[Boatanchors] Progressive Radio "Edu-Kit"

[Richard Post]

Hi Dan,

I always wondered about the "Edu-Kit" when I was a kid.  A few years 
ago, I lucked onto one of the kits that had never seen solder. 
Interesting batch of parts and some of the skinniest, cheapest 
capacitors I have ever seen.  My kit is missing the resistance line 
cord but would never hook it up as AC-DC because of the very 
dangerous hot-chassis design that simply cries out for an isolation 
transformer, or better yet, a pair of 6 volt transformers back to 
back supplying the filament and isolated B+. I guess there were fewer 
liability law suits back then.  The 85 page manual shows December 
1946 as the first printing of the first edition.   Mine is the 6th 
edition copyright 1959 with the 31st printing in 1965.  The triode 
tube (tube 1) supplied is listed as either 6C5, 6P5, or 6J5.
The pentodes (tube 2 and 3) are listed as 6SD7, 6SK7, or 6SJ7.

They weren't all that critical on resistors either. It notes that R-1 
can be any value between 1500 ohms and 5000 ohms, with similar 
variations in  R-2, 3, and 4.

The line cord resistor was used for dropping the line voltage for 1, 
2 or 3 tubes without any additional resistor.  Makes me wonder how 
much filament voltage the one-tube circuit had.

After comparing the ads to the actual kit, I'm glad I never bought 
one as a kid.

Saved my money and bought a Heathkit AR-3 instead. See the AR-3 at:

<http://tinyurl.com/828nj>


73 de Rich KB8TAD




At 8:09 PM -0400 7/17/05, Dan Ferguson wrote:
>Sitting here in North Myrtle Beach drinking still yet again another very very
>cold beer after going through a lot of stuff I just moved down from Virginia. 
>Stuff that has followed me around for years.  One item I ran across was the
>instruction manual from a Progressive Radio "Edu-Kit", which I bought as a kid
>about 1955 or 56.  Unfortunately, the manual is the only thing from the kit
>that managed to stay with me.  The "Edu-Kit" took you through building
>several different receivers, a code oscillator, BCB xmtr, etc.  Used a couple
>of pentodes, a triode, selenium rectifier.  Anyone else here ever have one of
>these?
>
>Dan - k4voa
>