Tag Archives: Radios in Movies

Dan spots an Icom IC-R71A in Narcos

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who writes:

I like to note appearances by shortwave receivers in TV programs…here’s the latest…at the 14 minute mark of the new season of NARCOS (one of the best TV series there is by the way) a ICOM IC-R71A makes an appearance. At the point in the show, a key character is listening to reel-to-reel tapes, so it’s not quite clear why they stuck in a 71A tuning to a shortwave frequency….ah, the drama! Another show, The Americans, features numerous shots of various receivers, including Zenith Transoceanics and Hallicrafters…

Great catch, Dan–thank you for sharing! I’ll add this find to our growing archive of radios in film.

Ed spots a Heathkit HW-101 in The Royal Tenennbaums

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who writes:

I was in my corner bar last night in Philadelphia where “The Royal Tenennbaums” (2001) was playing on the projection screen. I wasn’t really watching it, but a scene showing a Heathkit HW-101 HF transceiver suddenly caught my eye. When I told my my drinking buddy, Richard, “That’s a Heathkit HW-101!” He called me a hopeless geek.

I’m not sure what tuner is on the shelf below it, but maybe a SWLing blog reader can identify it.

Great job spotting the HW-101, Ed!

Ed actually sent this tip to me several months ago, but it got buried in my drafts folder–sorry about that!

Mark spots a number of radios in “Designated Survivor”

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who adds the following to our growing archive of radios in film.

Mark writes:

Quite a haul this time!

In episode 20 of ‘Designated Survivor‘, FBI Agent Hannah Wells tries to get a message out before being recaptured….

Click to enlarge.

Many thanks, Mark! Another good one!

Are those Kenwood transceivers in the background? I certainly see a Kenwood external speaker and (perhaps a Nye Viking–?) tuner.

Please comment if you can identify this radio gear!

Mark Spots a Sony ICF-SW1S watching “In the Line of Fire”

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who adds the following to our growing archive of radios in film.

Mark writes:

A Sony ICF-SW1S spotted in the 1993 Clint Eastwood film, In the Line of Fire.

Click to enlarge.

The radio belongs to the villain played by John Malkovich.

Thanks, Mark! Sharp eyes!

I’ve always thought the ICF-SW1S was one of the more amazing compact portables produced in the 1990s. True, it lacked SSB mode and only had 10 memories, but it was such a compact receiver for the day! Like many Sonys, it also had a dedicated line-out jack for off-air recordings. I wish more modern portables had one.

The line-out jack is one of the reasons I still regularly pack my ICF-SW100.

I do check eBay fairly regularly in hopes one will suddenly appear at a good price point–ones in good condition routinely sell anywhere from $250-350. I’m actually tempted to purchase a defective one and see if my buddy Vlado can fix it. It’s a risk, though, because if the repair requires anything other than resistors and capacitors, parts might not be available.

Post readers: Anyone own both the ICF-SW1S and the ICF-SW100? Which do you prefer and why?

Shortwave film features a variety of radios

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The Yaesu FRG-7 featured prominently in the film trailer

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, The Professor, who adds to our discussion about the recently released film Shortwave:

I saw that David posted a comment on your blog where he wondered what radio the guy in that “Shortwave” film might be using. Well, watched a couple trailers and discovered that the movie featured a few receivers.

So I took screen shots, and I thought some of your readers might be curious about this as well, and I’m sure some will ID all of them.

I had hoped the movie might feature Gene Scott or Pete Peters broadcasting from the underworld, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.

Anyway, here are some stills from the trailers[…]

Thanks, Prof! There are some classics here–Heathkit, Hammarlund, Hallicrafters and more.

Perhaps Post readers can comment with makes and models!

TW Communicator spotted in “The Avengers” TV series

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Andy Howlett, who writes:

Some while back I spotted an elderly ‘TW Communivator’ in use the a late episode of The Avengers TV series. The episode in question is called ‘All done with Mirrors’.

Studio Canal are a bit touchy about people nicking stills from their videos, but I sent my screen-grab to the website ‘TW Radio’ which is a site dedicated to Tom Withers and his products. The owner got permission for a one-off reproduction.

You can see the photo by going to http://www.twradio.uk/page98.html

Thanks, Andy! The Avengers is one of my favorite action/adventure TV shows of the 1960s. Lately, I’ve been waiting for a used DVD box set of the series to appear at a local retailer. The fact that I’ve always had a crush on Diana Rigg (a.k.a. Emma Peel) has nothing to do with this. 🙂

Check out other radios spotted in film and TV series by clicking here.

Click here to read more about The Avengers.

Mike spots the RCA AR-88 in series “Prime Suspect: Tennison”

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike Hansgen (K8RAT), who adds the following to our growing archive of radios in film. Mike writes:

Near the end of the current episode of “Prime Suspect: Tennison” [the radio operator mentions] he was listening on “the RCA 88”.

“Tennison” is set around the early ’70’s.

Great catch, Mike (and thanks to Eric WD8RIF for the screen cap).

According to the Crypto Museum:

The AR-88 was a valve-based shortwave general coverage communications receiver, developed and built by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in the early 1940s. Although the receiver was initially intended as the successor to the AR-77 amateur receiver, the outbreak of WWII made it evolve into a professional high-end military-grade receiver for which cost was no object.

The AR-88 is a 14-valve (tube) receiver, which covers a frequency range of 535 kHz to 32 MHz. Unlike the National HRO receiver, which had pluggable coil packs for each frequency band, the AR-88 uses a six-position band selector. A special version of the receiver, the AR-88LF, was suitable for LF and MF, covering 70 to 550 kHz (continuously) and 1.5 to 30 MHz (continuously).

Continue reading at the Crypto Museum online…

The Crypto Museum photo of the AR-88 jogged my memory…

Last year, I visited the Musée de la Défense Aérienne at the Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Bagotville (a museum I wholeheartedly recommend, by the way).

I snapped this shot of this display:

I’m sure I actually have a close up of this receiver somewhere. It also appears to be an RCA AR-88 based on dial and control configuration, though I certainly could be wrong.

Do any SWLing Post readers have an AR-88? Please comment!