4-valve broadcast band mantle radio.
Also sold as a Mullard model 454, and similar to the Philips BZ156U (released the following year).
Note: This is a series-string heater, transformerless, set which means the chassis has the possibility of being at mains voltage levels. If you don't know what you're doing then this set can be lethal. It is the authors view that sets of this nature should have the power cords removed and not be used for anything more than a decoration.
BAY OF PLENTY TIMES, 17 DECEMBER 1949
Valves (4): UCH42, UAF42, UL41, UY41
Intermediate Frequency: 455kc/s
Frequency Bands: 1
Chassis Notes(most schematics can be clicked to download a full size version)
WARNING: Transformerless set.
Service information (Philips_BZ146U_-_4V_BC_ACDC_-_1956.pdf) here
General Construction Notes for Philips Electrical Industries of N.Z. Ltd:
Philips early-mid century were probably the Google of their time - they had branches in many countries and a global brand that everyone knew - and were apparently happy to let engineers come up with new ideas and implement them. Construction is often overly complex but very well engineered - although repairs can also take a complex path. They used time-in-motion studies to find the most cost effective way to asemble sets and sometimes this means repairs can be nightmarish (if you've ever worked on a V7A Theaterette this will be all too aparent). U suffix model numbers are transformerless (hot chassis) sets and great care should be taken, or the sets avoided altogether.
Philips model codes are complex - they are explained in-depth on the Philips brand page.
Mullard codes: The model codes from Mullard sets (unlike their Philips counterparts) appear to contain valve count and date information. For example, the model 525 is a 5-valve 1945 design. The 2 appears to just be an identifier (most likely in case there were two models in 1945 with 5 valves, which there was - the 515 is the small 'Meteor' mantle set).
Fleetwood codes are often just a rearranged version of the Philips code. For example, the FL374T transistor radio is a rearrangement of the Philips model L3Z74T. Early Fleetwood codes were numeric with F on the end. From about 1959 onwards the codes were much more like their Philips counterparts. They start with F or FL (or sometimes FZ for larger consoles)... These later codes also tend to end in a Philips-style identifier for the power source (A for mains, B for battery, T for transistor battery, etc - see the Philips brand page for more info on that).
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