model differences

[jonathan dollimore]

Good Morning from England,

I'm one of a small band of Scott enthusiasts over here, and, I should add, more enthusiastic than knowledgeable. So, having to date badgered a patient and courteous Kent with my questions, I realised it was time I made contact with the wider Scott community. I know of two other keen Scott enthusiasts in the UK, although there may well be more. As for sets, I'm only aware of a handful. They tend to get passed on between friends/enthusiasts, rather than going onto the open market. I have a Phantom and an early Philharmonic.

My first question today is embarrassingly elementary: it's about the difference between the pointer dial and the beam of light Philharmonics. I realise it's obvious, except that my set has both the pointer and the beam of light!  Was that the case with all the pointer dial sets or only with some transitional sets?

The second question concerns the high frequency speakers for the Philharmonic. The cabinet on my set originally had them, but not when I got it. The chances of sourcing a pair are slight, especially from this side of the sea, but I figured that there most be some other 5 inch speaker that would substitute or at least that one could experiment with. So my second question concerns the spec of such speakers - what should I be looking for in terms of resistance and other matching criteria? Any suggestions would be most appreciated. 

Best wishes, Jonathan

[David C. Poland]

Hi Jonathan,

The "pointer dial" model is the first version (April 1937). In addition to the pointer, there was 2nd small vernier dial (logging scale) in the center of the dial. Mine, like yours, also has a "beam of light" that tracks along with the pointer. As far as I know, the pointer with the traveling indicator light was standard from the date the first Philharmonic was produced. The stack of panel lights mounted on a large disk behind the dial rotates with the pointer. There is a small opening for each band on the disk, and the band switch selects the appropriate panel light on that stack to indicate the band selected.

Some dials had a 7th band located above the Broadcast band which show call letters of regional AM stations.. My dial has the major Chicago stations, plus WLW at 700 Kc. As the pointer reaches, say WGN at 720, the 7th panel light aligns with an opening next to the call letters to indicate reaching that local station .

The second version dial (November 1938) is known as the first "beam of light" (BOL) dial. It merely eliminated the pointer and the vernier pointer and continued with the traveling light on the appropriate dial scale band. This dial also introduced the 'Stradivarius of Radio" logo where small the vernier inner dial was. Still has the same 6 controls plus dial knobs. The logging scale is gone. Later version BOL dial sets had 2 additional control knobs

The 3rd version AM dial (January 1940) introduced the logging scale window at the top of the dial. It is still called the "beam of light" dial. The logging scale is on the rotating disk that carries stack of panel lights. The later Phantoms have the same logging scale arrangement.

Later dial variations substitute the new television audio frequencies (in red screen print) instead of the ultra high frequency 6th band . The FM/AM Philharmonic had the BOL dial, too

The optional Scott tweeters for the Philharmonic (and Phantoms) were permanent magnet tweeters. (Jensen made all the pre-war tweeters for Scott) Tweeters were wired in parallel with the main speaker voice coil. But the the tweeter had a 2 MFD cap in series with the pair of tweeter voice coils, mounted on one of the tweeter frames. In spite of the claim (Jim Clark's Scott Guide), there was no crossover inside the big 15 inch speaker's pedestal, only the 2 pin receptacle for the tweeter cable plug. I would think any tweeter or horn tweeter would work as long as a suitable cap was in series with the tweeter voice coil. The optimal tweeter(s) should probably be on the high side, say 16 ohm, as the Scott speaker used 19 ohm voice coils. Philharmonic cabinets usually had 4 inch holes for the tweeter, but had a covers over the holes.

-Dave

[jonathan dollimore]

Thank you Dave, that's fantastically helpful - exactly what I needed to know. Incidentally, my Philharmonic is housed in a version of the Chippendale cabinet along with a Capehart autochanger. The cabinet was modelled on the Scott chippendale but made in London.The capehart is nicely original but not working properly; a winter job. I'll upload some pictures shortly. Thank you again.

David C. Poland said:

Hi Jonathan,

The "pointer dial" model is the first version (April 1937). In addition to the pointer, there was 2nd small vernier dial (logging scale) in the center of the dial. Mine, like yours, also has a "beam of light" that tracks along with the pointer. As far as I know, the pointer with the traveling indicator light was standard from the date the first Philharmonic was produced. The stack of panel lights mounted on a large disk behind the dial rotates with the pointer. There is a small opening for each band on the disk, and the band switch selects the appropriate panel light on that stack to indicate the band selected.

Some dials had a 7th band located above the Broadcast band which show call letters of regional AM stations.. My dial has the major Chicago stations, plus WLW at 700 Kc. As the pointer reaches, say WGN at 720, the 7th panel light aligns with an opening next to the call letters to indicate reaching that local station .

The second version dial (November 1938) is known as the first "beam of light" (BOL) dial. It merely eliminated the pointer and the vernier pointer and continued with the traveling light on the appropriate dial scale band. This dial also introduced the 'Stradivarius of Radio" logo where small the vernier inner dial was. Still has the same 6 controls plus dial knobs. The logging scale is gone. Later version BOL dial sets had 2 additional control knobs

The 3rd version AM dial (January 1940) introduced the logging scale window at the top of the dial. It is still called the "beam of light" dial. The logging scale is on the rotating disk that carries stack of panel lights. The later Phantoms have the same logging scale arrangement.

Later dial variations substitute the new television audio frequencies (in red screen print) instead of the ultra high frequency 6th band . The FM/AM Philharmonic had the BOL dial, too

The optional Scott tweeters for the Philharmonic (and Phantoms) were permanent magnet tweeters. (Jensen made all the pre-war tweeters for Scott) Tweeters were wired in parallel with the main speaker voice coil. But the the tweeter had a 2 MFD cap in series with the pair of tweeter voice coils, mounted on one of the tweeter frames. In spite of the claim (Jim Clark's Scott Guide), there was no crossover inside the big 15 inch speaker's pedestal, only the 2 pin receptacle for the tweeter cable plug. I would think any tweeter or horn tweeter would work as long as a suitable cap was in series with the tweeter voice coil. The optimal tweeter(s) should probably be on the high side, say 16 ohm, as the Scott speaker used 19 ohm voice coils. Philharmonic cabinets usually had 4 inch holes for the tweeter, but had a covers over the holes.

-Dave

[jonathan dollimore]

Hello Carlos, I do not have any catalogue from Scott's London operation. I will ask others over here if they have anything. As regards the cabinets, my understanding, gleaned I think from Kent, is that Scott supplied the measurements of their cabinets and they were made up over here, probably to special order. We do not know the actual maker of my cabinet, only that it was made in London by an established cabinet maker. It differs from the US Scott Chippendale in having, for example, sliding doors for the speaker aperture, and fold-back doors for the tuner/gramophone apertures. I'll inquire about catalogues and let me know what I find.

regards, Jonathan