BTH WIRELESS & HORN SPEAKER-TYPE VR3 FORM 8A - c.1927 SUPERB WORKING CONDITION- AUTHENTIC & VERY RARE Start Price GBP 175.00 Current Price GBP 285.00 Time Left - Bid Count 5 Buy It Now Price GBP 795.00 Reserve Price - Start Time Sunday, August 31, 2008 End Time Wednesday, September 10, 2008 Location Middlesex See more about 'BTH WIRELESS & HORN SPEAKER-TYPE VR3 FORM 8A - c.1927' Description bown007 Store     A'MUSEUM QUALITY'WIRELESS FROM THE 1920's   Offered for auction is this extremely rare example of an early British wireless manufactured by the British Thomson-Houston Co.Ltd in 1927. Designated a Type VR3,Form 8A this set is in virtual NEW condition and is to be sold with a beautiful 'Cornucopia'horn loudspeaker manufactured by the S.G Brown Company in 1926 Both items are in PERFECT WORKING CONDITION, the radio having had painstaking and totally authentic restoration and the loudspeaker having a good voice coil (2000ohms) with no rust or damage.   The set is a 3-valve TRF battery type covering 250-600metres and 1000-2000metres, these ranges being selected by a push-pull switch on the front panel. The other controls are an INTENSIFIER(or reaction) control, VOLUME and TUNING, the latter having a silky smooth mechanical slow-motion drive. A separate switch allows the valve filaments to be turned on and off. The interior of the set is immaculate, with all wiring un-perished. The original-type 2-volt valves are mounted in the original bases, which are crack-free. The various battery connections to the set are routed through the back of the set and are clearly labelled, with appropriate plug and spade connectors. A grid-bias battery pack and a set of three spare working valves are also included.  The mahogany cabinet has been french polished to show the veneer colours and has absolutely no splits, cracks or woodworm. Dimensions are  14.5in x 10in x 9.5inches. The horn loudspeaker has a height of 21 inches and measures 12 inches diameter at the horn flare. The overall weight of the radio and horn speaker is 10Kg.   This is one of the best examples of early British wireless and one which could be considered to be of museum quality. Appealing to the serious collector and enthusiast alike, consequently the price does reflect the quality and condition of this combination.When connected to an appropriate long aerial the performance is excellent and the sound from the horn loudspeaker really brings back what early radio listeners must have thought was almost magic in the 1920's                                                                                SIX GOOD REASONS TO BUY A VINTAGE RADIO FROM BOWN007 1. I have over 40 years experience as a professional engineer in all aspects of receiver and transmitter technology. As a BBC engineer and lecturer for many years I trained all grades of staff in both theoretical and practical aspects of radio and television broadcasting. Starting with valve equipment in the 1960's and progressing through to current trends I am fully conversant with valve, transistor and IC circuitry as used in vintage and current receivers.  2. The radios I sell all go through the same steps of refurbishment even if they are in supposed mint condition. I spend considerable time on each radio to restore them into a condition that I would accept from my own private collection. I research each radio to give you the model number and vintage, with any provenance where possible. They are all completely disassembled, the case and chassis are thoroughly cleaned and polished, filter capacitors are checked and replaced if leaky (for no hum), all valves are removed, tested and replaced if weak, the mains power cord is replaced if worn or frayed, dial lamps are replaced where required and any missing screws are replaced.   3. I always do my best to give accurate details of any flaws and list with many photographs, so you can judge for yourself what you are bidding on. I NEVER use generic or scanned material from any outside source!  4. You will never hear me say "the mains cord is cut so I cannot test it" or "I know nothing about radios, I just bought this in a house clearance or auction"  5. If I list it on E-Bay then it is working properly with clear mellow sound. Any exceptions to this will ALWAYS be clearly stated. I do not sell broken, junk or mystery radios. Any radios sold for spares usage only will have this clearly stated in the description. IMPORTANT. Due to transport and shipping conditions being beyond our control we can only guarantee the working condition of our radios prior to shipment. Customers are recommended to collect in person wherever possible due to the relative fragility of these old radios! 6. I ONLY sell radios (and classic telephones). I DO NOT sell china, paintings, toys and all the other stuff that non-specialists and the general antiques and house clearance sellers on E-Bay advertise! 7. .PERSONAL MESSAGE TO E-BAYERS        I am always concerned that any buyer is entirely happy with a purchase arising from my ‘Description’. However, your bidding price should reflect your expectations given by my ‘Conditions’. All items are entirely described by the written description and photograph, no refunds are possible for any miss-‘Description’ except where the goods are clearly not those on offer. All goods are purchased entirely at the buyer’s risk and the buyer should satisfy themselves about the detail of any specifications before bidding. There is no implied warranty outside of the ‘Description’ and photograph. Where a photograph does not show a major physical defect this will be described. All goods, even new ones, can have minor physical defects such as scratches. The buyer must be satisfied that the goods and photograph conform to what they want to buy before bidding. Buyers will pay all postage costs relating to any return. Electrical goods typically sold by my auction are collectors items and do not conform to any current regulations, the electrical goods  sold as suitable for collectors display purposes. When sold as ‘Working’ the meaning of ‘Working’ is that the goods will only conform to the auction ‘Description’ of the function of goods and will not be warranted to conform to the original specification in any way. If described as ‘Working’ this means the goods were tested or examined at some period before the sale and they were ‘Working’ then and put into storage. There is no implication that they will work in any way upon delivery except as arising from the implication of the previous test or examination. ‘Working’ when applied to mains supplied equipment specifically means that they were tested by a trained electronics technician but you must have the item tested and if necessary rewired by a person qualified to do so before plugging anything into the mains regardless of your perceived abilities. ‘Untested’ means that no power has been applied or any other means of testing has taken place, however there may be a part physical examination of the goods, which forms part of the description. Electrical and electronic goods are sold for restoration and display purposes only. Where items are supplied as wrapped, or new, and are then opened, or used, or altered in any way by the buyer, there will be no refunds under any circumstances. All items, both abroad and within the UK, are sent through the UK postal system. Whenever possible I will arrange for the item to be signed for on delivery. I only use this carrier, I do not use any other standards for delivery. If you want to know anything, always ask before the auction ends.         POSTAGE AND PACKING                All items are internally padded where possible with bubble-wrap to prevent valve damage. Radios are also wrapped with many layers of bubble-wrap and sent in double-walled cartons with extra loose-fill and solid polystyrene chips. The cost of packing materials is significant and costs between £5 and £10 per item, depending upon size. The rates I quote for postage include this factor and must be taken into account. Collection by arrangement is also possible and recommended.        Air shipping rates,  insured to £150 value, for  14Kg gross packed weight( radio and horn loudspeaker weigh  10Kg) follow. Extra insurance cover is £10 for each £500 value insured.(Please note that insurance costs are what I am charged by the carrier!)                                         USA.….....……….....…...........……….......£ 130                 A        AUSTRALIA/FAR EAST….....……………………….........£145             FRANCE, GERMANY, DENMARK AND        BELGIUM, NETHERLANDS, LUXEMBOURG….....£50        ITALY, SPAIN, PORTUGAL GREECE………………….…£58                          REST OF EUROPE.…......…...…..£68                    REPUBLIC OF IRELAND…....……….…..……….....£ 40                          .       Place a Bid!