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Lot 70
RARE HMV TYPE 900 MIRROR-LID TELEVISION AND RADIO RECEIVER.
21 September 2015, 13:00 EDT
New YorkSold for US$5,000 inc. premium
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RARE HMV TYPE 900 MIRROR-LID TELEVISION AND RADIO RECEIVER.
Made between December 1936 and March 1937, serial number H/1 10194, cabinet number 449, CRT number 25246/36, with 6/4 Emiscope CRT, vision and sound chassis with full run of metal screening cans, EHT generator in metal enclosure, vacuum tube charts pasted inside cabinet, original cloth covered VR cable runs throughout, 14" screen with black mask, behind safety glass and wooden baffle, combined 3-band radio receiver with vertical linier tuning scale dial to right of screen field, vision controls and advanced vision controls under sprung hinged matching brown Bakelite flap incorporating blanked off 240/405-line switch, full mirror-glass fitted lid interior, in walnut and mahogany veneered cabinet in stepped formation measuring 38.6 x 36.75 x 19.25", small metal speaker grille to front center, remains of the original cloth panelled back and white banner HMV plaque to back stretcher.
Several technical observations on this set suggest that is was run up successfully in the USA, following its trip from Britain some years ago. The Band III box, with US two-pin plug and step-down transformer has been hard-wired into the main feed and receiver loop. The supply transformer has been tapped at the 200-210v point with signs that this tap has been in this position for a long time. Linkage wires have been tape-marked pointing towards work which involved removing each chassis for test. The CRT shows no visible sign of vacuum loss or damage.
Sets leaving the Hayes factory after the beginning of 1937 had the 240/405-line switch blanked off, and this escutcheon is seen just above the sprung lidded picture control panel. When the BBC service began again in 1946 following the transmission suspension during WWII, anyone lucky enough to own a television was offered to have it sent to HMV at no charge where they blanked off the line control, removed the 240-line pulse-feed vacuum tube (MH4) and gave it all a good service. As that valve, the escutcheon and other wiring clips match those used in the service of other known examples which visited Mr. Gerald Wells at the HMV workshops, it is highly likely this was one of those sets that were recalled.
The 900 was one of the first sets to have the CRT fully enclosed and surrounded by an earthed steel shield. This not only reduced the nasty interference and kept the final EHT capacitors safely away from technician's fingers, but acted as another protective shroud in case of implosion. This is a historical set, one of the best designed television/radio combinations and certainly the model most likely to come up in conversation between early television connoisseurs. With some cabinet tidying and a full check ahead, one can be sure that all is here, present and correct for the restoration.
Several technical observations on this set suggest that is was run up successfully in the USA, following its trip from Britain some years ago. The Band III box, with US two-pin plug and step-down transformer has been hard-wired into the main feed and receiver loop. The supply transformer has been tapped at the 200-210v point with signs that this tap has been in this position for a long time. Linkage wires have been tape-marked pointing towards work which involved removing each chassis for test. The CRT shows no visible sign of vacuum loss or damage.
Sets leaving the Hayes factory after the beginning of 1937 had the 240/405-line switch blanked off, and this escutcheon is seen just above the sprung lidded picture control panel. When the BBC service began again in 1946 following the transmission suspension during WWII, anyone lucky enough to own a television was offered to have it sent to HMV at no charge where they blanked off the line control, removed the 240-line pulse-feed vacuum tube (MH4) and gave it all a good service. As that valve, the escutcheon and other wiring clips match those used in the service of other known examples which visited Mr. Gerald Wells at the HMV workshops, it is highly likely this was one of those sets that were recalled.
The 900 was one of the first sets to have the CRT fully enclosed and surrounded by an earthed steel shield. This not only reduced the nasty interference and kept the final EHT capacitors safely away from technician's fingers, but acted as another protective shroud in case of implosion. This is a historical set, one of the best designed television/radio combinations and certainly the model most likely to come up in conversation between early television connoisseurs. With some cabinet tidying and a full check ahead, one can be sure that all is here, present and correct for the restoration.