USER MANUAL
Ferguson 219A
Project No. 5055
Retro~Lux
is a trading name of Contrelec Ltd
Page 7
High Wycombe ● Bucks ● England
Tel: +44 (0)1494 526270
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.retro-lux.co.uk
8
History
The Ferguson 219A AC mains valve radio
was originally made around 1948 by
Ferguson Radio Corporation Ltd of London.
The set is housed in a veneered plywood case
with inset dial bezel and gold speaker grille.
The set was controlled by means of four
controls located 2 each side. On the left hand
side was the on-off/tone control and volume.
The right hand side had the waveband
selector and tuning control.
The set was capable of receiving short, medium and long wave bands. It had an internal 8"
paper cone loudspeaker. Internally the components were mounted on a blue painted steel
chassis.
This model was in quite good condition when we received it. There was the usual amount
of damage to the varnish, and the usual layers of muck and grime we usuually find.
Internally, it had some unusual features: the chassis was painted a nice colour blue, the
loudspeaker was enclosed in a black cotton drawstring bag, and some of the knobs had
extensions fitted to reach the internal controls.
The case was stripped, and cleaned up. There is a large bevel around the fornt panel
components which was re-painted, and the dial glass had a bezel which was re-finished in
dark brown. The case itself was stripped back to bare wood and chips repaired. It was then
re-varnished and polished to bring out the natural beauty of the veneers which, on the
sides, were the thinnest we have ever come across having been worn through in one or two
spots.
Internally the components were stripped from the chassis and the chassis itself stripped of
the old paint and re-painted. The dial glass presented some problems as the legend was
flaking off at one end. The tuning mechanism was left in place.
The proprietary Retro-Lux PSU, Power Amplifier and Tone Control PCB circuitry was
installed, together with a high-performance 6.5", full range, dual concentric 50W
loudspeaker. A replacement back panel to meet modern regulations completed the upgrade.
There is a mains switch on the rear, and the controls have been assigned as follows: on the
left are the tone controls (treble and bass) and on the right is the on/off volume control and
the tuning dial control (which moves the pointer but is decorative only).
