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

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Old 11th Nov 2008, 6:34 pm   #21
Paul_RK
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Default Re: Best quality vintage radio reasonable price

SW Heralds come in red or blue too. Excellent quality of course, an RP30 Herald with added SW band, but fairly scarce and so tending to be a bit on the costly side if well preserved. The replacement RP36 Helmsman model seems a better proposition for anyone wanting short wave: usual MW/LW plus three bands giving continuous coverage from 10 to 200 metres, a bandspread/fine tuning control in place of the bass pot., and unlike all the other older Hackers it runs on 'D' cells. A little easier to come by than the SW Herald, and any colour you want so long as it's black...

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Old 12th Nov 2008, 10:12 pm   #22
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Default Re: Best quality vintage radio reasonable price

I would go along with everyone else ref the Hackers. I notice someone mentioned the ITT range of radios. I've still got my mid 1970's ITT Colt which still sounds good and is used fairly frequently.
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Old 16th Jan 2009, 11:12 pm   #23
fiesata
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Default Re: Best quality vintage radio reasonable price

Finally found a good Sovereign 3 and what a beauty it is.In very good cosmetic condition just a few minor marks on the wooden sides which I can rectify - from what I can see it just needs a light clean the PCB's and components are like new not even dust and amazingly the switches and pots aren't even scratchy.

To say I a delighted is an understatement - excellent quality and sounds so much better than you would expect -the only thing that needs rectifying is the tuning scale for FM 88-101 is 1 Mhz out eg a station which broadcasts on 95 Mhz tunes 96 MHz

Does anyone know which adjustments to make to rectify this it's been years since I repaired radios and I've never worked on Hackers, also are schematics or manuals still available for this model

Thanks

Paul

PS I can post some pics if anyone is interested
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Old 3rd Nov 2011, 1:26 pm   #24
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Default Re: Best quality vintage radio reasonable price

I am new to the collecting of transistors radios. I have always had a few transistor radios about but yesterday I received my first Hacker which is a Helmsman RP36. It is in very good order, working well and even still has it's little rubber stoppers in the twin extension aerial sockets.

I like the way it spins on its turret base also as it makes turning this quite large radio quite easy.

Interestingly the SW covers 1.6-30mhz which I do not think is very common for a standard traditional upright type radio, more usual for the Grundig Satellite types.

I think I was lucky to secure it for the sum of £16.99+postage.

This could well be the start of a large transisitor radio collection and I am pleased there is lots of advice on here about which ones to best look out for.

Looking at Howard's collection and posts I think a Sovereign is my next look-out, I see them a lot but rarely do I see a Blue one in good order.

This is my first post on this forum
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Old 3rd Nov 2011, 7:48 pm   #25
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Default Re: Best quality vintage radio reasonable price

My “best” sounding sets are transistor, a lowly Grundig Party Boy 208 I paid £1.5 for it at a boot sale(well I am just starting a collection), and valve, a Rees Mace RM215, I paid 99p for this set on Ebay, it set has a 4 position tone switch which is useful to help clarify the sound on SW’s. Lovely sound from just an 8 inch speaker.
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Old 4th Nov 2011, 1:33 am   #26
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Default Re: Best quality vintage radio reasonable price

I have the Grundig 208 'Party Boy' and 'Elite Boy' (same set with wood trim and SW coverage) both sound good, if a little bandwidth limited at the top end. I have just finished fettling my blue Hacker Sovereign II RP25 (it just needed a couple of caps changing) and that sounds delightful, if a little too bassy on some programmes.

I still think my Roberts R707 has a slightly more natural sound than the Hacker, especially on speech.
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Old 4th Nov 2011, 10:15 am   #27
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Default Re: Best quality vintage radio reasonable price

Hello Sputnik and welcome to the forum . The Helmsman does indeed have an inclusive short wave range with performance to boot. I have always been impressed with Hackers, I am running a Hunter in the kitchen presently, and it looks set to stay there.
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Old 4th Nov 2011, 3:54 pm   #28
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Default Re: Best quality vintage radio reasonable price

It's got to be a Hacker, I have never seen or heard a bad one.

But there again, Schaub Lorenz are also excellent though hard to obtain and much more expensive.

Regards,

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Old 4th Nov 2011, 6:07 pm   #29
Mike Phelan
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Default Re: Best quality vintage radio reasonable price

Another vote for Hacker. Two of them in regular use in the house.
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Old 5th Nov 2011, 12:17 pm   #30
mhennessy
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Default Re: Best quality vintage radio reasonable price

A point that needs reiterating: the best thing about Hackers is the ease of service. I can't think of a single other brand that has put so much thought into accessibility and layout. Everything unplugs, and the chassis unscrews nicely if needed. No silly Mullard modules, and the tag-strip construction of the Mayflowers is almost military-spec! And, the service manuals are an absolute joy - especially the older ones.

I'm currently working on a Dynatron set, and it's clear that this ethos went with the Hacker brothers when they left!

The superb performance of the Hacker sets is really just the icing on the cake

"Sputnik", if you haven't already found it, there is a Hacker Radio Yahoo group that compliments this forum well - it's well worth joining up. There is a massive archive of pictures that covers the whole Hacker range, and other resources like brochures and documentation. Be warned though; it's impossible to own only one Hacker

All the best,

Mark
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Old 2nd Dec 2011, 12:58 pm   #31
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Default Re: Best quality vintage radio reasonable price

Well now, until a few years ago I'd have stated that, in my ears, the Hacker RP38A or late RP37A with the larger speaker magnet must surely be the best sounding sets here. But then came my fascination with the Graetz Super Page, my best example of which is featured on page 193 of Tony Thompson's recent "Vintage Radios" book - ISBN 978-1-86126-949-2.

Yes, that speaker grille is exactly the same as the one used by Hacker on their RP18 and RP25s, the set has a moulded plastic cabinet, a speaker so similar to the one found in the slim Beolits that it's a direct swap for one of those and has that feature that Paul mentioned a good while ago in connection with the TTR1; an internal frame aerial for AM reception, though that's my 1964 example in the book and I'm told that similar looking, but later sets did have ferrite rods in addition to the frame aerial.

That Super Page, unlike some of Graetz' wooden valve sets of the period, is superbly well built featuring a Grundig-style dog clutch in the (single) tuning control to transfer drive between FM and MW/LW/SW cursors as well as all of those aerials, a good dial lamp, a switch underneath to change between push-pull and single ended operation for those wishing to save the battery (of 5xD cells), a 5 Pin in/out socket for connecting an external source or using the set as a tuner with a period separate amp and a solid, weighty feel that sees the Page tipping the scales at around the same (within 1/4 of an Ounce) as a Sovereign RP18.


Sound quality is different from that of the Hackers, yet no less good, just different and these sound more like a Beolit of their period, but slightly better to my ears.

Best bit about the Super Page, OK; equal best with its sound quality, is just how inexpensive these things still are.
My good one cost me £12 from eBay back in 2005 and came in perfect, working order with only a slightly kinked top section to the left one of its twin telescopic aerials to distinguish it from a very much newer piece of kit.
I then paid about the same for a broken example for spares, but that arrived working every bit as well as the good set so was rebuilt.
Next to arrive was the rarer, white & red version. This cost a mere £8.72 plus £12 for the shipping from Berlin and yet again, the set arrived working perfectly with no attention required.

OK, so they're scarce in the UK still, but they do crop up from time to time on eBay and even at boot sales and local roups (I acquired a fourth - working, of course - example in the quarterly roup at a village only four miles from here) and I'd nominate the Super Page as one of the biggest ever bargains.
For anyone who doesn't have a copy of the book (why wouldn't you though?), here's a picture of my best Page:
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Old 2nd Dec 2011, 3:27 pm   #32
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Default Re: Best quality vintage radio reasonable price

Hackers on MW/LW show what that part of the spectrum is capable of in terms of sound quality, especially at night when heterodynes plague other simpler sets.
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Old 24th May 2012, 1:36 pm   #33
Barneyuk
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Default Re: Best quality vintage radio reasonable price

Having picked up a very nice Hacker Sovereign II a year or so back, I must also sing their praises. However, as also mentioned on this thread the Tandberg TP41 is a cracking sounding portable with a lovely bass sound (I just acquired one from the local tip for £1.50 and only needed new batteries and a replacement aerial (still stumped on where to get one so far!)) and was very impressed by its size to sound quality.
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Old 24th May 2012, 4:04 pm   #34
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Default Re: Best quality vintage radio reasonable price

£1.50 is a very reasonable price for one of those, even with missing aerial. Not so long ago the TP41 and TP43 models would easily fetch £80 - £100 if in tidy condition.

They're prone to damage to the screen printing around the controls and also the tuning drivecord, or rather the means of routing it, isn't the best of designs though.
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