Fidelity Radio Ltd

[ukcol]

Fidelity also produced a second battery saver model called the BS2, this model was also made in Hong Kong. Evidence from several sources suggests the Battery Saver dates from 1981 but I can't find a date for the BS2. Clearly though it was manufactured after the Battery Saver and before the Amstrad take over in 1988.

The picture shows both models with the BS2 on the right.

[Paul_RK]

Ah, yes, that later one does look a likely contemporary of the Rad 30.

[jjl]

Originally Posted by Paul_RK

I had a Rad 12 too for a while: I think it's another model which started off with a plywood cabinet and was switched to a plastic one so subtly that it was hard to see the difference, but there would have been a moderate difference to the sound quality and there was quite a difference to the weight.

It was introduced in 1968, by which time Fidelity had abandoned the pocket, even the coat pocket, market, so it was their smallest set and retailed at £9. 9s.. That did make it a bit cheaper than nearly every other British portable of similar size - there would still have been quite a few around £12 - £15, Roberts' RIC1 was 15 gns.. Even 9 gns. was half a week's gross pay for many folk, so small differences in price mattered, and the Rad 12 seems to have sold pretty well.

I received a brand new Rad 12 as a Christmas present in 1971, my first ever working radio. It made me a very happy 7 year old. This set had plastic rear and side panels covered in padded black rexine.
I believe that it cost around £10, most likely £9.99 in fact.

John

[mike g3zii]

I used to work in a radio shop in Manchester during the 60s, we sold new Fidelity
Playmaster tape recorders, later on at another shop we used to take in quite
a few fidelity sets for repair. I still have a wad of service material they sent to us. the Music centres were UA (unit audio), HF for record players and the RAD
models of radio. There was a model which used The SN 76013 chips which used to explode all the time, I think they had to re-design it to use TBA800s.
these are just 'service cards' just a folded card with circuit, layout, component list and alignment details. I think what did for fidelity was The Wanderer cordless phone. this type of thing grew popular in the 80s starting with the freedom phone and other jap and hong kong makes.
I believe they had problems with reliability, they were forever going faulty and being returned. a bit of a disaster. as they had possibly invested heavily on it.
I bought a batch of wanderers at a radio rally some years ago, for a pound each, couldn't get any of them to function and they all showed signs of re-work.
Still they're a good source of bits such as mc3359 fm chips etc, etc,

[AJSmith625]

Does anyone remember the RAD15 (LW, MW & VHF) and the RAD16 which looked very similar to the 15 except it had SW instead of VHF. Also the top of the range RAD21. Can't remember what bands that had but I do remember it used quite a few D cell batteries.

Alan

[Paul_RK]

Originally Posted by AJSmith625

Does anyone remember the RAD15 (LW, MW & VHF) and the RAD16 which looked very similar to the 15 except it had SW instead of VHF. Also the top of the range RAD21.

Pretty well, yes: I've not had very much to do with the 15 and 16 over the years, but there is a 15 lurking around here somewhere. The Rad 21 was a later and cheaper version of the 18 - I'm not aware of any circuit changes to speak of, but the Rad 18 had a nice solid teak cabinet -

https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/fidelity_rad18rad_1.html -

whereas the 21's case was plastic, with decorative panels of teak screwed to the sides. Both took eight D cells.

Paul

[Gulliver]

My parents probably got their RAD12 as a wedding present or when they bought their first house....either way 1970. To think that was the one and only radio in the house until 1979...I remember my parents would move it around into which ever room they were hanging out in.

Actually I tell a small lie....there was a second radio....I saved up Kellogg's Frosties packets to get a branded AM pocket radio circa 1977....which lasted all of 12 months. The RAD12 lasted into the mid 80s I think. Can't complain for £9.99.

[michamoo]

The Factory Building.

[greg_simons]

I seem to think fidelity made a 'digital' colour tv late eighties or early ninties using a mullard chipset, they were non too reliable but plentiful.
Greg.

[ukcol]

Originally Posted by AJSmith625

Does anyone remember the RAD15 (LW, MW & VHF)

I've just dug this rather tatty RAD 15 out from the back of my workshop. After attending to a dry solder joint and a very noisy volume control pot it works very well.

[dazzlevision]

Originally Posted by greg_simons

I seem to think fidelity made a 'digital' colour tv late eighties or early ninties using a mullard chipset, they were non too reliable but plentiful.
Greg.

See post #35

[mhennessy]

Those who are aware of my Hacker obsession might be surprised to learn that I have about a dozen Fidelity sets here.

It's mostly nostalgia, of course. I picked up a RAD15 at a jumble sale for a pound when I was 10 or 11, and loved it. I ended up breaking it by using it as a gram amp (with good success initially), and wasn't able to repair it, but the memories remained. When I started collecting radios about 10 years back, one of these was the first to arrive. Between that and another, I'll eventually be able to make a near-mint example. It's no Hacker, but I like it for what it is.

We had a RAD21 in the family when I was a teenager, and I always thought it sounded far better than it had a right to. So with predictable inevitability, there's a couple of these up in the attic awaiting restoration eventually. Neither works presently, but I note that they have different loudspeakers, so I'm looking forward to hearing (and measuring) the differences between them.

I have a few later sets, such as the RAD26, but there isn't really anything to report about them. The earlier sets are far more interesting though, and I'm indebted to Paul_RK (we exchanged a lot emails about them a few years back) for helping me understand their ranges. While following brands like Hacker is rewarding in its own way, there's something satisfying about supporting the underdog as well. So for me, this has been a very interesting thread - thanks to all

[Nuvistor]

The early Fidelity radios and record players were similar standard to other makes in the same price range.
The 70’s in my opinion for what it’s worth saw the brand go down market, others did the same but the other brands also had better quality ones if required.

[Paul_RK]

Originally Posted by mhennessy

While following brands like Hacker is rewarding in its own way, there's something satisfying about supporting the underdog as well...

Couldn't agree more, Mark

Seems to me that Hacker radios have a far higher survival rate than the likes of Fidelity. This little fellow, the Fulmar, must have sold in considerable numbers in 1963, but 55 years later it's not often sighted and seems vastly outnumbered, for instance, by surviving Mini-Heralds.

It's another example of Fidelity's habit of re-using case mouldings for successive models. The Fulmar's basic case had been introduced with the 1962 Floret, and was used again for the 1964 199, then for the 199A which replaced it. Stylings were quite different, and the Fulmar was the only one with a handle attached - the others came with vinyl carrying cases with shoulder straps.

I expected this one to burst into life as soon as a battery was connected, but all was silence. The on/off switch is my first guess as to the cause.

Paul

[flyingtech55]

Speaking of Fidelity record players....I've just finished restoring this HF22. All original. It's surprisingly loud for the cartridge driving a UL84 directly. The cartridge will be an X5H or something similar I suppose. Original outer carton too.

Tim

[hamid_1]

As promised, I'm posting some pictures of the HMV portable TV made by Fidelity, mentioned earlier. It's the same as the Fidelity TVR-120 , just re-badged HMV - His Master's Voice. There appears to be no model number on the HMV version.

The back is made of dark brown plastic. The mains lead comes with a moulded plug - unusual for 1982 - the plug pins are unsleeved. The front was presumably white originally, but now looks beige. Also some close-up pictures of the HMV logos and a picture of the 2-button remote control. I'm pretty sure the same remote was used on a Fidelity colour portable TV as well (possibly the CTV14R - ZX2000 chassis).

Other Fidelity products in my collection:

the Fidelity HF42 record player https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/fidelity_hf42.html and the Fidelity Comet portable radio - unusually it has shortwave and Luxembourg bandspread as well as MW/LW. https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/fidelity_comet.html