Rochdale Rally

The Rochdale Rally is run by "Rochdale and District Amateur Radio Society" (RADARS) and it is what it says in the advertising info, a traditional radio rally. This is the third event that I have had the pleasure in attending in the last month and I was not disappointed.


The day started with occasional showers and high winds. I started the trip by picking up Mark M0DGK, Frank G8BME, and Martin M0ZIF. The trip to Rochdale was uneventful and found us arriving a little earlier than expected at around 9:15. Once the stall holders were ready the doors were opened around 10:10am and the entrance fee of £1.50 for OAP's and £2.50 for everyone else. Access to the building was good with both a ramp and steps available at the same entrance.

Catering was basic but very enjoyable with a Sausage & Bacon bun and a hot drink costing between £2.00 or £2.50 dependent on the size of the bun.

Cast your mind back to the rally's of yesteryear before computers had become common place and you could happily go hunting through junk boxes for that little treasure you needed to complete a project or see displayed before you air spaced capacitors, crystals, home brew kits ex-military radios etc. Well that's the rally in a nutshell.

Vintage Radios and Components on offer

As you will have gathered from previous postings my interest is in the old wartime and vintage radio's and I was more than pleased with the variety of stands available . Take a look below at some of the equipment on offer.

The Eddystone 930 Receiver?

There seems to be little information about on this set assuming I have named the right model.

The Eddystone S 640 Receiver sitting on the 840A

This set was in production in 1947 and as documented in the Eddystone User Groups news letter No.6 it was produced as the first postwar radio aimed specifically at Amateurs. There is plenty of information about it on the web, I've just listed a few below that may be of interest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8b7aHPvKdA

Eddystones user group newsletter 6 also has interesting info on the set

Various old dials and components

Tuning Capacitors

This item was for sale because the stall holder had new double glazing fitted and the window it sat in was not big enough to take the horn.

If there was one set at the rally that caught my attention it was the RCA BC348 receiver

BC 348 Receiver

The set that was going for a nice price was the " BC 348" It was probably a steal at £40 but I noticed a few problems that would need sorting. An S Meter had been added which might be considered a good mod but I like classic radio's in as near original order as possible, I was also concerned about the availability of the correct knobs etc on the front panel. However things going in its favor were: That it was being sold as a working radio and that it could now be run from a normal 240v mains socket. The set was originally designed to run from 28v dc via an on board dynomotor.

The BC 348 went into production in the 1930's and was issued in a number of variants indicated by a letter after the model number, in the case of this set it is a BC-348 O. The receiver was fitted in a number of aircraft including the B17, 19 and 29 bomber. The radio was used with the ART 13 Transmitter. If you would like to read up on the set here are a few links that are worth viewing.

http://www.vmarsmanuals.co.uk/new/bc348.htm

http://www.vk2bv.org/museum/bc348.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKRez8euQU4&feature=related

Well that's about it for this little review, the guys who traveled to the rally with me went home happy and contented with their purchases and although not a large rally had an enjoyable visit.

All rally's reviewed over the last few weeks would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the organizer's and volunteers who make these events happen. I'd just like to say "thank you" and I look forward to attending the 2010 events.


73/72
Brian G0RDH