Circa '62 Arvin 8-transistor radio

[radiotvnut]

Today, I picked up this circa '62 Arvin model 61R58 8-transistor AM portable radio at the flea market. Over the years, I've had a few of these; but, they were all very beat up and/or missing parts. I've actually been looking at this radio for 2-3 months; but, didn't want to hand over the $20. I figured after a few months, I could get it cheaper; but, nope, he's one of those vendors who left instructions that the prices are marked, non-negotiable, and don't waste my time or yours calling me to ask if I'll come down. The radio actually has batteries in it and works; so, I broke down and bought it. I figure the owner used ebay as a price guide because most of these that I saw on that site go for $12-$15 and by the time shipping is added, that brings the price up to the $20-$25 range.

Anyway, this radio actually uses eight transistors in real circuit stages, unlike some models that used transistors as diodes and/or "dud" transistors that were not connected. This set uses a decent sized ferrite rod antenna, an RF stage, and two stages of IF amplification; so, it should be a good radio. Evern though it works, I can tell that the alignment is a little off and it could probably use some new capacitors.