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Vintage Radio (domestic) Domestic vintage radio (wireless) receivers only. |
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9th Nov 2019, 12:12 pm | #1 |
Triode
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Rhayader, Powys, Wales, UK.
Posts: 11
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Is the Grundig RR240 a very good radio?
Hi, I recently purchased a Grundig RR240 for casual FM radio listening. I know Grundig were well known for their radios. This looks like a later model and I believe it was made made in Korea. This radio sounds very good and clear with really good FM radio reception. I know next to nothing about the technical side of radio but I am interested in knowing if this Radio is technically good and up there with the older classic Grundigs or maybe not? Found this info on Radio Museum
https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/grundi...r_240rr24.html The specs do not mean much to me though Cheers. |
9th Nov 2019, 12:36 pm | #2 |
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 27,970
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Re: Is the Grundig RR240 a very good radio?
Grundig radios of that era are perfectly decent, but are less distinctive sets than the 60s and 70s models. They could just as easily have come from Japanese manufacturers like Sharp or Hitachi, who were also manufacturing in places like Korea, Taiwan and Malaysia by then.
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10th Nov 2019, 10:52 pm | #3 |
Rest in Peace
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Basildon, Essex, UK.
Posts: 4,100
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Re: Is the Grundig RR240 a very good radio?
I would think if you own one, then you could tell us if it is any good.
If the speaker is as large as the front speaker grill suggests then I should think it would sound good. Mike |
11th Nov 2019, 11:13 am | #4 |
Octode
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Harrow, London, UK.
Posts: 1,493
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Re: Is the Grundig RR240 a very good radio?
From the schematic it is well designed and has a loudness tap on the volume control with suitable components and a tone control which gives top and bass cut.
The schematic also confirms what our Moderator Paul says, that the design might well be a clone of Sharp or Hitachi models but nothing wrong in that as they were producing, then, well engineered radios with some today sought after by collectors or so eBay suggests. So, as Mikes says, its all down to the loudspeaker. |
12th Nov 2019, 9:53 am | #5 |
Triode
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Rhayader, Powys, Wales, UK.
Posts: 11
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Re: Is the Grundig RR240 a very good radio?
Thanks, is the "loudness tap" a good or bad thing?
Regarding the the "bass cut" it is a bit strange (I don't think this helps improve sound quality one bit, quite the opposite IMHO) but the tone set in the middle position gives very good sound. I may upload some photos of inside the radio if I can manage it to take it apart without the risk of damaging it. Cheers. |
12th Nov 2019, 12:19 pm | #6 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Southwold, Suffolk, UK.
Posts: 8,340
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Re: Is the Grundig RR240 a very good radio?
I would not tke this apart if I were you. We can tell much about this, and its likely performance, from the circuit diagram alone. The "loudness" tap gives a good quality to the sound at the lower settings of the volume control, where our ears are not quite so sensisitive.
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Edward. |
12th Nov 2019, 1:56 pm | #7 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Oxford, UK.
Posts: 17,866
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Re: Is the Grundig RR240 a very good radio?
No need to take it apart, there are pics of the insides and speaker here: https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/grundi...40arr_240.html
It looks like a typical radio of its time, i.e. everything on a single PCB, neatly laid-out, and using at least one IC. The speaker looks like a 3" unit with a small magnet, so nothing special. But even these can sound very pleasant in the right kind of environment and driven by a sensible circuit. If you enjoy using it, then by definition, it surely must be a good radio. But it's not a classic, and not particularly collectable yet. Personally, I like radios from this era. They generally perform very well, are extremely reliable, and use very little power. This can't be said of the current generation of radios, nor of their predecessors (which either used power-hungry valves or now-unreliable germanium transistors). Nick. |
12th Nov 2019, 3:32 pm | #8 |
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 27,970
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Re: Is the Grundig RR240 a very good radio?
There seem to have been a lot of cosmetic variants of that model.
Like other European manufacturers, Grundig were experiencing difficulties by 1985. Their Portuguese radio factory was long closed. They continued to design their own models and had them contract built in Malaysia for a while, but by the mid 80s they were buying in models designed and built by far eastern OEMs. I wouldn't be surprised if the RR240 was actually a Korean model, of a variant of one. |