South African Pilot consoles

[Patrice B]

600 ohms speakers I would guess... Interesting console!

 

[Danie]

The one console speakers were removed and the picture are of the smaller console

 

[Pio1980]

600 ohms speakers I would guess... Interesting console!

Afaik, these were used with the amps without output transformers.

 

[steerpike2]

Afaik, these were used with the amps without output transformers.

Often they were, but not always. The amp would then use EL86 output pentodes for OTL.
I have a Philips console with EL84s, output transformers and 800 Ohm speakers.
Using the 800 Ohm speakers with EL84s allows a smaller (cheaper) transformer.

The loudspeakers pictured above are not Philips though.

 

[Pio1980]

Fwiw;
Iirc, John Geloso was one of the principal early people at Pilot NYC. He later went to Italy to found a company under his name.

 

[Danie]

On the one set of OPT's 123/123 are printed and the 2nd set have 123/123/M printed.

 

[Patrice B]

600 ohms speakers I would guess... Interesting console!

Often they were, but not always. The amp would then use EL86 output pentodes for OTL.
I have a Philips console with EL84s, output transformers and 800 Ohm speakers.
Using the 800 Ohm speakers with EL84s allows a smaller (cheaper) transformer.

The loudspeakers pictured above are not Philips though.

Oops, 800 ohms! Thanks for the correction.

 

[Danie]

Nobody recognize these consoles as pilot and I'm sure they are not proper Pilot consoles. In South Africa we have a lot of rebranded products. At one stage you could have a Pioneer amp that was brought into South Africa and when you needed spares the agents won't help because it's not a South African. In the attached Pictures you will see the Pilot Radio Logo on the one console.

 

[steerpike2]

We had companies like Tedelex and S.A Television Manufacturers who would make equipment under license to the parent company, often the items would be different to the overseas versions (a) because the marked demanded a different set of features, or (b) it was more cost effective to use other sources of parts, (e.g., buy from Philips who had a cheap supply of transformers readily available.)
So we ended up with unique audio components here that were never seen in the same form anywhere else in the world. In particular, for many years it was illegal to import ready-made TV sets, so you had to buy locally made ones, and the broadcast frequencies were even chosen so that imported TVs would not work without modification.
Sony, Pioneer, Telefunken, Pilot, Philips, and several others all had factories in South Africa, assembling, if not designing, audio & TV sets for the local market.
There were also facilities in the 1970s & 80s making military electronics to circumvent weapons embargoes and sanctions, that were given the outward appearance of TV and audio component manufacturing companies.

 

[Dandy]

Yes, the audio history of SA (in the 50s-80s) is unusual because of the political and economic conditions there from 1948 onwards. Probably the same is true of some other parts of the world, e.g. Latin America or Soviet Union.

 

[Pio1980]

Reminds me of Dr. Trevor Wadley and the Barlow Wadley.

 

[Pio1980]

Btw, thnx much for the loan of Dr. Hendryk J. van der Bijl.