Scott Article & Wunderlich Photo

[Mal Fuller]

I've been writing a newspaper column entitled Rambling Through History for over a decade. My column appears every other week in a weekly New Hampshire newspaper called the Weirs Times In this week's issue of June 17th, 2010, my article includes some details and photos related to my Scott Allwave 12 DeLuxe with AVC. My article begins on page 15. You may view the article by visiting the Weirs Times website which is:
www.weirs.com

[Norman S Braithwaite]

The issue that comes up from clicking on the link is June 10th. I did not find your article. Is your article on a more recent issue?

Norman

[Mal Fuller]

Yes, it is in the June 17th issue. The website being somewhat convoluted, you can find the current issue by clicking on "On Newsstands Now", in the upper left corner of your monitor. Please let me know if you ever find the article and what you thought of it.

[Norman S Braithwaite]

Nice refreshing ramble! 2.5-volt Wunderlich tubes are so much easier to find today than they were in the 1980s that proper restoration of a Scott Allwave Deluxe or early Allwave Fifteen is a pleasure rather than a dubious task. The Wunderlich was obsoleted by RCA's type 55 tube, not economic conditions during the depression. Scott replaced the Wunderlich in the late Allwave Fifteen receivers with a type 55 and minor appropriate circuit modifications. The simple fact that RCA developed a competing product and did not embrace the Wunderlich was a death sentence for the Wunderlich in itself. A simple Wunderlich substitute consists of a type 55 tube with a wire from one diode plate to the grid cap. Even Scott sold this prewired tube as a replacment! But, before the internet, this was not common knowledge (although better known now, I'm not sure it qualifies as common knowledge).

Norman

[Mal Fuller]

Glad that you found the article and thank you for taking the time to read it and comment. I'd quibble about the reasons for the demise of the Wunderlich and the fate of Arcturus, as there were many other signs of economic trouble at the little tube company.
At some time in my Scott's life, there was a small hole drilled in the adjacent I. F. can as if for a grid wire for a type 55 for example. However, in 1960, my Scott had a dead Wunderlich, not a 55. I'd love to know the history of that somewhat crude hole.
I do think the AVC action of my Scott is very impressive. Were I to be more ambitious and in better health, I'd love to do a comparison with a 55's diode section used for AVC, instead of the Wunderlich's dual grid. Isn't the Wunderlich pretty?

[Mal Fuller]

So Carlos, you found it! It was a good afternoon/evening for the Scott, but a logistical nightmare for the other performers. My friend Ross is a good guy. He drove all the way from Whitman, Massachusetts to my home in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire and made it it all possible. Since that night I've added a high-definition camera - I sure wish I'd had it then. This insanity has been on WBCQ every Friday night and I've been showing my collection for so long I'm running out of radios to show. This coming Friday night I hope to feature our Scott SLR 12B.

Carlos Insa said:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/7279701

[Mal Fuller]

I think so, my son the computer guru said he'd look into it for me. I'll let you know if it gets done.

[Mal Fuller]

Hi Carlos,

Unfortunately (or not) my ustream video of my Scott Alwave 12 DeLuxe is so long that even after ruthless editing it is too long for youtube. Sorry, 'cause I'd have liked to have posted it to youtube.

Mal