SOBELL TPS180

Front View [18K]

Released February 1959
13 channel bands 1 and 3 plus Band 2 radio
17" Mullard AW43-88 C.R.T. with 15KV E.H.T.
18 Valves plus a couple of crystal diodes
A.C. / D.C. mains
Original Cost £49 9s 8d

NOTES	All of the main controls fit into a recessed panel. This includes a tuning scale for a VHF-only radio. The set also incorporates a 110 degree C.R.T that had been recently introduced. In order to take advantage of the reduced cabinet depth these tubes allow, the components are generally mounted sideways onto two P.C.B.'s aranged around the neck of the C.R.T. Indeed, to further save space, groups of resistors are mounted on a sepearte small P.C.B. which is then fitted to the main P.C.B. but at 90 degrees. With the valves being mounted horizontally I would have thought spring clips would be used to help keep them in their sockets. But no ! Unbelievable for a set that was supposed to be "transportable" and indeed one of them fell out when I drove it home. The cabinet feels particularly fragile and various wooden bits have come apart and the front cover falls off ! With quality like this you can understand the subsequent demise of the British electronics industry. Add to all this the sheer weight of this thing, I'm sure Jim Royle from the T.V. series The Royle Family would find a better description for it. "Portable my ar** !". O.K., and whilst I'm having a good whinge, whose clever idea was it to save a few screening cans by mplacing the valves inside the I.F. transformer cans ? Surely the heat will affect the frequency stability of the tuned circuits which will then drift ?
SERVICE DATA	There is a copy of the "Trader" service sheet 1438/T183 on the Vintage Television Service Data CDROM. This shows that the same basic chassis was used in a number of sets under the "Sobell" and "McMichael" names.
CURRENT STATE	The cheap and somewhat fragile looking cabinet could do with sprucing up a bit and there is an amazing amount of dust on the chassis. I think the set should have a pair of telescopic aerials but these are missing. As can be seen in the rear view, the front plastic cover is hanging off which isn't that suprising given the flimsy construction. I know, I know, I comment on the levels of dust on so many aquisitions but this one wins an award ! Special prize for anyone who can identify where in the set this picture was taken, or even any components ! I blew the dust out with an airline in a large workshop, and could barely see for several minutes !
WHERE FOUND	Rescued by Richard from the Birmingham antiques market. Reduced from £25 to £10.

Rear View

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