British PYE

[KA3EKH]

Ok, so I am rebuilding a old WW2 British PYE receiver. Not a high performance communications receiver but a Broadcast radio. It’s a PYE 2 that originally had an external power supply and an external speaker. The PYE 3 had an internal speaker and I will be installing a new four inch speaker and making it look like a PYE 3 but also want to install an internal AC power supply. Fair amount of room on the chassis and want to keep the original filter choke because its so huge and ugly but the thing is I think I can mount the new power transformer on the chassis but the location I am looking at is within a couple inches of the tuning capacitor. The transformer has a magnetic shield but wanted to know if there were any issues in having the power transformer in close proximity to the main tuning capacitor? The audio output transformer and choke are already mounted on the top of the chassis and they are open frame design with no shield, but they are around six or seven inches away from the capacitor. Can the new transformer induce hum in the front end? Or will the shell of the transformer prevent this?
Before anyone starts complaining about changing around this radio the PYE is not a uncommon radio and this will result in a functional AC powered Broadcast receiver all in one cabinet. Also I am using many period correct components like a rectifier tube and vintage capacitors that have been checked and are all solid components. Interesting foot note, think this radio was re-worked in the fifties because all the capacitors are good unlike some of the British R-1155 that I have worked on where every capacitor was open.

[KA3EKH]

I was wrong, was late at night and all that sort of stuff but it’s a PCR-2 receiver built by PYE. Attached a couple pictures. Also interesting to note that the MW medium wave and LW long wave or AM broadcast bands are calibrated in meters and not MHz, the SW or short wave band is in MHz
Wonder if most consumer radios in EU are using that system?

[KA3EKH]

Video of the British PCR 2 receiver built by Pye that I picked up at the Hamvention a couple years back. I installed a new power supply and re-wired the filament string for six volts. Was going to cut a hole in the front and mount an internal speaker but at the end of the day decided that there was no way that I would be able to make the front speaker hole without doing more damage then good so will keep it using an external speaker.
Not a high-performance receiver but did a good job copying a Ham AM station on forty meters.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4388H5bW-nY