Nordmende loft find. Any value?
 

Hi everyone. I'm a new member and this is my first post.

Found this in my loft. I quite like the look of it, I'm wondering if it has any real value? I'm sort of tempted to rip its guts out and turn it into a Bluetooth speaker but at the same time that would be an awful shame.

Thoughts?

TIA

Lee.

Re: Nordmende loft find. Any value?
 

Heresy! Have you tried it to see whether it works?

Re: Nordmende loft find. Any value?
 

Not sure. Just taken the back off, looks like it needs one of those square batteries (which I don't have)

Re: Nordmende loft find. Any value?
 

It would most likely restore up to work as a perfectly good FM radio.
I bet there are enough contacts on the switches to make it activate one of those little blue tooth boards with the wave change buttons not pressed.
The existing amplifier and speaker will be just fine too.

Re: Nordmende loft find. Any value?
 

I cannot see the logic in wanting to Bluetooth an old radio, each to their own I suppose..

Re: Nordmende loft find. Any value?
 

It looks a bit shabby but searching threads will reveal techniques to bring the red and gold finish up to nearly as new. I would start there perhaps-especially if your tech knowledge is limited. That would maximise it's vintage value but gutting it might well take you in the opposite direction. There's plenty of advice available if you are interested in repair restoration?

Dave W

Re: Nordmende loft find. Any value?
 

It's an interesting early FM transistor radio, but it will need some restoration if it's going to be used and I get the impression that you're not interested in that side of things. It would be better to pass it on to somebody that would restore it rather than gut it. There are plenty of modern sets with retro styling if that's what you want.

It's not worth a fortune, maybe £10 as it stands.

Re: Nordmende loft find. Any value?
 

Looks like one of these:

https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/nordme...ita_k_alt.html

Re: Nordmende loft find. Any value?
 

... which will be £10 more than it's worth once it's had it's original guts ripped out ! :(
It's a nice old thing that deserves to be restored.

Re: Nordmende loft find. Any value?
 

Indeed, it will be of no interest to collectors and vintage radio enthusiasts if it is modified irreversibly, even if you make a very good job of it.

Re: Nordmende loft find. Any value?
 

Wow! So many replies! You've clearly got a good community here.

Hmm.. I tend to agree with the sentiments about destroying it just to modernise it. However, I do like the idea of having something quite old (relatively) that functions in a modern way..

Thanks for the advice in restoring the exterior, perhaps I'll start there. Maybe I won't want to ruin it after it's looking nice again.

Once again thanks for everybody's input.

Lee

Re: Nordmende loft find. Any value?
 

But it WILL perform ion a modern way. Maybe not a lot on the AM bands, but I have never seen a GERMAN NordMende that did not have first class FM reception. I would wager that listening to Radio 3 on that set will make you sit up and take notice.
The 603 series led onto even better sets as the early '60s moved on.
Les.

Re: Nordmende loft find. Any value?
 

Possibly a PP9? These are, or were until very recently, available at Wilkinsons. If not they are to be had on line

Re: Nordmende loft find. Any value?
 

Our local B&Q still stocks PP9s

Peter

Re: Nordmende loft find. Any value?
 

According to that Radiomusum page, it takes 2 x 4.5v. Batteries. Would these have been the flat type once commonly available by any chance?

Re: Nordmende loft find. Any value?
 

Yes, they were very widely used in portable radios from continental Europe.

Re: Nordmende loft find. Any value?
 

These are great and quite sought after little sets - particularly in that colour. They perform very well and sound better than many contemporaries - probably because the cabinet is actually timber [rather than plastic] covered in Rexine. The 'on/off + volume switch is a bit of a weakness and will probably require cleaning - but I bet if you put a battery on it, it will work.

P.S. Please ensure that you connect the battery with the correct polarity - those old Ge sets don't respond favourably to reverse polarity!

Re: Nordmende loft find. Any value?
 

You beat me to it, exactly my thoughts, a fraction of a second with connections reversed and it will need a new set of transistors.
At present I doubt there will be much wrong with it.

John.

Re: Nordmende loft find. Any value?
 

I have got a French LW/MW set and I managed to get two 3 AA cell holders in the space and used tabs to connect them to the original terminals. Again it has a timber cabinet and sounds at least as good as a TR82.

Re: Nordmende loft find. Any value?
 

I can vouch for that! I have one of these and they sound much better than you might think. They are very well made and put the usual transistor radio of the time to shame.
I hope yours works, I often take mine out with me in my old Rover to classic car shows. It probably dates from around the same time...1962.

Re: Nordmende loft find. Any value?
 

I think this is the Nordmende Transita F Ch= 0/603 MW LW UKW, as opposed to MW SW UKW. It is a very early AM/FM radio from about 1959, with curved sides the later models had straight sides. I would estimate a value of much more than £10. These have been selling on ebay for between £20 to £145 and red is always a popular colour.
It should clean up very nicely.
It appears that Radio Museum has the schematics. https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/nordme...nsita_alt.html

Mike

Re: Nordmende loft find. Any value?
 

It will certainly be worth more than £10 in a fully restored state.

Re: Nordmende loft find. Any value?
 

It would certainly be a shame to turn it into a Bluetooth speaker, but if it's beyond reasonable repair then obviously some originality is better than none.