National 8 transistor
 

I picked up this National (Matsushita) MW/SW radio today at a flea market for a one dollar bill. Battery power only (4 "D" cells). Antenna and all controls work smoothly as they should. It works fine with the exception of the audio level being very low. It stays low when the control is at full volume. Anyone seen one of these? I have not been able to find anything inside or on the outside that tells how old it is. The dial has KC/s and MC/s instead of kHz and mHz. Would it be mid 60's or so?

Allen

that's a very clean radio! I would guess it to be mid-60's. The KC/MC on the dial is normal for that time. Using kHz/MHz became the norm in the 70's. Too bad about the volume issue.

BTW... that's a nice looking table radio in your avatar! :yes:

Your set sounds like it's early-'60s vintage (pre-1967), because of the kc and mc markings on the dial scale. Until 1967 all radio dials were marked as kc and mc (kilocycles and megacycles), then, from '67 to the present, the frequency designations appeared as kHz and MHz (kilohertz and megahertz).

The low volume problem may be due to weak batteries; I'd try a fresh set, or try the radio on AC power if it has AC capability (many if not most large portables had built-in AC supplies or provisions for a wall-wart external AC adapter, then as now). Should work much better on new batteries; many of those large portables are notorious for eating up batteries in a hurry, especially when operated at full volume for any length of time or if accidentally left on overnight.

Good luck.

73,

Thanks guys! I appreciate it very much. I'll try a fresh set of batt's then. Maybe these I have are old...I found 'em in a drawer. There's no telling how long they've been there.

BTW Charlie, that's a Zenith 7 tube X323 AM/FM radio. It plays very nicely too :)

I have a JVC boom box with SW as well as AM/FM/CD/Cass & CD player. It even has a subwoofer, a five band EQ, AUX input and CD output. Bought it from a local electronics store back in 1987. It was my first boom box...and it still plays fine today..except for the CD player (it died long ago...probably from overuse on my part. I played the hell out of it!). It won't spin up when you load a CD. Otherwise it's in great shape.

I'll get a picture up as soon as I can.

I have a TFM 1600 that pulled FM from 120 miles as much as I like my 2 Zenith 7000s this unit out performed them

My first NordMende is back...
 

Hello everybody,

I'm very happy to say that after being without one for over 30 years... I finally got my hands on another NordMende Globetraveler on epay... this was the first serious radio I bought way back then... and one day I loaned it to one of my friend... (after much resistance from my part...) and he enjoyed it for a long time to finally vanish (with my radio of course...) :tears: but now I have another one and if anybody wants it they will have to pry it out of my dead hands... the only thing that I regret on this radio is that it does not have the teak wood finish... I loved mine for that... this one is black vinyl but is in very good shape physically and plays darn nice too... :thmbsp: aaahhh those fonds memories it brings back... :yes::D

Does anybody know where I can get a diagram for this radio???

Thank you all and Happy Holidays to everyone

Maurice442

Holy smoke!, I have a Spacemaster Silver - small world, never saw another until now.

- Dave

that is wierd, a four valve hotpoint radio was picked out of the garbage and carried home on the flat foot tray of my push scooter. I spent many years listening to the radio with ever longer antennas- it spawned my electronic passion and the subsequent interest in hifi and all things electronic.

Hi, Dave,
I know of at least 3 other Spacemaster Platas that existed at the same time I got mine (1966) as 3 friends also ordered them at that time. I note that you are in Canada: maybe only the U.S. models were "Plata", and "Silver" was sold in other countries? As I had seen the one in Guatemala.

Reece

Great collection grayga those are stunning and much older than the units I usually stumble across...do you have the model numbers for any of these, I have The Perpetual Troubleshooter's Manual Volume XIV but it's from 1944, your units look like they're a few years younger...

I love the dial scales on these old multiband radios. They make you want to spend time exploring the bands just to see what you can pick up. Back in the late 1960s I had a large Columbia Masterworks 4-band portable that had the same coverage as this Sony of yours. Had great, powerful audio, AM stations sounded awesome (to me at least), and of course FM offered extra clarity. I have yet to see this Masterwork on eBay...it's as if they've all disappeared from the face of the earth. Fine memories though!:thmbsp:

Chuck

Yep, digital tuning may be more exact and convenient as far as saving frequencies with presets, but I still love the analog scale.
More fun...and to me, more real.

Here's a different one for you
 

Ever see a Norwegian radio?

Doesn't quite fit the AC/DC portion (though it could because I believe a special power pack was available), but this David Andersen set should give you some eye candy pleasure. Got it off of the 'net ten years ago, recently built a proper AD3-style battery for it. Since I don't have any Scandinavian battery graphics, I decided to do the cover in French Pile Wonder. My adaptor uses a DC-DC converter powered by five C cells.

For a four-tube set, it brings in stations on AM and the three SW bands beautifully.

Bill

Was the front of the radio damaged somehow? Looks like the entire front panel is full of cracks, as if it had been forcibly struck.

The chassis looks awfully small in relation to the size of the cabinet. Must be packed underneath and a nightmare to work on.