radioSPARKS - RADIOS - 12/9/2019

VE3XRM Radio Collection

Figure 47 : Philips B7X44A/03

Philips B7X44A/03 (1965)

I don't collect radios that are rare or in mint condition. I collect radios because I love to hear signals received by them. What you will find here is just a few of my radios, from ultra-modern to old and cranky. It doesn't matter what makes to go, tube or transistor, just as long as it can receive an electromagnetic signal.

All the photographs are personally shot by me (Ralph VE3XRM). (OK, I did photoshop most of them, mainly to control the size and touch up poor lighting.)

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3D Modeling

<b>X-Plane XHE1B3SDW2</b> (2006) : Figure 53 : XHE Aurora X-Plane 3D Model :

X-Plane

Communication Receivers

<b>Hallicrafters SC-38C</b> (1941) : Figure 16 : :

Hallicrafters

<b>Panasonic RF-2200</b> (1979) : Figure 12 : 8-Band Analog Radio. AM, FM and Shortwave Bands. Ranges from .525-16.1, 3.9-8, 8-12, 12-16, 20-24, 24-28, 88-108 MHz. Crystal calibrators 125 and 500 kHz. :

Panasonic

<b>Panasonic RF-2200</b> (1979) : Figure 73 : Original photo - because people cannot believe the radio looks so good. Bought new, for $229.95 CAD and owned this radio from 1979. I listen every night to Coast to Coast with this radio. Only service was once a little DEOXIT for noisy switches. :

Panasonic

<b>Yaesu Musen Co. Ltd. FRG-7000</b> (1979) : Figure 4 : This is my favortie radio for general program listening. Audio output is very good. Triple conversion receiver using the Barlow-Wadley loop design covering 250kHz-29.999MHz. (red controls) :

Yaesu Musen Co. Ltd.

<b>Yaesu Musen Co. Ltd. FRG-7000</b> (1980) : Figure 5 : Similar my other receiver covering 250kHz-29.999MHz. Though this one is modified with narrow AM filters and a different front end RF transistor. Will change the lamps to LED. (black controls) :

Yaesu Musen Co. Ltd.

<b>Yaesu Musen Co. Ltd. FRT-7700</b> (1979) : Figure 38 : Passive Antenna Tuner :

Yaesu Musen Co. Ltd.

Designer Radio

<b>Bang & Olfsen BEOMASTER 1900</b> (1977) : Figure 6 : North American Model in Rosewood - not the correct photo. :

Bang & Olfsen

<b>Bang & Olfsen BEOMASTER 1900</b> (1977) : Figure 7 : European Model in Teak in our office. :

Bang & Olfsen

<b>Bang & Olfsen BEOMASTER 1900</b> (1977) : Figure 63 : All lit up in the dark. :

Bang & Olfsen

<b>Bang & Olfsen BEOMASTER 1900</b> (1977) : Figure 64 : Close up of tuner section. :

Bang & Olfsen

<b>Bang & Olfsen BEOMASTER 1900</b> (1977) : Figure 65 : Close up of volume control :

Bang & Olfsen

Bang & Olfsen

Portable Receivers

<b>Pulsar 44-1438-0</b> : Figure 76 : MW 531-1602 kHz 9/10 kHz step, SW1 2.3-6.2 MHz, SW2 7.1-21.85 MHz, FM 87.5-108 MHz :

Pulsar

<b>Pulsar MB200</b> : Figure 10 : MW 530-1630 kHz, SW1 3.2-7.3 MHz, SW2 9.5-21.75 MHz, FM 87.5-107.9 MHz :

Pulsar

<b>Sony ICF-7600</b> (1981) : Figure 8 : Analog AM/FM/Shortwave portable (dual conversion) 1st IF 10.7 MHz., 2nd IF 455 kHz. Very sensitive and quite selective. :

Sony

Puzzles

<b>Japanese Puzzle Bank </b> (1960) : Figure 98 : Japanese puzzle bank with very nice wood marquetry. Has a simple trick opening. Also shown are various books in my collection. :

Japanese Puzzle Bank

Reproduction Radios

<b>Daklin 49052/9719</b> : Figure 83 : Very cute reproduction transistor radio. Speaker too small and has tinny sound. I might replace it. :

Daklin

<b>Daklin 49054/9735</b> (2000) : Figure 80 : Antique store find reproduction vintage radio. Needed only a little Deoxit on the switches to fix. Too bad, not much on Shortwave anymore. :

Daklin

<b>General Electric 7-4100JA</b> (1987) : Figure 9 : 1930 Reproduction - Transistor AM/FM Radio. :

General Electric

<b>Thomas 412</b> (2005) : Figure 31 : 1940 Reproduction - Transistor AM/FM Radio. :

Thomas

Telegraph Keys

<b>Bunnell Co., J. H. 6b Line Key 43</b> (1960) : Figure 51 : This Model 6B is one of the smallest actual operating straight keys. It was made by J. H. Bunnell Co. for Western Electric Company. It is about 2" long and it was used in telegraphy test gear in multiples of four for meter bridge testing. :

Bunnell Co., J. H.

<b>Bunnell Co., J. H. KOB</b> (1910) : Figure 56 : This is an unusually attractive and clean Bunnell key (KOB) with 20-ohm sounder on a base. Works with my other Signal KOB. :

Bunnell Co., J. H.

<b>Signal KOB</b> (1945) : Figure 57 : Telegraph Key and Buzzer on base. Brass hardware, steel lever key with black cast iron base mounted on a wooden base with a round black buzzer. Morse Code brass plate. Wiring diagram on the bottom. :

Signal

Test Equipment

<b>Amprobe RS-1</b> (1969) : Figure 59 : <br>Analog Clamp-On Mutimeter with leads.<br>AC Voltage 0-150/600 3% of full sale.<br>AC Current 0-6/15/40/100 3% of full scale. :

Amprobe

<b>Astron Corporation VS-20M</b> (1994) : Figure 43 : Features separate Volt and Amp meters. Output Voltage adjustable from 1.8-14.8 Volts DC. Current limit adjustable from 1.5 Amp to full load. Continuous Duty 16A@13.8VDC, 9A@10VDC, 4A@5VDC. ICS 20A@13.8VDC. :

Astron Corporation

<b>AVO Multiminor Mk.1</b> (1950) : Figure 95 : AVO Multiminor Mk.1 Made in England. Vintage, 1950s meter is fully functional and in very good condition. MMM! Didn`t notice the chip until I saw the photograph. :

AVO

<b>AVO Universal Avometer Model 8 Mark IV</b> (1971) : Figure 96 : Current AC: 10mA-10A
Current DC: 50uA-10A
Voltage AC/DC: 2.5V-2,500V
Resistance: 0-20M ohm
Decibels: -15dB/+15dB
Accuracy: AC Voltage/Current ±2.25%
DC Voltage ±2% - DC Current ±1%
Sensitivity: AC 2,000 ohms/V
DC 20,000 ohms/V :

AVO

<b>AVO Test Bridge</b> (1944) : Figure 97 : Avo Test Bridge, this fine piece of equipment tests capacitors, resistors, leakage of capacitors, power factor, measures against external standards, and last but not least its a valve volt meter, quite impressive for 1944. :

AVO

<b>Bach-Simpson 77</b> (1948) : Figure 55 : Absorption Wavemeter-Modulation Indicator :

Bach-Simpson

<b>Extech EX520</b> (2014) : Figure 94 : Extech True RMS Digital Multimeter. My pride and joy of owning a decent meter. :

Extech

<b>Homebrew Bench Power Supply</b> (1995) : Figure 70 : Linear Dual Isolated Adjustable Output of 1.2-20 Volts 3.5 Amps. Readout displays Voltage and Amperage. Voltmeter has an external conection to channel selected. Four different setups - Isolated, Series, Parallel and Tracking outputs. :

Homebrew

<b>Jackson 612</b> : Figure 101 : Vintage Analog Multimeter :

Jackson

<b>Marconi Instruments Ltd. TF2700</b> : Figure 100 : LCR Test Bridge. Portable battery operated. :

Marconi Instruments Ltd.

<b>Matsushita Co. VP-911C</b> (1965) : Figure 62 : Vacuum Tube Volt Meter (VTVM) with RF Probe using an Eimac 2-01C UHF tube diode. The best way to directly measure voltage in high impedance circuits. :

Matsushita Co.

<b>MFJ Enterprises, Inc. MFJ-956</b> (2002) : Figure 39 : Antenna tuner helps in rejecting images, intermod, and phantom signals. Tunable from 0.15 to 30 MHz, not very good in the AM Broadcast band. :

MFJ Enterprises, Inc.

<b>MFJ Enterprises, Inc. MFJ-202B</b> (2001) : Figure 40 : Receiver Noise Bridge used to adjust any antennas. Works from 1 to 100 MHz. Can measure resonant frequency, feedpoint resistance and reactance. Not very accurate unless calibrated. :

MFJ Enterprises, Inc.

<b>Monacor FSI-4</b> : Figure 41 : SWR, Power, Field Strength Meter. Maximum RF power of 100W. Frequency range of 1.5 - 150MHz. :

Monacor

<b>Rycom Instruments 3136A</b> (1976) : Figure 99 : Selective Voltmeter. Now used as a VLF beacon reciever. :

Rycom Instruments

<b>Superior Tube Tester TV-11</b> (1964) : Figure 50 : This is an emission type of tube tester, which some feel is inferior to the transconductance type of testers. However, if you are just trying to see if a tube is good or bad, then this one works for me. :

Superior Tube Tester

<b>Supreme Instruments Corporation 490</b> : Figure 102 : Vintage Analog Multimeter :

Supreme Instruments Corporation

<b>The Service Bench Model Two</b> (2002) : Figure 77 : This is where it all happens. I service all my radios from this bench. That is an Atwater Kent Model 20C radio currently undergoing testing. All five tubes tested, are good. :

The Service Bench

<b>The Service Bench Model Two</b> (2002) : Figure 79 : Dirty hands in the test equipment calibration room. (Ralph VE3XRM) :

The Service Bench

<b>Weston Elec. Inst. Corp. 269</b> : Figure 103 : Vintage Panel Meter :

Weston Elec. Inst. Corp.

<b>Weston Elec. Inst. Corp. No.1</b> (1910) : Figure 52 : :

Weston Elec. Inst. Corp.

Tranceivers

<b>Astatic D-104</b> : Figure 42 : Picked this up many years (1993) ago at a Nortown ARC club auction. :

Astatic

<b>ICOM IC-W2A</b> (1992) : Figure 21 : :

ICOM

<b>Kenwood TS-680S/AT250</b> (1994) : Figure 14 : With Astron VS-20M power supply and the speaker from a DX-160.(photo to come) :

Kenwood

<b>Oak Hill Research OHR-HP_QRP</b> (1998) : Figure 71 : 80 Meter Band QRP Transceiver 1 Watt - cover off internal view. Had to add a common-mode filter to reduce modulation from the power supply. :

Oak Hill Research

<b>Oak Hill Research OHR-HP_QRP</b> (1998) : Figure 72 : 80 Meter Band QRP Transceiver 1 Watt :

Oak Hill Research

TRF Tube Radio

<b>Atwater Kent Compact 20C</b> (1923) : Figure 36 : Closeup of the Atwater Kent 20C on the bench. :

Atwater Kent

<b>Fada 192A Neutrodyne</b> (1925) : Figure 47 : :

Fada

<b>Fada 192A Neutrodyne</b> (1925) : Figure 74 : :

Fada

<b>Fada 192A Neutrodyne</b> (1925) : Figure 75 : :

Fada

<b>Freshman Masterpiece </b> (1924) : Figure 1 : :

Freshman Masterpiece

Tube Amplifier

<b>Eico HF-12</b> (1967) : Figure 45 : High Fidelity 12-watt integrated Monaural tube amplifier. :

Eico

Tube Radio

<b>Astra DR-107</b> (1948) : Figure 86 : The cabinet has only a few tiny marks to its finish, not warranting refinishing, a rarity. The grill cloth needs to be replaced. All tubes test good. :

Astra

<b>Crosley Mohawk 2840</b> (1939) : Figure 29 : :

Crosley

<b>Eico HFT-90</b> (1967) : Figure 46 : This is the matching Eico HFT-90 Monaural FM tuner. Really cool miniature vacuum tube dial pointer that varies the height of its lighted area based on the strength of the received signal. Definitely a unique use of a vacuum tube. Needs a good antenna. :

Eico

<b>Electrohome 103-PMU51-447</b> (1949) : Figure 2 : :

Electrohome

<b>Lowe Opta Bella Rekard</b> (1950s) : Figure 13 : :

Lowe Opta

<b>Marconi 201A</b> (1941) : Figure 3 : :

Marconi

<b>Philco 32A</b> : Figure 92 : What a beautiful dial. The knobs were polished with a cotton wheel and Autosol Metal Polish. :

Philco

<b>Philco 32A</b> : Figure 93 : Waiting for two missing tubes before I can continue with the restoration. Only minor rust spots on the chassis. UPDATE: I have all the missing tubes! :

Philco

<b>Philco 32A</b> : Figure 82 : Fantastic radio found at an Antique barn. Here is the radio all cleaned up. It was filthy. Minor finish scratches and nails for the feet replaced with felt pads. :

Philco

<b>Philips B7X44A/03</b> (1965) : Figure 67 : Ok, the knobs dont match. They were given to me from a friend. Just fine for me. :

Philips

<b>Philips B7X44A/03</b> (1965) : Figure 68 : :

Philips

<b>Philips B7X44A/03</b> (1965) : Figure 69 : :

Philips

<b>Philips B7X44A/03</b> (1965) : Figure 35 : This radio was picked up at a local garage sale. Only missing a knob and a small ding on top. Fully working radio with a wonderful spring reverb sound effect. Very loud. :

Philips

<b>Serenader 1U51-S-3</b> (1940s) : Figure 48 : Absolutely a beautiful radio as found. The cabinet is in an immaculate original condition. All tubes in place and test good on my tube tester. Made by Dominion Electrohome Industries Ltd. :

Serenader

<b>Stromberg Carlson 752</b> (1947?) : Figure 49 : :

Stromberg Carlson

<b>Stromberg Carlson 410H</b> (1941) : Figure 33 : :

Stromberg Carlson

<b>Wega </b> (1950s) : Figure 30 : :

Wega

<b>Westinghouse W684-A</b> (1942) : Figure 28 : :

Westinghouse

<b>Westinghouse W577-A</b> (1938) : Figure 60 : Very nice radio with all good tubes. The cabinet looks like it was refinished at some time, has no shine. I justed waxed it. :

Westinghouse

Vacuum Tubes

<b>Cunningham KR-0201-A</b> : Figure 107 : There was a different tube than the box indicates. I suspect the tube was substituted, though, I`m happy with a brass bottom tube. :

Cunningham

<b>Ken-Rad 30</b> (1935) : Figure 109 : :

Ken-Rad

<b>Panama 6D7</b> : Figure 105 : :

Panama

<b>Philco 7A7</b> : Figure 111 : :

Philco

<b>Pope 6SQ7</b> : Figure 110 : :

Pope

<b>RCA 6AC7/1852</b> : Figure 116 : Tube in a box. I didn`t want to pull it out as it would tear the box. :

RCA

<b>RCA JAN 832A</b> : Figure 104 : Unusual Dual Triode Tube :

RCA

<b>RCA 6J5</b> (1948) : Figure 58 : :

RCA

<b>Rogers 7B5</b> : Figure 113 : :

Rogers

<b>Shepard 0201-A</b> : Figure 106 : :

Shepard

<b>Sylvania 934</b> : Figure 115 : This, I believe, is a neon indicator bulb. :

Sylvania

<b>Triad of Tubes </b> : Figure 119 : :

Triad of Tubes

<b>Tung-Sol 6SQ7</b> : Figure 112 : :

Tung-Sol

<b>Unkown E1148</b> : Figure 114 : VHF Oscillator Triode :

Unkown

<b>Vintage Modern </b> : Figure 118 : :

Vintage Modern

<b>Westinghouse 19</b> : Figure 117 : :

Westinghouse

<b>Westinghouse 201-A</b> : Figure 108 : :

Westinghouse

<b>Westinghouse 809</b> (1982) : Figure 54 : Triode Tube :

Westinghouse