Several types of radio set were commissioned by the M.O.D for public meeting places such as NAAFI canteens. The sets were by nature utilitarian and rugged, this particular model originally being designed to work directly from a 12 volt battery. e.g. one from a vehicle. The Hale Electrical Company Ltd. (H.E.C.L.) was one of the suppliers of these radio sets and produced several models, including the Receiver Broadcast type B No 3 ZA22707 and the type C No.4 type ZA29609. The less common of these is the type B, which had both a Medium Wave band and a Short Wave ‘Tropical Band’. The more common type C had just the MW band. Both were rather large and heavy in utilitarian looking brown painted cabinets with hinged wooden protective front and wooden back with the obligatory War Department stamp and arrow on the top. The circuit was a basic but reliable four valve superhet with a separate ‘vibrator’ type power supply for use with 12 volt batteries. The built in speaker was quite large for the set but does make a very good account of itself when turned up loud! |
