Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Max Youle, who writes:
I thought I would send you a link to my radio collection.
Many of these are unique to New Zealand, and could be of interest to your readers.
I saved many of these radios from being trashed, by searching junk sales and second hand stores, over a period of the last 25 years
Click her to view Max’s collection via DropBox.
Wow! That is an impressive collection of radios, Max. It’s interesting to see so many New Zealand brands–I’m glad you’ve rescued these!
Max’s collection is so large I couldn’t possibly share them all here on the SWLing Post, so I asked Max if he could tell us which models are his favorites. Max replied:
My favorite radios would be:
Barlow Wadley XCR-30
1. Barlow Wadley XCR-30 featured here before https://swling.com/blog/2016/02/maxs-barlow-wadley-receiver-is-a-keeper/
Philips D2999
2. Philips D2999 for its good looks, ease of use , sound from the two speakers 3″ and 7″ and sharp MW DX
Sanyo Transworld 17h-815
3. Sanyo Transworld 17h-815 A beautiful looking classic with lots of chrome and a good performer
National Panasonic R-021
4. National Panasonic R-021 because it was my first radio, and a fairly rare collectible (article at the bottom of page) http://www.panasonic.com/global/corporate/history/chronicle/1977.html
Its hard to choose a favorite, as every one of my radios has a story ,i.e where I found it, who gave it to me, how much I paid for it, how collectible it is, etc, etc!!
Yes indeed, Max! It is difficult to pick a favorite–especially from such a large collection.
Thanks again for taking the time to share these with us!
” Sanyo Transworld 17h-815 A beautiful looking classic with lots of chrome and a good performer”
I like radios with lots of chrome I wonder if someone is coming out with an SDR with a chrome bezel around the LCD display and chrome buttons.
My School holiday job was to test and assemble the speakers for the HMV “3 in one” radio / cassette / record players in time for xmas sales at the Norge factory in Masterton in the 70’s. So if you see one with a nail out the side or a speaker with double stickers on it that was probably me. Every speaker was tested with a hum transformer and on a radio station those that had a defect were sent back, demagnetized and reassembled with a new cone – in factory.
There was a PYE / Philips factory at Naenae also at Waihi, there was Autocrat / Sanyo in Auckland and Ultimate Echo somewhere – our TV, 8 transistor portable (still working) and reel tape recorder were this brand
Hi Ralph yes I remember all that well.The old PYE factory still stands in Waihi,it is now used for something else.Great memories.I remember the Sanyo Autocrat factory in MT Roskill,I worked for Sheifeild Radio in GreyLynn.They were making their first Transistorized Stereo record players,normaly all their radios were valve,based on a UK design.I also worked for Aeiral Radio in Mt Abert,makeing AM car radios.Those were the good old days. One of my very first CB radios was a PYE SS140.I think it was 12 channels.26 mgs AM only and no SSB.Great for long distance. Made by PYE in Waihi.I should never have parted with it.
Re the pye ss140
It was made by pye in glen innes in auckland on felton mathew ave. I was a radio apprentice there where we made the seeka and falcon radio telephones, the ss140, the uhf rts for the cops, gas detectors, coatchman pa systems for buses, hilog and microlog automation, datran, temperature sensors, larc clock radios, relays, mains leads, the was a design lab, rt bases,
Very impressive collection indeed.Yes over here in NewZealand it’s extremely hard to find them anywhere now.Most have been discarded many years ago by generations of disinterested types.I still have a few left,others I sold because I didnt have space to keep them.So the ones I still have are packed away.I have no room to display them in my home,and they are of no interest to any one else where I live.So it’s my private passion that I still have them and if I go to second hand shops or market places,I always keep money aside incase I see one of speical interest.But I must say that antique shops are “Gold Diggers” know their value, and expect to make a killing out of them.Unfortunitly there were many cheap quality transistor radios put on the market arround the same time dueing the 60s and 70s aswell.But most were of the best quality and are still in fine working condition today.The capacitors never dried out,unlike alot of modern receivers that are only good untill their use by date.I wish I had never had to sell any of my collection,because once they are gone,you never see them again.The types who do buy them are collectors,movie makers and shop window displayers,useing them as display objects or part of the decor in movies made to be set in years gone by.I have walked past modern dress shops and found 50s or 60s large trasistor radios as part of their window display.Unfortunitly they wont part with them.So Max continue your passion,they are a treasure indeed.
Thanks for the comments James. I am glad I started my collection over 25 years ago, as prices are too high these days. When I started you could go to junk sales and come home with a cardboard box full of radios for $5. One of the best finds was the Grundig Satillit 2100 for $2—-and it worked after a band switch clean. In New Zealand, as you know, the National Panasonics were a popular radio, but only available here by bringing one back from overseas. Most of my Panasonics are original and still working well
Cheers Max
Palmerston North
New Zealand
Completely agree with you ins choosing the Philips D2999 as favorite. This receiver is a must.