George's Foreign Radios...

Last Updated on November 28, 2001

This radio was purchased at the Rochester AWA conference in September 2000. It sort of followed me home.. ;-) It was my most recent project... taking over a year to complete..

Bush model EBS 24 from London, England

Fig 1. - Radio in original condition.. A sad case indeed!

This radio was purchased in this unfortunate and sad condition. The dial was what hooked me, as it is very unusual, and it is in very good condition.

One of the filter capacitors has a date mark incidating it was made in May of 1952, so this radio is probably a 1952 or 1953 model..

There are 7 valves used in this radio. 6 of these are RimLock type.

Qty	Valve	US Equiv	Voltage
1	UCH42	14K7	14
2	UF41	12AC5	12
1	UBC41	14L7	14
1	UL41	45A5	45
1	UY41	31A3	31
1	UM4	?	6.3

Fig. 2 - Radio after restoration. What a difference!

What is so interesting is that while this set has a transformer, these valves are wired in series (with the exception of the UM4 eye valve) for a total of 128 volts. Looking under the chassis, one can see very little wiring around the sockets, and most components on a mounting board mounted on the side of the chassis. The chassis is made of aluminum.

It took over a year for me to complete this 6 band set. The biggest effort was the cabinet restoration, which I contracted out to a local antique furniture specialist.

This radio exposed me to several new ideas that I had not seen before in other radios.. In addition, it uses RimLock valves, which are not common here in the US at all. The radio also has a very unique tuning indicator at the top called a Teleflic.

Believe it or not, after replacing the line cord, the radio came right up and played like a charm. Very sensitive on both Medium and Shortwave bands.

I have several photos and links below. Some of these are close-ups of this radio in it's found state. These are rather large, but definitiely worth it! There are also many contributions from people who have seen this page, and offered assistance and guidance.. To all of them, my heartfelt gratitude!

Fig. 3 - Side view of the completed radio

Photos:

[1] - Full Front View (Un-restorred)
[2] - Close-up of unique tuning indicator. There is a thin blade of light that appears in these dots. The outside sweeps around a full revolution, and then the inside dot moves one position (sort of like a clock). Very impressive, since it looks almost digital (the blade is fixed in each dot, as another lights, the first does dark).. Does anyone know more about this?
[3] - A close-up of the horrible condition of the cabinet.. The veneer has been removed, and it looks like contact cement was slopped on the cabinet and allowed to dry..
[4] - A peek inside the cabinet..
[5] - The label on the back of the set..
[6] - A bit closer look at the inner workings of that indicator
[7] - Case in process of being stripped..
[8] - Inspection tag inside cabinet.
[9] - Dial marking.. This radio goes up to 30 mHz!
[10] - This is a socket for an unknown bulb used in the dial for this radio. The socket is large (approx 2 cm in diameter (7/8 inch), and 220 volts). The bulb portion must be quite compact since it is up against the dial scale. It is most likely of low wattage as well.. It has a bayonet style socket. This bulb turned out to be a "Pygmy" style bulb used in refrigerators and the like. Kevin Parrott kindly sent me two for this set. Thank You!
[11] - A peek under the chassis!
[12] - Another dial indicator photo.. this time back-lit so that you can see the way the indicator allows the light through..
[13] - NEW November 26,2000 - The cabinet has returned.. Here is a shot of the refinished cabinet..
[14] - Another shot of the cabinet refinished.. Now to complete the radio restoration!
[15] - NEW December 20,2000 - Operating Instructions - courtesy of Steve Palmano!
Front Cover, Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Rear Cover
[16] - Schematic of EU-24 (Warning: 244K!) - also courtesy of Steve Palmano. I suggest that you download this file and print with a paint program.

Here are some of the milestones along the way of this project.. I met many wonderful people who contributed a lot to the enjoyment of this project.. Thank you one and all!

September 12, 2000
Mike Izycky contacted me from his current portable location down under (he is busy with the Olympics currently) and provided me with a great deal of information about this set. Here is an excerpt from his e-mail..

"Ah, right. It's the export version of the PB22, a table set. The unusual tuning indicator is called a "Teleflic", and was used on Bush sets for the purpose of short-wave logging in the absence of real bandspread shortwave coverage. It was used from 1938 to 1956?, but latterly only on the export sets- like this one. The domestic version didn't have the magic eye- but instead had a row of presets for station tuning at the bottom of the dial.

The dial lamp will very likely be a 230v 15w Small Bayonet Cap "Pygmy" lamp- these were used in some other sets like the VHF90A from the same manufacturer. If I'm right about the lamp I'll get you some when I get back home in October and send them on.

The series connected heaters were a common feature of Bush sets of this period- it meant that you only had to keep one range of valves (tubes?) in stock for your model range, be they AC-only or AC/DC. I have several sets like this- the biggest being a 1950 radiogram, model RG11A which belonged to my late Great Aunt."

Needless to say, I want to extend a very big Thank You to Mike for enlightening me on this.

Mid September, 2000
I have delivered the case to a woodworker who has experience in replacing veneer. We determined that the original piece was veneered using Mahogony. I currently plan to use a clear lacquer over this to keep the set as light as possible. The set will be accented (bottom trim and inside edges) in black. It should be a sharp set when it is completed. Unfortunately, he said it would be about 8 weeks.. I guess i need to develop patience! ;-)

October 3, 2000
Kevin Parrott from England has been wonderfully kind and sent along a pair of "Pygmy" lamps. They indeed fit like a glove, and brings me closer to having this radio back in service.. Thank You Kevin!

November 25, 2000
The cabinet has come back from the furniture restoration company. It does look very good. We used Mahogany veneer with a stain called "candle-light" to bring out the richness.. There are then about 4-6 coats of lacquer to finish the radio cabinet. The rest of the radio will now be cleaned and re-installed. Hopefully, the finished radio will be here before the end of the year!

December 20, 2000
I received scans of the manual and schematic for this set from Steve Palmano. Many Thanks!.. I am busy with the holidays, and have not yet completed the assembly of this set..

June, 2001
I finally completed the radio!.. It had been so long, that I had to think hard to remember how the various parts fit together.. I did eventually get it right (no parts left over), but it has taught me to catalog the parts better and to write down the procedure! .. Yeah.. well we'll see next time how well that lesson sunk in! ;-)