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Thanks for your interest and comments. Makes it all worthwhile.
The Master 39K was the second-largest table model of the year 1939, the
Master Deluxe 39K being top of the range, not counting floor-standing models and radiograms.
The models of the same year also included the famous Beolit 39 of which I had the
pleasure of fiddling with one just two years ago.
That story can be found here /forum/general-discussion-and-questions/create-puc-for-beosystem4-based-tv#post-2043343
Martin
Being a quite advanced radio for its time, the Master 39K was meant for use in
the livingroom as the primary entertainer.
It has a comprehensive AM coverage and connection for a grammophone.
You could hardly wish for more back then.
Well, that should maybe be B&O's then newest invention, a revolution for
the daily radio user, the convenient pushbutton station selectors. A first for B&O.
Martin
Wow! What a great condition this old radio is in! It will be my pleasure to follow up on this thread, as you always make really exiting restoration threads :)
Let's take a look inside;
The rear cover is held to the cabinet with two clips.
No screws and no tools.
Martin
The mains power comes in through a plug mounted to the rear cover so will automatically
be disconnected when the rear cover is removed.
That does not mean that the chassis is safe to touch though.
I will not go in to the same degree of detail as I have done previously on this
subject but merely repeat that servicing a valve set like this can be a risky business.
Voltages higher than that of the mains can be found inside the set and if you don't find
them yourself, they will find you !
Never rest one hand on the chassis while working with the other. Keep one hand on
your back and never touch anything unless you are absolutely sure that what you
do won't kill you.
Even when switched off, both the chassis and several components can still hold
full mains voltage or more.
You can read more about safety with valves in my previous restoration write-ups.
The chassis is held to the cabinet by 3 large screws with bakelite heads and even
larger metal washers.
One screw has tiny bits of what seems to be the remains of a red sticker.
There's not enough left of it for me to read anything but it has been sitting across
the screws head and washer so will most likely have been a warranty label.
Martin
Martin, have you noticed that "your" set has diferent names on the station pushbuttons?
Rudy
Both versions are commonly seen (well, as common as these get, anyway).
There were two different chassis versions (mainly due to a change to CL6 output valve
instead of CL4, I believe), and I'm almost sure that the default stations were
reconsidered at that time.
You can check if yours is the early version with the CL4 output valve.
The one on my bench is a "version II" as B&O calls it in the service manual, i.e
the "later" version with CL6.
Having said that; The pushbutton station selectors each covered a certain frequency
range and any station within that range could be set to the given button.
You could not change the range though, this means that not any button could be set to
any frequency and all "re-programming" of the buttons would have been done at
the repairshop where correct instrumentation was available.
And the tuning stayed correct for years.
My guess is that buttons with non-default station names could be ordered from B&O but
I haven't been able to confirm this.
It may not appear very convenient seen with modern eyes but to just be able to
select a station at a simple push of a button was hot news back then.
Even a child could change station.
Martin
Two versions of the radio was offered. One for the Copenhagen area (called 'Københavneren') and one for Jutland (called 'Den jyske').
The Copenhagen model started with København on the pushbuttons where the Jutland model bagan with Hamburg instead.
Furthermore, if a customer wanted other stations than the two models could offer, the radio could be ordered with the specific wishes.
Thanks Vifa, for the interest and comment.
So that is the explanation.
It makes perfect sense here in that this set was in use only 25 Km or so from Copenhagen.
Martin
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