Serial Number 354 11742
Bush TR82B Transistor Radio LW/MW Wavebands (158 to 280 kHz
and 525 to 1605 kHz) with push button waveband selection, off/on/tone
control and volume control.Powered by a single 9v PP9 battery.Seven
transistors (OC44, OC45, OC45, OC71, OC72, OC72, OC72) with push-pull
output driving a 5 inch Celestion loudspeaker.
Like many transistor radios of this era it has a socket for a car
aerial in the back panel. UK 1959
I was lucky to get this radio for 99p on Ebay, nobody else seemed to
want it! There was nothing wrong with it that could not be rectified
with a good clean and judicious use of switch cleaner. This is the less
common B version, which relates to the trim and does not denote any
electrical difference. It has a cream coloured cabinet and brown
leather look sides and brass trim. Later versions of the TR82, used the
less reliable AF series transistors.
The following is an interesting snippet from the operating instructions:
Transistors may be expected, under normal operating conditions to
have a much longer life than valves. If, however a transistor should
need be replaced, this must be done by your dealer. Transistors cannot
be plugged in like valves and for the purposes of servicing the must be
treated in the same way as other components.
I was puzzled by the circular indentation on the lower right of the back panel and discovered that this case was designed in 1957 to house the Bush MB60 5 valve mains/battery MW/LW portable radio. This case designed by David Ogle was used for many years and is perhaps the most remembered British transistor radio. More recently the design has been resurrected and used to house a modern set including a VHF band.
Note that the ventilation louvres required for the battery radio have been sealed with black tape. The white circular disc on the aluminium chassis has the chassis numbers A177 11742.
The pushbuttons actuate a conventional rotary wafer switch.
Martin J. Pratt who is a
Director of R&M Rentals Ltd recently contacted me to say that his
granddad Robert J Sprules who
worked for Bush before and after WW2 designed the circuit for this
model. Sadly he passed away in 2013 but was still repairing the odd
TR82, he was 92. Martin has a number of working examples of the TR82.
How much is it worth? Expect to pay �10-�15.
You can find a link to a very informative article on these radios here: http://www.vintage-radio.net/ Have a look as well at the page describing my other TR82 bushtr82c.html
