gradual loss of emissive material from the heated cathode within the gun.

I remember accompanying my uncle ( a keen electronics dabbler) on a trip over Saddleworth Moor to Oldham to get a reconditioned tube. When he fitted it the inside of the tube lit up a pale mauve colour due to incomplete evacuation of the tube ( poor vacuum ). We had another trip over the Pennines to obtain a replacement.

In those days you were lucky if you got five years life out of a tube.

In the late sixties I worked for a very short time at Ferranti's Chadderton Mill where they produced special CRT's for radar displays. It was a hot clean-room environment staffed by young woman wearing light-weight overalls and little else. I was very impressed.

HD

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During the 1960's there was a extensive trade in "reconditioned" black & white television tubes. There were little outfits all over the place producing "re-gunned" tubes and sometimes replacing the phosphor coating in the front of the tube.

The failure mechanism with CRT's was a gradual loss of emissive material from the heated cathode within the gun.

I remember accompanying my uncle ( a keen electronics dabbler) on a trip over Saddleworth Moor to Oldham to get a reconditioned tube. When he fitted it the inside of the tube lit up a pale mauve colour due to incomplete evacuation of the tube ( poor vacuum ). We had another trip over the Pennines to obtain a replacement.

In those days you were lucky if you got five years life out of a tube.

In the late sixties I worked for a very short time at Ferranti's Chadderton Mill where they produced special CRT's for radar displays. It was a hot clean-room environment staffed by young woman wearing light-weight overalls and little else. I was very impressed.

HD

Come to think of it HD, just about every discrete electronic component I used as a kid is now a "thing now gone" as electronics has totally changed.

The good news is that modern electronic devices are much more reliable.

The bad news is that when it does break down you have to replace the entire device without even attempting a repair of it instead of just replacing the one discrete component (eg a valve) which has actually failed.

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Does anyone still use tea-cosies? remember those?

I also remember something like a teaspoon with holes in it and like a lid on it.

I can only guess these were used to scoop the teabags out and squeeze.

I could be wrong because we never had one but I remember seeing them.

Then there were the little set of " tools " that sat in the hearth.

A stand, sometimes brass with three hooks to hang the brush with long handle,

the little shovel, with long handle and what looked like forceps for picking up hot

coals I imaging. I suppose these did come in handy when something hot dropped

out of the open fire.

Years gone by the cat always got to lay in front of the fire [ but not if I beat him to it ]

and sometimes things would shoot out of the coal fire. Many times I recall mother shouting

" cat's on fire ". The smell was awful when it's fur was burning. :o

When the coals were spitting like this , she would always complain to the coalman telling

him it was a bad lot he delivered last time.

" Kid's today, they don't know they're born " he he

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Does anyone still use tea-cosies? remember those?

I also remember something like a teaspoon with holes in it and like a lid on it.

I can only guess these were used to scoop the teabags out and squeeze.

I could be wrong because we never had one but I remember seeing them.

Tea cosies fit over a teapot to keep it warm while the tea "mashes", - but in these days of teabags who even uses a teapot?

Most of us put the bag straight into the cup!

The spoon could well have been to squeeze teabags out, but in the days of loose leaf tea (which came in packets) there were all sorts of impliments for filtering and straining the tea to keep the leaves out of the cup when it was poured.

There used to be an art to making a decent cup of tea.

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Then there were the little set of " tools " that sat in the hearth.

A stand, sometimes brass with three hooks to hang the brush with long handle,

the little shovel, with long handle and what looked like forceps for picking up hot

coals I imaging. I suppose these did come in handy when something hot dropped

out of the open fire.

I think the proper name for these was a "companion set".

Usually, being made of metal, they contained 3 standard items which were

The small shovel, as some coal could be very dusty and the dust was black and messy a brush was frequently included as a 4th item

The coal tongs, which you called forceps. If made of bronze casting the ends were often shaped like hands

The poker, used to aeriate the fire and knock ash through the firegrate.

Likewise with the previous post, there was a dfinate art to maintaining a decent, clean, safe coal fire.

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Mine's only got a brush, a shovel and poker with a hook on it.

I like the toasting fork behind the companion set.

We have one with an identical lower end (except it's got all 3 prongs) but the top represents a sailing ship in full sail.

Not much good though with central heating and an enclosed gas fire lol

HD

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Does anyone still use tea-cosies? remember those?

I also remember something like a teaspoon with holes in it and like a lid on it.

I can only guess these were used to scoop the teabags out and squeeze.

I could be wrong because we never had one but I remember seeing them.

Then there were the little set of " tools " that sat in the hearth.

A stand, sometimes brass with three hooks to hang the brush with long handle,

the little shovel, with long handle and what looked like forceps for picking up hot

coals I imaging. I suppose these did come in handy when something hot dropped

out of the open fire.

Years gone by the cat always got to lay in front of the fire [ but not if I beat him to it ]

and sometimes things would shoot out of the coal fire. Many times I recall mother shouting

" cat's on fire ". The smell was awful when it's fur was burning. :o

When the coals were spitting like this , she would always complain to the coalman telling

him it was a bad lot he delivered last time.

" Kid's today, they don't know they're born " he he

Hi,

My mother had a thing that she called a "Tea Infuser" The main part was really a tea spoon with holes in the bowl. Ours had a hinged flap that was really the perforated bowl from another teaspoon. To use it, you put tea in the main bowl, closed the flap and then swished it around in a cup of boiling water. It was supposed to be for single cups of tea but it never beat a "cuppa" from a pot. It did however, save you from a mouth full of tea leaves if you couldn't find the strainer. (our strainer seemed to have legs - sound familiar?)

Speaking of tea reminds me of something else. Those of you who still remember the old Corn Exchange will also recollect there were various small businesses, and even a pub (The Maunche) in the outside of the building at street level. One of these was a restaurant called "Kidders". This opened early in the morning to serve the workers when the fruit and veg market was still across the street at Castlefolds. It was very popular but had a certain notoriety in our family, for members would only go there early for a cuppa. According to my long-departed Grandmother, if you went later in the morning, you were likely to get something called "Kidder's Fresh Mash". This was never explained.

Regards

PS - Remember the old Fire Guards that wrapped right around the fireplace? Something else that has passed into history.

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Tea cosies fit over a teapot to keep it warm while the tea "mashes", - but in these days of teabags who even uses a teapot?

Most of us put the bag straight into the cup!

The spoon could well have been to squeeze teabags out, but in the days of loose leaf tea (which came in packets) there were all sorts of impliments for filtering and straining the tea to keep the leaves out of the cup when it was poured.

There used to be an art to making a decent cup of tea.

The art is mashing it in the teapot. I still use a teapot and I still say that you " mash" tea but hubby says

you mash potatoes not tea. He says you " brew " tea , I say you "brew " beer.

He says tomatoes , I say tomartoes. . . .. . we know a song about that don't we? :P

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Those of you who still remember the old Corn Exchange will also recollect there were various small businesses, and even a pub (The Maunche) in the outside of the building at street level. One of these was a restaurant called "Kidders".

Kidder's Restaurant, 6 Corn Exchange Buildings.

Maunche, 13 Corn Exchange Buildings

Both Kelly's 1957.

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Good grief - I've just remembered gas pokers for getting the coal fire started.

A thin metal tube with holes down it's length, attached by a length of rubber hose to a small gas tap at the side of the hearth.

Here's a tap - albeit a fancy Victorian one.

No valve, no armored hose, and just a push fit at both ends.

Scary

Reminds me - the Bunsen burners at school were just a push fit without any hose clips.

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Good grief - I've just remembered gas pokers for getting the coal fire started.

A thin metal tube with holes down it's length, attached by a length of rubber hose to a small gas tap at the side of the hearth.

Here's a tap - albeit a fancy Victorian one.

No valve, no armored hose, and just a push fit at both ends.

Scary

Reminds me - the Bunsen burners at school were just a push fit without any hose clips.

When we went smokeless the landlord had a Parkray coke stove installed. Under the regulations some means of igniting the fuel had to be provided. Because we were all electric, ( the gas system had been condemned years before), we were provided with an electric fire lighter. This worked on the principle of the hair-driver but with a much bigger element. It was about 2 feet long on a stand and you placed the nozzle in the coke and switched on.

The problem was that the thing took about 10 minutes to warm up and you had a window of opportunity of about 10 seconds after the coke started glowing before the entire thing became incandescent and melted. You can imagine how hot a coke fire becomes with a strong blast of air (think blacksmiths forge).

We got through about three before we started using coal, sticks & paper. :mellow:

HD

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Good grief - I've just remembered gas pokers for getting the coal fire started.

A thin metal tube with holes down it's length, attached by a length of rubber hose to a small gas tap at the side of the hearth.

Here's a tap - albeit a fancy Victorian one.

No valve, no armored hose, and just a push fit at both ends.

Scary

Reminds me - the Bunsen burners at school were just a push fit without any hose clips.

Yes , I remember the gas pokers and at the time they were welcomed because it took for ever

to get the fire going before the days of gas pokers.

We used to screw up rolls of paper , some wood and some coal then to get the fire going

well we would put a metal guard up to the fire and "draw " it.

You could hear it roar but it quickened the start of a good fire. How many used to put

a sheet of newspaper up to the chimney then get it on fire and off it would go up the chimney

setting it on fire. . :o

Oh the good old days, didn't we have fun. :blink: ;-)

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I like the toasting fork behind the companion set.

We have one with an identical lower end (except it's got all 3 prongs) but the top represents a sailing ship in full sail.

Not much good though with central heating and an enclosed gas fire lol

HD

The toasting fork.

Now, although this is a proper kitchen item it would make an ideal addition to the companion set (a companion to the companions? :unsure: )

What better way to make toast than with some bread on a toasting fork in front of a roaring hot coal fire.

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