Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who writes:
Another radio turned up in the BBC series, ‘Death in Paradise’.
Set on a picturesque Caribbean island with an infeasibly high murder rate, we see the police interviewing a witness as he listens to the local radio station.
Can SWLing Post readers identify the radio I wonder?
Please comment if you can ID this radio! Not an easy task this time as there’s no close-up shot to pull details from the front panel. Good luck!
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!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Andrew, who correctly identified the radio Ed spotted in The Last Man On Earth as the Allocchio Bacchini RF4D. Andrew shared the following notes and links:
That radio is an Allocchio Bacchini RF4D (see photo below from this site):
Here’s a snippet from an Italian movie showing the same rig:
Another pic and notes can be seen scrolling down this page:
Year : 1940
TX Frequency Range : 1,270 – 4,300 kHz in 3 bands
RX Frequency range : 220 – 4,400 kHz in 5 bands
Facilities : CW and RT
Receiver Circuit (Valves) : Superhet. 7 tubes type 6RV (same as RF 4)
Transmitter Circuit (Valves): MO(P C05), PA (2x P CO5) Mod.(3x 6RV)
RF Output : 25 W
Aerial : Dipole
Power supply : 12 V storage batteries. Mains for battery charger.
And here you’ll find the shack of an Italian ham which shows an RF4D:
Photo: I5HGM
Further info and schematics can be found here.
Wow! Thank you so much, Andrew! I would love someday to operate an original RF4D. What a fascinating WWII era radio. Thank you again for all of the details!
Post readers: I’m very curious if anyone here owns or has owned an RF4D. Please comment!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who writes:
Recently I’ve been watching some pandemic-themed movies and found “The Last Man on Earth”, a pretty good 1964 post-apocalyptic science fiction horror film (which was remade in 1971 and 2007 with different titles.) In this film, the main character (well played by Vincent
Price) uses an HF transceiver in a fruitless effort to find other survivors of a global plague. It was shot in Italy, and the transceiver doesn’t look like any American radio I’ve ever seen. Perhaps some of your SWLing Post readers can identify it?
BTW: SWLing Post readers might also be interested in knowing this film can be downloaded for free from The Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/
lastmanonearth-1964
What do you say, SWLing Post Community? Is this radio a fabricated stage prop, or a real model? Please comment!
In the meantime, I’ll add this post to our ever growing archive of radios in film!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Adi, who writes:
i just finished watching this BBC piece:
In the background are two “blurred” receivers, they are unrelated to the story as far as being told or shown.
They look as top $$$$ type but what are they?
Post Readers: Can you ID the commercial-grade rigs in the background? Please comment!
This week’s episode of the Radio Survivor Podcast is devoted to “Radio in the Movies.” I you like classic films, and our post thread where readers ID actual radios in movies, you’re sure to appreciate this Radio Survivor episode. Here’s the description:
Portrayals of radio in popular culture provide an interesting glimpse at radio’s role in society. At Radio Survivor, we’ve long been fascinated by radio depictions on both the small and large screen; so it is a treat to dive into this topic with Hemrani Vyas, Programming Coordinator at Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Vyas curated an entire day of radio-themed films for the cable network, focusing on the era of 1930 to 1950. This week we talk about some of the featured films and also dig into a broader discussion about the changing images of radio in the movies.
Click here to view full show notes and listen via Radio Survoivor.
IMPORTANT UPDATE – Amanda Dawn Christie notes:
“Unfortunately [this video] was never supposed to be public – it was an accident on my part. The film will be viewable soon though, for seven days. May 26 to June 1. It is being hosted by a gallery in Montreal. That upload was only a test for them, and should never have been public. I was in a hurry, trying to get it uploaded before I packed my hard drives before I moved and I guess I didn’t check all the settings. Sorry about that. I appreciate the enthusiasm though.”
SWLing Post friend and filmmaker, Amanda Dawn Christie, has just uploaded a version of her film Spectres of Shortwave to Vimeo where it can be viewed free of charge: