04-26-2026, 01:33 AM
Mike;
For 1940s battery sets the one Rob showed is probably the best bet, if one can assemble the parts himself, even the transformers are not that expensive, and everything is available from Mouser, where you can pick and choose the quality of the parts you wish to use for under $50. Other then the ARBE III I know nothing about the other two, especially by reputation, and the vendors are not volunteering much. The middle offering looks like it's using mystery brand caps from "The Middle Kingdom", I can't tell what it has for transformers, whether they are operating from the mains or if it's switcher junk. The BEAR one looks very cheap and cheerful, like a glorified power supply from a laptop, that may be unfair but I would like to know what circuitry is used in even a $145 supply.
I have a power supply that will operate just about any tube battery radio, except for a 6 volt set, it's a vintage battery eliminator that was restored, and modernized, but I seldom use it because it's larger then some of the farm battery sets I've operated from it. This was why I acquired two of the Electro brand ones, they were designed to operate battery only tube portables from AC and will fit in the battery compartment of many vintage portables. However only the "A" side is isolated from the power line, the "B" side is basically like that of an AC/DC set, so you can't connect a ground to the ground terminal of your farm set.
A late friend of mine actually electrified a 1940s battery set using an isolation transformer from a razor outlet, he managed to find one that had a gap between the core, and the outside iron such that he could add an extra winding for the "A" supply. He used an LM317 voltage regulator to clean up the ripple, hiding the regulator, diodes, caps, etc., under the chassis, however he regrated doing it because even though it wasn't noticeable it's a heavy modification for a vintage radio. I've saved a few of those razor transformers for building an "off board" supply, though I think I will use a transformer from an old "wall wart" or transistor radio for the "A" supply
Regards
Arran
For 1940s battery sets the one Rob showed is probably the best bet, if one can assemble the parts himself, even the transformers are not that expensive, and everything is available from Mouser, where you can pick and choose the quality of the parts you wish to use for under $50. Other then the ARBE III I know nothing about the other two, especially by reputation, and the vendors are not volunteering much. The middle offering looks like it's using mystery brand caps from "The Middle Kingdom", I can't tell what it has for transformers, whether they are operating from the mains or if it's switcher junk. The BEAR one looks very cheap and cheerful, like a glorified power supply from a laptop, that may be unfair but I would like to know what circuitry is used in even a $145 supply.
I have a power supply that will operate just about any tube battery radio, except for a 6 volt set, it's a vintage battery eliminator that was restored, and modernized, but I seldom use it because it's larger then some of the farm battery sets I've operated from it. This was why I acquired two of the Electro brand ones, they were designed to operate battery only tube portables from AC and will fit in the battery compartment of many vintage portables. However only the "A" side is isolated from the power line, the "B" side is basically like that of an AC/DC set, so you can't connect a ground to the ground terminal of your farm set.
A late friend of mine actually electrified a 1940s battery set using an isolation transformer from a razor outlet, he managed to find one that had a gap between the core, and the outside iron such that he could add an extra winding for the "A" supply. He used an LM317 voltage regulator to clean up the ripple, hiding the regulator, diodes, caps, etc., under the chassis, however he regrated doing it because even though it wasn't noticeable it's a heavy modification for a vintage radio. I've saved a few of those razor transformers for building an "off board" supply, though I think I will use a transformer from an old "wall wart" or transistor radio for the "A" supply
Regards
Arran
![[-]](https://philcoradio.com/phorum/images/bootbb/collapse.png "[-]")
