Allwave 23 Beat Oscillator Button

[Don Jackson]

I recently acquired a 7 knob Allwave 23 chassis and amplifier and will go through it for winter project. It came with a wood panel and all the escutcheons. So far, I have dusted it off and looked it over for obvious issues. When I took the front panel off was surprised to see 3 holes on the front, one large and 2 small. It soon became apparent these holes were the mounting configuration for the beat oscillator button on the 5 knob model. This set has the micrometer dial, so perhaps was sent back to Scott for an upgrade or maybe someone had another set and did the upgrade themselves. There is nothing suspicious looking about the wiring to the phono switch or the beat oscillator button. If someone added these controls they did a very good job, and it was done long ago. The serial number of this set is K-650, how would that number fit in the time frame? Also worth noting, about half the capacitors are Potter and the rest are Sprague, a few appear to have been changed but most appear to be original. There was a discussion in another thread here about Potter capacitors and it was generally agreed they were only used in the early models. It appears that this is an upgraded 5 knob set, which does not matter much. Has anyone seen a 5 knob set upgraded like this? It seems unlikely that it came from the factory this way. The set seems relatively unmolested and should clean up well so will be a fun project.

[Thomas Day]

I .have K486, which is a 5 knob version from around 1935. I have a second chassis also 5 knob, but with twin antenna posts. 

The second chassis had been seriously modified, and I was able to restore it using a combination of the early and late schematics. 

Does this chassis have 1 or 2 antenna posts?  

Thom. 

[Don Jackson]

Hi Thomas

This set has 2 antenna posts, I did not notice until you mentioned it. I have already restored another 5 knob set which had the single antenna post. Having gone through this process once, this one should be easier. 

[Norman S Braithwaite]

It is more likely that EH Scott Radio Laboratories was using up chassis punched for the 5-knob version for the new 7-knob version.  I have seen chassis with a mix of the Potter and Sprague capacitors manufactured during the transition of capacitor suppliers.  EH Scott Radio Laboratories was very effective at using stock on hand before ordering new stock.  There are many examples of this practice.  

Norman

[Don Jackson]

Norman

Thanks for your opinion, what you suggest makes perfect sense. I pulled off the coil wheel to have a closer look and all the wiring looks original, so it appears to have come from the factory like this.

[David C. Poland]

There is a design progression reflected in the above receivers. Scott was a small manufacturer and probably could ill afford to discard chrome plated chassis blanks after a model re-design. 

I have had the early 5 knob model. And also the early 7 knob model with one antenna post with a chassis like yours that had been punched for the BFO button under the dial knob and had the 2 additional controls instead. Indeed, the Roslyn cabinet panel also had been cut for that button, which hole was filled with a wood plug covered with a decorative tack.

My 3rd AW-23 is the late version with 2 antenna posts and micrometer dial. These features were part of the Fall 1936 AW-23 revision that also incorporated the new Scott Supershield Antenna Coupler (see Scott News October 1936). This enhancement included switching that obsoleted the outboard Antenna switch that had been part of the Scott Super Antenna since 1934 (a double di-pole with twin lead-in).

Also, Scott was known to make revisions to a set returned to the factory for repair work, upgrading it for some or all the current production circuitry.

After all, Scott was a custom set builder. We collectors have the opportunity to compare sets. The buyer of a new Scott at that time would be dazzled by the all that chrome and be in no position to ponder an unused chassis hole or two. 

[David C. Poland]

Also of note, Scott continued to market and build the AW-23 for several months to late 1937, well after the introduction of the 30 tube Philharmonic in April 1937. My late 7 knob AW-23 is in the Gothic Grande console which was the bigger, deeper cabinet sized to accommodate the Philharmonic, which cabinet suggests a very late build (although I cannot assure my receiver is original to this cabinet in as much as there were several very nice AW-23's in the lot at Estes Auctions, and a fully loaded cabinet is difficult to transport).

I have a 16 page Scott brochure that features the Philharmonic, Sixteen, AW-23 and the Scott-Autotrope (which was a large motorized radio phono combination offered late 1937, having a 30 record capacity).

[Don Jackson]

Hi David

Thanks for your detailed response and comments. I like a good mystery, and am finding that Scott radios do not fail to deliver in that regard. Interesting to hear that you have seen another 7 knob set that had been punched for a 5 knob configuration and had the same blank holes, and that even the cabinet had a plug in the center hole! I agree, it does not seem likely they would discard a chassis because it had a couple of extra holes.

The October 1936 Scott news article extolls the virtues of the new Scott Supershield Antenna Coupler and I see made an offer that older sets could be sent back for an upgrade for $15, so who knows which ones might have gone back to the factory for upgrades. 

The set I have has the the micrometer dial and 2 antenna posts so would appear to be one of the later ones. Interesting to see that the AW-23 sets were offered well into 1937. 

 

[Scott Seickel]

Speaking of BFO's, I have always said that the only difference between these high end Scotts and a communications receiver is the lack of a BFO. 

[David C. Poland]

Both the AW-15 and AW-23 models have a BFO. And the audio tone you hear can be adjusted to the audio frequency you prefer.

[Scott Seickel]

The BFO on the AW23 doesn't act like a normal comm receiver BFO.  I think it was intended for use locating stations.  So it is really not useful for receiving sideband broadcasts.  It might as well not even be there. 

[David C. Poland]

That is correct - it was to help locate stations, especially short wave stations, and tune them accurately. Foreign stations had schedules to operate at different frequencies and different times as each directed to target audiences around the world, and to take advantage of the ionosphere affect at night reflecting broadcasts further around the globe. The BFO could help locate a station when the carrier wave was operating, but the program audio had not yet begun. Foreign SW broadcasts were of considerable interest for news and entertainment in the 1930's.