This was a very interesting period as a wide variety of models
were available including sets made from kits, straight receivers
and superhets. Several UK valve manufacturers were in business
offering equivalents for each others products as well as foreign
imports, frowned upon by the British regulatory organisation.
Even if you do not wish to make use of the information it is still
interesting to look at the evocative names given to some of the
sets! Many names proclaim the latest technical advance, much the
same as modern practice with computers. Reference to "screen"
or "SG" in a name indicated the use of the new tetrode
which had an extra electrode (or two) compared with the older
triode valves. Then came "Variable Mu" which was a way
of achieving automatic gain control by modifying the design of
the screen grid.
A Typical Valve Line-up from a "3-valve"
late 20's Mains Radio
From left to right:- S4V, 154V, PM24 and a DW2 rectifier
(the rectifier traditionally didn't count)
The B4 base wasn't big enough for tetrodes so the
extra grid came out to a screw terminal on the side of the base
I have included tables of equivalents
as the information below is based entirely on Mullard coded devices.
Some sets required metallised valves to prevent instability and
several types of valve were available in either metallised or
plain glass. Where there is a choice of valves the metallised
ones are in "bold" printing.
Some valves such as the MM4V and the VM4V are always metallised
so are not marked as such. Be warned that valve numbers were not
always definitive: some types were available with more than one
type of base eg. the newer B7 base was used to avoid the use of
the screw side contact in the older 5-pin Pen4VA but the type
number remained the same.
The convention used in counting the valves is to exclude the
rectifier (in mains sets) in the total, although from the names
given to their sets, manufacturers didn't always agree.
To identify your type of set go to the Master-table
then look in the group for the type
If you know what the type is select the listing below:-
