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The R-530 is certainly a handsome receiver. FYI: the last time we posted one of these from eBay, the final price was $470 shipped, but this particular listing also includes the SC-530 matching speaker.
Earlier this year, when an R-530 appeared on eBay, our resident rare receiver guru, Dan Robinson, chimed in with the following:
Some observations on this. The R-530, and military version R-1530, were considered fairly top of the line when they were made. They’re still among the rarer radios on the used market, though not the rarest. The R-1530 is not seen often.
On performance, these receivers were not on the same level as National HRO-500s, 51Js, and R-390s. This was made by Hy-Gain after all, which was not top of the heap in receiving design.
However, the R-530/1530s are great looking pieces. Anyone considering these should make absolutely sure that the PLL circuit functions on all bands. Poor cosmetic condition is a tipoff that the radio had a hard life.
Are there any Post readers own and use an R-530 of R-1530? Please comment!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who shared the following message after I posted the Mystery Radio Challenge yesterday:
I could tell that FM tuner is actually an ‘FM converter’ by its shape and by the giveaway wide knurled tuning bar mounted way up front, so the driver of the 8-track tape player-equipped car could tune it more easily whilst driving–or whilst smooching in the car in the dark!
Then to determine the make & model, I searched Google for the words silk-screened on the front panel, “solid state fm multiplexer tuner” and easily found this exact match:
This tuner came with an unusual antenna Y-adapter that connected (and probably matched) the tuner to the car’s AM antenna. It’s pictured in one of the photos. I wonder how good an FM tuner it is. It has a switchable AFC and a DX/Local switch.
Whilst scrolling through the excellent photos of the one being offered for sale online (for $46.74!) I saw the manual has a handwritten note that says, “Bought from Lafayette Radio Electronics 33760 Plymouth Road on 7/3/72 Invoice #3213570”– so it’s about 45 years old.
Out of curiosity, I researched that address and found that tuner was purchased at the third Lafayette store in (Livonia) Michigan.
I imagine some of your SWLing Post blog readers (like me) fondly remember Lafayette Radio Electronics stores. They had a better selection of radio gear–even Collins rigs–than Radio Shack did. Here’s a nice writeup about Lafayette on Wikipedia:
Sunday morning, I attended the Sainte-Foy flea market in Québec City. When I’m in QC, I love attending this particular market because of the amazing variety of things for sale. It’s a proper community event.
As I was browsing the various tables, I happened upon one of these:
Talk about a blast from the past!
Yesterday, I posted a cropped photo of this radio and it was quickly identified as an 8 Track FM radio converter by Ken (N2VIP). Steve Yothment found the same unit under a different brand and Bill Lee even found a Futura branded unit on the Internet. Of course, many others figured out this was an 8 Track to FM radio converter. Impressive sleuthing!
These radio tuners were popular in the days of the mobile 8 Track players–in that time period right before FM was standard in car radios, but 8 Track was somewhat prevalent.
My father had a similar FM radio converter for his 1966 Chevy pickup. As a kid, I thought the thing was fascinating! You simply inserted the unit into the 8 Track player and voilá!, FM radio!
I never quite understood how the FM reception was so decent considering there was no external antenna of any sort.
The rear of the converter looks like an 8 Track cartridge minus the magnetic tape.
Taking a closer look at this particular FUTURA brand converter, I’m impressed with the number of features on such a compact front end:
Analog FM dial
Red LED stereo tuning indicator
AFC OFF/ON switch
DX/Local switch
A wide, vertically-oriented tuning knob
I’m curious: how many Post readers had an 8 track FM radio converter in their vehicle? Or, did you ever have an Audio Cassette to 8 Track converter? Please comment! Also, you should check out some of the comments from our previous post.
And thanks for being sports about my “Mystery radio challenge“–I knew savvy Post readers would ID this tuner in no time!
Another radio spotted in a TV show, this time in the Netflix show iZombie.
Having been gifted a Yaesu FRG-7700 recently, it was an easy spot.
Click to enlarge
This FRG-7700 appears to be a ‘special’ model however, with a microphone plugged into the headphone socket and able to act as a transceiver!!
You have sharp eyes, Mark! Yes, indeed, it looks like they’ve turned that ‘7700 into a transceiver by plugging a mic into the headphone jack. Now why didn’t we think of that?!? 🙂
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares the following regarding a Furuno RV-103SR marine receiver he discovered on eBay:
Recently, I came upon two great rarities in the world of receivers.
Furuno is a Japanese company known for maritime equipment, and is featured on one or two pages of the Osterman receiver directory. Two of these rare receivers came up on eBay, both located in an Asian location.
The Furuno RV-103SR and RV-128 are beautiful animals, and both receivers appear(ed) to be in good condition, obviously taken from ships, likely as part of tear downs in a shipyard.
There is very little information online about Furuno. One Japanese blogger did a review of the RV-128. And a guy in Republic of Srpska got to use the RV-128 which was installed on a giant oil tanker, during a trip he made as a navigator way back in 2002 (see the story at http://www.qsl.net/e78cb/mmstory.htm).
In my correspondence with him, Fred Osterman notes that the RV-103SR variant was not known to him, and likely stands for rack mount. And Fred says he never saw these receivers in the flesh, and never saw one offered on the used market, “a rare bird” indeed. For those interested, Furuno equipment is on page 216 of Fred’s massive and excellent receiver book.
The appearance of these beautiful radios, and similar ones, again demonstrates the kind of equipment that is popping up in Ebay and other locations. We have seen numerous JRC marine receivers become available, many of them also former ship receivers. Anyone interested in these should ask the usual questions about condition, ask for photos and videos, to try to ensure that what eventually arrives is not DOA or suffering from various issues.
Furuno, it turns out, and as noted in the Osterman book, was behind the first fish finder ever produced. And the company had a range of transceivers for maritime use.
Post Readers: this is what I love about Dan Robinson’s discoveries on eBay: he finds these rare treasures, then provides a little history about their origins, use and current availability. Thank you so much, Dan, for sharing!
While looking through photos I had backed up on my laptop, I discovered a set I took at the Hamvention Flea Market on Saturday morning (May 20, 2017). I’ve gotten tremendous positive feedback from the photos I posted of Hamvention Setup, the Friday Flea Market and Inside Exhibits, so I thought I’d post these as well.
Below, you’ll find 84 additional flea market photos. Click on the thumbnail to expand each photo. I’ve tried to include price tags when possible. I’m sure some of these items are also featured in my Friday flea market photo album. Enjoy:
We can now announce that our AM frequency will be 648 kHz with a power of 1000 watts. This is ERP or simply the power radiated by the aerial.
A transmitter was imported from the Continent a few days ago and is now being modified to suit the frequency. There are further hurdles, but as you can see progress is being made. http://www.radiocaroline.co.uk/#home.html
It’s taken Radio Caroline 53 years to get an AM licence and it was perceived as a threat to the BBC for many years.
Ironically 648 kHz was best known for transmitting the BBC World Service in English around the clock on 648 kHz from September 1982 until March 2011 from the Orfordness transmitting station on the Suffolk coast.
