Show us your portable AC/DC multiband radios!

[kg4cna]

Originally Posted by Charlie

Interesting... I've never seen a boom-box styled radio with shortwave!

I have a JVC boom box with SW as well as AM/FM/CD/Cass & CD player. It even has a subwoofer, a five band EQ, AUX input and CD output. Bought it from a local electronics store back in 1987. It was my first boom box...and it still plays fine today..except for the CD player (it died long ago...probably from overuse on my part. I played the hell out of it!). It won't spin up when you load a CD. Otherwise it's in great shape.

I'll get a picture up as soon as I can.

[Charlie]

That Sony is freakin sweet! I dig how the knobs look like something off a TV set. That was back when you didn't find Sony's at places like WalMart, KMart, or Woolco.

[Jeffhs]

Your Sony was probably manufactured some time before 1967, which was when radio manufacturers started putting MHz and kHz on the tuning dials rather than mc and kc.

As to the low end of the FM tuning range beginning at 86.5 MHz rather than 88.0, I would guess this radio was originally made for the Japanese market. Note as well that, with the extended range, if you have a channel 6 television station in your area you might be able to hear the sound carrier on this receiver as channel 6 is 82-88 MHz; as a matter of fact, the sound carrier for TV channel 6 is exactly 86.50 MHz. You may also be able to hear aircraft radio above 108 MHz, as most of these radios (even modern ones) will tune slightly above and below the actual FM broadcast band.

The input jacks on the back of the Sony would suggest to me that it could be used as an FM tuner in a modest hi-fi system; the MPX jack allows the use of a multiplex adapter with the receiver for stereo FM reception. The tape output will allow recording independent of the receiver's volume control, and so forth.

All in all, I think you have a very sophisticated piece of equipment there, not worthy of being referred to simply as a radio. Sony obviously built this receiver to exacting standards, and to last; it wouldn't surprise me if it sold for well over $100 USD when it was new. Clean up the front panel (it should shine up nicely unless there are deep scratches on it) and you will have an excellent multiband receiver.

[Celt]

Thanks guys. The plastic has deteriorated a bit (as plastic tends to do) having become a bit yellowed and brittle. Anyway, I spent part of the day cleaning her up. There's one scrape on the left side that I can't polish out and probably should leave alone and the band selector knob was really scratched up on the top. I've managed to get that looking fairly decent. Spent most of the day listening to it. The AM section has more bandwidth than you normally see these days (thanks to the dial being so damn crowded). Music on AM and FM sounds very nice. Its 14 transistor circuit is marked as "Super Sensitive" and that she is...selective too!

[Maurice442]

Hi everybody,
I have read the complete thread and I'm full of nostalgia.... you guys have some nice radios...
My first radio worthy of mention was the Nordmende Globetrotter 6001 (loaned it to one of my friend and both vanished... )
then I got a Grundig Stereo Concert Boy Transistor 4000 that I still have to this day (bought it new at the time) it still plays quite good but I will have to DeOx-it one day soon and leave it on my computer table to enjoy it again...
I also have a Grundig Elite Boy but I have to change the volume control on it because it's damaged (still plays but is tricky to adjust...)
I know I had a few more but unfortunately I saw so many repairs in my life that I cannot remember them all...
Thank you all for sharing some fond memories
Maurice

[kg4cna]

I picked up this National (Matsushita) MW/SW radio today at a flea market for a one dollar bill. Battery power only (4 "D" cells). Antenna and all controls work smoothly as they should. It works fine with the exception of the audio level being very low. It stays low when the control is at full volume. Anyone seen one of these? I have not been able to find anything inside or on the outside that tells how old it is. The dial has KC/s and MC/s instead of kHz and mHz. Would it be mid 60's or so?

Allen

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by kg4cna

I picked up this National (Matsushita) MW/SW radio today at a flea market for a one dollar bill. Battery power only (4 "D" cells). Antenna and all controls work smoothly as they should. It works fine with the exception of the audio level being very low. It stays low when the control is at full volume. Anyone seen one of these? I have not been able to find anything inside or on the outside that tells how old it is. The dial has KC/s and MC/s instead of kHz and mHz. Would it be mid 60's or so?

Allen

Your set sounds like it's early-'60s vintage (pre-1967), because of the kc and mc markings on the dial scale. Until 1967 all radio dials were marked as kc and mc (kilocycles and megacycles), then, from '67 to the present, the frequency designations appeared as kHz and MHz (kilohertz and megahertz).

The low volume problem may be due to weak batteries; I'd try a fresh set, or try the radio on AC power if it has AC capability (many if not most large portables had built-in AC supplies or provisions for a wall-wart external AC adapter, then as now). Should work much better on new batteries; many of those large portables are notorious for eating up batteries in a hurry, especially when operated at full volume for any length of time or if accidentally left on overnight.

Good luck.

73,

[kg4cna]

Thanks guys! I appreciate it very much. I'll try a fresh set of batt's then. Maybe these I have are old...I found 'em in a drawer. There's no telling how long they've been there.

BTW Charlie, that's a Zenith 7 tube X323 AM/FM radio. It plays very nicely too

[Avocado Dream]

Originally Posted by Reece

Here's my SpaceMaster Plata, which is basically the same radio (with cosmetic differences) as the Sears and Wards Airline radios shown in previous posts of this thread. I got this in 1966, ordered from Allied Radio, before going into the Peace Corps in Guatemala. That means it's gonna be 41 years old this Christmas (hey, I can still do math!) and it still looks and works great. While down in Guatemala, I saw the same radio in a shop window, but this time it said SpaceMaster Silver on the logo! (of course, plata in Spanish means silver.)

Holy smoke!, I have a Spacemaster Silver - small world, never saw another until now.

- Dave

Just picked up 2 Sony CRF 320s still working have pics soon. but what great fun.

[Charlie]

Looks like a few new additions came in while I was at sea! Those are some cool looking sets! Reece, can't ever say I've heard of a SpaceMaster, but, as of now, I think that's the coolest name I've seen on any multi-band set! That burger rocks as well!

[Charlie]

that's a very clean radio! I would guess it to be mid-60's. The KC/MC on the dial is normal for that time. Using kHz/MHz became the norm in the 70's. Too bad about the volume issue.

BTW... that's a nice looking table radio in your avatar!

[Bone Yard]

Great collection grayga those are stunning and much older than the units I usually stumble across...do you have the model numbers for any of these, I have The Perpetual Troubleshooter's Manual Volume XIV but it's from 1944, your units look like they're a few years younger...

[Celt]

Yep, digital tuning may be more exact and convenient as far as saving frequencies with presets, but I still love the analog scale.
More fun...and to me, more real.

[batterymaker]

Ever see a Norwegian radio?

Doesn't quite fit the AC/DC portion (though it could because I believe a special power pack was available), but this David Andersen set should give you some eye candy pleasure. Got it off of the 'net ten years ago, recently built a proper AD3-style battery for it. Since I don't have any Scandinavian battery graphics, I decided to do the cover in French Pile Wonder. My adaptor uses a DC-DC converter powered by five C cells.

For a four-tube set, it brings in stations on AM and the three SW bands beautifully.

Bill