Once again, the intrepid Dan Robinson has discovered an eBay gem. Dan notes:
From eBay Germany comes this rarely seen and apparently in beautiful condition relic:
Wow–Dan–what a beautiful receiver! It has a dial blind like my BC-348-Q, but a dial design like my Hammarlund SP-600. The best of both worlds, in my opinion.
And the green indicator lamps? Classy!
I assume, by the design, that this is a Cold War era receiver? I’m afraid I’m not at all familiar with Siemens receivers of the era.
Post readers: If you can shed light on this particular Siemens receiver, please comment!
Should anyone here be interested, we have one of these rare former Swiss army receivers for sale at the club, including the FSE30 RTTY receiver unit, all cables and the original headset. Everything is in working condition and looking very clean. Contact [email protected]
That’s an E311d which was made in the late 60s (the ‘e’ model came in 1969), it has more filter options and an additional 1kHz xtal marker compared to its predecessors. The E311 series was produced in large quantities, so maybe it’s “extremely scarce” outside of Europe. In Germany it’s certainly the most popular and and one of the most ubiquitous boat anchors around. The 311s are triple-conversion receivers with a unique analog+digtial dial combination using only 3 different types of tubes.
A complete set (including manuals, some parts boxes, the diversity unit Rel445H305 and the FSE30 FAX/teletype converter) can go for over 1000€, so this offer is beyond ridiculous for 1600€ without even knowing if it works at all. The seller states that he has no clue about radios and sells it as “defective”.
Some more info (mostly about the tuning procedure) here:
http://www.shortwaveradio.ch/radio-e/siemens-e311-e.htm
BTW this site is a comprehensive source on classic shortwave radios that enjoyed some popularity in central Europe.
Always enjoy seeing these Ebay special finds. Ebay should receive some kind of environmental reward, what with all the items they list, think of what has been saved from ending up in a landfill.
Mario, you have a good point there. A lot of us like to complain about the prices on eBay, but in truth, it’s a fantastic accessible store for some of the most obscure equipment out there.
Pre-Internet, imagine how difficult it might have been to find a buyer for a mint Collins receiver if you lived in a small town in Montana?
Like you, I also enjoy the opportunity to see this stuff pop up from time to time.
-Thomas
Gorgeous.
A closer look at the receiver in the auction IDs it as an e311bd. That is not one of the models listed in the Osterman book. I recommend a read of the item in the book — the specs of this radio are quite amazing.
A quick check of the Ostserman book IDs this as the “extremely scarce” E311a. To quote from the book: “An incredibly accurate receiver that uses an interesting and unique mixture of analog and digitial indicators. Tube analogue/Synthesized local oscillator. The tuning scale has an effective length of 935 feet. . . made until 1975 and extremely scarce, even in Germany.”
I am sorely tempted to bid for this but I would be sent into exile by my wife.
That’s okay, Dan! Bid on it! If you win, you can always seek asylum at my home. Just bring the receiver with you, though!
-Thomas