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Vintage Radio (domestic) Domestic vintage radio (wireless) receivers only.

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Old 11th Aug 2010, 2:45 pm   #1
boomboxcat
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Default Hacker Sovereign IV.

Just picked up this radio at a car boot from a trader for £20 and I guess that is the retail value for this set.

It's got lovely side panels in light wood, teak perhaps?

The sound is fantastic and I never knew a transistor radio could have seperate bass and treble controls! Believe me, this will be treasured forever.

Has anyone got its specs? ie build years and its true value now? The dealer reckoned it's more like a 70's one than a 60's one but was unsure of exact age. What info do you have?
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Old 11th Aug 2010, 3:23 pm   #2
Paul_RK
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Default Re: my great new hacker

The Sovereign IV was the last of the Sovereigns, made from 1977-79 first at Maidenhead where Hacker had always been based, then at Bournemouth until production was ended by a fire. The top panel has some changes between early Maidenhead, late Maidenhead and Bournemouth versions, so a picture of that would show where and roughly when it was made... serial number would help too, and quite often with these there's actually a faint date stamp on the cabinet wood at lower right hand corner when the back's off. It's a bit bigger than the earlier Sovereigns because there was an alternative version using the same cabinet but with built-in cassette deck.

It's still a fine radio, but general opinion is that Sovereigns up to the III were better... cost-cutting had started by the time this model came along, and Hacker went from one financial crisis to another in the mid and late '70s. There's an original sales sheet and any amount of other stuff available at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hackerradiogroup/ . Selling price when new, at least at Herts. Hi-Fi, was £68 in 1977 and £75 in '78... value now depends a lot on an unworn top panel - be careful when cleaning - maybe about £40-50 for a very nice one, though at auction they can bring more.

Regards,

Paul
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Old 11th Aug 2010, 4:32 pm   #3
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Default Re: Hacker Sovereign IV.

Thank you so kindly for that wealth of information, the least I can do is post a picture of the top panel as you requested. Sorry for the lack of quality but I don't possess a digital camera, so I rely on the camera on my Blackberry.

My radio does seem in alarmingly good order and the top panel is just about mint. The only real damage is that the wood side panels are a bit scuffed, but it works beautifully.

There is a serial number I believe stamped into the inner frame. I'll check this out when I replace the batteries, but for some reason the paper label on the back is missing and just the sticky outline of its shape remains.

I'm glad I finally got a good radio. This is my first of its type and I'm really impressed. Really grateful for the info.

Thanks again.
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Old 11th Aug 2010, 4:42 pm   #4
ekcobeach
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Default Re: Hacker Sovereign IV.

Look out for the earlier Hacker Super Sovereign. IMHO it is the very best Hacker ever produced. The sound quality is superb,you have all bands and the better models had a built in mains transformer. Colin.
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Old 11th Aug 2010, 5:59 pm   #5
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Default Re: Hacker Sovereign IV.

Definitely a Bournemouth set there, the Maidenhead ones say "Sovereign IV" on the top panel... so produced in March '78 or later. If there's a stamp on the wood it'll most likely be the date, the serial number label if it's still there will be toward the top left of what you see when the back's open... B3xxxx where x could be anything

Paul
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Old 11th Aug 2010, 6:31 pm   #6
boomboxcat
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Default Re: Hacker Sovereign IV.

Cheers for the positive ID on the set, Paul. You seem very experienced in these matters.

I guess my only slight regret is that it's not an earlier model. Nevertheless it's a fantastic, fully usable and very nice sounding piece of 1970's history.

Last edited by Darren-UK; 12th Aug 2010 at 10:53 am. Reason: Fruit picking is irrelevant.
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