Read the opinions of others!

What acknowledged experts say in their public reviews.

(All reviews are unsolicited and have not been edited to change meaning) Please note that the reviews date from original publication, up to ten years previous. The books are now available on this site as eBooks, a low-cost download at just £9 each.

original reviews of

VINTAGE RADIOS: Collecting, Servicing, Restoring

MALCOLM BENNETT

I am asked at least two or three times a week if I can recommend a good book for new enthusiasts to learn how to repair and restore Vintage Radios. Until now I have had to explain that the only books available were of US origins, and whilst quite good, one had to accept their slightly different use of the English Language! and the built in problems of obtaining US books in the UK. I am very glad to say that this situation has now changed as I have just finished reading a new book by Tony Thompson that from now on will be the required reading material that I recommend to any further requests for assistance.

Tony has been interested in valve equipment all of his life. He worked for many years as a highly qualified radio and TV engineer and ran his own business in TV,Video and Hi-Fi Servicing. He currently teaches Design and Technology and Electronics and has had articles published in Television magazines. His new book "Vintage Radios - Collecting - Servicing - Restoring" covers all aspects of Vintage Radio from basic valve theory to cabinet restoration, and whilst it is primarily aimed at the new enthusiast who has no, or very little, knowledge of the subject, I have to say that even with over 40 years experience in the business I still found a few good tips that I had not come across.  The book contains 16 Chapters plus a glossary with two very useful appendices covering 'Sources of spares and materials' and more 'Suggested reading', it also contains 68 Illustrations that perform an excellent role of enhancing and explaining the text.

The contents of the 16 Chapters are listed below, and I'm sure you will see that they cover most aspects of Vintage Radio. There is obviously a limit to what can be achieved in 125 pages, and Tony would, I think, be the first to agree that this book is not supposed to be an in depth education course in all of the areas covered, but it is certainly enough for the novice to start restoring radios, and having acquired the bug, there is further reading material listed in an appendix that will allow a more in-depth knowledge to be obtained if required.  

http://www.valve.demon.co.uk/

ALAN LORD

I have had several emails from people asking if there are any good books for servicing information on vintage radios. It has been difficult to answer because most good books are now out of print. That has all changed now by the release of this new book

This well-written and fully illustrated A4 size book covers all aspects of radio repair and restoration. It is in ring - binder format which means that the pages sit flat when open, very useful if you are using it for reference while working on a set.

The first few chapters are a potted history of the development of radio including information about buying sets, what to look for and what to avoid.

There are chapters on cabinet repair and refinishing for wood and Bakelite cabinets, testing and servicing the chassis. Many common faults and their causes are covered; there are sample circuit diagrams of typical receivers and descriptions of how valves work.

There is a "things to make" section for the construction of test equipment etc. also included are lists of firms that can supply spares and a list of books and magazines for further reading.

In my opinion, this is a book that no radio enthusiast should be without and, at only £12.95, will not break the bank.

http://old.dundeecollege.ac.uk/Sections/CS/Staff/al_radio/reviews/tonythompson1.htm

PAUL STENNING

Several visitors to this website have asked me to recommend a good book, which covers the repair and restoration of vintage radios in a manner that is suitable for those just starting out I this hobby. Until recently there has been a shortage of suitable material, but this has now changed due to the publication of Vintage Radios (Collecting - Servicing - Restoring) by Tony Thompson.

Tony has worked for many years as a radio and TV servicing engineer, and now teaches Design, Technology and Electronics. He also runs a superb website - Vintage Radio World. He is therefore well qualified to write such a book, not just in terms of his considerable experience and knowledge of the subject, but also his experience in conveying ideas and principles to others in a clear and understandable manner.

Vintage radio books do not tend to interest major book publishers in the UK (unless they contain lots of nice colour photos and virtually no real information), so Tony has decided to publish and sell the book himself under the name VRW Publications.

The book is A4 sized and spiral-bound, which allows it to stay open at a page, and even be folded right back on itself. It contains 120 pages, organised into 17 chapters plus two appendices. The book is well written, in a clear and friendly style. It is the sort of book I found difficult to put down once I had started reading. It is well illustrated with good quality black-and-white photographs. Although in a couple of places it is not as detailed as I would have liked, the information provided is clear and accurate. The cabinet and chassis restoration sections in particular contain a great deal of valuable information, and I would recommend the book on the strength of these alone! Add the other information, and a really good read, and the book is highly recommended!

http://www.vintage-radio.com/reviews/vintage-radios-book.html

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Original reviews of

RESTORING VALVE RADIOS

ALAN LORD

This is Tony’s second book on restoration of valve radios, however, it is not an updated replacement for the first book.

In Restoring Valve Radios A Comprehensive guide, Tony doesn’t cover so much on how things work as that was covered in the first book, the new book covers actual restorations step by step from the purchase of the set, to the finished restoration, explaining why decisions were made and how the work was done. There are numerous pictures included showing the restorations in progress.

There is a lot of very useful information including how to repair cracked or broken dial glass and even how to make a replacement for a missing knob, you just ----- no, I’m not going to explain – go buy the book.

As with the first book, this one is also A4 size and the spiral binding allows it to be laid flat, at £13:95 it won’t break the bank either.

http://old.dundeecollege.ac.uk/Sections/CS/Staff/al_radio/reviews/tonythompson2.htm

PAUL STENNING

Most books on valve radio repair and restoration take the reader through the operation of the set and possible faults stage-by-stage. Cabinet restoration is handled in a similar way, with "how-to" type instructions. This is fair enough, because it should allow the author to cover most likely eventualities.

However this is like learning to cook by reading a recipe book. Yes, you can learn this way, but it is often much more useful to watch Delia make the recipe, because you pick up other little tips along the way.

In "Restoring Valve Radios - A Comprehensive Guide", Tony Thompson has attempted to convey this idea in a book, by describing actual repairs and restorations in detail. This shows why particular decisions were made, and details exactly how parts of the work were completed. No matter how detailed, no written description can ever equal watching an experienced restorer actually repairing and restoring a valve radio, but the descriptions in this book are about as good as you can get while remaining reasonably concise and to the point.

In the early chapters of the book there is an interesting tour around the chassis of a typical valve radio. Those of us who have been restoring sets for some time will of course be familiar with this, but for someone who has been bought up with PCBs, ICs and even surface-mount components, the first glimpse inside a valve radio could come as something of a surprise. This section explains what's where, and what it all does.

There are also sections on tools and test equipment, initial testing, what to look for when buying sets etc. This is not as detailed as in some books, but since it is only the introduction and not the main body of the book, this is fair enough.

The main part of the book is the detailed repair and restorations. There is a great deal of useful practical information in here, not only about tracking down illusive electrical faults but also about repairs and restoration of wooden and Bakelite cabinets. Each repair/restoration is introduced with a description of the set, how it is made, what condition it was in when obtained etc. This section is well illustrated with black-and-white photographs of key stages in the work.

Interspersed with the repairs and restorations are several single-page discussions about particular topics such as soldering tips, Bakelite and HT batteries.

The final section of the book covers specific repairs, such as replacing a broken dial glass by scanning, repairs to Bakelite, repairing torn speaker cones and casting replacement knobs.

The appendices contain useful formulae, suppliers and website addresses.

As with Tony's previous book, "Restoring Vintage Radios" is self-published. It is A4 format with laminated card covers. The spiral binding allows the book to lay flat open at a page, or even be folded back. It is printed to a high standard on either a laser printer or a good quality photocopier. The only unfortunate side effect of this is that some of the photographs are a bit dark, but not so much that you cannot see what they are showing.

At £13.95 this book represents very good value for money. It contains a lot of useful information and tips that you won't find elsewhere. It concentrates on the practical aspects of radio repair and restoration, and does not include any "how-it-works" type explanations. This is fine, since there are several other books containing this information, including Tony's previous book "Vintage Radios, Collecting - Servicing - Restoring".

http://www.vintage-radio.com/reviews/restoring-valve-radios-book.html

VINTAGE RADIO WORLD... OUR BOOKS REVIEWED

These reviews can be read at the links given.