ULTIMATE MODEL 527 'CONSOLETTE' (1932)

The Ultimate model 527 was manufactured by Radio (1936) Ltd in 1932.

Other radios based on the same chassis:

1932 5-valve superhet radio in consolette cabinet, featuring a matched burl walnut finish

Same chassis as the 524 mantle set, same cabinet as the 631 6-valve set

Note the Christchurch advert for John Burns & Co shows this model at around £2 more expensive than Auckland - this is presumably to cover the cost of shipping.  this is relevant because Ultimate radios of this era used the valve count and retail price as their model number (ie: this model, the 527, had 5 valves and retailed (in Auckland, where they were manufactured) for £27 and change.

1932 Ultimate Radio - Over 1000 sets sold!

Technical Information

Valves (5): 57, 58, Wunderlich A, Arcturus PZ / 47, 80

Intermediate Frequency: 171kc/s

Frequency Bands: 1

Chassis Notes(most schematics can be clicked to download a full size version)

Chassis code C (most likely) - spec'd for all Arcturus valves

1932 and 33 Ultimate 'C' chassis Schematic

General Construction Notes for Radio (1936) Ltd:

Early Radio Ltd. schematics did not show the models, just the year, valves and bands, so some sleuthing is required to find the right one.

Early 30's Ultimate models with three digit model numbers indicated both the number of valves in the set, and the price it retailed for - for example, the model 856 was an 8-valve radio which retailed for $56 pounds. The equivalent Courier models were reversed, so an Ultimate 856 was a Courier 568 (theoretically, at least). This was the Auckland price though, and often the sets would retail for 1 or 2 pounds more in other centres, presumably to cover the freight cost of moving them around the country from the Auckland factory.

Note the use of old resistance terminology on older schematics: ω means ohms and Ω means megohms.

Some 1936-onward 3-letter chassis codes vary the last letter between brands, for example:
BBU - Ultimate model BB
BBR - Rolls (and Golden Knight) model BB
BBC - Courier model BB
All use the same chassis.

Golden Knight, Courier and Rolls appear to use the same copper-painted chassis while Ultimate chassis' are painted silver

After the war a new model code system was introduced, whereby radio models all began with R - the first model being the RA, a dual-wave 5-valve set commonly released in a pressed tin cabinet.

Other documented models using this chassis (3 in total)

YEARMODEL NAME
1932 Ultimate model 524 'Superhet Mantle'
1933 Ultimate model 521