The Eternal $19.00 Radio

This is the place for any magazine-related discussions that don't fit in any of the column discussion boards below.
Post Reply
sandpiper
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2019 1:47 pm
Contact:

The Eternal $19.00 Radio

Post by sandpiper »

This story goes back a few decades, but it's something you never forget.

I was helping a friend with some repairs on the exterior of his house. We both liked the same
radio program, so I purchased a $19.00 radio - Emerson #RP6251.

The radio was hooked to a ladder, about 12ft. from the ground. A hand truck collided with the
ladder and it toppled over. (Fortunately, the ladder was not in use.) The radio crashed into a
pile of bricks and bounced into a five gallon bucket of paint!

It was fished out of the paint bucket with some heavy steel wire. I was about to drop it into the
trash, when my friend said the magic words. "Do you think it still works?"

The antenna was gone and the plastic case was a mess. I brought the radio home to my shop.
I used paint thinner and compressed air to clean the radio, inside and out. (The paint thinner
was a weak solution. It did not damage the plastic.) Replaced the antenna and glued the case
cracks.

My friend called it the "miracle" radio, because it played like the accident never happened. I've
got the radio in a shop cabinet. After many years, it still plays like a new cheap radio!
User avatar
dacflyer
Posts: 4748
Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2002 1:01 am
Location: USA / North Carolina / Fayetteville
Contact:

Re: The Eternal $19.00 Radio

Post by dacflyer »

Awsome,,, they don't make them as rugged now.. i actully repaired a radio once that fell out of a car or truck on the interstate, it hit the ground, bounced a few times and cartwheeled to the side of the road and skidded to a stop.. the batteries had flung out and the cover was lost.
i stopped and scooped it up and kept driving, i thought it would have been some parts to use,
when i got it home i checked it out, the circuit board in it was cracked, i gave it a whirl and repaired it, and by luck it still worked.
can't remember what i ever did with it.. but i used to take it with me down to the creek when i went fishing or swimming.. My friends called it the crippled lil radio...4 C cells and it would play all month. i remember it was a Panasonic, had AM FM and SW
User avatar
Joseph
Posts: 681
Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2001 1:01 am
Location: USA,World
Contact:

Re: The Eternal $19.00 Radio

Post by Joseph »

My first radio was an AM/police band one. I found it on the side of a main road in the nearby county park when I was riding my Huffy stingray bike. The person might have tossed it out the car window when driving because it had a reception problem and could only pick up the strongest AM radio station in the area.
.
User avatar
dacflyer
Posts: 4748
Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2002 1:01 am
Location: USA / North Carolina / Fayetteville
Contact:

Re: The Eternal $19.00 Radio

Post by dacflyer »

I loved the huffy I had with the banana seat, But it wasn't a Stingray,Kinda miss it..
User avatar
Joseph
Posts: 681
Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2001 1:01 am
Location: USA,World
Contact:

Re: The Eternal $19.00 Radio

Post by Joseph »

I've had a lot of Huffies. If bungie cords existed back then, I don't recall knowing of them. On that stingray, I recall slipping fishing rods up through the short sissy bar on the back. The the reel end would then drop down into the little frame triangle under the seat where a caliper brake would mount on the three speed version. My brother was a mechanical whizz who had an identical one to mine, but he converted his to a three speed.
User avatar
Janitor Tzap
Posts: 1707
Joined: Sat Aug 12, 2006 5:17 pm
Contact:

Re: The Eternal $19.00 Radio

Post by Janitor Tzap »

I wish I still had this one odd ball AM/FM portable radio that was given to me by a friend.
Who's younger brother had tossed around, and broke the AM/FM DPDT Slide switch.
I brought it home. Dug through my parts draws, and found a small DPDT Toggle Switch I could replace the old switch with.
I cleaned up the Volume Control. Replaced the 6 Volt (4 C)battery holder because acid had eaten away the contacts.

Anyway........
I got it working, and it eventually ended up being given to one of my Aunt's.
I got to say, it was one Ugly Designed Radio.
{Wish I had a Picture I could Post here.} :sad:
The front was Black and Silver top, with circle window too see the tuning dial, and faux Horn for the speaker.
The case sides and back was faux Black Leather, with snaps on the battery flap to keep it closed, and hold the AC Power Cord in.
The one side had the Toggle Band Switch, and the other side the VOL/ON/OFF Knob and Tuning Knob.
Top of the case had a telescoping pull out Antenna, bottom of the case had these screw in rubber feet.

Thing is I'm looking at some of the Radio Collector's Sites, and a lot of these weird designed radios are bring good money now.
Because they had limited runs of them being made.
Or liked a lot by people.
EXAMPLE: {Panasonic Radio's}
ImageImage


Signed: Janitor Tzap
User avatar
Joseph
Posts: 681
Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2001 1:01 am
Location: USA,World
Contact:

Re: The Eternal $19.00 Radio

Post by Joseph »

We were given Realistic brand LOVE radios for selling so many grade school fund drive raffle tickets. It was about four inches in diameter round and had a loop of chain at the top that was big enough to slip over the head, if so desired.
My brothers and I had an interest in AM radios for doing dxing to get as many call letters and the associated cities as we could. I think my list had around 250 stations with with cities on it.
gerty
Posts: 314
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2004 1:01 am
Location: Tennessee
Contact:

Re: The Eternal $19.00 Radio

Post by gerty »

Back in the early 60's radios would advertise how many transistors were inside, like "6 transistor high fidelity".. Opened one up one day to see these wonder devices, it had the advertised quantity of transistors soldered to the board but a couple of them had no traces going to them !!
User avatar
dacflyer
Posts: 4748
Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2002 1:01 am
Location: USA / North Carolina / Fayetteville
Contact:

Re: The Eternal $19.00 Radio

Post by dacflyer »

maybe the were spares...lol
Still devious salesman..
User avatar
haklesup
Posts: 3136
Joined: Thu Aug 01, 2002 1:01 am
Location: San Jose CA
Contact:

Re: The Eternal $19.00 Radio

Post by haklesup »

were you sure they were not 4 layer boards (most were 2 layer but can't rule it out). Dummy transistors would still have raised their costs
User avatar
Joseph
Posts: 681
Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2001 1:01 am
Location: USA,World
Contact:

Re: The Eternal $19.00 Radio

Post by Joseph »

They must have figured the better appearing feature would more than offset with increased sales revenue, and subsequently profits, the cost of the two extra transistors
User avatar
Janitor Tzap
Posts: 1707
Joined: Sat Aug 12, 2006 5:17 pm
Contact:

Re: The Eternal $19.00 Radio

Post by Janitor Tzap »

Hmmm...........

I was working on a camcorder, it used 8mm video cassette tapes.

Anyway, on the main power traces of the PCB were these SMD fuses.
A short had happened, and caused one to pop.
Luckly, off on the very outside of the PCB, away from the rest of the circuit.
Were two of these same fuses solder down to pads.
Some one had the foresight during the design phase of the PCB to make spare fuses available.
A good thing too.
The camcorder was only a few months old when it was accidentally dunked in the guy's pool.:lol:
And those little SMD fuses were not easy to get at that time.



Signed: Janitor Tzap
User avatar
dacflyer
Posts: 4748
Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2002 1:01 am
Location: USA / North Carolina / Fayetteville
Contact:

Re: The Eternal $19.00 Radio

Post by dacflyer »

That was pure genius..
User avatar
Joseph
Posts: 681
Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2001 1:01 am
Location: USA,World
Contact:

Re: The Eternal $19.00 Radio

Post by Joseph »

Good thing you knew they were there. I wouldn't doubt that I ordered an SMD fuse, circuit protector, IC protector, when there was a spare or two on the board that I missed.
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Amazon [Bot] and 32 guests