THE GREAT MULLARD MAGIC BLOG

As a chemist, people are always asking me what plastics other than bakelite were used in the manufacture of radio components and the answer is quite complex as the above table attests.    Many different plastic types with differing colours and properties were used and the above table from 1941 gives a flavour for what was available. And here is just what plastics could do for the radio manufacturer - nice AWA Skyscraper and red 300 eh?  Why not have a look at our stunning bakelite "Wee Megger" as a classic example of beautiful plastics in action?

Well, Mazda were another manufacturer who wanted to stand out and indeed made their own version of the Octal base with a fatter spigot known as the Mazda Octal or MO base.    Their valve numbering system was a bit kooky too and needs some explanation.  The typical Mazda valve type number was an alphanumeric affair comprising of; a numerical prefix followed by a letter which in turn was followed by a mumerical suffix. The numerical prefix always indicated the heater voltage EXCEPT where 10, 20 & 30 were used which indicated the heater current draw in 0.1A.  A further...

How we smiled when we saw this 1924 advert for a Graphite Pile Rheostat.  With it's connotations of 'pile' and near onomatopoeic sound of Oooyah, a classic expression of pain, I am sure may callow schoolboys as well as middle aged chaps like me smiled......  but where did the term Oojah come from?   Well, Oojah was an elephant  and an invention of a children’s book illustrator known as  Thomas Maybank.  Uncle Oojah began life as a comic strip character in the Daily Sketch Newspaper in 1919. By the early 1920s, the newspaper was issuing a four-page supplement called 'The Oojah...

I was saddened to hear that there is both a pestilence afflicting the tech savvy "Snowflake" generation and a lifestyle hazard that is leading to their untimely demise and you can see both in the following photograph: -  When "Ah worr a lad" growing up in Yorkshire, we unwillingly went to school in winter unwilling on two counts, one we didn't want to go out in the cold and two we didn't want to go out wearing a lime green bobble hat or a bright orange balaclava.  Today, things have moved on and little snowflakes everywhere go about their business...

 In 1951, Mullard were made aware of an absolutely hilarious occurence.    A proud owner had bought a Bush TV22 bakelite TV . Anyhow, he was moving it to try and find the best spot for it and guess what, in typical Mr Butterfingers Numpty style he dropped it and shattered the case, however, all was not lost and the chassis and tube were quite fine and our slip fingered gent wrote to Mullard moaning about the fragility of Bush bakelite but praising the enduring qualities of Mullard glass.   The TV22 bare chassis was retrofitted with an alternative casing and went...