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Vintage Radio (domestic) Domestic vintage radio (wireless) receivers only. |
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9th Mar 2008, 11:20 pm | #1 |
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Early 1970's 'Airband' radios.
Does anyone still have one of those radios from the early - mid 1970's of the rectangular type, vertically arranged with the scale on top-front, and a couple (or three) plastic-chromed knobs beneath?
They were usually quite gaudily-made, with cardboard cases covered in bad-taste plastic-style imitation leatherette, a flashy gold or chromed grille, bright numbers in different colours on the scale, and, perhaps, a charging switch and indicator lamp on a rectangular escutcheon below the grille. The backs opened with a couple of press-stud fastening flaps, and they took (well, mine did) four 'C'-cells in a holder that rattled about. They were unbranded (or had way-out names attached) and originated in the far-east. I seem to remember them going for about £8 - £14 in 1973. I was reminded of them by a post I made in another thread mentioning the newspaper mail-order company, 'Shoportunities'. Although I bought mine in what we knew as 'the cheap-shop' (which also sold wristwatches with luridly-coloured dials, fantastic claims of water-resistance and of dubious timekeeping quality), I remember them being advertised in the nespapers as 'Air-Band Receivers! - Hear things you shouldn't hear!', or somesuch. Just curious...
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9th Mar 2008, 11:29 pm | #2 |
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Re: Early 1970's Radio Style - Any Left?
Hi Russell, you might just be lucky. It has a whip aerial and was working on air band last time it was used. I think the battery cover is missing though.
Ed |
9th Mar 2008, 11:36 pm | #3 |
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Re: Early 1970's Radio Style - Any Left?
I don't have exactly the type you describe, but there are still plenty around - you often see them on eBay. I have a slightly more upmarket multiband version with a plastic flap over the tuning scale, but it has the same leatherette covering and chromed plastic styling. A fine product of the Hong Kong electronics industry.
The 'air band' coverage was usually just an extended FM band - it is on mine. As aircraft use AM it is hard to hear anything at all Paul |
9th Mar 2008, 11:39 pm | #4 | |
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Re: Early 1970's Radio Style - Any Left?
Quote:
I don't actually want one (but many thanks anyway for your consideration)! I would love to see some pictures, though... I was having a bit of a nostalgia kick, that's all. I forgot to mention the aerial. Mine emanated from the side at the base, on a hinge. The air-band thing was a bit of a cheat on some models, as the two scales (FM and 'Air-Band') were effectively one scale split up into two.
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9th Mar 2008, 11:46 pm | #5 |
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Re: Early 1970's Radio Style - Any Left?
I've got one. Ameltone mine is. In the attic at my dad's.
It had a charge setting on it as well, but it never really worked. It would put transformed mains through the batteries in the way that Battery Makers told everyone not to do! Quite sensitive mine is, it must be said. Cheers, Steve P. The 'AIR' band wasn't on the frequencies used for Aircraft either. It was a ghost that we all picked up from the towers.
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10th Mar 2008, 12:09 am | #6 | |
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Re: Early 1970's Radio Style - Any Left?
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I agree about the battery switch thing! Charge indeed; pah! Wasn't it just dirty DC?
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10th Mar 2008, 12:10 am | #7 |
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Re: Early 1970's Radio Style - Any Left?
We had one of these for a few years in the 70's - just a Steve described. Mum and Dad became increasingly frustrated at the cost of two PP9s for their Roberts R404.. (hastened by my unknowing twidling with the bias pots and doubtless raising of the quiescent current)and must have obtained the cheapest set they could to replace it! I can remember being so horrified that after a year or so I tried to destroy it without leaving any clues.. I fried the cases of the output transistor with my soldering iron..but they refused to die. After that I had a grudging respect for it..at least until I leant enough to sort the Roberts out!
The air band would pick uk ITV sound on channel 9 (I think) and I recall my sister and I listening to the sound of a programme on the radio.. whilst we watched a badly overscanning Ferranti TV I'd picked up at a jumble and failed to fix, locted at the other end of the house so as to make it watchable! These sets used to be on ebay all the time in one variety or another - often tagged as highly collectable - but they seem to have thinned out these days... |
10th Mar 2008, 12:41 am | #8 |
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Re: Early 1970's Radio Style - Any Left?
There's one here in its box, an Ameltone Contessa I believe, but it seems to be currently in hiding somewhere in the depths of the (impenetrable) guest room. Hardly ever used, and tastefully finished in white imitation crocodile... When they were new, I had a somewhat larger and horizontally arranged version of these sets, an Oscar Majestic, with three huge chromed knobs on the right hand side of the cardboard case: black crocodile, that one. I'd probably be perverse enough to buy an example now, but maybe the species is extinct.
Paul |
10th Mar 2008, 1:26 am | #9 |
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Re: Early 1970's Radio Style - Any Left?
Here's a quick mobile phone pic of my really classy Taiyo Symphonette as mentioned above.
Paul |
10th Mar 2008, 9:13 am | #10 |
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Re: Early 1970's Radio Style - Any Left?
That's definitely a deluxe version, Paul!
A couple of variations I remember are a 'stereo' one (achieved by fitting the speaker in a cardboard tube, with each end leading to a grille: who mentioned Bose Wave? ); and a 'Military' one - I bought mine at one of those supposed 'auctions', which were really glorified market stalls. |
10th Mar 2008, 9:34 am | #11 |
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Re: Early 1970's Radio Style - Any Left?
I used to have one ,was more uprght than the one in Pauls pic .Had those typical gaudy crome knobs , bulbus ones you sometimes seeon tvs of the early 70s except they were plastic chromed and nasty .the dial was dark with colours on it i think.. I think i gave it away .or took it to a radio rally to dispose of , its not here now .
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10th Mar 2008, 11:23 am | #12 |
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Re: Early 1970's Radio Style - Any Left?
I acquired it as a freebie with some other stuff after its owner died.
Despite all the tuning scales it actually has 4 wavebands: FM/air, AM, SW1 and SW2. There is even a separate tuning scale for what is supposedly a single weather beacon in the air band The squelch control does absolutely nothing and there's no indication it has ever worked. Definitely a sheep in wolf's clothing but it performs reasonably well with very acceptable sound quality (standard transformer p/p output). I used it as a bathroom radio for a time. Paul |
10th Mar 2008, 12:45 pm | #13 |
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Re: Early 1970's Radio Style - Any Left?
I have one of these. It seems to be one of the better ones. It is an Ajax "commando". It has the usual AM/FM/VHF/ Weather Band ?/ and Air, but has a heavily chrome plated plastic front and edgewise controls for volume and tuning located vertically either side of the tuning scale. I think that they were particularly popular in the states at the time, indeed one common version looked just like a seventies petrol pump where the top section was larger than the bottom. The worst one that I came across was an "Expo Orbiter" with a "dash dial", it was so cheaply made that I scrapped it quite recently, it just kept falling apart.
Neil
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10th Mar 2008, 1:24 pm | #14 |
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Re: Early 1970's Radio Style - Any Left?
I have one of the upright ones in red, as described and with a "charge on" switch and indicator at the front of the radio near the base. Mains lead coils up under a flap at the rear. Air Band has an image of an aeroplane to assist in identification, MW has a football, and FM has a picture of a trumpet. There is also a simple log scale. This ones a "Harvard Patrol". Loft junk - not part of my collection I hasten to add!
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10th Mar 2008, 1:49 pm | #15 |
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Re: Early 1970's Radio Style - Any Left?
Peeps,
Many, many thanks for sharing your memories! It's all coming back, now... I remember the mains-lead on mine was a moulded two-pin plug (shaver-adaptor needed), and it stowed away in the battery compartment. Several of the components were covered in (what looked like) wax, and the back of the set was full of nothing - apart from a squarish PCB with quite loosely-spaced components. This may have contributed to the quite reasonable sound I thought it had. A petrol pump... Yes! - That's what it reminded me of now you mention it, and I should have described it as such.
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10th Mar 2008, 1:52 pm | #16 |
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Re: Early 1970's Radio Style - Any Left?
I remember one of those being torn open on BBC TV's 'Nationwide' when they ran a consumer-type pre-'watchdog' slot; amazing!
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10th Mar 2008, 2:42 pm | #17 |
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Re: Early 1970's Radio Style - Any Left?
Yep, thats it with the moulded two-pin plug, which seemed to have slightly too thin pins and never stayed in the shaver adapter properly. I'll see if I can upload a photo of the radio later on today.
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10th Mar 2008, 3:24 pm | #18 | |
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Re: Early 1970's Radio Style - Any Left?
Quote:
Neil
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10th Mar 2008, 3:28 pm | #19 |
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Re: Early 1970's Radio Style - Any Left?
Hi Russell,
Here is my Windsor "instantsound" 7o,s radio, a triumph of apparent design over function, it looks like it has more wavebands than it has due to a cunning display ( air,pb & wb are all the same band ) needless to say it sounds cp and has the build quality of an American car ( all flash and not much else ). Brought on regent road in Great Yarmouth 1974 Enjoy the pic Cheers Mark |
10th Mar 2008, 4:18 pm | #20 |
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Re: Early 1970's Radio Style - Any Left?
Bit like mine. The charging light too.
I like the use of the phrase 'Instant Sound' on the front there. Talk about selling transistors to the masses all over again. Was it in 1978 when the BBC had a strike which affected radio as well. All 4 BBC networks carried the same program. Simon Bates (I think - or was it Tony Blackburn?) announced the start of this service, and the TV news showed one of these sets as it played this announcement? Cheers, Steve P
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