Cinemorphosis

Category: technology

  • Blast from the Past: From Russia with Love: Angelo’s Ocean 214 Radio

    On the topic of radios with a wooden case…presenting the Ocean 214—from Russia with love!  I bought it from a seller in the Ukraine, so shipping was on the high side, but surprisingly, I didn’t have much competition bidding on the radio.  I’ve been wanting to try a Russian/Soviet radio for quite a while, but simply couldn’t get excited about the VEF series, because…how can I put this nicely…”they ugly…butt ugly!” 

    The VEFs look like a big block of plastic with little or no imagination in the design.  They might be great performers and high quality—I don’t know, because I’ve never played with one—but I’m not excited by the looks.  Enter the Okeah—I saw a couple different ones from this manufacturer, and settled on the 214.  I like the wooden case and the various surfaces and colors used to make up the package. 

    Mine is in good shape except for an antenna problem—the smaller top portions of the antenna pull out of the base.  But it still receives well on all bands.  Oh, but that’s the other problem—the writing is in Russian and I’m totally unfamiliar with the frequencies they use.  So I push buttons and turn knobs until I hear people talking or I hear music.  It’s an adventure. 

    The sound is good—in a way, similar to my Lloyd’s, supporting the argument that the wooden cabinet does have its own sound.  In fact, the Okeah has more tone controls to play with and I can get a very satisfying deep sound for music, or a clearer, high pitched sound for talk.  The shortwave bands do pull in stations nicely as well.  I’m still figuring things out with regard to how these bands translate from radios I’m used to using.

    I can recommend this radio if you have interest in getting an Eastern European manufactured radio.  From the little I could find on Google, it seems the factory for this brand might be located in Belarus.  There is much more information on VEF, who must have been a much bigger company.  But I like the Okeah—I like the looks, I like the woodgrain and I’m satisfied with the performance.  I will say that it appears to be old, and wasn’t babied as it was dirty when I got it, and apparently not extremely well maintained.  But a few shots of tuner spray brought it to life and it sounds great.  At some point, I might try my luck on E-Bay to see if I can turn a profit.  But for now, I’m having too much fun with the radio.   

  • Blast from the Past: Rick’s Ward Airline GEN 1474A Radio

    Airline A1474 Receiver

    I have this Ward Airline 1494 model and also the similar Montgomery Ward Airline GEN 1474A, which I think is a better radio, at least when I’ve compared the two side-by-side. The 1474A has just one big sliderule dial, but covers the same frequency ranges as the 1494A. It’s a little smaller radio, but I think more handsome. Its AM/FM/SW performance is better, and the airband is absolutely top notch (I’ve been obsessed with listening to aircraft on VHF and HF since the 1960’s.) Even the “S” meter has more bounce on the 1474A than on the 1494. But the most amazing part of the 1474A is its audio, which can blow the windows out of the house! Not surprising when you look at the heat sink they put on the output stage, a major chunk of aluminum. All this in a very nice portable (4 D cells or AC) package.

  • Blast from the Past: Angelo’s Review of the Montgomery Ward Airline GEN-1494A Vintage Radio

    Since the very first time I saw this model listed on E-Bay a couple years ago, I’ve wanted one of these:  The Montgomery Ward Airline GEN-1494A.

    I guess the thing that attracted me to this radio the most is the handsome looks.  I like the symmetry of the dual tuning dials, divided by the power meter.  I like the contrast of brushed aluminum and charcoal color plastics, encased in clear acrylic dial covers.  I like the large but not huge size of the receiver.  Simply, I like everything about this radio’s styling.  I wouldn’t change anything—not even the orange and white frequency information, which looks great on the dark gray/black. 

    The materials are not quite up to Sony or Panasonic standards, but there’s nothing to be ashamed of here.  It’s good quality stuff, certainly comparable to any Sharp or Sanyo of a similar vintage.  It’s in that Toshiba/Hitachi category as far as I can tell.

    Performance wise, it’s a winner.  I was astounded by the shortwave reception—very, very close to matching the Sony ICF-5800 that I recently sold.  It picks up shortwave signals that most of my other radios are unable to track.  FM sound is strong, AM crisp.  It’s very capable of getting the full compliment of AM-FM stations that my other good radios can receive.  After the stellar shortwave performance, I was surprised that it didn’t perform well on the PSB 1 or PSB 2 options.  They were pretty dead—and my old Arvin radios generally get activity on these bands.  Maybe it’s just the night and the location.

    Speaker sound is another high grade.  While it’s not as powerful as the Panasonic 888, it has a pleasing sound.  The “tone” adjustment actually does its job too.  It’s equally good for talk or music.

    This is a well balanced radio that I can heartily recommend.  I have seen several of these over the years, and have bid on a few of them.  I was never able to wrangle one until this one failed to cross the $30.00 mark, and I snatched it up in the closing minutes.  It needed a little cleaning—and to get it to work on batteries, I had to use steel wool to remove corrosion from the battery compartment contacts—-but aside from those minor issues, it’s pretty darn nice.  Perfect antenna, no major dings and a real player.

    Is it a keeper?  For me, there aren’t many keepers.  I generally buy radios at what I consider a value price.  After cleaning them up and playing with them for a few months, I’m willing to throw them back to keep funding my hobby and charting new territory—such as a very recent interest in old tube radios.  But I have to say, the great shortwave performance, on this Ward model will make it a tough decision to let this go.  Like my Panasonic 888, Zenith Trans-Oceanic 7000 and Grundig Ocean Boy 820, this Ward Airline 1494 has virtues that might make it a permanent fixture.  That’s pretty strong company that this radio finds itself in.

  • Blast from the Past: Grundig Satellit 750

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    Greg, a reader from Ann Arbor, Michigan, was kind enough to Fed Ex me his Grundig Satellit 750, which has a Kiwa speaker upgrade. Therefore, I have to assume the stock 750 speaker sound has less fidelity than the one I’ll be using by my bedside for the next two weeks. 

    As I will be using the 750 as a bedside radio, I’m not too worried about fidelity since I’m not cranking the thing up by any means. All that I ask is that its AM sound not be as harsh and punishing as my C.Crane CSW. Thankfully, the 750 is easier on the ears. 

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    When I took out the 750, I was amazed like other Tecsun radios at how light the radio is (Tecsun makes many Grundig and Eton radios, including the GS750). I prefer my radios to be heavy like tanks, which is why several months ago I went on a vintage radio spree, getting my grubby hands on some classics so that I could use them as a point of comparison for some of today’s radios. 

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    Here’s the bright side of the GS750’s light weight: It makes a very good portable radio, much better than I initially thought. It’s easy to handle and not as big in person as you might think. If you’re a camper or do a lot of outdoor radio listening, I can recommend the GS750. 

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    One thing I like about the 750 is the way it looks on my bedside table. Its cockpit control styling makes me feel like a little kid on a toy airplane or flying in a pretend rocket to Mars. 

    The 750 by your bed says boldly, “You have arrived at the Mothership.” Before I geek-out too much, let me transition to function and performance.

    The learning curve for time controls, direct key entry, and presets is fairly easy. It took me about five minutes to comprehend the manual; however, I have toyed around with Tecsun radios before, so I am fairly familiar with their functions.

    As a bedside radio, it’s nice that you can toggle through your stations with the up and down arrow buttons. 

    I haven’t used this radio at night yet and doubt it is illuminated sufficiently without my needing a pen flashlight. Clearly, the 750 is more of a general table radio than a clock radio, but I’m using it by my bedside because that is where I listen to radio most often and I want to get as many hours in as possible during my two-week loan.

    What about performance? Excellent on FM and AM. I was able to eliminate birdy on weak AM stations by rotating the rotational antenna, called a Gyro on vintage Panasonics. 

    The FM antenna is huge and can be rotated 360 degrees. There is also an FM antenna button that gives you varying degrees of attenuation to maximize reception. 

    I’d say FM was as strong as my current FM champion, my C.Crane CSW. Better yet, the GS 750’s AM sounds much better. 

    Truth be told, I am more impressed with the GS750 than I thought I’d be. I love its look, its performance is excellent, its functions and options are plentiful without being too busy. 

    I think if I were to buy one on Amazon for their sale price of $220 and free shipping, I’d have to put it in the workout room and move the Boston Acoustics Horizon Duo, a completely different kind of radio, in my bedroom. The question is will I buy a GS750? Hard to say. For about $150, I should be able to get a C.Crane CCRadio 2, which may be a better fit in my bedroom. While I am confident the CCRadio 2, made by Sangean, will match the GS750’s AM performance and have richer speaker sound, I am not convinced that its FM will be able to compete with the GS750’s.

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    In any event, I don’t have to make a decision now. I have another two weeks with the GS750 to think it over.   

  • Blast from the Past: Telefunken Banjo Automatic

    Blast from the Past: Telefunken Banjo Automatic

    Six inches tall and barely ten inches across, the Telefunken Banjo Automatic delivers a lot of effortless sound for a radio its size. This vintage came in good shape as the seller had cleaned it up, even took it apart and did a “deep clean” to all the knobs. So there’s no static to speak of. This arrived with no AC. It’s feeding of six C batteries.

    Don’t be fooled by the swanky yellow. This colorful radio has outstanding FM reception and while the AM is above average it cannot light a candle to my bigger, brawnier Telefunken Partner 700, which at $40, cost me about half of the Banjo price. 

    The Banjo’s controls are smooth, and this bright yellow Telefunken feels upscale through and through, but if you’re Telefunken hunting, I recommend the bigger Partner 700. As good as the spunky yellow Banjo is, its speaker sound and AM sound loses to its bigger, more serious cousin. 

    In some ways it’s not fair to compare the two Telefunkens. The Banjo is a smaller portable, the Partner a heavier table radio. If I compare the Banjo to the similar sized Sangean PR-D5, the Banjo wins in speaker sound. The PR-D5’s small stereo speakers are so tinny my ears have trouble picking up the sound. In contrast, the Banjo fills a room easily. The FM on the Banjo is better than the PR-D5 and AM sound is similar. Of course, the $80 PR-D5 is new and digital and has presets so the comparison doesn’t quite work either.

    One strange quirk about the Banjo that I’ve never encountered before is that AM numbers are inverse to the FM numbers so that 103.1 FM, for example, is close to 640 AM. Strange, but no big deal.

    If you’re looking for a small travel companion, the Banjo is high-end and will not disappoint. If you’re looking for the majesty of a Panasonic RF-3000 (one just sold for over $300) and want to save some dough, check out the Partner 700, which I stole for $40.

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  • Blast from the Past: Telefunken Partner 700

    I like three types of radios: military, giant, heavy, brief case types, and the other worldly. This Telefunken Partner 700 is the latter type. I paid $40 plus $20 shipping. 

    It’s heavy and solidly built. The speaker is LOUD. The FM tuner is sensitive, but what really shines is AM, which sounds like FM stereo with no background noise. 

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    The FM antenna swivels 360 degrees, which I find essential for pinpointing hard-to-get stations. The radio flips in the upright and prone position. The on-off and band buttons depress like tape recorder buttons. I wish this feature were used more commonly. It has an upscale feel. 

    I got some hum on FM after adjusting the volume, but the hum went away. I get no hum on AM. This is an old radio, about 30 years old. I’ll keep an eye on the hum and see if it’s progressive or something that goes away once the volume settles. All in all, this was well worth $60. 

    Update: The speaker sound and tuner performance impress me more and more as I continue to use the 700 in the workout room. This has to have the warmest fidelity of any of my vintage radios. 

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  • Blast from the Past: My First Look at the Sony ICF-5900

    Regular reader and radio collector Gerald Johnson has encouraged me for some time to try some vintage radios. He was kind enough to recommend some Panasonic and Sony models from the 1970s and 1980s and in general told me radios of old were built of a higher quality and commanded a respect today’s recommends are unworthy of. 

    My first foray into buying such a radio on eBay a few months ago failed miserably because I was overwhelmed by the choices and lost focus. As a result, I bought a lot of table radios, none of which had telescopic antennas and which were limited in that respect. 

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    But Gerald’s words stuck with me and I remained drawn to two vintage radios, the Panasonic RF-1150 and the Sony ICF-5900. Their military ruggedness appealed to me. I suspected I would wait and find a mint one. Another reader, alert to my obsessions, alerted me to a mint 5900 a few days ago. 

    The radio arrived today in mint condition as the seller promised. Not familiar with the 5900, I switched from local to DX and got a better AM signal. Better is an understatement. This is the best, most quiet AM I have ever experienced. Let’s be clear: The 5900 puts the C.Crane CSW to utter shame on AM sound. Some normally difficult AM stations like 570 and 710 come in quiet and strong in ways I’ve never heard with the exception of the Panasonic RF-2200. I’m listening to 570 right now. You’ve got to be kidding. I’d give a slight nod to the 5900 over the Panasonic RF-2200 in AM, but this is subjective and may even be splitting hairs. However, the RF-2200 got some birdy noise on 710, which I minimized by rotating the Gyro AM antenna. Nevertheless, the birdy was still discernible. In contrast, there was no birdy at all on the 5900 even without the Gyro feature. The smaller, more slender 5900 is easy enough to rotate for adjusting the internal AM antenna so that its lack of a Gyro feature does not concern me. 

    For FM, I’m still trying to figure out the antenna. I can extend it, but I can’t angle it the way I can angle the Panasonic RF-2200, a radio Ed Strnad has let me borrow for a while. The 5900’s telescopic antenna goes straight up only as far as I know and fortunately for me I’m getting sterling FM with the antenna the way it is. But there’s one exception: the very weak 88.9 KXLU. There was some static. In contrast, the Panasonic RF-2200 has no static. In fact, the 2200 is so good that it beats the 5900 on FM reception in general. Nevertheless, the 5900 FM is outstanding.

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    Speaker sound: The 5900 sounds amazing, full and clear, but I’d give the nod to the slightly bigger 2200.

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    The 5900’s biggest weakness: The tuning dial is between 1.3 and 1.5 increments inaccurate. For example, 710 AM is found closer to 830 and 89.9 FM is found closer to 91. I don’t know if this is a common problem for the 5900 or specific to my radio. 

    One last point: I tested my 5900 with the provided AC adapter, which may have compromised the signal slightly. Funny, AM didn’t seem affected, but FM did, especially when I touched the radio. After I stick some batteries in the 5900, I’ll test it again and update the FM performance. Also, some kind reader may inform me if I can angle the telescopic FM antenna or not.

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    To conclude, as a radio lover I feel gratified that I own and enjoy one of the greatest radios ever made and after toying with the 5900 for a month or so in the kitchen, I’ll move it to the workout room. For the long-term, my wife needs presets and accurate tuning so the Boston Acoustics Horizon Solo will return to the kitchen and I will coddle my 5900 in my workout area. 

    Update: I put 3 D batteries in the 5900 and this improved FM. Like many radios, the 5900 doesn’t like the AC adapter. This is the case with Ed’s Panasonic RF-2200. 

    Second Update: I e-mailed Gerald about the telescopic antenna and he wrote back that it does indeed swivel, contrary to my first impression. He gave me these instructions:

    “GENTLY pull up,, from as far down on the fattest part of the antenna as you can grasp. see if you can work it on up. my sense is, the antenna hasnt been fully extended for some time and may need a little GENTLE persuasion. if need be, use a couple small drops of wd40. does the radio lock and pop up when the button is engaged?”

    Grabbing at the base did the trick and now my antenna swivels, resulting in improved FM reception. 

    Also Gerald advised me that over time the tuning loses accuracy because it becomes misaligned. How to fix this I don’t know. In any event, I’m grateful for Gerald’s advice. 

  • Blast from the Past: Kevin’s Panasonic RF-877 AM/FM/PSB Radio with Gyro AM Antenna

     

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    This is a great radio. It’s really “like new”. Everything works perfectly and the sound is very smooth, almost as good as the RF-888. Plus it’s about as cool-looking as any radio could be. The gyro antenna pops up via the button on the front panel and swivels to allow you to tweak AM and works very well. 

    I’m liking the tuner control which rotates like a compass. (Looks cool when lit up with the dial light.) Nice control with the single bass and treble knob and it really cranks out some volume. This particular one is really in amazing condition. Just needed a little clean up. The battery compartment didn’t need anything at all. Works great and is one of my new favorites. Couldn’t be happier with it.

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  • Blast from the Past: First Look at the Panasonic RF-877

     

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    Measuring nine inches across and almost ten inches high, the Panasonic RF-877 emerged from its box looking rather small. Something about its military bearing that suggested a larger size, but no matter, its looks did not disappoint. Evoking a past era when materials were of a higher grade and the distinction between phoniness and authenticity was sharply drawn, the sturdy RF-877 proved to be an apex performer. 

    Disclosed flaw was a missing antenna tip, which kept the bidding low. I bought the RF-877 for a parsimonious $62 plus $18 shipping. The question is does the missing tip compromise FM performance? A little, maybe. FM performance on weak stations such as 89.3, 88.9, 103.1 seemed only slightly compromised based on the tuning/battery indicator. The compromise is so negligible however that I do not feel compelled to replace or repair the telescopic FM antenna.

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    AM sound, enhanced with the Gyro pop-up antenna, is the real standout here. The notorious 710 ESPN comes in with nor birdy background noise. 

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    The speaker is clear and full, but does not offer as much sound as the RF-888. In terms of pure volume, the RF-888 appears to be three times stronger than the RF-877. Comparing the two, I find the heavier, more stout 888 to be a superior radio. I really like the RF-877, but I truly love the RF-888. Of course, the RF-888 cost me a handsome $210. While I prefer the RF-888, I give the RF-877, especially one with a fully-extending FM antenna, the highest recommendation. 

    Update: My esteem for the RF-877 has increased as I’ve become more familiar with it. As I write, the speaker sound is really filling my office rather well. I must say I was guilty of exaggerating the disparity of sound between the RF-877 and the RF-888.  I’m listening to the pennant match between the Rays and the Red Sox on the dreaded “birdy” station 710 AM. I popped up the Gyro AM antenna (6.5 inches long) and moved it until the birdy was completely gone. If you can find one of these “GI Joe” radios in mint condition for $150 or so, snatch it. 

  • Blast from the Past: Comparing the Panasonic RF-888 with the RF-1108

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    I purchased a Panasonic RF-888 (the black, more stout radio on the right above; the 1108 is the taller gray model), a model from the early 1970s, a few months ago and it’s a very good radio, huge speaker, silent background on AM, strong FM. Its tuning meter is operational, but being ontop and small it’s hard to see. One other small problem is that the FM makes static while tuning. For some reason there is no static while tuning AM stations. 

    Enter now a newer vintage, what appears to be a rare model from the early 1980s, the Panasonic RF-1108 Big Sound AM/FM/PSB radio. A side by side comparison for AM and FM proved to be virtually identical. Perhaps on AM I’d give a slight nod to the RF-888, but I feel I’m splitting hairs here. Speaker sound is virtually the same as both radios look like “Big Mouths.” 

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    The build quality, evidenced by its heaviness, goes to the RF-888. The 1108 seems to be made of lesser materials. But I won the bid for $54 plus $9 shipping. In contrast, the RF-888 cost me $220. 

    I like the tuning meter on the 1108. It’s in the front and big enough to see without squinting my eyes. 

    While both radios are top performers, I hate to say that the tuning meter is way too close to the red zone, struggling around the 3 or 4 mark with the strongest being 10, while fine tuning 103.1, the weakest FM station I regularly listen to. 

    Now here’s the biggest revelation I received from today’s comparison test. After being disappointed with the way both radios received the weak 103.1, I decided to try my Sony ICF-5900. I placed the 5900 on the kitchen table right where I had tested both the 888 and the 1108. Friends, listen carefully: The Sony ICF-5900 BURIED THE NEEDLE INTO THE 10, RECEIVING 103.1 WITH FULL POWER. So let’s be clear: If you’re going to spend around $200 on a vintage, you might want to get the 5900 over the 888. 

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    I wasn’t done with 103.1 yet. I put the 5900’s smaller cousin, my ICF-5500, on the kitchen table, tuned to 103.1 and needle buried itself until it landed securely on the 9. Slightly less than the 5900, but I paid $80 for it. 

    Having done this comparison, I have a new esteem for my Sony models. But I wasn’t ready to give up on my Panasonics. I took out my RF-1130, tuned to 103.1 and the needle hit the 9.5 mark, better than the 5500 but not as good as the 5900.

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    One more radio to go: My Panasonic RF-870, the one I bought for $80 with a broken antenna tip. I tuned to 103.1 and buried the needle on 10.  That 870 didn’t even need its full antenna!

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    Based on these tests, I’ll probably sell the comparatively weak performers. What started out as a 2-radio comparison, ended as an FM vintage test. Yes, as a radiophile, I am a tyrant with my radios: Perform like a champion or be gone with you.