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Vintage Audio (record players, hi-fi etc) Amplifiers, speakers, gramophones and other audio equipment.

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Old 23rd Mar 2017, 11:14 pm   #1
Records
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Default Portadyne RadioGram

Does anyone know or have a list of Collaro RadioGrams, I am looking for a specific model that belonged to my Aunt when I was a child.
I spent many hours listening to it, I think that's where my love of record players and valve amplifiers comes from.
I can give rough description if it helps. I believe she told me the cabinet was in walnut veneer, full drop down front with record player left hand side and radio to the right, below that it had 2 doors either side of a gold speaker grill. One door opened for records, the other was false and fastened shut.
The record player was in pink 16, 33, 45, 78 with flip needle.
Radio was MW, LW, SW, with selector for gram or radio, on off volume, tone.

It looked a bit like this but the radio was full face no space under it.

Thanks for any help
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Old 23rd Mar 2017, 11:40 pm   #2
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Default Re: Collaro RadioGram

Are you sure the radiogram was made by Collaro or was it the just the record player deck that was Collaro.
Manufacturers very often bought the record players from Collaro, Garrard or BSR and fitted them to the radio chassis and cabinet.
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Old 23rd Mar 2017, 11:41 pm   #3
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Default Re: Collaro RadioGram

Collaro didn't make radiograms as far as I know. They were a manufacturer of record deck mechanisms and tape deck mechanisms only and their units were used by many makers of radiograms, record players and tape recorders. You'll need to know the 'make' of the actual radiogram, which likely will not be Collaro.
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Old 23rd Mar 2017, 11:55 pm   #4
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Default Re: Collaro RadioGram

Thankyou, its been many years so your probably correct that it wasnt a Collaro radiogram, i guess i need to do some searching.
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Old 24th Mar 2017, 12:01 am   #5
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Default Re: Collaro RadioGram

Collaro were the only manufacturer as far as I know that had pink/purple mats. The majority of the decks had a cream chassis, some had a gold chassis with maroon arm, overarm, control tower and knobs.

Your radiogram may have been a Regentone
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Old 24th Mar 2017, 8:38 am   #6
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Default Re: Collaro RadioGram

Many people name their radiogram or record player by the record deck. This is most obvious in many auction site listings. On a number of occasions when I have correctly identified the maker and advised the seller, I have been met with abuse in that they only see the name on the deck, but don't look at badges, the dial or on the back panel. The type of radiogram the OP describes is what is know an as "Bureau" type. These were very popular in the mid 1950s and the record deck was probably a Collaro RC54 3 speed. If the Radiogram had FM (although not mentioned by the OP) then it may have been the next in the series, the Collaro RC456 4 speed.
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Old 24th Mar 2017, 9:50 am   #7
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Default Re: Collaro RadioGram

I think the maker's name is actually below the little logo on the right hand side of the dial.

It looks to me to be a Masteradio from about 1957.

See: http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/masteradio_d159fm.html

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Old 24th Mar 2017, 1:10 pm   #8
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Default Re: Collaro RadioGram

I think the photo in post 1 is not the radiogram under discussion but an example, Records, please could you confirm that.
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Old 24th Mar 2017, 2:01 pm   #9
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Default Re: Collaro RadioGram

Yes the photo was for reference only, it was the closest i could get to what i remember. It looks like it could have been Regentone, as some searching brings up similar looking models. It is very much like the reference photo with the same knobs but the radio had no space under it and speaker grill was painted gold or it was brass. In my early to late teens i must have used that RadioGram every weekend, the last time i saw it was probably in about 1990 when my Aunt passed away, she left it to me in her will but at the time i had no space for it, I regret that now, i have never seen one like it since. If i did find one i would buy it and restore it. My dad worked with Electronics, he was also a qualified electrician, so ive always played with old radios, so i know if i got one to restore what would be involved.

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Old 24th Mar 2017, 3:07 pm   #10
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Default Re: Collaro RadioGram

Good to hear. There are plenty of these Bureau type mid-1950s Radiograms on the auctions sites (he means ebay). There are 3 up right now, inc. a lovely KB. They had faded from popularity by about 1956/57. They are usually easy to fix. With their large loudspeakers, quite often 10" units, sound good and "of the period".
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Old 24th Mar 2017, 7:23 pm   #11
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Default Re: Collaro RadioGram

Thank you. I will let you all know how I get on.
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Old 25th Mar 2017, 7:05 pm   #12
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Default Re: Collaro RadioGram

This one looks like it may fit your description.
http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/regentone_arg88arg_8.html

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Old 23rd Apr 2017, 3:20 pm   #13
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Default Re: Collaro RadioGram

Sorry to bring this back again but i have worked out that the radiogram im looking for was a Portadyne. I had been doing some head scratching, thinking back to when i was a kid and if i could remember the name, then Portadyne popped up and looking at some of their radiograms they are very similar, just need to find the exact model if i can.
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Old 23rd Apr 2017, 3:32 pm   #14
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Default Re: Portadyne RadioGram

I found this on an old eBay listing, paperwork states RG660 or RG77.
Frank
Edit. Service info if you want to know what was inside.
http://www.service-data.com/product....82/6328/a14982
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Old 23rd Apr 2017, 3:35 pm   #15
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Default Re: Portadyne RadioGram

Yes, they made models in the mid-1950s similar to your description from your memory of them. If they used a Collaro deck, this was an expensive option for them at the time.
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Old 23rd Apr 2017, 3:46 pm   #16
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Default Re: Portadyne RadioGram

Does anyone know if companys like Portadyne made radiograms as one off's where a customer could order a specific type of wood or say colour of speaker grill or even how the radiogram looked ? Im just wondering if this is the case with the one im looking for and i may have to find something that looked like it but not exactly the same.

This picture is as close as ive got.
Radio is exactly the same, it had Collaro deck in place, speaker grill was brass, handles on doors sightly different but its almost the same.
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Old 23rd Apr 2017, 4:25 pm   #17
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Default Re: Portadyne RadioGram

At the top end of the market RGD, Dynatron etc. would make one-off radiograms to customers' requirements, but Portadyne were very much at the budget end of things and I doubt they would ever have taken individual commissions. What happened quite a lot, though, was the supply of radiograms to department stores etc. to be sold under the store's name, and with those I expect it was pretty common for things like 'speaker grilles and handles to be different for each retailer.
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Old 23rd Apr 2017, 5:12 pm   #18
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Default Re: Portadyne RadioGram

The cabinet in post 16 were sold with blanks for where the radio and record player fitted. Cut them to suit whatever you wanted to fit inside the cabinet. My dad and me fitted a Ferguson radio chassis into one of these cabinets, cannot remember the deck we used for the record player.
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Old 24th Apr 2017, 12:43 pm   #19
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Default Re: Portadyne RadioGram

Thanks for all the info Paul_RK i believe a department store is probably where she would have purchased it from, i was born in Bradford and she lived all her life near there so i imagine thats where it came from.
I really need to speak to my dad next time i go up North, she was his sister, so he may know where she got it from.
Thanks to everyone for the help, its a great place to ask questions and just browse the forum.
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