Three GE Portables designed by Conrad Justin

[stereofisher]

Conrad Jutson designed a lot of cool transistor radios in the late 50's thru 1969. I posted here on the P780 AM radio I got last year. Sarah Lowrey at http://www.transistor.org/feaure/jutson/details.html has a nice piece and an interview with Mr. Jutson.

He really designed a heavly radio. The IF transfomers on this radio are huge. I have had fun with this radio. Had one as a kid and as mentioned my uncle used one in the NY Adirondeck Mts in the 60's.

Looking on Ebay revealled that GE built an AM-FM version too. This one is the P865. Like its AM twin its very well made. I have bid on several of these radios and collectors have outbid me. They go high on Ebay. Its rarer than the P780. Patience won out this Feb 06 and I got one for $45 including shipping. about half what they go for.

After getting it I noticed it looks alot like its AM brother on the outside. Thats where it ends. Many manufacturers just added an FM board and said have a nice day. Mr Jutson outdid himself here. This radio is totally different inside. Except maybe the speaker the whole radio is completely redesigned. Its still very heavily made. When I first put in batteries it was very quiet. The selector switch was dirty and contact cleaner fixed that. Its an interesting design. The AM-FM selector switch is behind the tuner knob on the right side of the radio is a very unique. Most radios have a switch that runs down the shaft connected to the knob. Not here. The AM-FM switch here goes from the knob,down the shaft to a universal joint that connects to lever that goes across the chassis to the left side of the radio under the circuit board. Then it goes thru the chassis to a knife like switch 1/2 inch by 3 inches long. Mr. Jutson really outside himself here!! The end result is a good sounding radio.

I also got a P991A, Jutsons and GE's answer to the Zenith's Transoceanic. Had one in the early '70s. Been trying to get one off the 'Bay and have been outbid. Got lucky this week. Got one last week for $55 with shipping. On Sarah's web site Mr. Jutson mentions this is one of his favorites. To keep the costs down the challenge was to design a printed circuit board that handled its five bands AM,FM,LW and two Shortwave bands. The band selector switch is more traditional here. The selector is a straight shaft on the circuit board. Simple compared to the 865's. Cost a lot less than the Zenith TA. GE sold a lot of these. My example needed a good cleaning on the band selector switch and the volume control. The tuner was noisy on my example and got the paint brush treatment. I run a clean paint brush thu the tuner to get the dust out. Its tighter inside than my Pioneer recievers were. Didnt quite remove all the dust and it was still noisy on the low end of the dial. I need this to work as I listen to the local NPR stations. Used a clean toothbrush and worked thru the fins of the tuner. I got most of the noise out of the tuner and it plays well now. :music They all play and I look forward to using them this summer! All get CHWO AM 740 from Toronto. Thats the true test! Got a few pics. All designed in Amsterdam and built in Rochester NY. All five radios I have are US made. The GE's and my Zenith TA and a Royal 755. Its been fun fixing them up.

Eric

Hi, is this P-991 am/fm sw GE with leatherlike case the radio you have/had up for aution on ebay currently?

Please advise,

Thanks,

Rob