Trash find - Panasonic boom box

[Jeffhs]

I was taking out my garbage this afternoon, when I saw a recent-vintage (I would guess late '80s-'90s) Panasonic RX-FS400 boom box AM/FM/FM-stereo cassette sitting in a box near one of the trash barrels. I picked it up and brought it home (just a few steps; the trash barrels are at the back of the apartment building where I live), plugged it in (the AC cord was plugged into the AC socket at the back of the unit), turned it on, and...what do you know, it worked. The FM antenna was broken off at the base; nevertheless, the FM radio still brought in every major station in Cleveland. The AM worked just as well. (I replaced the FM antenna with one from an old GE boombox I had laying around; now the Panasonic unit works much better, pulling in most FM stations within 40 miles of here in stereo--including two NPR affiliates, one of which is a low-power translator about 15 miles away.)

Well, I just couldn't resist cleaning up this thing, so I did--almost as soon as I got in my door with it. Cleaned up very nicely, although the previous owner had left the batteries in it far too long, as evidenced by electrolyte leakage around the old cells. There is still a bit of electrolyte residue in the battery compartment, but the set works well on AC regardless. Tried it with a cassette in the tape deck; that worked as well. The only thing missing is the battery compartment cover.

It never ceases to amaze me how many perfectly good radios, TVs, stereo systems, etc. get thrown out simply because of minor problems such as broken antennas (which was really the only thing wrong with this one--everything else works). Panasonic was and likely still is a very respected name in audio and video; they build their equipment to last, as attested to on their website (www.panasonic.com). If only people would realize this before throwing out a perfectly good Panasonic unit; after all, it wouldn't have been that much trouble to replace the broken antenna, but some people figure, I guess, that when the antenna breaks as the one on this one did, the set is immediately declared worthless and thrown in the trash--even if the unit otherwise works well. However, I look at it this way: It is because people trash old radios, TVs, stereos, etc. that we AKers find the units we have in our collections--at least that's one way we find them. I am not a really big Panasonic fan (I mainly collect Zenith radios), but when I saw that Pana boom box sitting all by its lonesome in the trash today, I just couldn't let it sit there, awaiting its one-way trip to the landfill.

[tgunner]

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

...but when I saw that Pana boom box sitting all by its lonesome in the trash today, I just couldn't let it sit there, awaiting its one-way trip to the landfill.

You make it sound romantic! pictures?

[Sandy G]

Panasonic made some pretty neat stuff back in the day. Somewhere, I have a set of their FM stereo headphones from like 1970 or so. They weigh a TON, don't really pick up all that good out here in the boonies, but I thought they were really sumpin'... The panasonic product I have that I treasure the most is that 1.5" color TV from '84...it just flabbergasts people, especially if I turn it on.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by tgunner

You make it sound romantic! pictures?

Here it is. The unit is in fairly good shape, except for a couple of scratches on the radio dial.

[blownsi]

I don't think that's very old at all. Looks very much like my dad's sony I bought him in 97 or 98.

[tgunner]

I'd say that it was made around 1993 to 1996, somewhere in there.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by tgunner

I'd say that it was made around 1993 to 1996, somewhere in there.

I thought it was fairly recent vintage, especially since the AM tunes from 530-1700 kHz. Also, I looked at the back and saw that the unit was made not in Japan, but in Singapore. I didn't think companies which had been based in Japan for years or decades were outsourcing in the mid-'90s. I was always under the impression that outsourcing is a more or less 21st-century concept.

I am still amazed that the Pana boom box now in my possession was thrown out for the trash just because the FM antenna rod was broken at the base (it took me all of five minutes to replace it), and because of old batteries that leaked all over the terminals. As I said in my post, everything else works as well as can be expected, even for a unit made 10-12 years ago. (There are scratches on the tuning dial and in several other places on the unit, but they don't show in the picture attached to my post.) Panasonic must have been making very high quality electronics even then (and still may be today, as I said, if we are to believe what they say on their website--"That DVD player in the den that just won't die? Probably a Panasonic").

[tgunner]

Panasonic has always made high quality electronics. It is only now with their outsourcing to china, that I fear the quality may drop. Also, Why is Panasonic supporting Blu-ray? That's a Sony technology....

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by tgunner

Panasonic has always made high quality electronics. It is only now with their outsourcing to china, that I fear the quality may drop.

I think Panasonic has been outsourcing for some time, at least since the mid-'90s, as my Pana boombox was made in Singapore.

[rulerboyz]

We're really in the minority because most people wouldn't think twice about throwing that Boombox into the trash. I think that for quite a few, all electronics are pretty much in the same class, be they toaster ovens or audio equipment. The common perception is that it is all disposbale, and that it loses it's value even before it breaks down. Throwing it out shouldn't cause too much cognitive dissonance so long as the initial purchase investment wasn't too high, or far enough in the past that the owner doesn't care anymore. For what they are, many of these boomboxes sound pretty darn good as portable tuners. Take it to the beach and enjoy it.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by rulerboyz

We're really in the minority because most people wouldn't think twice about throwing that Boombox into the trash. I think that for quite a few, all electronics are pretty much in the same class, be they toaster ovens or audio equipment. The common perception is that it is all disposbale, and that it loses it's value even before it breaks down. Throwing it out shouldn't cause too much cognitive dissonance so long as the initial purchase investment wasn't too high, or far enough in the past that the owner doesn't care anymore. For what they are, many of these boomboxes sound pretty darn good as portable tuners. Take it to the beach and enjoy it.

Now I think I can see a good reason why my Pana boombox wound up where it did (in the trash). The unit was made perhaps 10 to 12 years ago, before MP3s and portable CD players were popular. The person who owned this before I got it probably got a new CD player or an iPod, put the Panasonic away in a closet, and forgot about it, which would explain the leaking batteries. Perhaps he or she was cleaning house, found the old outdated Pana boombox, decided it wasn't worth anything any longer, so--out it went. Their loss was my gain, however, as this boombox sounds great through its own speakers; in fact, I'd say it sounds better than a GE-branded unit I bought new 10+ years ago. The tape deck in the Pana unit sounds every bit as good as the tuner. As far as I'm concerned, this system is a keeper.

You are absolutely correct as to the disposable nature of today's appliances and electronics. Witness the number of black-plastic cabineted TVs being put out on curbs all the time these days, and the riveted construction of most modern small home appliances. These things are not meant to be serviced after the warranty expires; in most cases the repair costs will equal or exceed the price of a brand new unit. Many factory repair centers don't bother repairing returned gear any longer; they just exchange the defective unit for a new one, send the new one to the customer, and repair or recycle the returns afterward, reselling the units later on.

[glen65]

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

You are absolutely correct as to the disposable nature of today's appliances and electronics. Witness the number of black-plastic cabineted TVs being put out on curbs all the time these days, and the riveted construction of most modern small home appliances. These things are not meant to be serviced after the warranty expires; in most cases the repair costs will equal or exceed the price of a brand new unit. Many factory repair centers don't bother repairing returned gear any longer; they just exchange the defective unit for a new one, send the new one to the customer, and repair or recycle the returns afterward, reselling the units later on.

Buying a TV used to be a bit like buying a car. You would buy it from a
dealer and that dealer was able to provide service for it until it was time
for a another new one. Those days for the most part are gone. Most TV sets
anymore have no style and piss poor build quality. If youre able to get
more than 5 years out of the average set these days then consider youself lucky.

[rulerboyz]

I'm still watching a 27" Trinitron that was purchased new in 1988. I have a newer one from 1999 and you can definitely see the difference in build quality between the two sets. The older one having a nicer finish to it, and the newer one looking more plastic like.