Other radios based on the same chassis:
5-valve broadcast band lowboy radiogram
A later version from around 1958 was produced with an RDF chassis code. That model appears not to have "Courier Special" on the dial glass.
This was the end of the line for the Courier name and the last model to sport it. Courier had been in the NZ marketplace since around 1927 - and synonymous with high-spec and high-quality radio products. But with the exciting new technology of Television looming ever larger on the horizon, a new association was formed between the owners of the Courier brand, Radio (1936) Ltd, and E. K. Cole Ltd in England in order to obtain access to their deep pockets and not inconsiderable research. Consequently, the Courier brand was retired, being replaced with E. K. Coles 'Ekco' brand. Even the Radio Ltd company name, around since 1922, would be replaced with 'Ultimate Ekco Ltd'.
Intermediate Frequency: 460kc/s
Frequency Bands: 1
Chassis Notes(most schematics can be clicked to download a full size version)
General Construction Notes for Radio (1936) Ltd:
Early Radio Ltd. schematics did not show the models, just the year, valves and bands, so some sleuthing is required to find the right one.
Early 30's Ultimate models with three digit model numbers indicated both the number of valves in the set, and the price it retailed for - for example, the model 856 was an 8-valve radio which retailed for $56 pounds. The equivalent Courier models were reversed, so an Ultimate 856 was a Courier 568 (theoretically, at least). This was the Auckland price though, and often the sets would retail for 1 or 2 pounds more in other centres, presumably to cover the freight cost of moving them around the country from the Auckland factory.
Note the use of old resistance terminology on older schematics: ω means ohms and Ω means megohms.
Some 1936-onward 3-letter chassis codes vary the last letter between brands, for example:
BBU - Ultimate model BB
BBR - Rolls (and Golden Knight) model BB
BBC - Courier model BB
All use the same chassis.
Golden Knight, Courier and Rolls appear to use the same copper-painted chassis while Ultimate chassis' are painted silver
After the war a new model code system was introduced, whereby radio models all began with R - the first model being the RA, a dual-wave 5-valve set commonly released in a pressed tin cabinet.
| YEAR | MODEL NAME |
|---|---|
| 1954 | Ultimate model RCD |
| 1953 | Ultimate model RCD |
| 1953 | Ultimate model RCD 'Saturn' |
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