[Arran]

After keeping my eyes open everywhere and posting a few ads online on here and the "Barking Dog" forum I finally found a replacement chassis for my Canadian G.E E-81 E-81 from 1937-38. Similar to the one on Radio Attic here:

http://radioattic.com/item.htm?radio=0960690

Ignore the demented price, it isn't worth 1/4 of what he's asking even restored.

The one currently in my E-81 is a horribly rusted mess, repairable in theory but really too much work and is better used as a parts chassis. Through flipping through some schematics I have found out that the chassis of the E-81 was not only used in a console version, the E-86 but is almost an exact clone of the Canadian RCA Victor models 8T-2 and 8K-1. It is also a doppelganger of the American RCA models 7T, 7K, and 8T, 8K. In any event the E-81 and the RCA 7K are identical electrically and physically with the exception of an added eye tube cable and socket, which I have. Here is the chassis I just bought through the usual auction site:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/160858739314?ssP...1439.l2648

Here is the schematic for the E-81:

http://www.nostalgiaair.org/Resources/970/M0028970.htm

Here is the one for the U.S RCA 7K/7T:

http://www.nostalgiaair.org/Resources/135/M0015135.htm

In spite of what the listing says it is an RCA model 7K not a 6K2, it has seven tubes and is the same circuit as the other sets I mentioned, minus the Magic eye. This chassis is not pristine as you can see but everything is there, and it is still five time better then my E-81 which even had crusty rust on the pilot bulb sockets. So when I eventually get this chassis this American made RCA will spend the rest of it's days as an C.G.E E-81, have a hole drilled in the chassis, and have the Magic Eye socket and cable added from my E-81 along with any other bits it needs. The one thing it will not have is a 25 cycle transformer but I think that the black unit on this chassis may be a replacement anyhow.
Regards
Arran

[Joe Rossi]

Arran, A great find, and impressive research! Joe

[Ron Ramirez]

Good job, Arran!

Looking at the photos in the eBay ad, I see one paper cap that wasn't replaced. Those RCA mica caps that look like cough drops might be suspect, also.

[Arran]

Good job, Arran! Icon_thumbup

Looking at the photos in the eBay ad, I see one paper cap that wasn't replaced. Those RCA mica caps that look like cough drops might be suspect, also.

Well Ron, it will be quite a while before I get around to working on it, since the previous owner thought it was a 6K2 it's possible he may have been working from the wrong schematic so it could have one or two wiring errors.
So far I haven't had many problems with the mica caps in these sets, and they were using ones of that design right up until the war. The main issue seems to be the cases splitting and falling apart more so then leakage, I think it's one of those alleged problems that the internet rumor mill has blown out of all proportion like 6X5 tubes. If there is a problem with one or few I can deal with that but shotgunning them all may cause more problems then it solves. Like every other set I leave the changing of micas as a last resort when everything lese is exhausted.
It is also going to my friend's place in Montana for the time being since the set is in Butte, Montana, a shorter trip lessons the chance of damage, so it will be picked up in maybe a year's time. I have a full set of knobs for this radio and even have the proper speaker, though it needs to be reconed.
I think that I should mention why I went to so much trouble to find a chassis for this set. I bought this radio with a basement/shed full of radios in 1993, along with a Philco 96, a Philco 60, a Canadian Marconi type 12, two G.E consoles, and an assortment of table sets including this E-81 and a Philco 3118 tombstone. There was a lot of stuff that was basically scrap, rusty chassis, beat up sets with broken dials, smashed Bakelite sets, but I did save every set that was more or less intact. The E-81's chassis was badly rusted and almost junk, but it was all there, and it had one thing that made it stand out, it was the exact make and model of radio that my Great Grandfather once owned.
Up until now I haven't been able to find a replacement chassis and just kept it on the back burner since I had lots of other sets to restore. I did see an E-86 console in a junk/antique store about 10 years ago but the condition was too good to just part out. For some reason I have seen all sorts of years and models of C.G.E sets over the years but never an E-81 for sale, except from that guy on Radio Attic.
Regards
Arran