Tag Archives: collectable

Pristine Condition Braun T-1000 Receiver Appears on Ebay

The German industrial designer Dieter Rams is world renowned for his beautiful and functional product designs, including the Braun T-1000 portable receiver.

These fine, collectable receivers appear on Ebay regularly, but this one is in pristine shape:

The asking price is a cool $1,800 USD, but for the near mint condition of this T-1000 it is likely appropriate; perhaps the new owner will acquire it for a “Best Offer” price. Other T-1000s on Ebay currently are priced from $370 to $1,299.

Of course, the cost is in-line with a collectable value; functionally, it’s reception abilities are almost certainly surpassed by a modestly priced SDRPlay RSP1 or a vintage Sony ICF-2010 for instance. The radio aficionado interested in the 55 year old T-1000 is not expecting best-in-class reception, but the chance to own a recognized icon of industrial design (the T-1000 is in NYC’s Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection).

Click here for the Ebay auction of the Braun T-1000: http://www.ebay.com/itm/BRAUN-T1000-GERMAN-GRUNDIG-SATELLIT-LIKE-SW-TRANSISTOR-RADIO-NEAR-MINT-/201891688853

Guy Atkins is a Sr. Graphic Designer for T-Mobile and lives near Seattle, Washington.  He’s a regular contributor to the SWLing Post.

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Rare Hitachi KW-WSI WorldSpace Receiver on Ebay

This is the first and only “WorldSpace” satellite receiver I’ve seen on Ebay, currently offered at a $175 Buy-It-Now price from a seller in Australia:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HITACHI-KW-WSI-DIGITAL-RECEIVER-WS-FM-MW-SW1-SW2-/282192383263

The radio is listed as in excellent condition with the original box and literature. Besides the long-gone WorldSpace satellite frequencies, the radio covers medium wave, FM, and most of the shortwave range. A brief PDF data sheet for the radio gives a description of features and operations.

hitachi-kw-wsi

Wikipedia describes this radio’s satellite service as 1worldspace, formerly known as ‘WorldSpace’, is a defunct satellite radio network that in its heyday provided service to over 170,000 subscribers in eastern and southern Africa, the Middle East, and much of Asia with 96% coming from India. It was profitable in India, with 450,000 subscribers.

I wonder if the Hitachi KW-WSI is a reasonable performer for shortwave listening? Does anyone know any technical details of this receiver?

Guy Atkins is a Sr. Graphic Designer for T-Mobile and lives near Seattle, Washington.  He’s a regular contributor to the SWLing Post.

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