THE GREAT MULLARD MAGIC BLOG

Many users found the depression of the RHS handle to operate the Mullard High Speed Valve Tester  quite wearing -  and this at a time before  repetetive strain injuries were invented - stiff upper lip, grin and bear it!    The boffins at Salfords listened and voila, the tester was modified to have a one arm bandit style operating arm, not only that, if you pulled it and your valve tested for good emission, three cherries in a line appeared on the CRT.......................................  sorry couldn't resist that one. Mullard advertised the change as ergonomics with  an added security measure, to stop customers...

Well, whatever did you think, shame on you......... You know, it is said that there is nothing new in show business or advertising and here we have three photos just to prove this point. Here we see Petula Clark in October 1950 at the Castle Bromwich Radio Show somewhat agog at the size of this 5 foot Mullard valve model: -   And this 'ad opportunity' was again exploited  with a young lady from  Chorley Wood College for Girls with Little or No Sight examining the same giant valve model at the London Science Museum in November 1950: - But this wasn't a novel approach at...

The Mullard Master Test Board (MMTB), introduced in 1935 is in actuality a re-badged Philips Cartomatic GM7629, often referenced as the Cartomatic Mk1.   In every other European country it was sold as the Philips Cartomatic but for some reason, Mullard badge engineered it as their own product.    Physical examination  of the Philips Cartomatic Mk1 and the Mullard Master Test Board side by side reveals identical construction leading us to conclude that irrespective of badging, they were all made by Philips and either supplied fully built or as 'knocked down' kits for British construction and then post manufacture rebadged as Mullard instruments.     ...

  Jose from Soller in Majorca contacted me today asking what valves his trusty Ekco needed and that he was searching for Mullard valves.  I told him that I would come and have a look and identify them for him but that I  would need a week's free board and lodgings - ha-ha, said he.    Realising I was on a 'no hoper 'with this approach, I sorted him out some valve data and then thought, well, it's about time we had another blog entry, so, here's my freshly prepared valve line up list for many Post War and well known AC, DC & universal mains...

Here we have a few more words on the MH-SVT from Mullard from 1951 along with a few of my own added in blue text:- This valve testing apparatus is capable of carrying out tests as similar as possible to those standard production tests to which all Mullard valves are subject. The tests are not of course as exhaustive as those carried out during manufacture but they do ensure that the valve under test is satisfactory in all respects insofar as it is within the approved tolerances of operation. Use of Punched Cards:  arrangement of the test circuit and selection of test...