Though I believe I spent more money at the Dayton Hamvention this year than I have in all previous years, I only purchased one radio: the Arvin 68R58 eight-transistor.
I spent a whopping $5 on the little Arvin in the Hamvention fleamarket. To be fair, the seller sold it for this modest price because he was not sure if the radio worked. But when I unsnapped the back leather cover, peered inside, and found the works remarkably clean, I suspected it might…
No original power supply was included, of course, and I was a bit concerned when I saw the somewhat out-of-character plastic battery holder. In the filtered fleamarket light, it appeared to me as if it required proprietary batteries–the holder appeared too small for C cells, and too large for AAs. There was no indication of the type of batteries it used, but since the spec read “6 volts,” I knew I could build a small AA battery holder, if need be.
So, at $5 (I bargained him down from $10, based on the doubt of operation) it was a very low risk purchase, and a potentially a fun project.
![ARVIN-68r58-DSC_1385](https://swling.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ARVIN-68r58-DSC_1385.jpg)
Back at home, I popped open the battery holder and looked inside…And I discovered the Arvin did, indeed, take four C cells. Simple enough! After inserting fresh batteries, I turned on the radio via the tone pot, and instantly heard beautiful, rich audio.
What I thought would be a project radio ended up being fully functional, and was, moreover, in tip-top shape.
![ARVIN-68r58-DSC_1369](https://swling.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ARVIN-68r58-DSC_1369.jpg)
So far, I’ve been very impressed with the Arvin’s AM sensitivity and audio fidelity. No doubt the generous ferrite rod antenna is doing the trick on medium wave.
![ARVIN-68r58-DSC_1377](https://swling.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ARVIN-68r58-DSC_1377.jpg)
Last night, as I tuned through the AM broadcast band, I was able to null out unwanted stations and noise amazingly well. There is something to be said of transistor radios from this era–let’s just say, they’re classics.
The Arvin has a simple set of controls: tone, tuning, and volume. There are no filter selections, of course, but I can tell that it’s quite wide; perhaps 8 or 9 kHz.
All in all, I’m very pleased with my little purchase, and the Arvin has become my new (vintage) bedside radio. Last night, I tuned in one of my favorite AM stations on 740 kHz, CFZM in Toronto, Canada. CFZM (a.k.a. “Zoomer Radio”) is not only a benchmark, but a right of passage for any worthy AM radio in my household. The Arvin passed the Zoomer test with colors flying.
And, yes, it even soothed me to sleep.
![ARVIN-68r58-DSC_1387](https://swling.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ARVIN-68r58-DSC_1387.jpg)
Now I only need to properly clean and restore the Arvin’s leather chassis and perhaps build a 6V-regulated linear power supply.
![ARVIN-68r58-DSC_1378](https://swling.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ARVIN-68r58-DSC_1378.jpg)
Next time you pass by a 1960s/70s vintage transistor, grab it! I’m certainly happy I did.
Now, I think I’ll turn on the Arvin, sip some dark beans, and put up my feet in the Pawley’s Island hammock…Cheers! Summer’s on the way.
Want one of your own? A quick search reveals that the Arvin 68R58 can be found on eBay for quite reasonable prices. Click here to search eBay for an Arvin.