Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who shares these screen shots from “Death Wish 2” (1982). Carlos is curious if anyone is familiar with or recognizes this brand of radio:
Do you think this radio a fabricated stage prop, or a real model? Please comment!
I’ll add this post to our ever growing archive of radios in film!
Posting this sent by email from David G4EDR:
Looks very similar to one my Dad bought here in the UK in the late 1970’s. Still working after all these years.
73, David – G4EDR
That’s exactly the same as a Hanimex I used to own back in the early 80’s 😉
https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/academy_compass_lwmwmbfmvhf_multiband_radio_aa8.html#forum
Also Globemaster
IMA radios were also marketed under the name “Craig” back in the 70s. the radio is legit, but not certain yet of the model number.
Hanimex or Possibly a Radio Shack Realistic Patrolman series version from 1978-80 era. Radio Shack was popular in this era! They had agreements to use there name and source recievers from other companies!
Unsure of the brand name but sold this multi and radio sold 70s on ! Only radio I ever had trying to fix selection switch broke in two ! Ended up scrap parts . Anyone see a Panasonic RF 2200 in film That’s my 3 band best cludge ever . Renegade
SPECS for Hanimex 7900 / Craig Panorama IMA MultiBand
Coverage 5 bands by push button operation:
AM-MW,
CB: 27 MHz,
US VHF TV bands I & II,
Air-WB-PBH: starts with 108 MHz,
Looks like a Craig Panorama Inc. / IMA – Multiband Radio – AM-FM-TV1-TV2
Hanimex was an Australian / New Zealand brand; the radios they sold were mostly made by the generic OEMs in Hong Kong which thrived through the late 60’s / early 70’s. The same/similar radios were sold world-wide under many different brands (including, IIRC, Reader’s Digest) – including, apparently, IMA.
I believe the OEM for that model was Worldstar. They certainly did a few in that basic style for various brands, the more expensive & somewhat more common ones (at least around here) having a world map & timezone wheel in the top flap.
FWIW, compared to others of the time most of their models were in the general range of ‘middling-good to good’. Not up there with the Sonys or Panasonics, but better than the average junk coming out of China at the time.
That was an era where Radio Shack and half a dozen general mail order catalogs- we got Spiegel- would have some solid state multiband portables available. They were usually in the back after clothing (front) and housewares (middle section). I spent a lot of time drooling over them when I was twelve, thirteen years old or so.
I am sure that for the most part these radios were really bad. But they looked spectacular; that was what they were designed for.
Therefore there is no reason for a movie maker in this era to have the props department make up a fake radio. They could get something that looked spectacular (whether or not it worked worth a darn) for chump change. Much cheaper to just buy one than to pay a tech to whip up a convincing fake.
Yeah, Hanimex 7900 definitely, thank you all!
i found the same with the name Hanimex portable radio model 7900 solid state … it seems was at ebay & one more website for sale, i think is reall thanks
Best I can tell IMA was a brand sold by Craig Panorama Inc. https://www.radiomuseum.org/m/craig_usa_en_1.html I don’t see that model though.
Looks like a Hanimex 7900 with the label altered